Roundabout to bring in Stauntons GYPSY?- Page 2

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 4/26/16 at 12:03pm

ray-andallthatjazz86 said: "bwayboy22 said: "My impossible dream fantasy would be for Streisand to bring Gypsy to the stage and then have a Midler v Streisand Tony race, although in a million years that'd never happen, but could you imagine?"

I like to imagine a world in which successful women are not constantly pitched against each other like gladiators but that will never happen in a million years either."

 

THANK YOU RAY!

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 4/26/16 at 12:32pm

I haven't seen the video yet, but bummed to have read a lot of posters I trust complain about Staunton. That surprises me; she was by far the best Mrs. Lovett I've seen. 

Updated On: 4/26/16 at 12:32 PM

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 4/26/16 at 12:51pm

@11:46
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjlQpE9ipRY&index=7&list=PL_2Wk1WlmEyTx4jyBIzZBEs1WWS0Y_ZSN

Updated On: 4/26/16 at 12:51 PM

[ComingUpRoses2]

Posted: 4/26/16 at 1:31pm

I say we just let this one go. The video is out there forever. Imelda was overcooked and one-note angry from beginning to end. I can't believe I'm actually saying that LuPone was far better and had much more nuance than Staunton. After all that raving, I was genuinely surprised to see her deliver such a one-note performance. That isn't to say there weren't interesting moments during her performance, but it wasn't the second coming everyone said it was.

Give it a few years and bring a new production to Broadway with a different leading lady and see what happens. Hell, I'm still interested to see what Streisand (age be damned) will bring to the role. 

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 4/26/16 at 3:00pm

Scarywarhol said: "I haven't seen the video yet, but bummed to have read a lot of posters I trust complain about Staunton. That surprises me; she was by far the best Mrs. Lovett I've seen. "

 

Her Lovett was inspired. Her Rose...not so much.

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 4/26/16 at 3:04pm

Scarywarhol said: "I haven't seen the video yet, but bummed to have read a lot of posters I trust complain about Staunton. That surprises me; she was by far the best Mrs. Lovett I've seen."

I loved her Lovett so much that I went back the next day. She was transfixing. I saw her Gypsy in person last year and found it so angry, one note, and tiresome. I was shocked it got the ovation it did at the end. When it finally aired online I was relieved I wasn't the only one. 

[Cupid Boy2]

Posted: 4/26/16 at 3:05pm

I wish we could get her production of Sweeney instead.

Updated On: 4/26/16 at 03:05 PM

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 4/26/16 at 3:13pm

I haven't seen any videos of her as Mrs. Lovett but she is magnificent in the recording. Probably my favorite recorded Lovett since Lansbury. The thing is she gets Mrs. Lovett and she gets what Sondheim was trying to do with that show and the style in which the role should be performed.

IMO, she simply does not get Rose or the style of the show at all. Staunton is a brilliant performer through and through; this, however, is a complete miss. And that's fine, not every great actor is right for every role. Let's just hope when we get another GYPSY revival on Broadway it soars to the levels of Laurents' production. The performances by LuPone, Gaines, Larkin, Yazbeck, Fraser (the whole ensemble really), and most of all, Laura Benanti, will be tough to match. That dressing room scene at the end played like an Albee play in the hands of LuPone, Benanti, and Laurents, simply stunning and unforgettable.

[Laurapattifan]

Posted: 4/26/16 at 3:20pm

I watched the video and found Lara Pulver lacking what Laura Benanti had, the change from Louise to Gypsy being so perfect 

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 4/26/16 at 3:22pm

what a damn shame that we never got the planned film of the last revival, after the production closed early in the recession bloodbath.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 4/26/16 at 4:18pm

Seriously, why can't we get a Sweeney revival with her as Lovett? I would fight tooth and nail for that. Gypsy, not so much.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 4/26/16 at 4:20pm

We're more due for a mostly-traditional Sweeney, and awareness of the property has increased since the '05 revival. 

[binau]

Posted: 4/26/16 at 6:28pm

Sorry but Staunton is NOT first in line to play Lovett in New York. I don't know if I could handle it mentally if that happened. Bernadette has been waiting in the wings to play the role for a long time. 

[SweetLips]

Posted: 4/26/16 at 7:16pm

qolbinau said: "Sorry but Staunton is NOT first in line to play Lovett in New York. I don't know if I could handle it mentally if that happened. Bernadette has been waiting in the wings to play the role for a long time. 

 Oops--pressed the wrong button.

'I don't know if I could handle it mentally if that happened.'  I love my theatre but to what extreme do you mean--run naked thru Times Square, pull out your hair, od on Pepsi, lock yourself in your closet with BP on replay?

Are you being just a teensy bit drama queen if you don't get what you want?



 

Updated On: 4/26/16 at 07:16 PM

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 4/26/16 at 7:30pm

qolbinau said: "Sorry but Staunton is NOT first in line to play Lovett in New York. I don't know if I could handle it mentally if that happened. Bernadette has been waiting in the wings to play the role for a long time."

Has she talked about SWEENEY TODD publicly? It would make sense, it's one of the few Sondheim leading ladies she hasn't played. But I wonder to what extent she is actually interested in playing the role. I also get the sense from interviews that Broadway is not too much on her mind. Don't get me wrong, I'd be first in line if she ever played the part, I just don't see her dropping everything to play it.

Staunton's Lovett on the cast recording was exquisitely drawn. She's the only person I've heard sing the role who can make it her own while staying true to the character and the musical. It'd be a treat to see her in the part. Keep her far far away from GYPSY though.

 

[binau]

Posted: 4/26/16 at 8:28pm

"Are you being just a teensy bit drama queen if you don't get what you want?"

Haha I'm obviously being intentionally dramatic for comedic purposes. I'd still be interested to see Staunton in the role, though I would be disappointed knowing that it would therefore never happen with Bernadette though (at least on Broadway).

"Has she talked about SWEENEY TODD publicly? It would make sense, it's one of the few Sondheim leading ladies she hasn't played. But I wonder to what extent she is actually interested in playing the role."

She has been asked a few times in interviews about whether she would play the role. She has said she is interested in playing the role and that she learnt "Worst Pies in London". She also was screen tested for the Sweeney film. But she never seems to talk about it unless asked, and indeed (before Follies) when asked in the past about it she answered by saying a role she really wanted to play was Sally- she has never been quite so proactive about Mrs Lovett. I guess what I'm saying is, she definitely seems interested in the role and I can't imagine her turning down an offer if one were to be made. But I doubt she is desperate to play the role like say Streisand is to play Rose. 

 

Updated On: 4/26/16 at 08:28 PM

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 4/26/16 at 9:10pm

Let the Bernadette as Lovett thing go. She wouldn't be able to sing the score 8 shows a week.

Updated On: 4/26/16 at 09:10 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/26/16 at 9:15pm

Was the Sweeney set in the literal pie shop? Cause I would love to see that happen. Not even sure where they could do it, and with the Tonys having such a rule about a show having to be in a Broadway house, it wouldn't be able to be elligible for any major awards.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/26/16 at 9:15pm

Was the Sweeney set in the literal pie shop? Cause I would love to see that happen. Not even sure where they could do it, and with the Tonys having such a rule about a show having to be in a Broadway house, it wouldn't be able to be elligible for any major awards.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 4/26/16 at 10:11pm

No, the production with Imelda played the Adelphi Theatre in the West End. The Harrington's Pie and Mash Shop production was by a different team.

[binau]

Posted: 4/26/16 at 11:31pm

TotallyEffed said: "Let the Bernadette as Lovett thing go. She wouldn't be able to sing the score 8 shows a week.

 

"

So this particular issue has been discussed a lot in this thread:

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=995481

But not to derail even this thread further (sorry all), I don't think it's as simple to dismiss her like that. Maybe there is a concern of the stamina any person has when they are close to age 70. But Bernadette in particular is a stronger singer than for example Imelda Staunton (who barely sang a note in "Worst Pies" and spoke a lot of that score), which people seemed fine with. And she does have a strong attendance record as of late, never missing a performance in Follies (In NY & DC) or A Little Night Music (acknowledging both roles require less stamina, though Follies requires more vocal prowess I think).



 

[Hamish3]

Posted: 4/27/16 at 1:18am

I hope not

[jayinchelsea]

Posted: 4/27/16 at 7:12pm

I've been watching GYPSY since the original production with Merman (who was amazing), through every New York revival, and I was still blown away by Staunton. One-note? Hardly. If you only saw the youtube finale, then you haven't seen one-tenth of what she did. I still think it's the best musical ever written, and that Staunton can stand tall against all the other Roses.