So--who will replace Bernadette?- Page 2
So--who will replace Bernadette?
#25So--who will replace Bernadette?
Posted: 12/22/11 at 1:51pm
McKechnie is WAY too old now, she's 71.
Marin Mazzie is a Phyllis. She can absolutely sing Sally, but everything else about her screams Phyllis. From her stature to her elegance.
#26So--who will replace Bernadette?
Posted: 12/22/11 at 1:56pmMarin Mazzie or Victoria Clark seem like the best/most obvious choices to me...Marin's rendition of "Losing My Mind" at Sondheim's birthday concert was stunning. And both are certainly more than capable of singing the score.
bwayfan7000
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/28/09
#27So--who will replace Bernadette?
Posted: 12/22/11 at 1:58pmljay, while I think Mazzie would make a great Phyllis, I disagree that she could ONLY play Phyllis. The combination of seeing her "Losing My Mind" at the Sondheim concert, as many on here said, and seeing her Diana in next to normal thoroughly convinced me that she can display the emotional fragility necessary for Sally. The only problem would be, as you said, her Phyllis-esque stature.
"Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos."-Stephen Sondheim
#28So--who will replace Bernadette?
Posted: 12/22/11 at 1:59pm
Marin is a terrific idea, but isn't she committed to Carrie for a certain amount of time?
I like Megan Mullally. It's an interesting idea. I think she might be a less outwardly depressed Sally. Plus, it's always the funny ones who end up playing the most convincing psychos. They're not afraid to commit.
#29So--who will replace Bernadette?
Posted: 12/22/11 at 2:03pm
I'm sorry. But I don't see Marin Mazzie prancing around the stage in a girlish frenzy saying things like "I'm so happy!"
I liked her Diana A LOT. But she was completely different from Ripley. She wasn't as fragile. It was like seeing the everyday "do-it-all" housewife breaking down, trying to find her strength again. It worked wonderfully.
But I have to go with my gut on this one, she is a completely a Phyllis.
bwayfan7000
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/28/09
#30So--who will replace Bernadette?
Posted: 12/22/11 at 2:08pmWell, in fairness, the only time I ever saw Mazzie as Diana, it was the final performance on Broadway and she essentially cried through the whole show. I thought she was absolutely brilliant in the role, but she may have been a bit more Ripley-like in that specific performance than usual. I saw a Sally that night. And, slightly unrelated, but Alice might make an interesting Sally herself, if she could still sing it...
"Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos."-Stephen Sondheim
#31So--who will replace Bernadette?
Posted: 12/22/11 at 2:10pmPhysically, Marin's totally a Phyllis, but I think she can pull off Sally beautifully. It would be a different interpretation, sure, but I'd be interested in seeing it. I'd never rule anyone out based on their physicality. I'm sure sexy and statuesque people can be psychotic and living in the past, too. Plus, I'm sure they'll dress her down for the role if she was to land the role just like they did with Bernadette.
#32So--who will replace Bernadette?
Posted: 12/22/11 at 2:18pmI would say Sally is more delusional than psychotic.
#33So--who will replace Bernadette?
Posted: 12/22/11 at 2:36pm
Not sure if she's right physically, but Julia Murney could act and sing the hell out of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BqvuYowcp0
COME ON.
#34So--who will replace Bernadette?
Posted: 12/22/11 at 2:51pmIf Marin Mazzie is cast as Sally, then I want to see Donna Murphy as Phyllis (if Jan Maxwell doesn't transfer).
"I'm the swell swab on the poop deck."
#36So--who will replace Bernadette?
Posted: 12/22/11 at 3:12pmDidn't Maxwell have doubts about doing the D.C. production due to time away from her family? It is during the summer, but I doubt she'd want to make the even bigger jump to L.A.
"Oh look at the time, three more intelligent plays just closed and THE ADDAMS FAMILY made another million dollars" -Jackie Hoffman, Broadway.com Audience Awards
#37So--who will replace Bernadette?
Posted: 12/22/11 at 3:37pm
Jan can't even cross a street safely in NYC. Lord knows how she'd survive L.A.
Carried aloft by backup dancers, perhaps.
Updated On: 12/22/11 at 03:37 PM
#38So--who will replace Bernadette?
Posted: 12/22/11 at 3:42pmI doubt Jan, Elaine, Danny, or Ron will transfer.
"I'm the swell swab on the poop deck."
bwaylvsong
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/28/05
brettarnett
Featured Actor Joined: 5/2/09
#40So--who will replace Bernadette?
Posted: 12/22/11 at 3:50pm
"I doubt Jan, Elaine, Danny, or Ron will transfer."
I agree AMH, the only person that makes sense for the transer is Bernadette. As it has been said many times before but Jan and Danny don't want to leave their families, Ron has Sweeney, and Elaine misses England and her boy. But then again I have heard all of this on here.
EDIT: I just read te post that Bernadette is not coming to LA 
Updated On: 12/22/11 at 03:50 PM
#41So--who will replace Bernadette?
Posted: 12/22/11 at 4:34pm
^ ironically, Bernadette is the only one to officially say she's not doing in LA. So this pretty much means that every single lead needs to be replaced. I wonder if Elaine would do it. But yes, I'm all for Marin Mazzie to play Phyllis. Also, another thought that came to my mind, what about the actors from the recent Chicago production? Caroline O'Connor could also be Phyllis, even though I don't see her as Phyllis (comparing her to Jan Maxwell, but she can definitely dance!) I think Caroline is gonna be busy with Gypsy in London though.
raker
Stand-by Joined: 12/27/08
tjjster
Chorus Member Joined: 12/17/10
#43So--who will replace Bernadette?
Posted: 12/22/11 at 4:49pm
I have a feeling since this is playing LA its gonna be someone at least moderately well known from TV and/or Film.
What about the Sally of Toni Collete or although she might read a bit young, Debra Messing.
And furthermore since we don't really know if either of the gentlemen will transfer, I would like to throw out Scott Bakula and Jason Alexander as Ben and Buddy respectfully.
Gaveston2
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/11
#44So--who will replace Bernadette?
Posted: 12/22/11 at 4:51pm
I have loved Miss Mazzie in everything in which I've seen her, but she doesn't read working class to me. The brilliant thing about Dorothy Collins was that even her singing sounded, well, nice but ordinary (until you listen to the score a few times and realize how truly brilliant it was).
Vikki Karr couldn't sound ordinary if her life depended on it and she's not a great actress, but the persona she created was clearly lower middle class and just right for the part. She's 70 now, however, and that's too old for Sally.
I'm not sure who would be best for the part, but I wouldn't be looking at well-known "divas". Most of them should be playing Phyllis.
Updated On: 12/22/11 at 04:51 PM
Gaveston2
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/11
#45So--who will replace Bernadette?
Posted: 12/22/11 at 5:06pm
This is not a totally unbiased choice since, as some of you know, she's a personal friend, but Paige O'Hara (voice of Belle in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST) would make a brilliant Sally.
Paige is petite and has that Southwest desert tan from living in Las Vegas. Sally should have the same tan from working in her Arizona garden.
Lately, she's been belting like Garland, whom she has been playing, but there's no reason she can't go back to the legit mezzo she used in BATB. And, yes, she's the right age, even though Disney subtracts another five years every time they write another bio for her.
And while Paige is happily married and not deluded like Sally, she does share the latter's down-to-earth good nature and hopefulness.
Maybe they'll want a bigger name (especially if they lose Peters and Paige), but I'm not sure they can find someone better for the part.
#46So--who will replace Bernadette?
Posted: 12/22/11 at 5:06pm
What about Liz Callaway? She played Young Sally in the 1985 Concert, maybe its time for her to take on 'old' Sally. She's the right age and still looks and sounds like a young girl. I think she could pull it off:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJYDyJhg6qw
Updated On: 12/22/11 at 05:06 PM
REALstr8
Swing Joined: 9/29/11
#47So--who will replace Bernadette?
Posted: 12/22/11 at 5:06pmLISA VROMAN..... Lisa should replace Bernadette.
REALstr8
Swing Joined: 9/29/11
#49So--who will replace Bernadette?
Posted: 12/22/11 at 5:18pm
Well, Ljay, clearly some of us think there are different actresses who can play the role beautifully. Megan Mullally is an actress despite being known mainly as a comedienne (clearly the two aren't mutually exclusively) and she can definitely play more than a cartoon. I can see her pulling off the fragility, the romance, and yes even the humor in the role beautifully. I also agree that Mazzie would be a great out-of-the-box suggestion for the part, she's a more natural Phyllis but she's a wonderful actress who would probably have a completely new take on the role. It just sounds like you aren't giving some of these actresses enough credit.
I do think Mullally would make a great, if perhaps a bit predictable, Carlotta.
And bwaylvsong, I kinda love the idea of Reba as Sally!
"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"
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