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Nicholas Cage Heading To Braodway In CUCKOO'S NEST?

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#3

Nicholas Cage Heading To Braodway In CUCKOO'S NEST?

Posted: 7/15/11 at 10:02am

He'd certainly be an interesting Nurse Ratched.
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
#4

Nicholas Cage Heading To Braodway In CUCKOO'S NEST?

Posted: 7/15/11 at 10:02am

I would love to see this revived. One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest was the very first show I saw. My older sister took me when I was a kid (guess she had to baby sit me). It was off broadway early 70's & I remember being frightened by the lunatics running in the aisles. (funny the things you remember, also remember my first NYC rat sitings that night on the way to the theater) I tried googling the theater, but only come up with Mercer-Hansberry, guess that theater does not exist any more (Mercer @ W 3rd)

Anyway, even though I do not remember much about the show, it would be great to see it again.
#5

Nicholas Cage Heading To Braodway In CUCKOO'S NEST?

Posted: 7/15/11 at 10:05am

I'm not sure Cage can sell tickets on Broadway, unless someone brought National Treasure to the stage. That said, he seems a good fit for the role, which leaves the much more interesting question of casting Nurse Ratched. I'd love to see Laura Linney take on a role like this.
"It does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are 20 gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg." -- Thomas Jefferson
#6

Nicholas Cage Heading To Braodway In CUCKOO'S NEST?

Posted: 7/15/11 at 10:07am

Laura Linney would be perfect as Ratched, madbrian.
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
#7

Nicholas Cage Heading To Braodway In CUCKOO'S NEST?

Posted: 7/15/11 at 10:07am

As McMurphy?! That is simply absurd casting. Cage is way too old.
Recent Broadway and Off-Broadway:: Carrie, Merrily, Ionescopade
Next On The List :: Clybourne Park, Once, Streetcar, BOM
#8

Nicholas Cage Heading To Braodway In CUCKOO'S NEST?

Posted: 7/15/11 at 10:13am

Cage alone isn't that interesting to me, and I'm not even sure why. I don't doubt he'd be good.

But add in Laura Linney as Rached?

That would be huge. The two of them together would start a fire on stage (well, hopefully not literally)!
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#9

Nicholas Cage Heading To Braodway In CUCKOO'S NEST?

Posted: 7/15/11 at 10:18am

I also actually think Martha Plimpton could make a great Ratched, although I am beyond sold on Linney. I think I'd see her play Nurse Ratched opposite a trained monkey.
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
#10

Nicholas Cage Heading To Braodway In CUCKOO'S NEST?

Posted: 7/15/11 at 10:19am

Cage is too old and doesn't have the emotional range for the part. I know they are looking for a "star" (ugh) but personally I would love to see Esparza in the part because he is quirky enough, and just about the right age. WIlliam H. Macy would be edgy enough, too, but also unfortunately too old. Ditto Rylance (if he could do an American accent, which I'm sure he can).

Linney would be great, or Frances McDormand, or Jan Maxwell.
#11

Nicholas Cage Heading To Braodway In CUCKOO'S NEST?

Posted: 7/15/11 at 10:22am

Actually I have a question for those of you who know the stage show. Admittedly, I don't.

Is Nurse Rached all that pivotal of a role in the play? Her part in the film adaptation is actually one of the smallest (shortest screen time) to win a leading Best Actress Oscar, and the buzz going into the awards season was that Louise Fletcher would be a contender for Best Supporting Actress. Surprise! She won the leading trophy. Regardless, she gave such a marvelously realistically chilling performance. You could see how her character thought everything she was doing was right. She was the worst kind of villain. A "good" one.

Still, I remember reading that the role wasn't all that important in the original stage production. Anybody know?
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#12

Nicholas Cage Heading To Braodway In CUCKOO'S NEST?

Posted: 7/15/11 at 10:30am

The role is not a huge role in the stage show either, great role but not huge.

I have to say i watched this here in the UK and thought it was an awful and plodding play.
Namo i love u but we get it already....you don't like Madonna
#14

Nicholas Cage Heading To Braodway In CUCKOO'S NEST?

Posted: 7/15/11 at 10:50am

I'm also more familiar with the movie, but I think Ratched might be a meaty enough role to attract a name.

What kind of billing did Amy Morton have in the most recent revival? Here name is listed second on the ibdb listing, but I thought maybe only Gary Sinese had above-the-title billing. Or no one was billed above the title.
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
#15

Nicholas Cage Heading To Braodway In CUCKOO'S NEST?

Posted: 7/15/11 at 10:52am

The original play ran 82 performances and received no Tony nominations (or any other awards) in 1964, despite having an impressive cast: Kirk Douglas, Ed Ames, William Daniels, Gene Wilder, Arlene Golonka, Rex Robbins, Malcom Atterbury, and Joan Tetzel (not known to me) as Nurse Rached.

I didn't realize it was revived just ten years ago with Gary Sinese and Amy Morton. It ran 121 performances and won one Tony: Best Revival of a Play.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#16

Nicholas Cage Heading To Braodway In CUCKOO'S NEST?

Posted: 7/15/11 at 10:52am

My choice for Nurse Ratched would be Eve Best, who would wipe the floor with pretty much anyone playing McMurphy.
"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
#17

Nicholas Cage Heading To Braodway In CUCKOO'S NEST?

Posted: 7/15/11 at 12:07pm

Ratched is more prominent in the play than in the movie - if only becasuse long sequences in the movie such as the fishing trip don't exist in the play.

It would be nice if casting echoed the descriptions of the characters by kesey: McMurphy was written as a big, muscular redheaded lumberjack type - NOT Jack Nicholson. Kirk Doulas in 1964 was at least close.

Ratched is described as beautiful and busty - but cold as ice. There should be definite sexual tension between her and McMurphy.
#18

Nicholas Cage Heading To Braodway In CUCKOO'S NEST?

Posted: 7/15/11 at 12:47pm

My next casting suggestion: Lin-Manuel Miranda as Billy Bibbit.
"It does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are 20 gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg." -- Thomas Jefferson
#19

Nicholas Cage Heading To Braodway In CUCKOO'S NEST?

Posted: 7/15/11 at 12:51pm

The movie is a far better adaptation of the source material than the play is, in my opinion.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#20

Nicholas Cage Heading To Braodway In CUCKOO'S NEST?

Posted: 7/15/11 at 12:56pm

Ken Kesey would disagree with you. he hated the movie adaptation.

The novel and the play are told in a surreralistic manner, from Bromden's point of view.

The movie does away with this, and completely eliminates the explanation of the title of the piece.
#21

Nicholas Cage Heading To Braodway In CUCKOO'S NEST?

Posted: 7/15/11 at 12:59pm

Morton was about the only thing that stood out for me in the revival (my first time seeing her). Oh yeah, and the guy who played the chief was Will Sampson's son, which was kinda cool, like when Noel Harrison did My Fair Lady. :)

Updated On: 7/15/11 at 12:59 PM

#23

Nicholas Cage Heading To Braodway In CUCKOO'S NEST?

Posted: 7/15/11 at 1:08pm

In ten years or so, Hendricks might be perfect, but for now, she's a little young. Ratched is supposed to be good friends with Billy's mother, and since Billy is early thirties, it's a better fit if she's somewhere around 50 or so.
"It does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are 20 gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg." -- Thomas Jefferson
#25

Nicholas Cage Heading To Braodway In CUCKOO'S NEST?

Posted: 7/15/11 at 1:15pm

MGH would be terrific. I'll add Joan Allen to the list.
"It does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are 20 gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg." -- Thomas Jefferson

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