Riedel on Diana Rigg being annoyed Ambrose misses Sundays — Page 6

I, for one, though Lauren Ambrose delivered a transcendent and definitive performance that will forever be seared in my memory as one of the best performances I have ever seen a performer give in a show. I thought she was radiant and magical.

poisonivy2 said: "I'm wondering when y'all saw Ambrose? I saw her both in early previews and when the show was frozen a few days before opening night.

During early previews I would have agreed that she wasn't that special. She had this hunched over posture when singing and also did not seem comfortable projecting to the huge auditorium. She also went up on lines during the Ascot Gavotte and at one point shrieked "help!"

By the time the show was frozen it was a different interpretation. Her timing was much improved -- funnier, wittier, really got the "comedy" part of "musical comedy." Musically she was also much better."

I saw her last Thursday and what you described is exactly what I saw (minus the line flub). Seemed horrified of the songs she was singing. During each song, she was NEVER Eliza; it was as if there was invisible sheet music floating in front of her face and she was reading it, trying to figure out the melody instead of revealing anything about the emotional journey of Eliza.

Updated On: 7/6/18 at 09:17 PM

SmokeyLady said: "Sally Durant Plummer said: "I'm not sure if I agreed with your speculation, but I do find it rather odd trying to understand the moderator's priorities. I would think moderating the board of racism, particularly when the thread revolves around a benchmark in Broadway history (first female Asian playwright to be produced) would be a more important issue. But I guess that's just me."

And it was just speculation. I don't know any of these people. And I don't claim to know anyone associated with the show. But the deletion of my speculation now makes me think there is more to it. Hmm. "

You do realize that you're trying to pull something pretty nasty with your ever-so-innocent "speculation" here. No wonder your comment got deleted. I hope these do too.

ScottyDoesn'tKnow2 said: "...LCT could have handled her going down to 7 performances a lot better as the timing seems very last minute, but after a month of so people will know ahead of time that she's missing Sunday matinees and can plan accordingly. So at least this is more of a preemptive move that gives people a few months of notice if they buy tickets later on."

I checked the website and Telecharge during the day, and I did not see anything to alert future customers that Ambrose does not perform on Sundays.

I think at some point Dear Evan Hansen posted somewhere that Ben Platt didn’t perform on Wednesday and Saturday matinees. I forget how Hamilton handled Javier Munoz’s taking over for LMM for Sunday performances as Hamilton.

IMHO, when a performer’s schedule goes to 6 or 7 days, the play’s website and Telecharge/Ticketmaster should state this, especially if such an accommodation applies to a lead, a featured performer who gains critical or popular notariety, or a famous cast member in a smaller role. (Three examples of why someone might buy a ticket in the hopes of seeing a specific person’s performance.)

Sad, so much hostility towards Lauren Ambrose. I had to reread the reviews to make sure I wasn't the only person who had massively overrated her performance.

Julie Andrews was only twenty years old at the start of the run. If anything, her experience should serve as a cautionary tale against abusing your voice. I don't question her decision to go back on Broadway in Victor/Victoria when she was in her sixties, but unfortunately this is what appears to have been her downfall.

If she was quoted accurately about the subject when appearing on Oprah in 2010, the hoarseness in her voice that had developed during the show was not due to any nodules, malignant or otherwise. The hoarseness was due to "a certain kind of muscular striation [that] happens on the vocal cords" as a result of strain from Victor/Victoria. She said further that "I didn't have cancer, I didn't have nodules, I didn't have anything."

What she apparently had were two surgeons who found enough false positive indications to permit them to do what surgeons do. Operate. And, as often happens, operate badly.

Julie Andrews discusses the loss of her voice during a discussion with Oprah Winfrey in 2010.

There were no nodules to be removed. Andrews made it clear in an earlier interview with Larry King that, as part of the settlement of the malpractice suit, she was forbidden from discussing the details surrounding the surgery.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg0ex72yHi4&t=762s

At the 45th anniversary reunion, Christopher Plummer, who had spent years deriding the film as The "Sound of Mucous," makes his peace with the film and Plummer and Andrews both admit to having crushes on each other.

I was at last Sunday's matinee, where we got two understudies (for Doolittle and Mrs. Pearce). I was not happy, but I had bought these tickets many months ago, was looking forward to see Mr. Butz do his best musical show thing, and there was no way I could exchange, as I live out of town. His understudy was passable, no more. In truth, I was disappointed in Ms. Ambrose' performance; it was surprisingly colorless and her singing was disappointing, after all the hoopla about her. Had she not been there, I would surely have demanded an exchange. And it never occurred to me to look for a sign in the lobby about understudies; those awful slips in the playbill were all we got.

And I say to Dame Diana, brava! However the message got out there, she is absolutely right. Ms. Ambrose is nearly 40 years younger than Dame Diana, and if she can't do the required 8 performances, then she shouldn't have accepted the role. Let's be happy she didn't get to do Fanny Brice...

i think a diana rigg special or roasting series is a viable television proposal. id pay as much as a my fair lady ticket to hear her list celebrities she thinks should grow a pair.

jayinchelsea said: "And I say to Dame Diana, brava! However the message got out there, she is absolutely right. Ms. Ambrose is nearly 40 years younger than Dame Diana, and if she can't do the required 8 performances, then she shouldn't have accepted the role. Let's be happy she didn't get to do Fanny Brice..."

I assume you feel this way about Bette Midler, Ben Platt, Ramin Karimloo, Sierra Bogess (or any of the actresses playing Christine in Phantom), Lea Salonga. . . I can go on and on. Is that correct?

Did anyone, I wonder, actually read what Ms. Rigg said? But all this outrage is soooo much fun here, every day in every way. She was actually very nice about Ms. Ambrose's performance, calling it definitive. Her irritation was finding it out via the press. That is not Ms. Ambrose's fault. And then she goes on to do her "when I was younger it was a different world" thing which is not a specific rant against Ms. Ambrose at all, but a general one against the work ethic of performers today.

I saw Ms. Ambrose a couple of weeks ago and was disappointed in her performance, which I found flat and I also thought her voice was extremely weak. It may be that she really does need vocal rest because she was barely audible except in a couple of key moments. I went for Mr. Hadden-Paton (who I thought was fantastic) but I expected a better performance from her based on the reviews here and the Tony nomination. I found myself wishing the understudy had been on because I wanted to hear this score beautifully sung. Perhaps she would really benefit from the vocal rest.

BrodyFosse123 said: "I assume you feel this way about Bette Midler, Ben Platt, Ramin Karimloo, Sierra Bogess (or any of the actresses playing Christine in Phantom), Lea Salonga. . . I can go on and on. Is that correct?

Bad comparison. All the actors you mentioned were announced to not be doing 8 performances a week BEFORE tickets even went on sale for performances during their run. They didn’t suddenlychoose to alter their performance schedules after starting performances."

Pretty sure Ben Platt changed his schedule after his Tony win, well into the run and at that point it was already impossible to get tickets.