She should play Desiree on Broadway
She should play Desiree on Broadway
She should play Desiree on Broadway#1
Posted: 11/29/10 at 5:13am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO2hLTsXuwQ
Someone who can ACT and sing...
She should play Desiree on Broadway#2
Posted: 11/29/10 at 5:28am
Kudos to me for uploading it?
But, if you listen to the entire radio broadcast - you might be disappointed. I was. (But I uploaded her Clowns because it was a highlight).
If this isn't "acting while singing", I don't know what is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNwnrA8EshM
She should play Desiree on Broadway#2
Posted: 11/29/10 at 6:38amI love her. I think she would be amazing in this role with the right director!
She should play Desiree on Broadway#3
Posted: 11/29/10 at 7:57amI have a recording of her singing this, and it's one of my favorite things ever. I would LOVE to see her as Desiree.
She should play Desiree on Broadway#4
Posted: 11/29/10 at 8:10am
Thought I love the way she sings Send In The Clowns, I can't see her as Desiree. I'd have trouble seeing her as the flame that draws men to her, and I'd have trouble seeing the Count and Fredrik fighting over her.
Disclaimer: whenever I say that I think someone is wrong for a role, I add that I'd love to be proved wrong.
She should play Desiree on Broadway#5
Posted: 11/29/10 at 8:57amI can't exactly picture the Count and Frederick fighting over Bernadette either (and I've seen it with my own eyes). But people seem to think that she pulls it off. Christine pulled off the elegant beauty in Act 1 of Grey Gardens, and I think she could tailor that to become a character who is desired.
She should play Desiree on Broadway#6
Posted: 11/29/10 at 9:24amBernadette Peters has a lot of sex appeal. I would fight over her. She's cute and petite.
She should play Desiree on Broadway#7
Posted: 11/29/10 at 10:29am
My straight male friend (yes I have a few) said Bernadette Peters is "smoking hot" and he'd do her in heartbeat. He's 36.
Ebersole was very sexy in Blithe Spirit. Very desirable indeed.
She should play Desiree on Broadway#8
Posted: 11/29/10 at 11:35am
I actually am not a fan of Ebersole in musicals (I think she looks bored most of the time), but I actually really liked her Desirée.
However, she would need a director MUCH stronger than Nunn to keep a tight rein on her, b/c she'd start going for the humor ASAP. That was my biggest complaint with her in Blithe Spirit. She was funny...but she seemed to be in an entirely different play than anyone else.
She should play Desiree on Broadway#9
Posted: 11/29/10 at 11:40amThey would also need a grade A music director/arranger who can make her voice work for the show. In the concert with the Boston Pops (which I think this recording is from), she had intense difficulty finding the balance between her chest and head voice. There was almost no room for her beautiful mix. I do think, however, she would be a very elegant and humorous Desiree.
She should play Desiree on Broadway#10
Posted: 11/29/10 at 3:10pm
"Bernadette Peters has a lot of sex appeal. I would fight over her. She's cute and petite"
You know, you're right, she is cute, petite and sexy. There is no doubt about it, I just think she is all wrong to play Desiree in ALNM. Christine Ebersole or Catherine Zeta Jones are better suits for this role. BUT, she is a sexy number here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuBs-tHKyZc
She should play Desiree on Broadway#11
Posted: 11/29/10 at 3:58pmWhat do you think Christine Ebersole would bring to the role?
She should play Desiree on Broadway#12
Posted: 11/29/10 at 4:05pm
Q, first off, thanks for uploading that clip.
I just saw the show last week, and I thought it was fabulous, until either Elaine Stritch or Bernadette Peters walked in. I feel like both are playing themselves and the line delivery of Bernadette was terrible, almost as if she were reading the lines. She is all wrong for that part and I'm in state of shock of how amateur-ish it made it seem to me. Also she brought comedy in parts of the play that were supposed to be a bit serious and it didn't work out for me because you can't really connect to what she is feeling. Then she gets serious in Send in the Clowns and it just didn't work for me. Just my opinion. With that said, she was fantastic in that clip doing "All That Jazz".
She should play Desiree on Broadway#13
Posted: 11/29/10 at 4:08pmI'm seeing the show in less than one week, so I can't really say anything at the moment. Do you remember what specific scenes/lines she didn't take 'seriously' though? (I.e. so I can pay attention)
She should play Desiree on Broadway#14
Posted: 11/29/10 at 5:03pm
I couldn't stand Bernadette in Night Music. I understand that Desiree is an actress, but it seemed to me like Peters took every line and screamed it at the top of her lungs while looking up and raising her arms to the ceiling. It annoyed me no end.
Anyway, here's my favorite version of Clowns.
Getting it right.
She should play Desiree on Broadway#15
Posted: 11/29/10 at 5:09pmI agree, Glinda. I hated Bernadette in the role. Everything felt like "I AM ACTING" to me. It felt so unnatural, which was funny to me since she was just playing Bernadette.
She should play Desiree on Broadway#16
Posted: 11/29/10 at 5:46pmI don't know about Bernadette Peters, but I know that my absolute favourite version of Send in the Clowns is Angela Lansbury's...
She should play Desiree on Broadway#17
Posted: 11/30/10 at 2:40am
I agree with bj and Glinda a 100%.
The leads were a disaster, and it's too bad, because the show, its music and the supporting characters and ensemble are 1st rate.
Q: Do you own the CD version with Catherine Zeta Jones? If you do, listen to the way she delivers her lines.
She should play Desiree on Broadway#18
Posted: 11/30/10 at 3:28amIn this production, I've seen Catherine four times, Jayne Paterson once, and Bernadette once. The first 3 times I saw Catherine, she was outstanding. Absolutely breathtaking. The last time I saw her (the performance after the Tonys) she was SO sick and it showed. But for me, when I was watching her the first few times, I was watching Desiree Armfeldt. When I saw Bernadette, I was always aware it was Bernadette, the actress rather than the character. Not a fan. Same goes for Stritch.
She should play Desiree on Broadway#19
Posted: 11/30/10 at 3:48am
I like Bernadette's performance a lot. But it's a very mannered performance. Her vocal inflections and line readings are just extremely strange at times. I don't like how she dragggggssssss certaaaaiiiinnn linnnnneeees.
I cannot wait to see her in Follies, but she will have to stop ALL of these self-indulgences and truly become Sally Durant Plummer. There is no way she could play Sally the same way she is currently playing Desiree. It just won't work.
Updated On: 11/30/10 at 03:48 AM
She should play Desiree on Broadway#20
Posted: 11/30/10 at 3:50am
"Q: Do you own the CD version with Catherine Zeta Jones? If you do, listen to the way she delivers her lines."
Of course 
, I went to the signing and saw her perform the next night. I thought that CZJ kind of borders on being a bit hammy but yes I guess her character is an 'actress'. I enjoyed it a lot though. I was hoping that Bernadette's performance would be a bit more 'genuine' (Based on the clips I certainly think her Clowns is), but I suppose by the reports perhaps not. I'm very excited to see it again though.
She should play Desiree on Broadway#21
Posted: 11/30/10 at 3:52amCZJ didn't really get hammy until the last couple months of the run. Bernadette is extremely hammy, and has been since day one. But her Clowns is an absolutely beautiful and wonderful moment. There is a lot to enjoy in her performance.
She should play Desiree on Broadway#22
Posted: 11/30/10 at 4:26am
Catherine was hammy, and that's why it worked with her. The way she delivers lines like "Don't worry my dahhhhling, I wasn't raised by your grandmother for nothing" or "Are you insane? You let them do it? Oh, you lunatic!" just works because she uses all her glamour and sassyness to deliver them. Bernardette seems like she is reading a book. I didn't find her to be hammy, but I feel like she doesn't realize when she is not good for a part. Several friends of mines, have told me "I'm a fan of BP, but she shouldn't have played Desiree in ALNM or Rose in Gypsy".
She should play Desiree on Broadway#23
Posted: 11/30/10 at 8:31am
I am not a huge Peters fan (HATED her performance in Gypsy), but I thought she was wonderful in ALNM. I did see CZJ, and I thought Peters surpassed her in every way. Seeing the show with Peters and Stritch was like seeing an entirely different show, in a very positive way.
That said, I did enjoy it with CZJ/Lansbury and enjoyed it. All four ladies provide their own interpretation of the roles, which one would expect of stars. I just preferred the current leads.
Disclaimer: I am a HUGE fan of Stritch.
She should play Desiree on Broadway#24
Posted: 11/30/10 at 10:12amCan we blind color cast this show? I say we get Audra McDonald as Desiree
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