National tour copycats of the Broadway cast

[Actinggbugg474]

Posted: 9/29/10 at 1:05am

This topic has probably been discussed before .. oh well!

I just got home from the opening night of the 9 to 5 tour in Atlanta and I thought it was a great show! However, something bothered me, something that has bothered me for quite a few years.

Why is it that in many national tours, the actors replacing the original Broadway cast members are sound-alikes to their original cast counterparts? I mean, the point of seeing different productions of the same show is to hear different artists interpretations of the material. I wanted to hear Dee Hoty as Violet, not Dee Hoty as Allison Janney as Violet. It was especially jarring in the case of Joseph Mahowald who played Frank Hart, Jr. If I didn't know better, I would think it was Marc Kudisch, or at least a Marc Kudisch impersonator! Are these people cast because their voices sound so much like the original actor, or are they asked to sound identical to the people they are replacing? I haven't noticed this as much on Broadway. It seems like Broadway replacements are given more freedom and aren't cast to be exact replicas of the original.

Thoughts?

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 9/29/10 at 1:18am

Having seen mainly only national tours and only a handful of shows on Broadway it is hard for me to compare. However, I think a lot of times it depends on the show and characters. Some characters can only be played and interpreted in one way while others allow the actor to develop the character on their own and add their own personality to the role.
I do see what you're saying though. Sometimes it feels like the actor is doing nothing original with the role. When I saw the Phantom tour last November the Christine I saw was copying Emu Rossum down to every single note and movement. I think a show is more enjoyable when the cast develops the characters in a unique way.

Updated On: 9/29/10 at 01:18 AM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 9/29/10 at 1:48am

Some characters can only be played and interpreted in one way...

Do you really believe that?

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 9/29/10 at 1:55am

^ Sorry I worded that wrong. What I was trying to say is that for some characters it is harder for the actor to incorporate their own personality and interpretations in the role.

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 9/29/10 at 3:53am

i saw the national tour of Young Frankenstein the other day and kinda had the same problem... the actress playing Elizabeth I felt like was doing a Megan Mullally impersonation of Elizabeth... it just felt so unnatural and plus I felt she didn't pull off the role very well... kinda annoyed me... and to clarify, i never saw Megan in the role so it was more her voice... it's almost as if she copied everything Megan did on the CD

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 9/29/10 at 5:12am

Don't forget, the point of a National Tour is to closely recreate the Broadway experience for cities across the country as much as possible. Early replacement casts and national tour casts are often directed to emulate the originals, especially when being overseen by the same director. Rebecca Caine recently commented on this in a recent interview here on BWW. There are of course exceptions to this. The more years between casts the less often you will see this and the more often you will see something a bit more fresh. The odd thing with 9 to 5 though is that this is a new production with a new creative staff, isn't it? It seems that shouldn't really be happening in that situation., but it still may be what they are going for.

On a side note, I don't think Trista Moldovan sounds anything like Emmy Rossum as Christine, and I don't see their interpretations being much alike at all, but I suppose that is a matter of opinion.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 9/29/10 at 6:43am

I wholeheartedly agree^. The first tour is often a purposeful duplicate of the original. In fact, up until fairly recently, it was frowned upon for undersstudies to change things...and most replacements....or the changes in interpretations would be minimum.

I think with the popularity of the return audience member the desire to see other interpretations was born. (IMO)

[mallardo]

Posted: 9/29/10 at 9:22am

The only way that Dee Hoty is a carbon copy of Allison Janney is that both women are tall.

[Actinggbugg474]

Posted: 9/29/10 at 10:11am

mallardo,

I would've said the same thing until I sat in the balcony of the Fox Theatre. They sounded nearly identical. Obviously Ms. Hoty is a much better singer, but in this production, they sound VERY similar.

[bryan2]

Posted: 9/29/10 at 11:19am

As much as I like Allison ..Dee Hoty is a great singer
and could never really sound the same while singing
maybe speaking but not singing

[Tamerlano]

Posted: 9/29/10 at 4:04pm

Sadly here in the UK sometimes it boils down to the performer fitting the costume! With some commercial producers its all about making moneyand not giving the audience the best talent around.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 9/29/10 at 4:09pm

I think with the popularity of the return audience member the desire to see other interpretations was born

That's a big reason I return to shows. I love than two different people can take the same words and yet make them so different.

[NPHCreel]

Posted: 9/29/10 at 4:57pm

I think there will always be similarities simply because it's the same character with the same personality and motivations. I wish Dee had been Violet to begin with because, to me, Allison Janney just doesn't belong in a musical (even though she's a brilliant actress). It does seem like Diana is having an easier time separating her performance from Megan Hilty's version of Doralee, but I think Dee will put her own stamp on it once she's in a groove.