TOMMY TUNE'S BYE BYE BIRDIE - Page 2

[sipos]

Posted: 10/10/09 at 12:00am

I loved Tommy Tune's Bye Bye Birdie. Marc Kudisch was so right as Conrad. Steve Zahn as Hugo was a standout too. Marilyn Cooper was a perfect Mae. Same with Susan Egan as Kim, and Jessica Stone (Frenchie!!) as Ursula. Ann Reinking was a very different Rose, I just didn't care for her vocals. Tommy Tune was fine, I adore his showmanship. Is that right to say? A true showman.
I remember an eye-popping Telephone Hour with the teens in either pjs or towels or something like that. They all looked hot. but in my souvenir brochure, they're [fully]clothed. I saw it in Tampa.

[bk]

Posted: 10/10/09 at 12:31am

"Sorry grandpa, didn't get to see Dick Gautier I wasn't even conceived yet so he's out of the loop as far as I'm concerned."

I know - you were probably barely conceived when Kudisch did it. At least you act like it.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 10/10/09 at 1:55am

I've seen three Conrads - Kudisch, Pearson, and Funk. Kudisch was the best of the three. Funk was boring and I found Pearson's lisp to be distracting

[Flaunt It]

Posted: 10/10/09 at 1:40pm

I too loved TUNE's BIRDIE. I will never forget the way he girls transitioned from the 'city' black and white costumes to the green 'Sweet Apple' costumes by just spinning out and spinning back in to reverse the dresses. SO CUTE. I found the tinker toy set to be very entertaining and functional as it rearranged itself to become the different locals. I preferred Nemetz to Ranking as Rosie.. but I really loved the STAGING.. there is a local theatre that has the show sets and costumes and remounts the show with the Tune staging every few years.. and it is always quite enjoyable no matter who is doing it.

[Marquise]

Posted: 10/10/09 at 2:04pm

To bk,

The grandpa comment wasn't meant for you. It was a generalization. If I am addressing you in a particular post you will see your name in it. Everything isn't about you but if you have a complex please seek some professional help and don't take it out on me.

Thank you and have a very blessed day.

[sondheimfan2]

Posted: 10/10/09 at 4:45pm

Gypsy9 - I saw it in Philly at the Forrest as well. Marilyn Cooper was hilarious. Tommy's dancing amazing, but I remember that Ann's voice was not in great shape, sounded like she had a scratchy throat.

[bk]

Posted: 10/10/09 at 5:05pm

"To bk,

The grandpa comment wasn't meant for you. It was a generalization. If I am addressing you in a particular post you will see your name in it. Everything isn't about you but if you have a complex please seek some professional help and don't take it out on me.

Thank you and have a very blessed day."

I consider every day a blessed day. And it doesn't matter who the grandpa comment was directed at or whether it was a generalization. It was rude and unnecessary. As was the tone of the post I quote above. But, this is Broadwayworld, a place overrun with the occasional rude infant. And since I was the only one who mentioned Mr. Gautier and since you saw that post in another thread and since no one has mentioned Mr. Gautier in this thread - who else would you have been addressing your comment to? Go to your room and say 100 Hail Marys and maybe you, too, can have a blessed day wherein you don't act like a rude twit.
Updated On: 10/10/09 at 05:05 PM

[willrogers2008]

Posted: 10/10/09 at 10:24pm

According the comments of Flaunt It, Tommy Tune direction was amazing.What an ideia for a costume change! Could you give us more details about it ?

[Marquise]

Posted: 10/10/09 at 10:57pm

I wasn't addressing my comment to you bk so GET OVER YOURSELF.

NEWS FLASH:

THE WORLD DOES NOT REVOLVE AROUND YOU!!!

Now why don't YOU go sit in a corner and contemplate that for awhile.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 1:33am

Damn Marquise, who peed in your Cheerios?

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 1:36am

Be nice to Bruce Kimmel!

[bk]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 2:03am

He's a teen - he doesn't know from nice. It's frightening sometimes, but, you know, it's the world we live in.

[jett ford]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 7:01pm

i think tommy tune is fine, so long as albert is considered rosie's gal pal and not her fiance.

[willrogers2008]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 9:12pm

What do you mean ? Tommy Tune was a very nice fiancee of Twigg in "My One and Only" !

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 9:42pm

Bianca should be Rose... end of story!

HOLY CRAP, Rob Petrie! Bianca looks and sounds like Mary Tyler Moore.

It would be insane to superimpose her footage over vintage footage of Dick Van Dyke during his run in the original 1960 Broadway production. Extensive footage exists from The Ed Sullivan Show.

[Flaunt It]

Posted: 10/11/09 at 10:11pm

She does look styled like MTM and little mix of Lucille Ball! LOL

ONE GUY - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aPcWtfQEXc

ENGLISH TEACHER - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzGT5Si2K2Q

[jeniferrenepatricia]

Posted: 10/12/09 at 4:16am

I agree that Ann Reinking doesn't have the best vocals for Rosie, but I love to watch her move! She's flawless....

[Mamie]

Posted: 10/12/09 at 6:30am

I just remember taking my niece to see this production when she was a little girl. It was her first professionally staged musical and it made her a lifetime Broadway fan. For that reason alone it was a HUGE winner.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 10/12/09 at 12:20pm

I just remember taking my niece to see this production when she was a little girl. It was her first professionally staged musical and it made her a lifetime Broadway fan. For that reason alone it was a HUGE winner.

It was mine as well and that's what happened to me.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/12/09 at 3:27pm

Kudisch is fantastic in that Honestly Sincere clip, but everything around him wasn't. That staging and choreography looked lazy and uninspired. It looks as though the teenagers were taught two basic 60s steps and told to repeat and flail at random until their cue to faint at the end. Ugh. Maybe it looked better live?

[mallardo]

Posted: 10/13/09 at 6:22am

Was that Susan Egan playing Kim in the clip? Whoever it was she sounded great.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 10/13/09 at 8:24am

Directed by Gene Saks
Sets by Peter Larkin
Costumes by Robert Mackintosh
Hair by Robert DiNiro
Lighting by Peggy Eisenhauer
Musical Direction by Michael Biagi

Choreography by Edmond Kresley (a member of the original 1960 cast and later an assistant to Gower Champion -- director & choreographer of the original 1960 Broadway production)

THE CAST:
Albert Peterson: Tommy Tune
Rose Alvarez: Ann Reinking (later Lenora Nemetz)
Conrad Birdie: Marc Kudisch
Kim MacAfee: Susan Egan
Hugo Peabody: Steve Zahn (yes, THAT Steve Zahn)
Ursula: Jessica Stone
Mae Peterson: Marilyn Cooper

Also in the cast: Belle Calaway, Dale O'Brien and Joey Hannon.

[goober1632]

Posted: 10/13/09 at 11:52pm

I like Reinking, but not as Rosie. Her Spanish Rose was nowhere near as effective as
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdOn4FvpWpE

[once a month]

Posted: 10/14/09 at 11:00am

Marilyn Cooper signed my Playbill and her pen started to run out of ink, as her name got lighter and lighter.

Seeing Kudisch in 9-5, all I thought about was the size of his thighs (and why did Lily Tomlin leave at intermission).

[Renart]

Posted: 10/14/09 at 12:24pm

I saw this at the Muny in St. Louis. My recollection of it was that they used some girls from the local dance academies as chorus members. I was there on opening night and my date knew one of the girls. When they first appeared on stage you could hear everyone whispering stuff like, "She's the second from the left," or "She's the one in the pink sweater." Every one of these girls' friends and family were there. When they finished their big number at the train station the audience went wild cheering. Tommy Tune even broke character and clapped for them. I may be wrong about the details of why they were in the cast, but I do remember that there were alot of local girls up there.