Patina MIller Out of Pippin Tonight Stephanie Pope in- Page 9

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 5/6/13 at 9:40am

Yeah, but I'd rather a fantastic Belle than a mediocre Evita. Not saying that as a Laura/Patina metaphor, nor am I referencing last season's Evita. But then again, last year's Evita wasn't nominated for taking on a "challenging role." It's the performance, not the role.

[broadway guy]

Posted: 5/6/13 at 9:45am

Yes But Patina IS shining in her part unlike Elena. Patina has gotten raves from almost every critic. Elena didn't. Plus Patina can actually sing the part...

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 5/6/13 at 10:13am

But we're not comparing Patina Miller and Elena Roger.

[broadway guy]

Posted: 5/6/13 at 10:29am

True, but im guessing Patina Made a much bigger impact than Laura. It's not Laura's fault though. Patina just has more to show off. Plus There is no doubt that Patina's role is 1000 times harder than Laura's part. Im glad Laura is nominated but winning a tony for playing Cinderella? meh..

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 5/6/13 at 10:35am

If you haven't seen either performance, I think it's pretty unfair to judge. Again, it's about the performance and not comparing the roles. Many Tonys have been won by a performer playing a traditional or unassuming role in a brilliant way.

[broadway guy]

Posted: 5/6/13 at 11:03am

We shall see.

[Patash]

Posted: 5/6/13 at 11:07am

"Plus There is no doubt that Patina's role is 1000 times harder than Laura's part."

I'm not sure I agree with that. When a role like Leading Player comes along, it's actually fairly easy to WOW an audience with it, but it takes a LOT to WOW an audience or find something notable to do with a role like Cinderella. In fact the character can be so clawingly sweet and dull, that it takes some real effort into making the role entirely lovable and impressive.

[broadway guy]

Posted: 5/6/13 at 11:22am

You have a good Point Patash. I should have elaborated on that comment. What i meant to say was that Patina has the harder role physically because she is always on stage dancing her ass off and the score is obviously pretty demanding. Patina is performing a triple threat role 8 times a week..Laura..not so much. Im assuming its much more of a beast to take on than Cinderella. Plus, Patina has the extra job of recreating this famous iconic role. She had to work extra hard to differentiate herself from Ben Vereen and whatever she has done has seemed to work. But yes i do agree that Laura has done a great job of making her Cinderella stick out. I haven't seen Laura but her Cinderella must be pretty fascinating. I really hope Patina's absences don't hurt her chances for the tony. Im sure she is torn up about missing performances.

[dreaming]

Posted: 5/6/13 at 11:34am

Laura Osnes is very good as Cinderella. But I think one advantage Patina Miller has is she's taken herself out of her comfort zone if you will. She's stretching herself in this role in a number of ways-learning all of that complex choreography, the magic she does, and making that role hers.

I'd hardly be torn up if Laura Osnes wins-I enjoyed her performance tremendously. I don't think she's showing her range as much as Patina is, although she does light up a stage and has a certain earnestness about her that makes the character stay away from the sappy, saccharine Cinderella we'd probably all rather not see.

If I was voting, Patina would be my pick. One thing to consider is that they will likely want to give something to Cinderella. (Which against tremendous odds, has done very well.) This is one category to watch.

[fingerlakessinger]

Posted: 5/6/13 at 11:37am

While I was in class, a friend of mine who has seen both Laura and Patina in their respective shows told me this...
"Laura was great. You went into the show, you heard a pretty voice come from a pretty girl in a show about a familiar fairy tale that is dragged down with weird subplots. You left the theater saying "that was cute." Patina was fierce. When you saw her, you walked out after seeing someone throw not just their body and soul, but their vocal chords onto the stage and poor every ounce of energy they had in them into the atmosphere of the auditorium."
I wanna hold off on my opinion till I see them both. But from what I have been hearing, Patina seems to be the one with the bigger challenge.

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 5/6/13 at 11:41am

Wait a second. You haven't seen PIPPIN or CINDERELLA, broadway guy?

[Up In One]

Posted: 5/6/13 at 12:37pm

Someone should call Laura and tell her to throw some fierceness into her Cinderella. Come on guys every role presents its own challenges and requirements. Both these ladies are magnificently executing the roles as written.

Personally I'd vote for Laura's Cinderella, she carries the show more than Patina carries Pippin. Her vocals are better suited to the material than Patina's and her role has the better arc. The Leading Player role requires a lot of work to just make it register. If energy and the use of the most elements of performance were the only requirement Patina would have my vote hands down. In Pippin she is more a part of a great ensemble where Andrea Martin truly stands out.

[Kelly2]

Posted: 5/6/13 at 12:39pm

Having seen both, if the pedestrian, saccharine, shallow performance Laura Osnes is giving is "Tony-worthy" now, I really give up. Patina SHOULD beat her handily.

[phan24]

Posted: 5/6/13 at 12:44pm

HeyMrMusic:

Yeah, a swing went on to cover Stephanie's role as Noble when Stephanie took over Patina mid-act. The swing was in full costume and make-up when I noticed her and you were not able to tell she was a swing since she really had all her dance moves down and blended well with the other ensemble girls, especially during a tight routine with feathered fans. She also had some lines to say as Noble and also seemed well-rehearsed and prepared. It was truly a magical night at the theater.

[HenryTDobson]

Posted: 5/6/13 at 12:49pm

I also saw both performances (the fact that people are talking about this who haven't seen both is ridiculous) and would agree that Patina is giving the more exciting performance. Laura Osnes is always great, but she has little to work with here. Patina missing a couple of performances hardly hurts her chances, she's almost certainly a lock.

[dtzumbrunnen]

Posted: 5/6/13 at 12:53pm

@Clyde - That's the only question I haven't seen Broadway Guy reply to in 30 minutes or less all week!

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 5/6/13 at 12:55pm

[broadway guy]

Posted: 5/6/13 at 1:09pm

Clyde, I have stated Multiple times that I haven't seen Pippin Yet. Im hoping to see it sometime this summer when Im in new york for a weekend. I doubt i will ever have time (or money) to see Cinderella while Laura is in it. The info I get is from the reviews and the people on here and they usually know what they are talking about so i try to stay in the loop that way.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 5/6/13 at 1:27pm

Thanks, phan24! That's great to hear.

broadway guy, I would say Laura Osnes is onstage more than Patina Miller since she is the title character while Patina is a co-lead and has long stretches offstage, especially in Act 2. And in this production of Cinderella, the role is a triple threat since Cinderella has to dance a lengthy pas de deux with the Prince when they dance at the ball. Patina doesn't really dance all the time, but sure she does have to execute the Manson trio and some of the circus tricks that she performs.

To whomever said that Cinderella is actually more challenging role, I'd have to agree somewhat. The Leading Player is no walk in the park by any means, vocally and physically, but it's easy to impress in that role. It's much harder to bring down the house as Cinderella. Laura was charming and endearing in the role and sounded lovely. Patina also does everything she's asked to do in the role. So it's a matter of taste to an extent.

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 5/6/13 at 1:30pm

If you haven't seen something and you're going strictly off word of mouth (which is only another person's opinion) then you can't have such staunch views on things. Most people on the board know what they're talking about because they have firsthand experience.

Please don't start another PM tirade because of my commenting on this but really your opinions don't about to SH*T because they're just regurgitations of other people's opinions.

[broadway guy]

Posted: 5/6/13 at 1:40pm

You have excellent points HeyMrMusic and I wish i could see both performances to compare but until then i guess i will have to take your word for it. In your opinion: What exactly is it that makes Laura Stand out? Its so easy to fall into the disney princess type when playing a role like this but clearly she is defying the odds. Either way, They are both amazing women and I wish Patina wasnt having such a hard time at the moment.

[Kbradstein]

Posted: 5/6/13 at 2:07pm

i have also seen both performances. Osnes is absolutely wonderful, and has a beautiful voice.

However, Miller is giving the stronger performance in the stronger, more challenging role. Wether this absence will effect tony chances is beyond us.

[broadway guy]

Posted: 5/6/13 at 2:18pm

"However, Miller is giving the stronger performance in the stronger, more challenging role."

That's exactly what it seems like. Just because i haven't seen her doesn't mean i don't know what is required of the role. But like someone pointed out, the award doesn't always go to the most challenging role ( Raul vs. David for example) But it seems like most on here would agree that Patina is in first place to win the TONY. We shall see.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 5/6/13 at 2:56pm

RE: Cinderalla having a lock. I'm more inclined to think that Best Costumer is more of a lock than Laura. Nothing against Laura.

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 5/6/13 at 3:40pm

You actually don't know what is required of the role if you haven't seen her performance. You can't know every trick she does, every nuance of the performance, the changes in tone when she's speaking to certain actors. You can surmise that based off what people are telling you know you can't know everything.