Posted: 11/14/19 at 7:31pm
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...
Posted: 11/15/19 at 3:41pm
Almira said: "behindthescenes2 said: "That west end production was about as bland and miscast as you can possibly aspire to. Boring and the singing was bland and boring. The best that can be said about the production was that the tap routines wereneatlyand cleanly executed."
PREACH!!!
I got see Dolores Gray, again, another example of legitimate "star quality". So much what made Broadway exciting has been processed out of most shows."
Proposing a friendly amendment that Gray, who had undeniable star quality, was also a great singer.
Posted: 11/15/19 at 4:06pm
I didn't see the original production on Broadway. I saw it at the Shubert Theater in L.A. in 1984, and Carole Cooke from the original cast was playing Maggie, along with Iggie Wolfington whom I believe had also been in the original Broadway cast. Elizabeth Allen and Jon Cypher were Dorothy and Julian, and Nana Visitor (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) was Peggy. Fortunately, it was a lengthy run, so it had a lavish staging, but not as lavish as the 2001 revival. By the time I got to see it in January of 2002, Beth Leavel was playing Dorothy, and as disappointed as I was that it wasn't Christine, I thought to myself, "Wow. She's a star!"
I learned an important lesson from that theater visit, that the stand-by, understudy or replacement can be just as wonderful (and as we know often better) than the original. That worked for me when I got on line for a rush ticket for "On the 20th Century" and was told that it was sold out, but to come back in an hour because Kristen Chenoweth was out and they suspected that many subscribers would cancel. They were right, and I ended up with fifth row Center Orchestra for under $40. Of course, the understudy was terrific, and I got to see Mary Louise Wilson up close looking like Granny without the Tweety Bird Cage.
Updated On: 11/15/19 at 04:06 PM
Posted: 1/3/20 at 7:07pm
The same goes for Ethel Merman and Chita Rivera. Don't get the hysteria over these two legends....
Posted: 1/3/20 at 7:33pm
Oh, you don't? Well, who DO you get the hysteria over? Let's hear your list of amazing stars that you go nutty over.
Posted: 1/3/20 at 8:12pm
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."
As I recall, Lynn Redgrave was the star of MY FAT FRIEND. George Rose and John Lithgow were in the cast, too
Posted: 1/3/20 at 8:12pm
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
Updated On: 1/3/20 at 08:12 PM
Posted: 1/3/20 at 8:32pm
Dollypop said: "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."
As I recall, Lynn Redgrave was the star of MY FAT FRIEND. George Rose and John Lithgow were in the cast, too
"
I can't and don't speak for Markypoo, but I was referring to a winter stock production in Florida. It may have toured; I don't recall. IBDB says you are right that Lynn Redgrave (and John Lithgow) did the Broadway production--not that I doubted your memory.
Posted: 1/3/20 at 8:43pm
Grimes was in "High Spirits."
Barbara Harris had one of the greatest voices for musical theater in my lifetime. Great because it was used in service of character, a supple, flexible instrument that could soar and purr. Listen to "Apple Tree" alone. But "Clear Day," the first show I heard her in, proves my point. If still in doubt, watch "Nashville," and take a look at how she wipes up in the final sequence.
Posted: 1/3/20 at 9:01pm
Dollypop said: "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'm specifically referring to a tour that played Chicago in June 1975.
As I recall, Lynn Redgrave was the star of MY FAT FRIEND. George Rose and John Lithgow were in the cast, too
"
Posted: 1/3/20 at 9:06pm
I agree, Auggie, and said as much above, including the reference to NASHVILLE.
My point remains, however, that Barbara Harris was considered an actress-who-sings, not a "singer" in the 1960s. Rex Harrison and Robert Preston were brilliant in their signature roles, but nobody confused them with John Raitt.
Examples of ladies considered "singers" include Barbara Cook, Barbra Streisand, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Dolores Grey (thank you, henrik), Julie Andrews and, yes, even Ethel Merman.
(Note to those who don't "get" Merman: try to imagine her before body mikes became commonplace and theater orchestras became smaller. Nobody sang over brass and woodwinds like Merman!)
Posted: 1/3/20 at 11:31pm
Grimes was liked in the role on stage, but the vocals on the OCR are painful. She may have been a delight in front of an audience but on record she's subpar at best. Like or lump it, it's the truth.
Posted: 1/5/20 at 12:40am
AADA81 said: "Grimes was liked in the role on stage, but the vocalson the OCR are painful. She may have been a delight in front of an audience but on record she's subpar at best. Like or lump it, it's the truth."
It may be YOUR truth, but you are a tad fuzzy on the subject of objective reality.
I think she sounds fine on the OBCR. Does she sing as well as Ebersole (revival) or Easton (West End)? No. But I don't find Tammy's voice painful, and having witnessed myself what she could do with a song live, I expect she was very entertaining.
Posted: 1/5/20 at 4:26pm
GavestonPS said: "Jarethan said: "Probably being churlish, but Barbare Harris had an excellent singing voice. Listen to the cast recordings of Apple Tree and On a Clear Day."
I don't think you are even mildly impolite, much less "churlish", Jarethan. But I think you know me well enough to know I have listened to both OBCRs you reference hundreds of times (maybe thousands in the case of CLEAR DAY).
But Barbara Harris was the PRIME example of an "actress who sings" (as opposed to a singer) in the 1960s. It's only fair to note she was being compared to Barbara Cook, Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli and the like.
I LOVE Harris'performances on record and videotape* and God knows who else could have pulled togetherthe brilliant film NASHVILLE at the end of its story (by singing a gospel song)! But a "singer-singer" (a laBarbara Cook, Barbra Streisand, Inga Swensonand the other Broadway greats of the early 60s)she was not.
* That's what other posters and I have been saying: that Broadway scores sounded more interesting when they included character voices as well as great singers."
I completely agree with your assessment GavestonPS. I totally get where you are coming from. Angela Lansbury, Meryl Streep, Michelle Pfeiffer even are prime examples of "actors who sing"...they can sing as to serve the characters they are playing. They are not known as singers, they are actors first. These ladies have not recorded anything outside of a cast album or a soundtrack. I know Tammy Grimes recorded for Columbia in the 1960s..and Richard Harris ruled the top of the charts in 1968 with his rendition of Jimmy Webb's "MacArthur Park" but they are few and far between..
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