But, you have to understand that the magic in Sam Buntrock's casting is that Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell (and I supose Anna Jane Casey before her) are very specific and completely different than Patinkin/Peters.
Evans reads very young. His George is filled with frustration but also almost a child like quality. His George is less angry and more optomistic.
Russell as Dot is incredibly earthy. Her Dot is not smart. She wants so much to connect with George but she doesn't have the capacity to understand the complexity of an artist. Her Marie is wise - knowing and sad. She is not conventionally pretty but strangely sexual - luminious.
Alot of the actors people are going to suggest are just not right. I can not see Raul Esparza or Manoel Felciano or Michael Cerveris as George in THIS production. Nor can I see Audra, Chenoweth or Laura Benanti being especially effective either.
In casting this revival for New York, you kind of half to forget what you've seen in previous productions. And isn't that the entire point for bringing it to Broadway in the first place?
Updated On: 8/6/06 at 02:23 AM