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

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 8/25/03 at 3:22pm

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.

[Mattio98]

Posted: 8/25/03 at 3:36pm

I guess it's just personal taste. Some people love her. I'd rather drive a stake through my head than listen to the OBC of Annie Get Your Gun. Just my opinion.

[sondheimfreak]

Posted: 8/25/03 at 3:41pm

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

[ChristineDaae]

Posted: 8/25/03 at 4:29pm

hmmm I don't know who she is....

[sondheimfreak]

Posted: 8/25/03 at 4:29pm

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

[TheBalladeer]

Posted: 8/25/03 at 4:49pm

I respect all the contributions that Ethel has made to musical theatre, and she obviously had to have had something that would inspire composers to write shows for her, but I too find her unbearable to listen to. My OBC of Gypsy gives me a headache everytime I listen to it...not to mention that she doesn't even act the songs that she sings...for example "Some People" sounds like Top 50 Song from the 1950's instead of a showtune. She seems to calm when singing that number. Along with others. It just seems like knows how to make a lot of noise, and LOUDLY. She's just not my cup of tea.

Cheers,
The Balladeer

[PJ]

Posted: 8/25/03 at 8:40pm

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

[Belasco07]

Posted: 8/26/03 at 8:23am

Non-miked singing? In her day, they couldn't make use of mike. Your voice had to be naturally powerful

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/26/03 at 11:00am

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

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 8/26/03 at 11:09am

All that aside, it still doesn't make Shouty Pants Merman a pleasant listen, does it?

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/26/03 at 11:13am

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...

[Belasco07]

Posted: 8/26/03 at 11:19am

Absolutley--at the end of Rose's turn; that last "for me" has never been equalled. Now, I don't listen to an album like Annie Get Your Gun or Gypsy to hear a "nice voice" or a "beautiful voice." I hear heart--THAT is what Ethel Merman has in her voice

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 8/26/03 at 11:40am

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!

[alterego]

Posted: 8/27/03 at 9:52am

Well said Voiceanth!!!

[Gothampc]

Posted: 8/27/03 at 10:55am

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.

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

[JohnPopa]

Posted: 8/27/03 at 11:01am

Merman was great in 'Airplane II: The Sequel.'

[Belasco07]

Posted: 8/27/03 at 7:06pm

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]

Posted: 8/27/03 at 8:22pm

My problem with her is that she basically yelled and she lacked any kind of emotion in her voice, even in Rose's Turn. The tone in her voice never seems to change to show any emotion. Anyways, as much as I'm really no fan of hers, I'm sure it had to be rather thrilling to be in the theatre and hear such a powerful voice. But besides her power, I don't see anything else too special about her...not even the tone of her voice. Belasco...if you want to hear heart in a voice in songs like "Rose's Turn" or and other songs in GYpsy, pick up the newest cast recording of Gypsy and take a listen to Bernadette Peters doing Rose's Turn. I'm sorry, but Ethel Merman's emotion in that song could NEVER be as intense as what Peters shows. Ethel Merman is certainly no Bernadette Peters.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 8/28/03 at 1:26am

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

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 8/28/03 at 1:39am

It's a matter of opinion. I say Merman is (was) certainly no Peters. One fact here: Peters vocally shows more emotion, without a doubt. The easiest way to hear that: Rose's Turn. Listen to both versions. The intense emotion Peters puts into that song could never be matched. Merman barely even acts her way through the song. She just...sings. (HINT: Listen to the stuttering; The line "Momma's gotta let go" and "Well Someone tell me when is it my turn........" and basically through the rest of the song. Those are the parts that'll really show the difference in the acting.) And, well, every line Bernadette sings is far more passionate than Merman's. That's certainly a given. Peters is not only a great singer, but she's an ACTRESS.

[alterego]

Posted: 8/28/03 at 9:30am

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!

[Belasco07]

Posted: 8/28/03 at 12:17pm

For some reason, we can't talk about ethel merman without some Bernadette Peters fan butting in. They are both so different!

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 8/29/03 at 1:49am

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.

[Buck]

Posted: 8/29/03 at 7:12am

Hey, I have an idea: Let's start a "I love Ethel MERTZ (aka Vivian Vance) club and quit all the bickering! Ms. Vance did appear on Broadway in both musicals and straight plays and I believe she even understudied the Merm in "Anything Goes". Also, everyone on this board must be familiar with her work on "I Love Lucy", right? A greater second banana there never was!

[mother cabrini]

Posted: 8/29/03 at 7:26am

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!