Simon Talks Broadway 'PROMISES, PROMISES' Revival To Variety
#2
Posted: 7/28/09 at 10:28am
yes, please.
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#3
Posted: 7/28/09 at 11:32am
I sooooo want this to happen!!
#4
Posted: 7/28/09 at 11:35am
Only if they use Bennett's original choreography for Turkey Lurkey Time!
#5
Posted: 7/28/09 at 11:42am
YES!!! And I second the use of Bennett's choreography for Turkey Lurkey Time!
A Chorus Line revival played its final Broadway performance on August 17, 2008. The tour played its final performance on August 21, 2011. A new non-equity tour started in October 2012 played its final performance on March 23, 2013. Another non-equity tour launched on January 20, 2018. The tour ended its US run in Kansas City and then toured throughout Japan August & September 2018.
#6
Posted: 7/28/09 at 12:04pm
While I would have loved to see Hathaway in this, Deschanel would be great!
#7
Posted: 7/28/09 at 12:17pm
Sean Hayes? Oh, Jee-zus!
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#8
Posted: 7/28/09 at 12:48pm
Unfortunately I can't take anything Neil or his wife say seriously.
#9
Posted: 7/28/09 at 1:09pm
I saw this at Encores several years ago. I think it's too dated for a serious Broadway run.
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#10
Posted: 7/28/09 at 1:36pm
I don't get Zooey Deschanel, I've only seen her play the same exact role, with the same exact expressions, and the same exact tone in everything I've seen her in.
I would love for Anne Hathaway to play the part, it's a shame they are no longer pursuing her (I imagine her film schedule is keeping her from committing to any sort of serious run on Broadway). Of all possible replacements, I can't imagine why they'd want to go for Deschanel, especially for this material.
I would love for Anne Hathaway to play the part, it's a shame they are no longer pursuing her (I imagine her film schedule is keeping her from committing to any sort of serious run on Broadway). Of all possible replacements, I can't imagine why they'd want to go for Deschanel, especially for this material.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
#11
Posted: 7/28/09 at 2:55pm
Sean Hayes? Shouldn't the actor playing the lead be able to convincingly portray heterosexuality? That would kind of include Sean out.
Don't get me wrong, he's a very talented guy. But believable as a straight male? Never in a million years.
Don't get me wrong, he's a very talented guy. But believable as a straight male? Never in a million years.
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#12
Posted: 7/28/09 at 3:49pm
Zooey is the right age and can project vulnerability as seen in her fine new film. Why not get her costar to be the male lead?
Patricia Clarkson should play the female bit who sings "A Fact Can Be A Beautiful Thing" and would win a Tony.
Alas, Elaine Joyce may play that part!!
Go away, Sean; you are as butch as the still closeted Michael Urie. How YOU doin'?
Patricia Clarkson should play the female bit who sings "A Fact Can Be A Beautiful Thing" and would win a Tony.
Alas, Elaine Joyce may play that part!!
Go away, Sean; you are as butch as the still closeted Michael Urie. How YOU doin'?
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#13
Posted: 7/28/09 at 3:53pm
Why not Neil Patrick Harris?
#14
Posted: 7/28/09 at 4:05pm
Bobby, I think Neil Patrick Harris is a perfect cast suggestion, you're so right. I think he'd be brilliant in the part.
Sean Hayes apparently was really good in the reading with Anne Hathaway from what I have heard/read, so it's not really him I'm concerned with. It's the idea of Zooey Deschanel playing this wonderful part that makes me roll my eyes.
Sean Hayes apparently was really good in the reading with Anne Hathaway from what I have heard/read, so it's not really him I'm concerned with. It's the idea of Zooey Deschanel playing this wonderful part that makes me roll my eyes.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
#15
Posted: 7/28/09 at 4:18pm
BobbyBubby, I would assume Neil Patrick Harris isn't available.
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#16
Posted: 7/28/09 at 4:23pm
While Sean Hayes will never bowl us over with an overwhelming dose of machismo and testosterone, he has played "straight" convincingly several times, by my judgment at least. His Jerry Lewis and his "Scrubs" appearance come to mind.
#17
Posted: 7/28/09 at 5:36pm
Ray, it pains me that you don't like Zooey Deschanel. Have you seen her in Weeds and (500) Days of Summer? She still retains her offbeat/crazy sense of humor, but also seems more real. She acts so well with her face, so the only question I have is if she would be big enough for the stage.
#18
Posted: 7/28/09 at 6:08pm
Jewishboy, I really liked her in WEEDS. But really, I feel like she plays every role the exact same way and I think that WEEDS just fitted well with that style, which I don't find particularly right for the beautiful score from PROMISES, PROMISES. I have not seen (500) DAYS OF SUMMER so maybe that will change my mind? (I still heart Marin Mazzie and Debbie Gravitte so hopefully I'm still on your cool list :-P )
I also think Deschanel's acting--much like say Mary-Louise Parker's--is rather contemporary and I feel PROMISES, PROMISES has a very period feeling to it.
I'd much prefer to see someone like Jennifer Garner (too old I imagine) or Emily Blunt (can she sing?).
I also think Deschanel's acting--much like say Mary-Louise Parker's--is rather contemporary and I feel PROMISES, PROMISES has a very period feeling to it.
I'd much prefer to see someone like Jennifer Garner (too old I imagine) or Emily Blunt (can she sing?).
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
Updated On: 7/28/09 at 06:08 PM
#19
Posted: 7/28/09 at 6:58pm
she does play the exact same role over and over again and i hate it because i'd love to see her try somethign different on the other hand, she plays that character very well and i don't mind seeing it in different movies. 500 days of summer is a really great movie you should check it out, but she plays the same character in that as well.
BROADWAY IMPACT!
TAKE ACTION! EQUALITY!
http://www.broadwayimpact.com/
BROADWAY IMPACT!
TAKE ACTION! EQUALITY!
http://www.broadwayimpact.com/
#20
Posted: 7/28/09 at 7:34pm
Don't forget Donna Murphy, Ray! Jennifer Garner is interesting. I wonder if Rachel McAdams can sing? Didn't she audition for the Mamma Mia movie?
#21
Posted: 7/28/09 at 8:27pm
I don't think her singing voice sounds contemporary at all. And she certainly looks the part in the last of these videos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkzRyHa9a6g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvmia-mHYq8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU4IZW4h_h8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkzRyHa9a6g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvmia-mHYq8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU4IZW4h_h8&feature=related
#22
Posted: 7/28/09 at 8:52pm
Some more great performances:
You Really Got a Hold on Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAvnOWc5uD0&feature=related
Dream a Little Dream of Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ThRVUcmSa0&feature=related
You Really Got a Hold on Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAvnOWc5uD0&feature=related
Dream a Little Dream of Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ThRVUcmSa0&feature=related
Updated On: 7/28/09 at 08:52 PM
#23
Posted: 7/28/09 at 9:03pm
Huh ... coincidence that just yesterday I listened to the OBC recording for the first time in several years, and my reaction was: wow, is this thing DATED!
When you think that this opened the same year as HAIR, and a decade after WEST SIDE STORY .... and both those scores are still as fresh and vibrant as when they were heard for the first time ... but PROMISES, once considered bubbly, has gone flat.
When you think that this opened the same year as HAIR, and a decade after WEST SIDE STORY .... and both those scores are still as fresh and vibrant as when they were heard for the first time ... but PROMISES, once considered bubbly, has gone flat.
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#24
Posted: 7/28/09 at 9:05pm
Bacharach's songs will always have appeal. And I'm sure Rob Marshall could breath new life into it. I don't think playing it as a nostalgia piece with top performances and great direction/choreography would elicit the dated response.
#25
Posted: 7/28/09 at 9:26pm
If dated means that unlike most of the musicals in the last 20 years or so, Promises, Promises has a score consisting of actual songs instead of dialogue extensions with music underscore, then perhaps that is indeed so. Seriously though the show would only be dated if they try to update the time line of the story which should remain in the late 1960's as the period piece it has now become. Bacharach's music is almost timeless and his score is actually really good and one song from Promises, Promises (I'll Never Fall in Love Again") is a genuine standard.
I think Anne Hathaway would be a terrible choice for Fran. Although she is a decent actress, her weak squeaky soprano is vocally all wrong for the Bacharach music. My choice would be Tammy Blanchard, who would be fabulous in the role, in my opinion. Although she is maybe a little too old for the part, I for one would like to see the fantastic Debbie Gravitte in this or any role on Broadway. Unfortunately, there is not one actor-singer currently working on Broadway today who could even come close to the brilliance of Jerry Orbach's Chuck Baxter. That would be the biggest problem of casting a revival.
I think Anne Hathaway would be a terrible choice for Fran. Although she is a decent actress, her weak squeaky soprano is vocally all wrong for the Bacharach music. My choice would be Tammy Blanchard, who would be fabulous in the role, in my opinion. Although she is maybe a little too old for the part, I for one would like to see the fantastic Debbie Gravitte in this or any role on Broadway. Unfortunately, there is not one actor-singer currently working on Broadway today who could even come close to the brilliance of Jerry Orbach's Chuck Baxter. That would be the biggest problem of casting a revival.
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