Suprisingly Good Performances In A Musical In Recent Years?

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/1/05 at 11:26pm

Some performances in a musical have truely shocked most people in recent years. Which performances do you think have had people shocked in a good way?

I think one of the best cases is. Brooke Shields in Wonderful Town. I'll never ever forget when she was announced for the role. This board went NUTS. People were flipping the hell out. "Ugh, she is totally wrong for the role", "She is too pretty for Ruth", "She has no talent for this role", "No one can ever top Donna", "This show will close shortly into Brooke's run." Thse were just some of the comments. I couldn't believe all the hatred, and I felt like we were going to be suprised. Brooke starts her run. And wow. The critics raved, the audiences were LOVING her. She truely shocked sooo many, and proved SO MANY wrong. She had WONDERFUL physical comedy skills, the songs were perfect for her limited range, and she proved she was a fine dancer. And in my opinion Roz Russell would've approved more of Brooke in the role - if Roz was still alive. Brooke's case is similar to Roz's. Roz wasn't known for singing and dancing, and she worked her butt off for the role. So did Brooke. Roz and Brooke didn't have amazing skills. Donna did - and the songs were easy as cake for Donna. Roz and Brooke had to really work with these songs.

Okay, so what do you think have been the most suprisingly good performances in recent years - in a musical. Where most thought the performer would stink of the stage - but turned out to be fabulous?
Updated On: 8/1/05 at 11:26 PM

[cindy013]

Posted: 8/1/05 at 11:30pm

Well this isn't really Broadway, but I was worried about seeing the Wicked tour because I thought Stephanie J. Block would be bad because she was the singing voice of Barbie and everything, so I was expecting her to be, i don't know, just very wrong for the part I guess. But she blew me away and was AMAZING, so yeah. Her performance has stayed with me since I saw it in April, I think it's the most memorable performace by an actress I've ever seen.

[BluCat500]

Posted: 8/1/05 at 11:46pm

lol you love the underdog Ljay