Phylicia Rashad begins performances tonight...- Page 3

[Rudy2]

Posted: 5/28/09 at 12:16am

At about 4:30 p.m. on a Friday evening a couple weeks back, May 15, the guy at the box office told me they were out of rush tickets and I went again to see "Blithe Spirit." I think the people at the Music Box and/or the producers are persnicketty people. Not only am I well-spoken, polite, and clearly young, but I was very well-dressed, so there cannot be a reason I was slighted personally. I think they simply do not like giving out rush tickets at this venue and/or for this show.

So I advise getting there quite early if you would like to rush it, WickedRocks.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 5/28/09 at 12:20am

...or they sold out of rush tickets when the box office opened?

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 5/28/09 at 12:23am

But you'd think with the show not selling well to say the last that they'd want to sell as many tickets as possible even if they're $25 student rush tickets. I find it odd that the producers or whomever it is who is in charge of this would turn people away when the show is struggling to make $200,000 a week.

[heo1128]

Posted: 5/28/09 at 12:45am

RE: logan0215, I'm sure that I would fully enjoy the show with Rashad, and her performance. Especially if she's as good as everyone is saying.

RE: PalJoey, I see your point. It just that the casting seems solely for ticket sales, and they would rather make more money than stay true to the roots of the play. But who can blame them for that. As you said I'm sure the producers know what they're doing, and I have no right to tell them what to do, and I'm sure the show is in good hands with Rashad.

I don't mean to cause a controversy, let's just agree to disagree!

[gustof777]

Posted: 5/28/09 at 12:45am

f***ing BRILLIANT performance tonight from Phylicia Rashsad. I was riveted. I have to confess I was one of the people who was nay saying when her casting was announced, not entirely because of her race but more because having seen her in Bernarda Alba and Cat on a hot tin roof AND Cymbeline....I wasn't sure of her ability to carry the weight of the role and really get to the rage and bitterness of the character. On a basic level in both Bernarda and Cymbeline, I just didn't buy her as "mean and powerful." I have seen the play multiple times with both Deanna Dunnagun and Estelle Parsons and loved both and I just didn't see Phylicia Rashad having near the capablities.

well, I certainly stand corrected. Ms. Rashad made me hear things in the play that I had never heard before, got laughs out of lines that I've never seen get laughs and all around scared the living s**t out of me with her performance. She is so real and alive and the way she attacks the play as Violet. She is full of fire and rage when she needs to be and then can pull it all back with a quiet evil smile and a cackle. Her monologue in the second was riveting and gave me chills all down my back. Such a nuanced performance, I was shocked for a third preview. One thing that I was worried about was that she would almost be in a different world than the rest of the family and that was certainly not the case. She has a hilarious and loving sisterly bond with the hilarious Elizabeth Ashley, with all of the family really and it's so specific. She proves to be quite the sparring mate for Amy Morton (thank god she's back btw!) And her dominance over Ivy made me notice that relationship alot more. All in all a truly truly one of a kind, transformative performance. I felt the same rush I had the first time I saw this play.

Make the trip back to Music Box. The last thing you'll be thinking about is race, I promise. Bravo Ms. Rashad!

Updated On: 5/28/09 at 12:45 AM

[adamgreer]

Posted: 5/28/09 at 1:02am

I posted my thoughts in another thread, but completely agree. This is a stunning, brilliant, performance.

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 5/28/09 at 1:15am

so i love Phylicia Rashad and would love to see her perform live... but anyways... i didn't want to start a new thread so i thought i'd just ask in here... i would like to see her return to comedy... when was the last comedic play she did... i know her last tv show was Cosby, right.. with Madeline Kahn? anyways... i want to see her do a comedic play on broadway...

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 5/28/09 at 1:31am

Remember, people: racism and appropriate casting decisions have nothing to do with each other. You don't have to prove to anyone (including yourself) that you're not racist by saying that it didn't matter to you that she's black.

BTW, her "non-traditional" casting in Cymbeline and Bernarda Alba are a different story, since Shakespeare and musical theatre are both non-realism. In realism things are supposed to be...realistic. Just sayin'.

[colorandlight2]

Posted: 5/28/09 at 2:20am

It is good to hear Ms. Rashad raking in some positive audience reviews. Maybe a professional critic will weigh in soon, since this is a pretty big cast change.

On the note of her race in comparison to her "family's": Find me a production of Fiddler on the Roof with only Jewish actors and then make arguments for "one race" casting. I wonder if Alice Ripley, J. Robert Spencer, Jennifer Damiano and Aaron Tveit are all Anglo-Saxon or Irish or whatever since it makes such a huge bearing on the performances they give each night.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 5/28/09 at 2:32am

I wonder if the producers will invite the critics back to see Rashad's performance.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 5/28/09 at 6:41am

Not that this answers the question about the critics returning (one would assume they will be), but there were three creative types at the back of the orchestra this evening taking notes on a legal pad throughout.

[logan0215]

Posted: 5/28/09 at 10:09am

There were new articles posted about Estelle Parsons with photos that included Johanna Day so I would not be surprised if they did the same for someone with star-wattage like Phylicia Rashad.

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 5/28/09 at 1:44pm

As an aside, did Carol Lawrence actually say, "It's gone. The entire ballet is gone." This is of course referring to the current WEST SIDE STORY. Sorry to interrupt the flow of this thread.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 5/28/09 at 1:53pm

As an aside, did Carol Lawrence actually say, "It's gone. The entire ballet is gone." This is of course referring to the current WEST SIDE STORY. Sorry to interrupt the flow of this thread.

Oh, boy. Here we go.

[ljay889]

Posted: 5/28/09 at 1:56pm

She said something to the effect of "The whole ballet is gone."

In reality, a minute and 30 seconds are missing from the ballet.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/28/09 at 2:03pm

Yes she did, in the opening-night interview posted on BroadwayWorld. She was trying to be polite, but it was obvious she was appalled.

In addition to the Nightmare at the end, there are also portions missing from the beginning and, of course, the section in the middle where the little boy wanders around is completely different.

She was probably referring to those sections and the emotional effect of the ballet overall, as Robbins envisioned it, which is missing from this revival entirely.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 5/28/09 at 2:05pm

Getting back to the subject at hand, I'm sure the press will be coming back to review Rashad's performance.

[margot serena pilar]

Posted: 5/28/09 at 2:19pm

PHALICIA RASHAD??????

BUT SHE'S BLACK!

[Ole Chum]

Posted: 5/28/09 at 6:27pm

i dont know how you can compare nonJews playing in Fiddler to a black woman playing Violet Weston. Not saying that Rashad isnt brilliant, or that it doesnt work, but its not readily apparent who is Jewish and who is not to the theatergoer, so an all Catholic cast of Fiddler would be irrelevant.

I think a Japanese Tevye or obviously Native American Golde might raise some eyebrows...

[Jazzysuite82]

Posted: 5/28/09 at 6:35pm

I find it interesting that my English AND Irish friends find the fact that this is even a conversation laughable. LOL God Bless America

[adamgreer]

Posted: 5/28/09 at 6:50pm

What's amazing, is that the people who have a problem with this have not seen the performance in question.

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 5/28/09 at 11:20pm

Anyone know how long Amy Morton will be in? I saw this in January with Estelle Parsons (who I loved) and Johanna Day, but have heard Ms. Morton is incredible and am very curious to see what Ms. Rashad does in the role.

[colorandlight2]

Posted: 5/28/09 at 11:36pm

The comparison to nonJews is simply to show how ludicrous discounting Ms. Rashad's performance based on her race is. It was to show how race among fair skinned people is generally ignored but among people deemed dark enough to be "black" it is an issue. I was using it to illustrate a larger point.

[frankiemoo]

Posted: 5/30/09 at 11:01am

saw the show again the other night. i thought i would be distracted by the elephant in the room, but wasn't in the slightest. i think the casting choice is a great leap forward for american theater because they are trusting the audience to suspend their disbelief past racial "barriers" - how is this any different than suspending disbelief past other things? rashad is absolutely perfect for the role. her performance is frightening, hilarious, saddening, and beautiful.
the show was excellent.
having amy morton back (especially alongside rashad) is simply a treat. there scenes together are so thrilling. i also saw johanna day and liked her a lot, but morton is just incomparable imo because she is so completely BARBARA.
i thought elisabeth ashely was way over the top, but entertaining nonetheless.
marianne mayberry was as funny as hell (as she was before), and remains fresh despite the fact she's been in the show since the beginning (can't say the same for the other OBC members, although they are all still great despite the staleness).
i loved anne berkowitz as jean. i thought she brought a realness to the role (that was missing from madeline martin's performance) that really benefitted the show. i heard jean's story for the first time.

[yeah]

Posted: 5/30/09 at 2:36pm

I wonder if anyone will be brave enough to criticize the performance; or will that make them a "racist"?