Shows To Cast Oprah In
Shows To Cast Oprah In
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#1Shows To Cast Oprah In
Posted: 1/21/15 at 10:31am
Since it would be great to have Oprah on Broadway, name some shows that would be good for her.
My suggestions:
The psychiatrist in Agnes of God.
Regina in The Little Foxes might be fun for her to do.
Team up with Rosie O'Donnell and do a production of Legends
#2Shows To Cast Oprah In
Posted: 1/21/15 at 11:07am
Is there a role for her in the Color Purple? Since Oprah is producing it, I imagine she has an in with the casting director. 
https://www.broadway.com/buzz/176194/hell-yes-jennifer-hudson-will-lead-oprah-winfrey-produced-the-color-purple-revival-on-broadway/
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#2Shows To Cast Oprah In
Posted: 1/21/15 at 11:14amWhat I learned from Rosie O'Donnell is that people shouldn't be in shows they are producing. It clouds their judgment. Sometimes people need to be told "That's a really bad idea, Gypsy Streisand."
#3Shows To Cast Oprah In
Posted: 1/21/15 at 12:07pmGothampc, hah, good point! Though perhaps we can exclude cameo's (e.g., Stan Lee in every xmen movie).
IloveBroadwAY3
Understudy Joined: 1/7/15
The Other One
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/1/08
#6Shows To Cast Oprah In
Posted: 1/21/15 at 8:23pm
Her celebrity is so overwhelming that it was hard to take her seriously in the otherwise very well cast SELMA. She'd have to be cast with care on Broadway. She'd pull off a two or three character play far better than she would fit into any sort of ensemble. The psychiatrist in AGNES OF GOD is a sensible suggestion. I doubt NIGHT MOTHER would work because she just doesn't seem like a common person anymore.
I know it's called acting, but not all actors can escape their public personas, and hers is just too huge at this point.
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#7Shows To Cast Oprah In
Posted: 1/22/15 at 10:05am
"I doubt NIGHT MOTHER would work because she just doesn't seem like a common person anymore."
Well, it's not just that. Night Mother is all talk and no action. There is no plot, it's just a long conversation between a mother and daughter.
I saw the recent revival with Brenda Blethyn and Edie Falco. And when Falco left the stage for the final time to perform the act that ends the show, it took forever. Blethyn is an excellent actress, but that moment went on forever. That's why I say that if Oprah does it, she needs an excellent director. The actress in that moment can't perform any stage business and she has no lines, so it all depends on what's going on inside her head. It's an extremely difficult play.
jemjeb2
Featured Actor Joined: 6/28/05
#8Shows To Cast Oprah In
Posted: 1/22/15 at 12:11pmI thought she did a great job in "The Butler". I wasn't saying to myself, "Oh, that's Oprah, so I can't believe it's a character." I could see her in a central part as in "The Trip to Bountiful".
theatregoer3
Broadway Star Joined: 3/8/13
#9Shows To Cast Oprah In
Posted: 1/22/15 at 12:24pm
I would love to see Oprah in something she's completely and inappropriately miscast for. Like the young girl in Fun Home. Or Shiela in Hair (but nude throughout with no explanation why). Lola in Damn Yankees. Christine in Phantom. Anything in Starlight Express.
Just the idea that she's completely lost it but producers do whatever she says knowing it will sell...
#10Shows To Cast Oprah In
Posted: 1/22/15 at 1:29pmMaybe she could be the next Leading Player.
#11Shows To Cast Oprah In
Posted: 1/22/15 at 1:50pm
Oprah has come close to doing Broadway before. There was a long period of time where she was trying to arrange her schedule in order to play Rose opposite Denzel Washington in Kenny Leon's revival of FENCES. They even waited for her in hopes they could do it right after her talk show ended, but when it was clear Denzel's film commitments necessitated the production happening before Oprah was available, she stepped aside and they moved forward with Viola Davis instead.
Count me in as one of the many people who'd be excited to see her. She's a truly transformative actress and her desire to do something on stage at this point in her career speaks to how seriously she takes the craft.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.
CurtainPullDowner
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/4/04
Wilmingtom
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/18/11
#13Shows To Cast Oprah In
Posted: 1/22/15 at 3:53pmIsn't Winfrey a tad long in the tooth to play a character with a six-year-old nephew? But you're on the right track. It would have been a great role for her a few decades ago. She'd be great as Eunice in Streetcar but that ain't gonna happen. The trick of this thread is that she has to play the central role.
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#14Shows To Cast Oprah In
Posted: 1/22/15 at 3:56pm
"The trick of this thread is that she has to play the central role."
Then I'll change my first response. She should play God in "Agnes of God."
#15Shows To Cast Oprah In
Posted: 1/22/15 at 4:01pm
I love MEMBER OF THE WEDDING, but I think the script feels dated and creaky, as beautiful as it is (which is why we haven't seen it much since the last revival in the 70s).
Personally, I'd love to see Oprah opposite someone like Angela Bassett in Emily Mann's HAVING OUR SAY, but the projects she's looked at as of late lead me to believe she wants to do something more outside the box.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.
Wilmingtom
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/18/11
#16Shows To Cast Oprah In
Posted: 1/22/15 at 4:02pmPoint well taken, Goth (and I do know sarcasim when I see it). A three-hander, as the role in the one you suggest, is absolutely viable.
#17Shows To Cast Oprah In
Posted: 1/22/15 at 4:07pmFor what it's worth, I though Oprah was great in Selma. No, I suppose I never forgot it was her, necessarily, but you could say the same of a lot of actors and it doesn't take away from the fact that she gave a moving performance. Not that I'll be able to afford a ticket, but I think there's got to be a great Broadway vehicle out there for her.
Wilmingtom
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/18/11
#18Shows To Cast Oprah In
Posted: 1/22/15 at 5:05pmIf Winfrey is really serious about coming to Broadway, it's hard to believe she hasn't lined up some great playwright to pen her a vehicle. Why would she want to debut in a role previously essayed?
#19Shows To Cast Oprah In
Posted: 1/22/15 at 5:14pm
If Winfrey is really serious about coming to Broadway, it's hard to believe she hasn't lined up some great playwright to pen her a vehicle.
Is that not what she's done in enlisting Tony Kushner to adapt THE VISIT?
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#20Shows To Cast Oprah In
Posted: 1/22/15 at 5:17pm
"Why would she want to debut in a role previously essayed?"
A brand new piece is too risky. She doesn't want to fail and it's better to go with material that has already been tested.
#22Shows To Cast Oprah In
Posted: 1/23/15 at 2:20pm
Alexandra Del Lago in SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH
Evy Meara in THE GINGERBREAD LADY
#23Shows To Cast Oprah In
Posted: 1/23/15 at 5:11pm
Agree, God in Agnes of God. She's got the Jesus part mastered.
How about the title role in The Elephant Man?!
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