The Art of Scenery Chewing

[Tg31590]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 5:15pm

Im still not quite sure what it means to "chew" or "shread" or "rip" the scenery. I know that it is positive and it seems like the louder you are the more scenery you are chewing (Patti LuPone seems to have lots of scenery in her system) but what the does it actually mean!?

[Pgenre]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 5:27pm

Here's Your Answer

[kyleorlando]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 5:35pm

Actually, the phrase "chew the scenery" refers to overacting. It's not usually meant as a compliment.

[boyfromoz2]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 5:40pm

Read these comments on the video linked above ... they are the exact reason why I LOVE YouTube:

elfguest2008 - LOL Patti really is AWFUL isn't she!?! (Elaine) Paige didn't sing the same key because the notes were lowered for Glenn Close and everyone sang them in that key afterwards. Fool.

gabsylv - thank you for sharing your idiocy elfguest. next, please tell us what's wrong with the taj mahal and the mona lisa

elfguest2008 - You're SERIOSULY comparing LuPone with one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World and one of the greatest works of the Italian Renaissance? And I'm the idiot?

gabsylv - I am making that very comparison. And it's not one of the seven wonders

elfguest2008 - Then I don't need to do anything else. You've well and truly lost any credibility that you could have hoped for! And the Taj Mahal IS considered one of the Seven Wonders of the *MODERN* world by many. Google it!

gabsylv - I can spell. Seriously.

elfguest2008 - LOL. You're resorting to picking up on a typo now? When you seem to struggle with capitalization in a sentence!? You think Patti needs another juvenile fan?? I'm unsubscribing from this thread now. I've got a life I need to get on with.

gabsylv - Yes, go f*** your pet chicken

gabsylv - go chew on a lemon

[morosco]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 5:52pm

Here's a good example

[EugLoven]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 5:54pm

Exhibit A: Phylicia Rashad

[Pgenre]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 5:56pm

"Don't f*ck with me, fellas!"

morosco - you made my day! PERFECT clip!

A Good Nightmare Comes So Rarely,
P

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 6:10pm

Dorothy Loudon devouring the scenery.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 7:40pm

If you ever get to see Patti LuPone in concert, a perfect example of chewing the scenery is when she sings Surabaya Johnny. She ain't called "gopher" for nothing.

[Tg31590]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 8:45pm

Wow! I love both Patti and Fay! If this is what chewing the scenery looks like, it aint so bad. haha :)

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 10:47pm

Phylicia Rashad doesn't chew scenery enough to be called a scenery chewer.

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 11:09pm

Do you mean the book by Ovid or Sun Tzu?

I don't think As If We Never Said Goodbye is Patti LuPone's best number, and she was way too nasal on the "a" sound in that example.

I saw Elaine Paige in Sunset and thought her With One Look was the most brilliant thing she did and stopped the show, though she coasted from there.

Lupone's Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered on there is superb and a delight, however.

[Pgenre]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 12:50am

Phylicia Rashad was F.I.E.R.C.E. in BERNARDA ALBA. The last scene left me SPEECHLESS at the final dress rehearsal! Holy crap! "Silence"... standing O, well deserved for once.

nomdeplume - wonderful to hear from you, baby. Please find a few more spare moments for us! You've been missed! :)

P


Updated On: 8/4/09 at 12:50 AM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 1:51am

"Phylicia Rashad was F.I.E.R.C.E. in BERNARDA ALBA."

Yeah, but her Jenny Craig commercials leave a lot to be desired. It's like she's trying to channel Uta Hagen. She needs to drop that "grand dame of the theatre" shtick and act like a normal person.

[madbrian]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 9:07am

Scenery chewing can be a good thing. On stage, consider Norbert Leo Butz in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. The role called for scenery chewing, and he delivered big time. On screen, Margaret Hamilton chewed every bit of scenery in The Wizard Of Oz, and the result was perfection. Many roles require scene chewing: Miss Hannigan, Adelaide, etc.

[americanboy99]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 10:26am

Susuan gloriously chewed scenery in "{title of show}" and she was wonderful at it.

[once a month]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 2:01pm

Nathan Lane has devoured the most sets since Zero Mostel

[kyleorlando]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 8:02pm

Totally intentional, but wonderful, Mary Testa and Jackie Hoffman are masters at modern scene chewery!
There were teethmarks on the set!

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 10:24pm

Nice to see you, too, Pgenre.

How are the nightmares of late?

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 10:39pm

My first exposure to the tradition of larger-than-life acting was Zoe Caldwell in "Medea."

Scenery chewing at its finest.
Marble don't chew easily

[EugLoven]

Posted: 8/5/09 at 12:14am

I never knew if it was off-the-cuff or part of the script, but LOVED when Jackie Hoffman would gnaw-gnaw-gnaw (obnoxious chewing sounds) on the scenery (or mime it) during one of their entrances in XANADU.

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 8/6/09 at 3:11pm

Bump

We're in need of new threads and this was the best there was for a while.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/6/09 at 3:38pm

One of my favorite examples. JoAnne Worley in the Wizard of Oz tour...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur90okVDYHA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6fwQuACs2s

[sally1112]

Posted: 8/6/09 at 3:48pm

"Phylicia Rashad doesn't chew scenery enough to be called a scenery chewer."

Uhm, you obviously have never seen this woman over act the hell out of a scene with Raven Symone!

[faithzilla]

Posted: 8/6/09 at 3:53pm

http://mtdictionary.blogspot.com/2009/06/c.html