Stars Who Should Really Come to Broadway

I know we all bitch about Hollywood personalities thinking they can do Broadway, but there are some who I think would do really well that should either come back after a very long absence or make their debut.

Zooey Deschanel - SOMEONE write her something good.
Meryl Streep - How is it she hasn't done a Broadway play since the '70s?
Selma Blair - She can actually sing. I think she'd do really well as either part in Chicago.
Jenna Fischer - Maybe I'm just in love with her, but she'd do great in something like Speed-the-Plow.
Zach Braff, John C. McGinley, any cast member of Scrubs - Yes please.
Rosario Dawson - I've said this often, but she could do very well in In the Heights.

Any other ideas?

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And I suppose that applies to any of the Hollywood actors on your list.

Broadway is harder work, more to live upto, and a HELL of a lot less money.

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I think we need to cherish our theatre actors who have a passion for their craft that goes beyond the fame and fortune that can be achieved only in Hollywood.

There is a reason why brilliant actors like Elizabeth Marvel, Jan Maxwell, and Tovah Feldshuh aren't recognizable names beyond New York.

They work in the theatre because they are passionate about the work they do on stage and want to continue to have the opportunities to use their talents in that arena.

We don't need to be begging Hollywood actors to give Broadway their time of day.

There are thousands of incredibly talented, out of work theatre actors who actually want and long for a career performing on the stage.

Let's appreciate these performers and leave these opportunities open for them.

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"Rosario Dawson - I've said this often, but she could do very well in In the Heights."

The girl can not belt at all. Even the mild key of 'Without You' had to be lowered because it was too much stress on her vocals. Even if they lowered the DIFFICULT keys of the songs, she probably could not handle doing it 9 times a week (as ITH does 9 shows).

Chathrine Zeta-Jones is more than welcome to come to broadway. Her performance in Chicago was top notch. She came after some BIG divas who have played that role and played it at their level. COME TO BROADWAY NOW!!!!!

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Updated On: 11/15/08 at 09:59 AM

JOHNNY DEPP!!!!

Johnny's voice worked well in Sweeney Todd on film, but I don't think it'd work on stage.

I second Zooey Deschanel!!

Johnny Depp would be great in a play rather than a musical.

Updated On: 11/15/08 at 11:29 AM

I know he's already been on Broadway..But, I would LOVE to see Michael C. Hall in a show.

I'd love to see what Kate Winslet is like on stage.

Meryl likes her movies, but I wouldn't be surprised if one day she said she wanted to do a Broadway play. Or musical. I always expect something out of the ordinary from her.

~Steven

Odds are after her Cat on a Hot Tin Roof production, she's not gonna come back for a while.

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Brantley did not particularly care for Meryl Streep's performance in MOTHER COURAGE but he was impressed by her nonetheless. He wrote in his review:
Ms. Streep finds her best Brechtian self in song. “The Song of the Great Capitulation,” which Mother Courage sings at the end of the first act, is one of the most artful and intense musical performances to be found on a New York stage, as Ms. Streep flutters, fights and wallows her way through her character’s philosophy of life (...) By the way, with every song she sings, Ms. Streep suggests that, in addition to endorsing vitamins, she could become a queen of the Broadway musical, should she ever choose.

He also wrote her a love letter when she did THE SEAGULL at Delacorte some years before MOTHER COURAGE in which he said she belongs on the stage.
I agree that she has no reason to come back to the stage, but I think she is incredibly brilliant. In the 70s she worked with Sondheim in THE FROGS, she did Brecht/Weill on Broadway, and she has done theatre on and off, mostly readings throughout the years (I believe she did a Charlie Kaufman play at St.Ann's Warehouse). I'd be delighted if she decided to do a show on Broadway, and I believe she has said that she would finally commit to a run on Broadway after her last kid went off to college.

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I second the return of Michael C. Hall.

And I'd like to see Lee Pace in a broadway play.

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Lee Pace has done stage work Off-Broadway, so I'm sure he would probably do Broadway at some point. I for one would love to see Anna Friel back on Broadway, how I wish I had seen her in CLOSER.
I would also love for Kristen Bell to return to the NY stage, she is so fantastic. I'd love to see her star in a musical.

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