Sweeney Starring Bernadette?- Page 2

[skingdom]

Posted: 8/14/03 at 8:35pm

Bring on the Streep.

I wasn't all that impressed with LuPone in Todd. And I don't really want to see Bernadette in this role. But I could be cvery wrong.

[tpdc]

Posted: 8/14/03 at 10:09pm

I've seen many fine actresses as Mrs. Lovett. I have seen amoral and desperate (Lansbury)and wildly comic (Baranski) Lovetts. One of my favorite Lovetts was Dorothy Loudon. She played her as a sad, lonely, poor woman who had been in love with Benjamin Barker for years and when he reappears in her life as Sweeney Todd, she'd do ANYTHING to win him. Bernadette could play that. And that approach might work in a film version. I wouldn't mind seeing Streep take a crack at the role either. I could skip seeing Mitchell's wonderfully sung but stiffly acted Sweeney again.

[sondheimfreak]

Posted: 8/15/03 at 1:17am

Oh, come on! Bernadette could play almost any part. I bet Stephen would approve of her performance. But no one knows one way or the other because she's never sung the piece.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 8/15/03 at 1:38am

RAG, just because Bernadette has never done Mrs. Lovett does not mean Sondheim doesn’t want her to do it. The fact is there has not been a revival of SWEENEY on Broadway and BP may be holding out for that. Say what you want about her, but she does not do things in a small way. She may very well have been offered the D.C. production but thought “Hey, if I’m gonna do this it will be the first Broadway revival/film or not at all.”
Your post implies that Sondheim considers her unworthy of the role and I am pretty sure that is not the case.

[Broadwaybaby2]

Posted: 8/15/03 at 3:03am

I agree completely with the fact that Sondheim wants her to play Mrs. Lovett. There is absolutely no question in my mind that she is perfect for it. Streep? Yeah right! She's great at dramatics on the silver screen but she could never pull off Sondheim... sigh, so many people underestimate the difficulty of Sondheim.

[alterego]

Posted: 8/15/03 at 9:19am

There is a small problem with Bernadette Peters playing Mrs Lovett and that is she can't do an English accent. If you don't believe me have a listen to her album of Song and Dance. Her dialogue pieces are shocking! I would like to see Meryl Streep do it though.

[tpdc]

Posted: 8/15/03 at 12:30pm

There has been a Broadway revival of SWEENEY. It was in the late 80s. Beth Fowler was Lovett and Bob Gunton was Sweeney.

I forgot about the accent. I love Bernadette but accents are not her strong suit.

[GottaGimmick]

Posted: 8/15/03 at 12:33pm

She could do it and it would be amazing!

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 8/15/03 at 1:13pm

Alterego: Bernie needs a good dialect coach. S/D was years ago. But you are right about that recording.

Broadway Baby 2: Do not underestimate THE GODDESS STREEP. She is in fact a very good singer and could certainly handle this role, both vocally and emotionally.

Tpdc: Well shut my mouth. There was a revival. How did I miss that? Was it any good? I do not remember hearing anything about it. But news travels slowly to us out here in the hinterlands.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/15/03 at 1:41pm

wow, many bernie lovers on this post, lol.

fine it's all well and good that bernie hasn't done the show yet, but why turn down shows that are not on broadway? is she too good? i mean right now patti and audra are doing Passion together and it isn't on broadway! patti did sweeney opposite george hearn and audra, and it wasn't on broadway.

in my opinion, and yes i am the only one who thinks this, but bernie is not right for the part. she could be good, but not a first choice. :)

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 8/15/03 at 2:04pm

RAG, do you really think Patti and Audra would be doing Passion in concert if they had a Broadway contract offered to them? Do not get me wrong, I totally respect them for doing offbeat non-Broadway things, but let’s face it, neither of them was offered Mama Rose or they would be doing that show. And these concert versions are all very limited runs.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/15/03 at 2:11pm

well ofcourse they were limited runs and off broadway stuf, but what did bernie do before annie get your gun??? she wasn't doing much but her personal concerts...ok, that's alot, lol, but she wasn't performing. then they got her back to do annie get your gun, which i heard she wasn't that good in, and reba supposedly blew her away as the all time greatest annie oakley!

what i'm saying is that bernie doesn't do little things. why not??

[TEACHEROFTHEATER]

Posted: 8/15/03 at 2:48pm

Bernadette doesn't do little things? hmm, how do we know what goes on between she and her husband. and speaking of which, would that make it, Peter's peter?

anyway, its because she is a big star:), i think:)

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/15/03 at 2:49pm

Peter's peter! lol, now THAT was funny.

[PJ]

Posted: 8/15/03 at 6:43pm

That's a swell idea.

[TheaterBaby]

Posted: 8/15/03 at 6:49pm

Did Streep do her own singing in "Poatcards From the Edge" and "Death Becomes Her"? Because I liked the way she sang in both those movies. I was just never sure if it was her voice.

[Broadwaybaby2]

Posted: 8/16/03 at 1:21am

She wasn't offered the role in washington...someone just said that they thought that she had been....it isn't a question of whether she does "small things". Most of her movies are made for tv.

[Broadwaybaby2]

Posted: 8/16/03 at 1:27am

OOOOOK...what did "Bernie" do before Annie Get Your Gun? Hmm lets see....There was Dames At Sea, Into The Woods(drama desk award), A Sunday in the Park with George (tony nomination/drama desk award), Song and Dance...oooo wait she won a TONY for her "horrible" english accent, which the people in London seemed to approve of. Then there was Mack and Mabel that did horribly but uh, she was still nominated for a Tony. Then there was all of her concerts, her five grammy nominated cds (not including cast albums) then came Annie Get Your Gun, which won her yet another TONY (which Reba didn't) and the Cast album of Annie Get Your Gun won a Grammy...but that doesn't sound like much does it? Now Tony nomination for Mamma Rose...and number 10 on the preordered cd list on Amazon.com where there are no other cast albums on the list at all. So what have you done lately? And, Oh, by the way, do your research next time before you open your mouth.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 8/16/03 at 1:29am

Yes, TheatreBaby, Streep did do her own singing. She even at one point was being considered for Evita.

[Timmerbo]

Posted: 8/16/03 at 3:07am

Think what rob was trying to ask wasn't what she did before Annie Get Your Gun, but rather what she did between Mack and Mabel and Annie Get Your Gun (other than her aformentioned concerts).

Though I could have read his post wrong, I'm pretty sure rob knows she did quite a bit of Broadway before AGYG.

[Broadwaybaby2]

Posted: 8/16/03 at 10:39am

Yes, this I know and explained. So, since Mack and Mabel was done in 1974 and everything else I talked about was in the 1980's leading up to AGYG then I think I sufficed in answering his question. I just think that it was rediculous for any of you to talk about how bad she was in either show (Song and Dance or AGYG) when she won Tony's for both.

[moljul]

Posted: 8/16/03 at 10:41am

No, Timber, I don't think you misread it. I believe he stated Bernadette wasn't doing much in the time just before Annie Get Your Gun but in fact she has always kept quite busy. She tends to take several years off during Broadway gigs for her concerts but also television and film. Take a look at her filmography and you can see she was quite busy during the couple of years before AGYG went into production. She seems to have success dambling in all areas of show business.

http://us.imdb.com/Name?Peters,+Bernadette

[skingdom]

Posted: 8/16/03 at 3:18pm

No naysayers on Streep!!! She can rock Sondheim! Its not like only musical theatre actors can do Sondheim. Acting is what makes Sondheim! And she can sing the role. BAM!

[Hello Gorgeous]

Posted: 8/16/03 at 4:10pm

I think that Bernadette could do whatever part she wants to do. To me, she certianly proved that in GYPSY.

[tpdc]

Posted: 8/16/03 at 10:00pm

Bernadette doesn't do little things? She did that play (SALLY & MARSHA?) with Christine Baranski in the 80s and she did SUNDAY, both off Broadway. She had a few other off Broadway credits before MACK & MABEL as well.

I didn't see the Broadway revival of SWEENEY, but FORBIDDEN BROADWAY's number was called TEENY TODD.