The Rise & Fall of Little Voice: Bway Next Season- Page 2

[newintown]

Posted: 7/10/17 at 9:01am

Seeing how it closed after only one week back in '94, it's difficult to imagine why anyone would think they could revive it with any financial success featuring a non-star like Bianco (who is perfectly amusing, in a light way, doing facile impressions, but who will, it must be admitted, never be a "star". The most recent West End revival closed after four months.

The play itself is a sweet, wispy piece of fluff, built to feature a deft impressionist; the story (soap opera-y stuff) and acting (ditto) take a back seat to the impressions.

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 7/10/17 at 10:44am

I don't think there was any AEA issue preventing Horrocks from doing the show in NYC. As mentioned, the play was conceived and written specifically for her. But the play when it opened was really only a minor thing in the UK. I don't think there was ever much serious talk about transferring it to the states. The higher profile film came several years later. The Steppenwolf production that did make it to Broadway was a completely different production. Hyndn Walsh apparently didn't have Horrock's uncanny vocals, so it was a big shrug and closed quickly on Broadway.

I love Christina Bianco but I think it would be a mistake to try to put her into this role. We know she can do these impressions already (and have essentially already seen her do them) and so there would be no surprise element to the story.