The best stunt casting ever?

I saw this with her 5 times. I wish I could see it again. And if you have not seen this clip. watch the whole thing. GORGEOUS.

enjoy.

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Updated On: 9/1/11 at 03:52 PM

Reba has stated numerous times that after first being exposed to this song when prepping to do ANNIE GET YOUR GUN on Broadway, she immediately fell in love with it. It has since become one of her favorite songs ever.

There's a difference between STUNT casting and STAR casting. I think it's important to acknowledge that.

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If I remember it right, Ms. McEntire WAS considered "stunt casting" until she hit the stage and people realized that she was brilliant in the role. And she was.

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According to wikipedia, "stunt casting," means big stars in bit parts (cameos?). I think the phrase is used in various ways.

Stunt casting and star casting works best when they dovetail. Think Victor Moore or Edward Everett Horton as the Starkeeper.

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Reba as Annie Oakley is anything BUT stunt casting. Now, when they brought in Susan Lucci to play Annie Oakley, THAT was stunt casting. At its worst.

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I don't know why some people don't like her simply cuz she supported Bush. She supports gay rights and to be honest thats all that matters to me.

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Glad to know that about McEntire, fingerlakessinger. Good for her (though the damage done to this country by G.W. goes far beyond opposition to gay rights)!

I think the "stunt" in this case was bringing a country superstar to headline a Broadway musical. It's a "stunt" in that the novelty was intended to attract ticket buyers, not in that she wasn't qualified to play the role. By all accounts, she was.

I think, at the time, it certainly was stunt casting, as Ms. McIntire never stepped foot on a Broadway stage in a book musical. She had acted in a few movies and, of course, was a huge music star. But she was a completely unknown property in a book musical.

It just happened to turn out incredibly well.

As for actresses such as Lea Salonga, Andrea MacArdle, Lea Michele and Judy Kuhn, I just don't know how you can ever classify them as 'stunt' casting in any way. They're each award winning or nominated actresses who have proven themselves many times on many stages.

Didn't Andrea McArdle play Miss Hannigan in a regional production somewhere, relatively recently?

I don't think "stunt casting" necessarily means casting someone who isn't good in the role, and it's different from Star Casting in that, in most cases of star casting, the star involved is someone who at least to some degree fits the role they are playing and is already known as an actor. Stunt casting would, I think, be about putting someone in a role that nobody would have imagined and is being cast, seemingly at least, more for the buzz to be generated than for obvious musical theatre abilities. If you saw, say Meryl Streep as Mame or something, that wouldn't be stunt casting--it would be star casting. But Lady GaGa as Mame would be stunt casting, even if she turned out to be good in the role. I think Reba qualifies because, even though she turned out to be great, she was only well-known as a singer and not an actress, and not a musical theatre singer either. There was a novelty factor created by advertising her in the role that I think might qualify it as stunt casting, even though she turned out to be excellent in the role.

Updated On: 9/2/11 at 03:17 PM

I can almost go there with the McArdle as Hannigan scenario. I still think it does a slight disservice to the performer in that 'stunt casting' generally has a negative connotation...at least until the actor proves otherwise. Then it become genius star casting!

Laroquette in How to Succeed is stunt casting.