Parade Concert at Lincoln Center- Page 2
Parade Concert at Lincoln Center
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#25Parade Concert at Lincoln Center
Posted: 2/17/15 at 12:42pm
"Ok, I adore Laura Benanti, and she did a really great job as Lucille. However, I thought that she was just the slightest bit miscast. I can't quite put into words why."
Lucille is a difficult role. I didn't think Carolee Carmello was all that good originally. Maybe Victoria Clark could have pulled it off, but it's a role that requires Southern gentility, which is hard to play. It's why it's difficult to get a good Blanche DuBois.
neonlightsxo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/29/08
#27Parade Concert at Lincoln Center
Posted: 2/17/15 at 2:01pm
"it's a role that requires Southern gentility, which is hard to play"
That's it! Laura didn't do "Southern gentility," she came off more like a hick, a la Nellie Forbush. I still think she sang it and played the emotion wonderfully, but she didn't have that Southern gentility.
Back Row
Leading Actor Joined: 4/14/12
#28Parade Concert at Lincoln Center
Posted: 2/17/15 at 2:45pmOne of the things that always bothered me about the original cast album was that Carolee Carmello's accent did not sound at all authentic. That Georgia accent is very specific, and most attempts to copy it cross over into the realm of caricature (as Carmello's did, unfortunately). It's a hard accent to get just right, and when you don't get it right you end up sounding like a Foghorn Leghorn cartoon. I can't judge Benanti's effort just on the clips that I've heard, but I find that offering just a hint of a southern accent is far less jarring than going overboard and getting the accent all wrong.
mamaleh
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/11/04
#29Parade Concert at Lincoln Center
Posted: 2/17/15 at 3:13pm
B'wayguy2, how many actors and actresses portraying real-life people have truly resembled them? Not many, I'd venture to say. I've seen various photos of the Franks, and some are more flattering than others. Also, we have to remember that standards of attractiveness have changed over the past century (Lillian Russell would be considered dumpy by many now) -- and especially in the era of the thigh gap. Standards are also highly subjective. As to a person looking "clearly" this or that ethnic, I don't know how many times someone I'd sworn was Scandinavian or Greek or Italian or Russian-Jewish or whatever turned out not to be. I find it's best to avoid language that could be construed as revealing one's tendency to stereotype or preconceived notions.
Updated On: 2/17/15 at 03:13 PM
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#30Parade Concert at Lincoln Center
Posted: 2/17/15 at 3:26pm
"That's it! Laura didn't do "Southern gentility," she came off more like a hick, a la Nellie Forbush."
Carolee came off like a Southern Miss Jane Hathaway from The Beverly Hillbillies. I expected her at any minute to say "Right, chief!"
My mother is Southern. My grandmother and my aunts are all Southern. I've known many Southern women and I've never seen one that had the military personality that Carolee played. Way too uptight!
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#31Parade Concert at Lincoln Center
Posted: 2/17/15 at 3:36pmIMO, Lucille should be played like Olivia de Havilland played Melanie in Gone With The Wind.
buddy5
Swing Joined: 4/12/12
#32Parade Concert at Lincoln Center
Posted: 2/17/15 at 9:29pm
Maybe it is a blessing to be 93 and slightly deaf...It filters the mechanical difficulties..and what remains is pure joy...The great Brown work presented with incredible performances..supported with magnificent musicians to the power of of two hundred singers was breathtaking!
In my 85 years of frequent theater going, this was one of the top experiences.
buddy5
Swing Joined: 4/12/12
#33Parade Concert at Lincoln Center
Posted: 2/17/15 at 9:29pm
Maybe it is a blessing to be 93 and slightly deaf...It filters the mechanical difficulties..and what remains is pure joy...The great Brown work presented with incredible performances..supported with magnificent musicians to the power of of two hundred singers was breathtaking!
In my 85 years of frequent theater going, this was one of the top experiences.
Updated On: 2/17/15 at 09:29 PM
#34Parade Concert at Lincoln Center
Posted: 2/18/15 at 4:11pm
I wasn't at the concert (though I wish I was) as I live in London however was certainly aware of it. There was a 15-20 minute feature on BroadwayWorld.com.
Apparently it was the London version performed. I have had the original cast recording for several years and saw the London production and can honestly say in all of my theatre going years this is one of the most, if not, the most powerful thing I have ever seen. To this day when I think of it, it still sends shivers down my spine.
I swear the is a movie musical waiting to happen!
But I digress. The concert. This appeared on my Facebook page today.
http://www.theatermania.com/video/laura-benanti-and-jeremy-jordan-led-the-cast-of-ja_734.html
bestcardo
Swing Joined: 3/2/15
#35Parade Concert at Lincoln Center
Posted: 3/2/15 at 12:49am
WTF? Jeremy Jordan's mother is 100% Jewish. One of his maternal great-grandfathers was an Orthodox rabbi.
What is a "Brooklyn Jew"? Leo Frank was born in Texas, the exact same state Jeremy Jordan was born in. He moved to New York later, just like Jeremy Jordan. He was 31 during the time the play is set in, while Jordan is 30.
It really is such a remarkable disconnect from reality. Why do people have such a blind spot about the Jews? I mean, people said the same thing about Jordan and The Last Five Years, where the original stage actor, Norbert Leo Butz, wasn't Jewish, though a couple of Jews other than Jordan have played it since in minor productions.
With Parade, Jeremy Jordan is literally the first Jew to play the role in a major production. Brent Carver, Bertie Carvel, TR Knight, and David Pittu played it before. None of the four are Jewish.
In any fair and rational world, Jeremy Jordan would be seen as the Jewish actor who finally took over Jewish roles that have previously almost exclusively been played by non-Jews.
Instead, what's happened is that Jordan is seen as a non-Jew unfairly playing Jewish roles (and no one mentions that those roles were previously played mostly by actual non-Jews). Gee, I guess Jeremy is stealing these parts from the likes of Jason Biggs? (needless to say, Biggs is not Jewish at all).
Honestly, why is there such a disconnect from reality about the Jews?
Otherwise, how do you explain these complaints about Jeremy Jordan, a dark-haired 30 year old Texas Jew, playing Leo Frank, a dark-haired 31 year old Texas Jew, when Leo Frank in Parade was most famously played by Brent Carver, a 42 year old blond Canadian WASP? Nuts.
Updated On: 3/2/15 at 12:49 AM
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