I'm with Robbie all the way here.
Sutton didn't get unanimous raves. Major critics touted her talent yet thought her performance too self-conscious and in-your-face.
But doesn't a show built around a fresh-faced ingenue need ... an ingenue--who's truly fresh?
More critically, does anyone think Susan Egan -- barely out of her black nail polish when she puts on the flapper duds -- will be a potent draw? I love B'way using its own, but Egan's had maximum exposure--and her moment as virginal Millie might've been shortly after BELLE.
Most people here are too young to remember, but NO, NO, NANETTE had this issue. They were looking for a "Susan Watson" type -- because wholesome soubrette Watson -- the Egan of the 60s, having been in FANTASTIKS, etc -- was too old for Nanette. Well, on the road they fired their "Susan Watson type" -- Carol Demas -- and hired the 35ish Watson herself. It was her last major appearance, and she got away with it because the show also had Helen Gallagher, Ruby Keeler, Bobby Van, Patsy Kelly. Maybe MILLIE's the same, now that its deck is stacked with real draws (theater and TV names) Uggams and Burke.
To me, finding a NEW Sutton would've been better for the biz, better for the show. Better even for Egan? Wasn't Sally a chance to tell b'way she'd grown up, wasn't anymore a blushing Nanette/Millie? If I were her agent, I'd tell Egan to move on, and play ... a woman.
"I'm a comedian, but in my spare time, things bother me." Garry Shandling
Updated On: 12/12/03 at 06:20 PM