Poll: Female Broadway Legends — Page 2

Sad but true, as far as the state of theater. And you're right about standards; no one should have to apologize for having high ones. I think another reason for the pervasive superlatives is simply that advertising and p.r. hyperbole has so saturated the public mind that people unconsciously pick up and parrot it in their everyday speech.

My god, I just realized we've forgotten the greatest of all.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Miss Helen Lawson!

Reminds me of a story. An American was in London and went to the theatre with a friend who was British. Performing in the play was one of England's most esteemed actors, John Gielgud. At the conclusion of the show, the audience applauded heartily, however they remained seated. As they were leaving the theatre the American turned to his friend and asked why the audience didn't give Gielgud a standing ovation. "He was brilliant" argued the American. "Yes", replied the Brit, "but he's supposed to be"

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Ethel Merman
Mary Martin
Carol Channing
Gwen Verdon
Chita Rivera
and many more

I think when you say Broadway Legends , you should stick with people who have "stuck" with theatre. Those people who have labored the 8x a week to create something. Not because films or lps are less, but because they are Legends due to their hard work on Broadway.

Some of the women mentioned by muscle are legends, like Bette Midler and Bette Davis and Barbara Streisand but I don't consider them Broadway Legends. That's a pretty specific category.

Besides the obvious, why when someone mentions Bette Midler for the supposed dream cast of First Wives Club most of us think "that would be great but unlikely." It's because Bette finds her work away from the theatre. Now a real theatre legend, Chita Rivera, always returns to the theatre. Why? Because that's what she is. She is a performer for the theatre. You can argue that the offers for other venues never really poured in, and that would not be incorrect, but beside that fact(or because of it) she never stopped performing live.

Updated On: 8/20/05 at 01:05 PM

It all true,but broadway legends like Chita, Merman or Gwen didn't made it anywhere else except broadway.They were too original for hollywood and weren't popular enough to sell millions of records or give 200 concerts a year like Liza or Streisand.Broadway was the only field where they could shine.
Others like Bette,Babs or Liza had much more choices-movies,t.v specials,records...They can still return to broadway any time (well Liza probably will have big insurance problems)and choose projects they like,when broadway legend like Chita couldn't find financial support for her new show for a long time.Imagin if Streisand will suddenly decide that she wants her own one woman show on Broadway? Will be any tickets left in ten minutes time? the same with Liza,or Bette.It's not about how many shows they did,it's about the legendary performances they gave (sometimes even in flop shows),performances which people remember for years and maybe even all their lives.I think they are legends,legends of stage and screen,just because almost all of us can name their broadway shows,which otherway would be forgotten many years ago....

Julie, Barbara

And I have to add a here here for Bernadette! She is amazing.

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Angela Lansbury ... she was great in Sweeny Todd

UTA FU*KING HAGEN

Isn't it Liza, JuDy, Barbra, and Bette?

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These are names we shant forget.

Judy comes before Liza.

Yes, I know..MEF. But I wanted to keep any sort of clarity the original post had. (Judy in the same place that "Julie" was)

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LOL, Aigoo...That one went right over my head!

Wait, I'm missing something here...Judy Garland never performed in a Broadway show. Or is that the point of a joke I'm too dense to quite get?