Reviews of Laura Osnes as Nellie

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 3/9/09 at 3:23pm

I know she doesn't start until tomorrow night, but I'm really curious about what people will think of her portrayal of Nellie.
Updated On: 3/9/09 at 03:23 PM

[hmpeterson]

Posted: 3/9/09 at 3:26pm

She's actually starting tomorrow night. But I am curious to hear the reviews as well.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 3/9/09 at 3:29pm

I will see her performance sometime after April 14th.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 3/9/09 at 3:40pm

"She's actually starting tomorrow night."

Yeah I know. I got confused and thought today was Tuesday. My bad.

[SamIAm2]

Posted: 3/10/09 at 11:10pm

Has anyone see Laura's first performance tonight? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks.

[TonyVincent]

Posted: 3/10/09 at 11:26pm

I saw Laura's first performance tonight (I knew Kelli was leaving, didn't know I'd get her first replacement!).

In all, I was... underwhelmed. The strongest feeling to me is that she's doing her best Kelli O'Hara impersonation. She's not playing Nellie, she's playing Kelli playing Nellie. Now, that's certainly a safe way to play it, and she'll likely grow into the roll over the next few weeks, but it left me feeling a bit disappointed.

The main area where the impersonation fails is the singing. Laura's voice is smooth and pretty and all, but it just doesn't have the pop and energy of Kelli's. I attribute some of it to the sound design (I spent the first act in the loge, I snuck down to the orchestra for act two, and it was a little better), but I almost think they have to cheat and pump up her mic if they want to make it sound better (again, maybe this was a first-night thing).

Her acting also seemed a bit unsure, but promising. On the whole, though, I left without the same magical feeling I had when seeing it the first time on Tony Day 2008.

As for the other replacements, I thought David Pittsinger underacted and oversang at times, even more so than Paulo Szot (how anyone playing that role beat Daniel Evans is a travesty, IMO). Andrew Samonsky was a serviceable Cable--I thought his second act was stronger than his first.

Hope that helps.
Updated On: 3/10/09 at 11:26 PM

[SamIAm2]

Posted: 3/10/09 at 11:46pm

Thanks, TonyVincent. I hope that as she gets comfortable in the role she will make it her own. Laura's got a lot of talent and is a super sweet kid. I hope she does well.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 3/11/09 at 12:03am

Thanks for the review. I do hope Laura grows into the role and makes it her own. Did she have a blonde wig?

[TonyVincent]

Posted: 3/11/09 at 12:06am

Yes, they make her up to look exactly like Kelli did. She looked quite cute in it, I must say! Her hat wouldn't stay on during Honey Bun, though. It fell off three times! Updated On: 3/11/09 at 12:06 AM

[yankees1253]

Posted: 3/11/09 at 1:07am

thanks for the review vincient,i hope she grews into the role and hope she does not have to be kellie playing nellie but her interpretation of nellie. i wish her all the best.

[broadwayfan7]

Posted: 3/11/09 at 10:42am

Thanks for sharing your review! I'm sure it's just a matter of time before Laura makes the role her own.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 3/11/09 at 10:47am

maybe it's just me, but it seems that if they're making her up to look exactly like Kelli did, they're not starting her off on the right foot to really make the role her own.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 3/11/09 at 11:19am

"Yes, they make her up to look exactly like Kelli did. She looked quite cute in it, I must say! Her hat wouldn't stay on during Honey Bun, though. It fell off three times!"

And that's what we love so much about live theatre. I'd imagine it gave the number a more "realistic" feel as a number like that IRL would, probably, be less than perfect.

"maybe it's just me, but it seems that if they're making her up to look exactly like Kelli did, they're not starting her off on the right foot to really make the role her own."

Having only seen a photograph of the blonde wig I can't say for certainy that she's EXACTLY like Kelli. But Nellie having that hairstyle is much more iconic than Sandy being blonde in Grease. I don't think it's so much a question of replicating Kelli but rather remaining true to the character.

[TheaterBoy7777]

Posted: 3/11/09 at 2:04pm

I attended last night performance as well...Not having seen the production before or anything LCT of course I was blown away by it's beauty. Since I haven't seen Keli's take on the role I thought Laura did quite well. Like TonyV said Laura's voice is beautiful its so clear and smooth. The second she started to sing "Cockeyed Optimist" I was in love with her. But she always left me wanting more, in "Honey Bun" there was not enough power behind her voice and even at the end of "Wash that man.." you couldn't hear her ending note because she was overpowered by the ensemble. Besides power though I loved her voice. Now acting wise I think she needs a few performances under her belt to get comfortable. She was very charming and just adorable the whole show. Loved every minute of her, if she was doing an impression of Keli I can only imagine how phenomenal she must have been. The only times I didn't buy it was when she was upset and crying which Nelie is a couple times in the show...when those moments came I just didn't feel for her. I didn't believe her. But then in a couple of shows I'm sure she will be fine. I was very surprised I enjoyed her performance as much as I did and I am interested to see where her career goes from here.

[SamIAm2]

Posted: 3/11/09 at 3:37pm

The Minneapolis-St. Paul StarTribune has an interview with Laura on their website today (http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/41094487.html?page=2&c=y). Here's what she said about filling in for Kelli:

"My job isn't to copy, but I'm using Kelli as a frame," Osnes said. "I don't want to change too much, because I'm stepping into a character she created. Plus, I have to respect what the cast is used to."

Updated On: 3/11/09 at 03:37 PM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 3/11/09 at 3:45pm

Well there's a mistake.

[GYPSY1527]

Posted: 3/11/09 at 3:49pm

"My job isn't to copy, but I'm using Kelli as a frame," Osnes said. "I don't want to change too much, because I'm stepping into a character she created. Plus, I have to respect what the cast is used to."

Speechless. There are no words for this.

[CSonBroadway]

Posted: 3/11/09 at 3:54pm

Uh..not too good of a method for acting.

[brightredday]

Posted: 3/11/09 at 4:43pm

Having only seen a photograph of the blonde wig I can't say for certainy that she's EXACTLY like Kelli. But Nellie having that hairstyle is much more iconic than Sandy being blonde in Grease. I don't think it's so much a question of replicating Kelli but rather remaining true to the character.

You mean this iconic blonde hairstyle?

[D2]

Posted: 3/11/09 at 4:46pm

^^^BINGO^^^

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 3/11/09 at 5:02pm

I am sure that she will segue into more of her own. Let's be honest, Laura has not been put in the position of truly having to replace someone in a show before. The only comparable experience thats he has had is understudying. Replacing is a daunting task where you are thrown into the mix with little time to rehearse with co-stars and, truth be told, and there are many first hand accounts, when you are put into the show, you are often told to follow the examples of your predecessor.. Give her time. It's a learning process.

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/11/09 at 5:20pm

Maybe she has been directed to play it similar to Kelli.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/11/09 at 6:30pm

Ljay....I was thinking the same exact thing. We never know HOW the actor is directed to perform.

[Glitter and be Gay]

Posted: 3/11/09 at 7:53pm

"Maybe she has been directed to play it similar to Kelli."

Could be. I remember reading an interview with an actress years ago, can't remember her name, who took over for Celeste Holme as Ado Annie in the original production of Oklahoma! She was directed to watch Celeste's performance and then copy it exactly, which of course she found very frustrating. She also said that was the common practice for non-star replacements at that time.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 3/11/09 at 9:27pm

Bartlett Sher has allowed replacements to make roles their own in the past, so I doubt that's it.