Rosie O'Donnell is not doing "Annie" after all.- Page 2

[random person 112]

Posted: 4/22/12 at 7:28pm

i think Julia- Lois Dreyfus, Molly Shannon, or even Tina Fey would all make great Hannigans.

[ucjrdude902]

Posted: 4/22/12 at 7:40pm

I can confirm one of those were approached and turned it down.

Updated On: 4/22/12 at 07:40 PM

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 4/22/12 at 8:26pm

I maintain that it should be Andrea Martin, although Jan Maxwell is a good choice I hadn't thought of.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 4/22/12 at 8:29pm

Speaking of Jan Maxwell, they should get Danny Burstein for Daddy Warbucks.

[ucjrdude902]

Posted: 4/22/12 at 8:32pm

From my understanding I think they are going for a "name" for Hannigan which I don't think is all that necessary since "Annie" IS the name.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 4/22/12 at 9:30pm

Megan Mullally's television series isn't expected to get renewed, so I'm sure she's on their list.

[Leadingplayer]

Posted: 4/22/12 at 10:09pm

who is that in your photo Jordan?

Updated On: 4/22/12 at 10:09 PM

[Leadingplayer]

Posted: 4/22/12 at 10:12pm

Ugh!!! Tell us which one? Molly?

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 4/22/12 at 10:38pm

"i think Julia- Lois Dreyfus, Molly Shannon, or even Tina Fey would all make great Hannigans."

In terms of former SNL ladies, I would want to see Anna Gasteyer before Molly Shannon or Tina Fey (and for the record I personally can't see Tina Fey as Hannigan, but to each their own).

I also think Cheri Oteri would be hilarious, but her diminutive size would be problematic to me. I think Hannigan needs to be a good bit taller than the orphans. At 5'2 they would have to keep the girls extremely short for that to happen.

My dream, echoing Jordan, would be Carol Burnett. I know, based on another recent thread, that opinions on her performance in the movie vary quite a bit, but to this day I think she was brilliant in it. Sadly Ithink she's past the point where she could still do it (or want to do it), but that's why it's just a dream.

[BwayLeadman]

Posted: 4/22/12 at 11:01pm

Colleen Fitzpatrick or Mary Testa

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/23/12 at 2:53pm

Yeah when I read the SNL dames I thought Gasteyer.

[booth0882]

Posted: 4/23/12 at 2:57pm

I still say Ellen Harvey. How to succeed will be closed by then, and she would be PERFECT for Miss Hannigan. And as a side not she actually did Annie at the regional level as Miss Hannigan in Fort Worth.

[booth0882]

Posted: 4/23/12 at 2:59pm

Out of curiosity I just did a google search and she has a recording of her doing "Little Girls" on her website. http://www.ellenharvey.net/media.htm

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/23/12 at 3:13pm

From my understanding I think they are going for a "name" for Hannigan which I don't think is all that necessary since "Annie" IS the name.

It wasn't for the revival. Or the recent tour.

If she could work around GCB, Miriam Shor would be FAB.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 4/23/12 at 10:11pm

Oh, Mister Matt, I hadn't thought of her before but I do like that Miriam Shor suggestion. I've been enjoying her quite a bit on GCB and just recently rewatched the film of Hedwig and forgot how wonderful she was in that.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 4/24/12 at 12:06am

I know that I am late saying this, but I do not think that O'Donell would've been right for the part. I hope they can find someone who was as good as Carol Burnett and Kathy Bates.

Updated On: 4/24/12 at 12:06 AM

[madbrian]

Posted: 4/24/12 at 8:20am

I like the idea of Lynch, Gasteyer, or O'Hara. I'd add Harriet Harris to that list.

[Brian07663NJ]

Posted: 4/24/12 at 8:37am

Too bad Divine isn't with us anymore. Update the role and make Miss Hannigan a fabulously catty bitter drag queen! (Again...Rosie - not you)

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 4/24/12 at 9:04am

Many of the women being suggested in this thread would be great, but almost all of them are unavailable. Ana Gasteyer is a series regular on SUBURGATORY on ABC, Tina Fey is a series regular on 30 ROCK, Jane Lynch is a series regular on GLEE, Julia Louis-Dreyfus is a series regular on VEEP, Molly Shannon lives in Los Angeles and just shot a pilot for CBS there, and Harriet Harris is attached as the Step-Mother in Doug Carter Beane's CINDERELLA, which is rumored to be going out of town in the fall. Even Joan Cusack, who I suggested, probably has a conflict in SHAMELESS on Showtime. Catherine O'Hara has been offered numerous theater projects over the course of her career and has never show an interest in pursuing any of them, so I doubt she'd want to do this.

If they are planning on playing The Palace and turned down Rosie, I think they probably have a name up their sleeves, especially considering they haven't had any auditions for the role of Hannigan in hopes of casting it via offer. I'm not the biggest Bernadette Peters fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I actually think she'd be pretty terrific in the role, especially given her long history with James Lapine. Megan Mullally, who I mentioned before, is on a series that is about to get cancelled, so I can't imagine she's not on their list. She'd probably be pretty fantastic, and may bring an edge to the part that's very different from what we've seen before.

Of the women available to them who aren't viable celebrities, they couldn't do better than Katie Finneran or Beth Leavel. I've heard that James Lapine has been very insistent on not wanting the character to be played like a cartoon (which may explain his aversion to Rosie,) so I think that rules out him ever considering broader performers like Mary Testa and Jackie Hoffman.

Updated On: 4/24/12 at 09:04 AM

[goldenboy]

Posted: 4/24/12 at 9:52am

Not Molly Shannon please
She wasn't anywhere near as good as Katie Fineran (sp?) in Promises Promises and she was god awful as Eulalie McKechnie Schinn
in Music Man with Matthew Broderick
Keep Molly out of musicals!

[random person 112]

Posted: 4/24/12 at 4:03pm

Somethingwicked, not to sound stupid but won't thirty rock be done filming by the fall since they are just doing the final season. That and GCB may have an extended hiatus for Chenoweth to do on the twentieth century.

Updated On: 4/24/12 at 04:03 PM

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 4/24/12 at 4:18pm

30 ROCK is coming back next season, so no, they won't be done by the fall.

Updated On: 4/25/12 at 04:18 PM

[fengshuihellnyc]

Posted: 4/25/12 at 11:16am

To my understanding... Andrea McArdle will be playing Hannigan. She has primed herself by doing a regional production I believe in California to very good reviews.
I suppose this makes sense as she is coming full circle from being annie and now hannigan.

[Matt2]

Posted: 4/25/12 at 8:54pm

Is Hannigan a role many "name" actresses are clamoring to play? It just seems that through the years Annie has unfortunately been watered down into a kiddie show-- and the original Broadway show was so much more than that, especially with its original cast. Loudon was able to give a star turn in the part, and it seems that each successive actress has had trouble bringing that particular brand of magic to the part that Loudon did. The problems with the last revival along with the fact that the show constantly seems to be playing across the country- either on tour or in regional/community/high school theaters, just make the show seem unappealing for an actress ready to get critical and public acclaim on the stage. I guess I'm wondering if any of these ladies mentioned would find playing the role a boon to their respective careers.

Updated On: 4/25/12 at 08:54 PM

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 4/25/12 at 8:59pm

fengshui, it'll be a cold day in hell before Andrea McArdle plays Hannigan on Broadway (or any role on Broadway, for that matter.)

Updated On: 4/25/12 at 08:59 PM