Pop stars turned broadway singers.

There's pribably a million threads about this but I just have to know is Scary Spice still in Rent? And did anyone see her? What was your opinion? I've never seen the show, but I've heard mized reviews on her performance. And same with Drew Lachey...when did he join the cast? And how has he been doing? What's with pop stars starring on broadway? Toni Braxton as Aida...she's another one I've heard mixed feelings about.

First: This thread is gonna get trashed.

Yes, Melanie B and Drew ::shivers:: are still in the cast. I haven't seen them but Melanie B - from the radio - sounds horrible - she wasn;t howling Out Tonight!

Drew was pretty bad on Bway on Bway special.

I saw Deborah Cox as Aida and was PLEASANTLY suprised. She's not as strong as, say, Simone but she was very good nonetheless!

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Why is this going to get trashed?

I wouldn't be surprised if Jessica Simpson is on broadway soon. She has a really powerful voice...I'm not saying I'd go see her though. Ever since her MTV show...I get real annoyed with her stupid comments, whether they are for real or scripted.

Daphne Rubin-Vega and Orfeh both had successful,(Orfeh more so), recording careers in the 90's before ever getting on the boards. Deborah Cox and Taylor Dayne started their recording careers around the same time, if not earlier. This is by no means a recent phenomenon, the talent pool has simply waned dramatically in this day and age of disposable, flavor of the minute, American Idol/boy band/girl band trash. There was a time, believe it or not, that you actually had to have a modicum of discernable talent to get a recording contract. Back when I was an intern at Arista, it was very different.

Jon Secada in Cabaret...ew! Scarred me for life...

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yeah I think that Brandy is going to be playing Nillie in the revival. lol See how stupid it all sounds. Producers should just skim the message board to see if these people are a good idea. :)

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You know, I think Broadway is going through an identity crisis right now and that's why we're seeing so many pop/music stars. I think the powers that be know they have to start bringing in the younger crowd if they want to survive.

Broadway never quite "fit into" the entertainment world to begin with. And the older crowd that (for the most part) supports it is not going to be around forever....So they do what (they think) they gotta do. And P. Diddy ::shivers:: on Broadway is the result.

It used to bother me that people like Joey Fatone was doing Broadway. But, ::shrugs:: if a person is genuinely (sp?) good in a role, who am I to say they should'nt be there because they've worn sequined matching outfits and kissed MTV's butt in the past....

I think what we're seeing is all experimentation. Some worked out well, (Deborah Cox was very good as Aida) and some were BAD ideas from the get-go (the above mentioned P. ::shiversagain:: Diddy)

Anyway, my 2¢

::waves:: Hi, I'm new, by the way.

"Melanie B's singing in Rent was not bad, but her acting was horrendous."

Say what?

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seriously you guys really need to chill on this subject. it's not that big of a deal.

take daphne rubin vega for example. she was part of a Latin Freestyle group called Pajama Party. They had a big club hit with the song "Yo No Se". No one in a million years thought she was even capable of being, much less getting a Tony nomination back then. But she did it! and she kicked major @ss doing it. It CAN be done. and she's only ONE of many examples.

this subject is tired, give it a rest.

I've seen some of these so called popstars on Broadway and I believe people want them to be bad and immediately dismiss their performance without giving them a chance.

I hate stunt casting and have seen terrible celeb casting but most of them were in London (I just say, Dannii Minoque in Notre Dame De Paris or Caprice in Rent, both of them could not hit ONE note).

I usually prepare myself to see terrible performances and so far I have mostly been pleasantly surprised:

I thought Joey Fatone was excellent in LSOH and shoot me but I thought he was better than Hunter!
Joey McIntyre is doing a good job as Fiyero. Yes, he is no Norbert but is giving overall a solid performance... I was suprised to see how natural he comes across as an actor.
I really enjoyed Deborah Gibson in Cabaret and although she chose to play Sally in a sweet, naive way (instead of the usual annoying, naive way) it worked for me.

The only popstar I've seen on Broadway who didn't do it for me was Mel B as Mimi, although I don't think she was as horrendous as some people say she was (believe me, I have seen worse Mimis in the UK).

QM

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Oh and BARE would be the #1 show on this or any other planet.

Like I said earlier, the pop star crossover talent pool used to have more...talent.