Tammy Grimes in 42nd Street

After having seen the wonderful production of 42nd Street on Great Performances, I went back to the OBC recording of 42nd STREET and was reminded of how bad Tammy Grimes sang the role of Dorothy Brock.

Everyone else was wonderful, but to me she was all wrong for the role....

Hope that the West End production makes a transfer to Bway!

I saw Tammy Grimes in 42ND STREET and was she magical. It's true she had an unusual singing voice but it was completely unique and she had real star quality -- there was a strange glamour to her and unlike anyone else I've ever seen play the part she was very, very funny.

Don't ever underestimate the qualities of the original cast of a hit Broadway musical. They usually play a strong part in what made the original production appealing.

I don't know how old you are, but there used to be something (not so much anymore) called star quality. Performers who could hold you in the palm of their hand even if they weren't the most gorgeous or had the best singing voice. Tammy Grimes was among them. Think about Harvey Fierstein-perfect example. Some people transcend delivering a flawless vocal because they are that charismatic. They deliver you something greater. They elevate an audience.

Today it's all looks and belting your face off (with a mic.) Give me some incredible character actors. Jackie Hoffman and Martha Plimpton are two I currently can put my finger on. Plimpton stole Pal Joey and she isn't a singer.

To echo what Bettyboy says, one of the reasons why Grimes was so wonderful (and ideal) for the role of Dorothy Brock was that she recalled the actual stars of 1920s -1930s Broadway musicals - performers like Gertrude Lawrence, Bea Lillie and Billie Burke, none of whom were great singers but all of whom had a glamour and a star 'quality' that made them appealing in the time. I suppose, on some meta-level, you could say that Brock represents a brand of entertainer that by the mid 1930s was giving way to more plucky and vocally robust stars like Mary Martin and Ethel Merman and that's a little of what is represented by her being pushed aside for Peggy Sawyer.

But if you want to talk about the correct way to cast 42ND STREET, Dorothy Brock should not be a power-house belter. That isn't authentic to the period the show is set in.

Updated On: 11/6/19 at 09:28 AM

NOWaWarning said: "Did anyone see Tammy Grimes and Christine Ebersole? I’m curious how they compare."

I saw both. To me, Grimes didn't stand out in the original production; I remember being surprised at how small her role seemed. She was good, but didn't have a lot to work with. Ebersole's role was made larger...as I recall, she had several extra songs. Ebersole won a Tony in a very uncompetitive year...IMO the role doesn't even justify a lead actress nomination, let alone win. It is a supporting role.

Both were good, Ebersole better mainly because she had more stage time (again as I recall).

Personally, I found the telecast of the show from the Drury Lane impossible to dislike! But I agree re the singing of Dorothy Brock's role. Download the cast album of the West End production: Sheena Easton sings the role in head voice and it's a revelation, not only lovely to the ear but dramatically useful in distinguishing between Brock (old school) and Peggy Sawyer (new generation)!

***

As for Tammy Grimes, some performers' talents just don't transfer well to electronic media (be it film, videotape or recording). I worked with Tammy on a show called A MUSICAL JUBILEE, a Broadway revue that flopped and transferred directly to Fort Lauderdale when we lost the rights to PIPPIN.

Tammy was singing alongside "real" singers, including Patrice Munsel, Larry Kert and John Raitt, and I promise you she held her own through sheer star wattage. Her rendition of "I've Told Every Little Star" still haunts me (in a good way). (She was more than bit looney off-stage and we couldn't book the stars in our usual hotel because Tammy and her dog had destroyed a suite there and she was banned.)

She was a classic actor-who-sings-a-little a la Robert Preston, Rex Harrison and Barbara Harris. I agree with the poster above who wrote that musicals were far more interesting with such performers than today's shows in which everyone is trained the same and sounds alike.

Tammy Grimes was unique. But back then we had mostly unique stars who probably wouldn't get cast in today's rather silly world. Mary Martin, Judy Holiday, and more - all unique. With no disrespect to the many fine actresses who've played Dorothy Brock, and I've seen a lot of them, no one got the laughs that Grimes got - no one even came close. It's one of the failings of people who restage - they simply are not good enough to understand the comedy. But Grimes could get a huge laugh with tilt of a head. I was lucky enough to have seen her in a ton of shows and she was never less than brilliant - and FUNNY. Molly Brown (via the national tour and then a few years later in the round), Rattle of a Simple Man, The Decline and Fall of the Entire World as Seen Through the Eyes of Cole Porter, Private Lives, and more. I met her many times, and she was meant to be on the Unsung Sondheim album but health problems happened and so that didn't happen. One-of-a-kind.

markypoo said: "I saw her in Blithe Spirit, The Tavern (both with Brian Bedford), In Praise of Love, My Fat Friend (with George Rose), and lastly - and most famously - in 42nd Street; 39 years ago November 15th."

I forgot about MY FAT FRIEND. Of course George Rose stole that show, but Tammy was still wonderful and ultimately moving.

BK's mention of meeting Tammy many times caused me to re-evaluate my remark above that she was "more than looney" off-stage. I should have clarified that I meant "looney" as in eccentric (and unintentionally tough to corral for this PA); she was still utterly charming in real life as well.

GavestonPS said: "Personally, I found the telecast of the show from the Drury Lane impossible to dislike! But I agree re the singing of Dorothy Brock's role. Download the cast album of the West End production: Sheena Easton sings the role in head voice and it's a revelation, not only lovely to the ear but dramatically useful in distinguishing between Brock (old school) and Peggy Sawyer (new generation)!

***

As for Tammy Grimes, some performers' talents just don't transfer well to electronic media (be it film, videotape or recording). I worked with Tammy on a show called A MUSICAL JUBILEE, a Broadway revue that flopped and transferred directly to Fort Lauderdale when we lost the rights to PIPPIN.

Tammy was singing alongside "real" singers, including Patrice Munsel, Larry Kert and John Raitt, and I promise you she held her own through sheer star wattage. Her rendition of "I've Told Every Little Star" still haunts me (in a good way). (She was more than bit looney off-stage and we couldn't book the stars in our usual hotel because Tammy and her dog had destroyed a suite there and she was banned.)

She was a classic actor-who-sings-a-little a la Robert Preston, Rex Harrison and Barbara Harris. I agree with the poster above who wrote that musicals were far more interesting with such performers than today's shows in which everyone is trained the same and sounds alike."



Probably being churlish, but Barbare Harris had an excellent singing voice. Listen to the cast recordings of Apple Treeand On a Clear Day.

Thanks to all who shared their memories (and the photo!) of Brock in a wheelchair. I think it's an unfortunate choice, but maybe one dictated by the size of the theater! Perhaps it would have taken an eternity for the actress to get to her mark on one leg...