NYCC Grand Hotel- Page 2
NYCC Grand Hotel
#25NYCC Grand Hotel
Posted: 2/14/18 at 1:50pm
Uranowitz is certainly slighter, which is physically in line with Michael Jeter, but I don't think Burstein would be considered a radical departure. And besides, the point of a revival/new staging is not to slavishly reconstruct the original.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
#26NYCC Grand Hotel
Posted: 2/14/18 at 1:55pm
True. Though its a little hard imagining Danny Burstein as he currently is wearing shirts and pants that are practically falling off him because he has lost so much weight. And all those lines about him being 'light as a feather.' etc.
“I knew who I was this morning, but I've changed a few times since then.”
#27NYCC Grand Hotel
Posted: 2/14/18 at 2:09pm
QueenAlice said: "Thanks for pointing that out. Actually, as I look at it more, this cast seems entirely appropriate. The show is the star. I just hope Josh Rhodes can capture the Tommy Tune magic doing his own thing."
This is how I feel. I think the casting is spot-on in terms of featuring both talent and the book/music of the show itself.
#28NYCC Grand Hotel
Posted: 2/14/18 at 2:18pm
I'd never heard of Stephanie Styles, but looking her up on the web, she is rather delicious. I think she'll potentially be a wonderful Flemchen.
“I knew who I was this morning, but I've changed a few times since then.”
BroadwayBeebe
Featured Actor Joined: 2/10/16
#29NYCC Grand Hotel
Posted: 2/14/18 at 2:35pm
Ever since this was announced I was hoping Rob McClure was going to be Otto.
Still really excited to see this though.
Kimbo
Featured Actor Joined: 4/8/08
#30NYCC Grand Hotel
Posted: 2/14/18 at 3:01pm
BroadwayBeebe said: "Ever since this was announced I was hoping Rob McClure was going to be Otto.
Still really excited to see this though. "
Do we not think there’s at least a tiny chance they need to be saving Rob McClure for their very next show, to play Bill Snibson in Me and My Girl? (which is a much more demanding role anyway, and can make use of all his physical comedy, plus his experience at playing British characters from Chaplin to Where’s Charley to Noises Off).
I’ve been hard-pressed to think of someone more right for that role since they announced it last spring?
JSquared2
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/23/17
#31NYCC Grand Hotel
Posted: 2/14/18 at 3:13pm
Kimbo said: "BroadwayBeebe said: "Ever since this was announced I was hoping Rob McClure was going to be Otto.
Still really excited to see this though. "
Do we not think there’s at least a tiny chance they need to be saving Rob McClure for their very next show, to play Bill Snibson in Me and My Girl? (which is a much more demanding role anyway, and can make use of all his physical comedy, plus his experience at playing British characters from Chaplin to Where’s Charley to Noises Off).
I’ve been hard-pressed to think of someone more right for that role since they announced it last spring?
I'm pretty sure Rob McClure is still in the SOMETHING ROTTEN Tour --- which runs through the end of May.
#32NYCC Grand Hotel
Posted: 2/14/18 at 3:30pm
Yes, McClure is on the road with Something Rotten and is contracted to stay through the end of the tour.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
#33NYCC Grand Hotel
Posted: 2/14/18 at 4:46pm
Add me to the list of those who find this cast completely underwhelming (save for Uranowitz). How much would I have loved to see Bebe Neuwirth as Elizaveta or the incredible Annaleigh Ashford--or even Megan Sikora--as Flaemmchen. I guess I'll be skipping this one--a surprisingly lukewarm cast for such an incredible show.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
#34NYCC Grand Hotel
Posted: 2/14/18 at 4:54pm
Ray -- that rationale is, forgive me, silly.
Neuwirth isn't really right for that role, and I don't think would be very convincing as a vulnerable Russian ballet dancer. Irina Dvorovenko starred in ON YOUR TOES at Encores and apparently was wonderful. She makes a lot more sense.
And Flaemmchen is supposed to be 19. This is not a part for two well established women in their 30s. Shouldn't we be happy they are casting a breakout unknown in that part?
This is not a show about star casting. It's the definition of ensemble musical.
“I knew who I was this morning, but I've changed a few times since then.”
Updated On: 2/14/18 at 04:54 PM
Allegra23
Chorus Member Joined: 5/5/16
#35NYCC Grand Hotel
Posted: 2/14/18 at 5:49pm
Styles was very lovely in The Bobby Darin Story with Groff.
#36NYCC Grand Hotel
Posted: 2/14/18 at 5:58pmI had been hoping for Bryce Pinkham as the Baron, but I LOVED James Snyder in Fanny at Encores. I think he will be fantastic.
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
#37NYCC Grand Hotel
Posted: 2/14/18 at 6:52pm
The article at Playbill tells which roles they're playing.
http://www.playbill.com/article/brandon-uranowitz-stephanie-styles-james-snyder-and-more-set-for-encores-grand-hotel
#38NYCC Grand Hotel
Posted: 2/14/18 at 7:50pm
This cast is so unexciting... I am kind of regretting buying a ticket.
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "
tomwsjr
Leading Actor Joined: 5/9/05
#40NYCC Grand Hotel
Posted: 2/14/18 at 8:29pmThere is no role for Charlie Stemp in this. Maybe when he’s 45.
“I knew who I was this morning, but I've changed a few times since then.”
yfs
Featured Actor Joined: 11/1/13
#41NYCC Grand Hotel
Posted: 2/14/18 at 9:16pm
QueenAlice said: "There is no role for Charlie Stemp in this. Maybe when he’s 45."
Charlie Stemp just went into DOLLY. There's no chance Scot Rudin would let him out for Grand Hotel or Me and My Girl, which he might be great in.
#42NYCC Grand Hotel
Posted: 2/14/18 at 11:17pm
QueenAlice said: "Ray -- that rationale is, forgive me, silly.
Neuwirth isn't really right for that role, and I don't think would be very convincing as a vulnerable Russian ballet dancer. Irina Dvorovenko starred in ON YOUR TOES at Encores and apparently was wonderful. She makes a lot more sense.
And Flaemmchen is supposed to be 19. This is not a part for two well established women in their 30s. Shouldn't we be happy they are casting a breakout unknown in that part?
This is not a show about star casting. It's the definition of ensemble musical."
QueenAlice, I get your point and I am probably being silly, but Jane Krakowski’s “I Want to Go to Hollywood” is one of my all-time favorite recordings of a showtune and I always hoped one of my favorite Broadway actresses would be cast im this production. I’m sure The actress playing Flaemmchen will do great. But for an Encores! production I am simply underwhelmed and will not be making my way to City Center like I had planned. I’m sure they’ll do great and that you will all enjoy it.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
#43NYCC Grand Hotel
Posted: 2/15/18 at 2:48am
Encores! star casting hasn't been what it used to be, I did not expect any names in this cast. Besides it's not a star show. Uranowitz who I loved in Falsettos and James Snyder who I've adored for years are pleasant surprises in my book.
Hoping for Jane to reprise IS silly, and I'm sure most of the other big names people wished for have other projects to work on. The point of Encores! isn't dream casting, it's showing off the music.
I'm still immensely excited for it.
Keeping BroadwayWorld Illustrated
#44NYCC Grand Hotel
Posted: 2/15/18 at 9:53am
Am I the only one who thinks Uranowitz (despite being a wonderful performer) is way too young for this?
#45NYCC Grand Hotel
Posted: 2/15/18 at 10:10am
Uranowitz is only 6 years younger than Michael Jeter was.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#46NYCC Grand Hotel
Posted: 2/15/18 at 10:52am
I read the novel of GRAND HOTEL recently and the casting for the Encores production is actually a bit more faithful to the ages of the characters in the book than even the original Broadway production was.
In the novel, the ballerina is about 40. Flaemchen is 19. Otto is in his 30s. The Baron is in his late 20s.
The thing that will make this production an interesting curiosity for Encores, is that unlike most productions they produce, the 'star' of the original was not the score and not the cast. it was the staging. I think rather than scrutinize if the cast is 'exciting' or not - we should be crossing our fingers that Josh Rhodes will be able to make the staging sensational, since that is what is going to make or break the success of the endeavor.
“I knew who I was this morning, but I've changed a few times since then.”
#47NYCC Grand Hotel
Posted: 2/15/18 at 10:54am
Can Uranowitz sing those high notes? I've only heard his baritone range.
#48NYCC Grand Hotel
Posted: 2/15/18 at 10:58am
I've never really thought of Otto has a very rangy role. How high does he sing?
“I knew who I was this morning, but I've changed a few times since then.”
#49NYCC Grand Hotel
Posted: 2/15/18 at 11:04am
Several high As, including a long sustained one at the end of "We'll Take A Glass." And "Table With A View" and "Who Couldn't Dance" sits for some time around E above middle C.
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