Posted: 6/24/18 at 5:17am
Circle in the Square would be a perfect venue for this show! I was able to have a return "Visit" to the show yesterday, and I do concede that LuPone is a little too old for the role. Several character traits, lines of dialogue and the entire song "Mrs A" probably won't quite make sense with LuPone at her age (not to mention how to deal with the occasional moments of dancing) , and it's especially difficult because the time period is weaving back to when she was with her ex-husband. I wouldn't say it's IMPOSSIBLE if a good director is up to the challenge of trying to make it work, but they would be slightly fighting against the material.
What about Donna Murphy? The extra 10 years up her sleeve might make all the difference. And she is the kind of actress that I think has the presence + skills to take the challenge of the role.
It really is quite difficult to think of someone for this role. Maybe someone can take a risk and bring O'Connor over. In any case, I hope this production can at least spark some interest in the show. I can't help but feel the show will be much better received if mounted today than in the past. In typical Kander & Ebb style, on the surface the show looks 'happy' and 'fun' (and it can be) - but this is surfacing a much darker, unpleasant reality of deeply flawed people. There is some very tense/sharp dialogue, and themes of looking back to the past that reminds me a bit of Follies. It's an odd show in terms of marketing - even this production suffers from it. On the surface it looks like a campy, frivolous musical about roller skating. But on the whole, it's really not. It's a dark musical about deeply flawed characters trying to cope with their fractured relationships and unpleasant past. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgyJdwJePAE
Updated On: 6/24/18 at 05:17 AM
