The "We Hate Ethel Merman Club" ??? — Page 2

I have to agree that Ethel should be commended on her extremely wonderful way of belting. I wish we didn't have to use microphones in shows anymore. I have done many a musical and have never used a microphone.

Oh Mattio98, that is the best post I've ever seen on this board!

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I'm taking that as a joke and laughing my head off.

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I don't hate Ethel. I'm just not a fan of her non-miked singing.

Merman had a voice that’s size could easily put most opera singers to shame…it was a huge voice and it’s truly doubtful anyone’s voice today on Broadway is as big.

Miss. Peters has trouble doing the show WITH amplification (heavy, if I remember right)..I shudder to think how she would do a show without amplification…she would need to cut through reams of brass…and not even LuPone (a sizeable voice) could do that…

As for Merman having little to no input during the creation of GYPSY…

Puh-leaze..

This is typical Sondheim rhetoric…

Everything was Steve’s idea…...Steve did everything...Steve farts and it's a symphony....

..and Arthur Laurents, a braggart if ever there was one, says so.

(As Harvey Firestein once wrote: “Arthur Laurents is living proof that the good DO die young”)

Merman was the biggest and most famous female Broadway star in the world in 1959…

Could you imagine, today, a Julia Roberts not having any creative input on one of her movies…or a Madonna not voicing an opinion during a photo shoot….or even a Resse Witherspoon not asking for script changes..??????

Bul****!

It’s written with her voice range, power notes and phrasing in mind..

Updated On: 8/26/03 at 11:00 AM

LOL! Pleasant...ummm..no...occasionally thrilling, yes...

...but it is what it is..she never tried to be anything but Ethel Merman and there is a charm in that...

re-listen to "Rose's Turn"...yes she shouts those "for me"..

...but it's thrilling...

I LOVE the Merm. Has anyone else seen LOVE BOAT: THE MUSICAL? We talked about it a while ago, but my, it is heavenly. Ethyl stars with Carol Channing, Anne Miller and Della Reese aboard the Princess Cruise and they all put on a show. BEST MERM MOMENT: A very familiar intro to a song starts, very softly, then before it is too late to turn it off Ms. Zimmerman begins to sing in her most subtle voice…”KISS TODAY GOODBYE, AND POINT ME TOWARDS TOMORRROW…” It is as frightening as the Love Boat ever got, and that is saying a lot!

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Ethel did have input on Gypsy. Sondheim has said that in "Some People" he wrote a lyric where she told her father to go to hell. But Ethel couldn't bring herself to say that, so Sondheim changed it.

You also have to consider that Ethel Merman was not necessarily an actress but more of a "personality".

Also remember that while it is great to have cast recordings, they don't always capture the reality of the show. The recordings are done in professional studios, sometimes mere days after the opening. The performers have just a few hours to capture the definitive delivery of the material. So we can't always judge performance by the cast recording.

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Updated On: 8/27/03 at 10:55 AM

Everyone's comments are so interesting, and its so nice to see Ethel Merman being appreciated. But isn't it ironic that we are all refering to essentially a live performer through her work in TV shows, movies, and cast albums? Has anyone on this board ever truly experienced her presence on the stage? If I could only go back in time to May of 1959......

BroadwayGirl107: Bernadette is no Merman. They are both so talented and distinct.

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As far as stars are concerned Peters isn't even in Merman's galaxy. I'm so sick of people here talking about BP as though she is bigger than the second coming. Take off the blinkers and look around at all the other talents past and present on Broadway. There are many who are just as good if not better. You might be pleasantly surprised!

Alterego...there's a handful of performers I like just as much as Bernadette, and plenty I like more (see the picture at the left of this post, just to name one).
Belasco - I was just using Bernadette as an example here, since she and merman have both played Rose.

if not liking ethel merman is your biggest worry in life....you have very stress free life......go read the paper {the international news section}...oy!