Riedel: Chenoweth Picks PROMISES, PROMISES Over MINSKY'S

Article also mentions the show is likely to go into the St.James if FINIAN'S ticket sales don't pick up.

T is a truth universally acknowledged that a Broadway producer in possession of a good show must be in want of Kristin Chenoweth.

The actress, who just won an Emmy for "Pushing Daisies," was being courted by some heavy hitters -- Bob Boyett and Kevin McCollum wanted her for "Minsky's," while Craig Zadan and Neil Meron were after her for "Promises, Promises."

The deal hasn't been signed yet, but it appears Zadan and Meron got her.

Expect to see her back on Broadway this spring, knocking those great Burt Bacharach-Hal David songs -- "I'll Never Fall in Love Again," "Knowing When To Leave" and (my favorite) "Whoever You Are" -- out of the park.

She'll be playing suicidal secretary Fran Kubelik opposite Sean Hayes' ambitious junior executive, Chuck Baxter.

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Turkey Lurkey?

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Yeah, not what I would expect her to attach herself to. But I'll willingly go. She'll sing those songs really well and be a hoot onstage. And I can't wait to see a Broadway production of this show! It's about time.

~Steven

If they are seeking a 1,700 seat musical house like the St. James, they won't be fitting into a 1,000 seat playhouse like the Jacobs. I'd expect any theatre with fewer than 1,400 seats would be out.

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Updated On: 10/14/09 at 05:19 AM

Not at all what who I expected to play this role. Kristin is 40 years old she's way too old to play the role of a young secretary who's easily manipulated in an affair with her older, more mature married boss.

MacLaine was 26 when she played the role in THE APARTMENT. Jill O'Hara was 21 when she played it in PROMISES, PROMISES.

What role would they have wanted her for in Minsky's? In LA the Christopher Fitzgerald character was the lead. The female lead was more or less an ingenue. Presumably that has changed.

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I am, and have always been, a Cheno fan. But this just does not seem like the right role for her. And the St James feels like a huge theater for this show. Sure, Hayes and Cheno are both Emmy-winners but they're not exactly household names. I wonder how the show will do financially. Especially in the St James, I feel like it'll be an uphill climb.

Nonetheless, I'm still happy to see her back on stage and to see Hayes on stage again since I really thought he was a riot in DAMN YANKEES at City Center.

Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth seem an unlikely romantic duo. Yes, they are both kind of old for their roles.

Ljay, thanks for posting the link, apparently I forgot :-/
I said this in another thread, I'm a big fan of Chenoweth's, and while at first I was excited about her returning to the stage, I just don't think she's particularly right for the part. Still, I'm looking forward to this revival and it'll definitely be a new kind of role for Chenoweth.
I haven't seen MINSKY'S but the Riedel article says Bob Martin was rewriting the show to include Chenoweth, so I imagine the role she would have played is either new or was re-written around her talents (didn't he expand Janet in DROWSY to fit Sutton Foster's talents as well? ). It also sounds like the people from MINSKY'S feel rather betrayed by Chenoweth, since she even did a reading of the show and apparently seemed committed to stay with the show. Oh well.

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Marquise, she's 41 and just turned 41 in July.

Anyway, it'll be interesting to see Kristin and Sean in the roles.

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I never particularly cared for the show -- saw the original and just didn't like it. Ditto the Encores! version. The thought of Chenowith in a new show is much more appealing -- I mean, there's just so many older shows that are crying out for revival. I love the old musicals but a lot of them aren't that viable when it comes to doing a full-scaled revival. (But I do hope that Brigadoon gets a production at some point, also Lady in the Dark.)

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I saw Minsky's in L.A. I would guess they would rework the romantic female lead a bit for Chenoweth, if anything. She is the daughter of the George Wendt character in the show. But she doesn't enter into it until very late in the story. I'm sure that would be reworked as well.

As for these age-wonky revival casts. We now have 40-year-old ingenues and 30-year-old midlifers suffering through their crises in Night Music.

"Is anybody there? Does anybody care? Does anybody see what I see?"

I hope they at least keep the Michael Bennett staging for Turkey Lurkey. That would be worth the price of admission if it's done well. Although I can already see the chiropractor bills and the white squares of paper tumbling out of my Playbill ...

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Between the two, I'd say Promises is the best choice for her.

Minsky's needs a lot of work, and it's more of an ensemble piece, as it exists now. Too many main characters with not enough focused moments for each of them to shine (or to be fully developed).

Fran is a strong leading character, and Chenoweth could really shine in it. Great songs for her, too. I agree she's probably too old for this, but I think that's mostly fixable by casting an age-appropriate boss. If he is mid-to-late 60s, her "late-thirtyish" Fran would still be believable as his mistress.

Granted, this would be more believable with younger leads. It would bring out both the "cynically opportunistic" and "naively hopeful" qualities of the characters, as Billy Wilder intended. I think Sean and Kristin together will do very well, though.

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