Posted: 8/7/17 at 9:02am
nasty_khakis said: "The problem with these kinds of stories over time is the difference in "was considered" and "was in serious talks." I've been in casting sessions where they'll throw out tons of names who in no way would considering the role or were appropriate, things like "Jason Alexander would be a great Judas in Superstar!" So a press agent saying "Meryl (or whomever) really wants the role" could just mean they reached out to her agent and it wasn't an immediate hard pass. Lansbury was of course busy filming her hit tv series, but I totally buy Webber thinking she could/should/might do it."
This is very true, and it's probably worse now than ever before with social media and the internet. There's no telling what is true and what is - dare I say it? - 'fake news'. However, back in the early 1990s, when this was batted around and Lansbury and MacLaine were exclusively mentioned in every press release, I think the news and possibilities carried more weight.
I recall hearing that he was after Cher to take the Broadway role in 1996 after Buckley's run - knowing he needed a star name to keep it afloat. For a long time it was just a rumor, until Cher was questioned years later in an interview and she acknowledged that she was very interested, but they couldn't agree on money. "He couldn't afford me" was her response on why it never happened.
