Riedel on BIRDIE, Gershon and the one they call "Corky Sinclair"

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 9:04am

"THEY may be putting on happy faces out front at "Bye Bye Birdie," but back stage in leading lady Gina Gershon's dressing room, the mask of tragedy -- tinged with anger, frustration and fear -- is firmly in place.

Gershon, who's playing Rose in the upcoming revival at the Roundabout, is acutely aware that her performance isn't working -- and she's blaming the show's director, Bobby Longbottom."

So it seems she's called her friend Matthew Warchus to help out.

It also seems that she and Stamos have nicknamed Longbottom Corky Sinclair.

All-in-all, best Riedel column in a LONG time.

http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/shrill_songs_from_birdie_dUrI8gaspysxRVgKtDOSrJ

[adamgreer]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 9:08am

Given how good Gershon was in Boeing-Boeing, perhaps some of the blame for this does rest on Longbottom's shoulders. After all, he's the one who cast a performer with limited singing and dancing abilities (though I do think she's a very good actress).

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 9:25am

Expect to see some noticeable changes in Gershon's performance from this point on. She's finally taking things into her own hands and its the smartest career move she'll be doing.

As they say in Dubai: "... better late than never".

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 9:30am

At least she creates a character and is interesting to watch. The same CANNOT be said for John Stamos who is a complete and utter bore.

And I'd like to know who the hell thinks Longbottom will be the next Michael Bennett.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 9:31am

Little birdies in Gershon's corner say Longbottom, a former Radio City Music Hall choreographer who some think is the next Michael Bennett

DO WHAT?!?! Based on the choreography from those two clips I saw, his choreography is closer to Disney channel original movies than Michael Bennett. Everything seemed so forced and "blah!"

[adamgreer]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 9:32am

And I'd like to know who the hell thinks Longbottom will be the next Michael Bennett.

Certainly not Riedel, as he calls Corky Sinclair a more apt comparison later in the column.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 9:57am

I feel like I need a shower after reading that column.

I blame each and every one of them--including Todd Haimes.

The estates of Broadway writers should think twice about allowing the Roundabout to produce their revivals.

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 10:02am

Roundabout should take a season off to retool and come up with some decent productions. With so many theaters now they are spread way too thin. Except for Waiting for Godot, the only decent shows they've had in the past few seasons were transfers.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 10:07am

I'll say it again: Roundabout needs a new Artistic Director.

[AC126748]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 10:31am

Absolutely. Roundabout should have a theatre artist at its helm, not a businessman. Give Haimes' half-a-million plus yearly salary to someone who actually understands how to program and run a theatre company.

Updated On: 10/7/09 at 10:31 AM

[Auggie27]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 10:35am

Reviving this creaky thing was a mistake. It's now comfortably a favored choice of middle schools, where it frankly belongs. Even high schoolers find it laughable; it makes GREASE seem sophisticated. Yes, many of the songs are still delighteful ("Lot of Living To Do" should stop the show), but the material plays without focus or satiric edge or even any strong point of view. Without a smoldering and sexually dangerous Birdie, what even happens? In this production, a vanilla idol comes to a small town and DISAPPEARS there. Literally. When he finally does "livin" in act two, he is swamped by the apple-cheeked chorus, blending in rather than leading. I've never seen anything quite like the series of mistakes in this show. And in the center, in two dreary roles, are two dreary performances by actors who can otherwise sometimes charm. I don't get it. It feels like there's something chemically toxic inthe air at the Miller. I don't think Ms. Gershon can suddely pop unless she acquires a new voice and at least one song that we want to listen to. In this production, Albert proposes, and then vanishes, and Gerson has an intermnable scene with his mother, the most bizarre moment in an evening full of bizarre moments (Mr. Irwin, leave the GRINCH on screen).

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 10:36am

The sad thing is that Roundabout has so many talented theater artists on their advisory boards.

It would be so fascinating to see what kind of season someone like Cynthia Nixon would come up with. Or Liam Neeson. Or even Doug Hughes.

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 10:42am

yankeefan, they don't need a NEW Artistic Director, as AC126748 alluded to what they really need is someone who actually is one or has the capacity to be one. And that is not Todd Haimes.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 10:43am

While Longbottom has to shoulder part of the blame, I always think the "Well, ____ cast _____ blank in the first place!" is always a laughable argument. Gershon could have given a great audition and just not been up for the role.

Did she sing miserably and not dance at all in Cabaret? Granted, the demands of Sally Bowles are not the same demands of Rose Alvarez, but still.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 11:00am

Sally's choreography is very simple and the character isn't supposed to sing very well.

As I said earlier, she's a terrific comedic actress (loved her in Boeing Boeing), but seems in way over her head with this role.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 11:09am

But with Sally Bowles you can get away with be a bad singer because she isn't suppose to be a good in the first place, not the same with this show.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 11:14am

Even an actress way in over her head should be able to give some kind of redeeming performance if she has a good director guiding her. Gershon is a good stage actress, we know that. I applaud her for taking matters into her own hands, if what Riedel says is true.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 11:24am

Thank God they have a long preview process.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 11:28am

Although after what Matthew Warchus did to Follies, he might make her performance worse. He doesn't have what Arthur Laurents refers to as "the musical in his bones."

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 11:56am

Corky St. Clair . Jesus Christ.

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 12:03pm

Wow...I'm just really interested to see where this goes

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 12:05pm

How hard would it have been for Michael Riedel (rhymes with beetle) to Google "Waiting for Guffman"? I know know newspapers can't afford fact checkers anymore but I assume they do have internet access?

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 12:09pm

It's the New York Post.

They haven't published a single fact since Rupert Murdoch took over.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 12:13pm

Don't tell that to Mr Roxy. That's where all his original ideas come from.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 12:32pm

No, I get that Sally can be a crappy singer, but I don't remember Gina Gershon being singled out as one of the really bad singers in the revival, like Jennifer Jason Leigh. I remember raising an eyebrow when she was cast in this, but because she's not Latina, not because I didn't think she wasn't up to the role.

I would like to see them turn it around before they open, because I unashamedly love me some Bye Bye Birdie.