Stunt Casting...That Worked
Stunt Casting...That Worked
bwayfan9
Broadway Star Joined: 9/14/08
#1Stunt Casting...That Worked
Posted: 9/18/08 at 6:47pmMy favorite was Whoopi in xanadu
#2re: Stunt Casting...That Worked
Posted: 9/18/08 at 6:49pmI was impressed with Brooke Shields in Wonderful Town... she's no Donna Murphy, but she made the role her own and was very amusing.
bwayfan9
Broadway Star Joined: 9/14/08
#3re: Stunt Casting...That Worked
Posted: 9/18/08 at 6:55pmoh yeah! I didnt't think of her. That role is a toughie, she really did a wonderful job. Ah, that fantasia
#4re: Stunt Casting...That Worked
Posted: 9/18/08 at 6:59pm
I subscribe to the theory that if it works, then it's not stunt-casting. It's star-casting. I know these terms are massively open to interpretation, but as far as my brain is concerned, stunt-casting is called that and remains as such because it categorically does NOT work.
Cartwheel
Broadway Star Joined: 6/24/07
#5re: Stunt Casting...That Worked
Posted: 9/18/08 at 9:21pm
Clay Aiken was great in Spamalot, which is why they have asked him to return.
xoangel2789xo
Broadway Star Joined: 11/3/07
#6re: Stunt Casting...That Worked
Posted: 9/18/08 at 9:23pm
I wonder if my aunt is gonna go see Clay again, lol.
BrodyFosse123
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/27/06
#7re: Stunt Casting...That Worked
Posted: 9/18/08 at 9:26pm
Reba McEntire in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN
Brooke Shields in CABARET and WONDERFUL TOWN
Gina Gershon in CABARET
Marie Osmond in THE KING & I
Donny Osmond in BEAUTY & THE BEAST
Vanessa Williams in KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN
Little-Lotte
Leading Actor Joined: 4/27/06
#8re: Stunt Casting...That Worked
Posted: 9/18/08 at 10:13pm
Donny in BATB was really a shock, I thought he was wonderful in the role. And going with the stunt casting in that show, I was VERY impressed with Anneliese van der Pol as Belle. I really want her to come back to Broadway she has a gorgeous, rich voice!
Oh a big one that comes to mind that you might not technically equate with stunt casting because he originated the role on Broadway but Hugh Jackman in The Boy From Oz, which was just an amazing performance!
#9re: Stunt Casting...That Worked
Posted: 9/18/08 at 10:18pmAnneliese is coming back to Broadway, she is going to be in "Vanities". I saw her as Belle, I also saw Christy Carson Romano (which I thought was a casting move), I like Christy a little better, Anneliese's voice was a little TOO over powering for the role, but both were amazing!
lotterymaster
Understudy Joined: 6/16/08
#10re: Stunt Casting...That Worked
Posted: 9/18/08 at 10:43pmI was surprisingly BLOWN AWAY with Fantasia in The Color Purple. I thought her acting was surprisingly phenomenal. And her singing was also very good. She fit the part very well.
lotterymaster
Understudy Joined: 6/16/08
#11re: Stunt Casting...That Worked
Posted: 9/18/08 at 10:43pmI was surprisingly BLOWN AWAY with Fantasia in The Color Purple. I thought her acting was surprisingly phenomenal. And her singing was also very good. She fit the part very well.
Parks
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/5/04
#12re: Stunt Casting...That Worked
Posted: 9/18/08 at 10:48pmDiana DeGarmo in Hairspray/BKLYN (tour).
husk_charmer
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/19/06
#13re: Stunt Casting...That Worked
Posted: 9/18/08 at 10:53pmReba McEntire in South Pacific.
tkts
Broadway Star Joined: 8/26/03
#14re: Stunt Casting...That Worked
Posted: 9/18/08 at 11:17pmDo we all understand what exactly stunt casting is????
philly03
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/07
#15re: Stunt Casting...That Worked
Posted: 9/18/08 at 11:26pm
Sebastian Bach in Jekyll & HYDE. Really gave new life into that show when it needed it, but of course the Hoff killed it a little 
.
#16re: Stunt Casting...That Worked
Posted: 9/19/08 at 12:20amDeborah Cox in Aida
kissmeimirish
Stand-by Joined: 1/20/08
dakota242
Swing Joined: 9/2/08
#18re: Stunt Casting...That Worked
Posted: 9/19/08 at 12:37am
Well, I saw Fantasia in The Color Purple and it was not good at all.
Maybe I saw her on an off night plus it sounds like she may have had some health problems. She missed so many shows. Do they not have doctors to check out the main actors?
tommigyrl5
Stand-by Joined: 5/13/03
#19re: Stunt Casting...That Worked
Posted: 9/19/08 at 2:23am
Deborah Cox WAS amazing in Aida!
Toni Braxton was AWFUL in both Aida and BATB. I just had to put that out there.
#20re: Stunt Casting...That Worked
Posted: 9/19/08 at 3:49am
Diana Degarmo in Hairspray and The Brooklyn tour
#21re: Stunt Casting...That Worked
Posted: 9/19/08 at 3:53am
I really don't wanna say it but:
David Hasselhoff in Chicago, he was a great Billy Flynn...Yeah, I know, but it's true!
jagfkb
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/29/07
#22re: Stunt Casting...That Worked
Posted: 9/19/08 at 6:26amThough he wasn't as popular as others, I found Bob Saget a great addition to the cast, and in a way was perfectly fitted for the role... even if he closed the show.
singerunlimited
Stand-by Joined: 3/19/06
#23re: Stunt Casting...That Worked
Posted: 9/19/08 at 8:25amBrooke Shields in Wonderful Town. She added so much to the role, and she handled the music surprisingly well... really well!
Yankeefan007
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
#24re: Stunt Casting...That Worked
Posted: 9/19/08 at 9:01am
The threeexamples of "stunt casting" that worked were Reba in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, Brooke Shields in WONDERFUL TOWN, and Fantasia in THE COLOR PURPLE.
Shows were near-closing, and the three single-handedly saved them for another year.
Bob Saget and Tony Danza were solid; Melanie Griffith was a train-wreck, most of the other Roxie/Billy/Mama/Velma and Sally/Emcee combos were solid, if unremarkable.
Julia Roberts wasn't stunt-casting, it was a money-making scheme. And her show did make money. It was an artistic disaster, but who cares about art?
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