Today's Merman and Martin

Years ago Ethel Merman and Mary Martin sat on stools and sang their hearts out to songs of old Broadway. Who is able to do that today? What two Broadway Divas we still have with us who can do the same thing? I'd get Bernadette Peters and Patti Lupone. Anyone else?

Updated On: 7/11/18 at 01:58 PM

Audra McDonald and Kristin Chenoweth come my mind.

It's hard because there hasn't ever been one definitive performer. All have strengths that others don't have and it's all subjective.

I agree with the names above, though. Those are women who are truly cemented in Broadway history. But none of them are Merman or Martin. Even if they've played similar roles to the two (or ones they originated), they did them differently.

There was only one Ethel Merman and there was only one Mary Martin and their likes will not be seen again.

Remember Martin and Merman were singing a full catalog of original songs associated with their careers. And there were lots of them. For me it would be difficult to name a dozen original songs performed on stage by any of the names mentioned above (excluding revivals). It's not the same Broadway that existed in the mid fifties.

Updated On: 7/12/18 at 03:04 PM

SomethingPeculiar said: "At this point, there are three women: McDonald, Peters, and LuPone. On a level slightly below, there are lots of others (Chenoweth, Foster, Benanti, O'Hara, Ebersole, Mazzie)"

I have to say that I agree with you re the three leads. Sort of.

Of course, when that show was performed, Mary Martin and Ethel Merman were much more famous than any of the ladies listed is today. IMO Peters and Lupone are well-known beyond Broadway and McDonald is getting there -- probably even moreso Peters because of some movies she made decades ago -- but their fame just doesn't come close to Merman and Martin at their peaks, who were very well known across the country by people who never attended a live show, Broadway or touring.

Lots of reasons: Cast Albums were once huge sellers, certainly true around the time when they sang together...those people who never saw a show in their life had cast albums; there were so many variety shows on Broadway, including Ed Sullivan, and they were the perfect guests...I can't imagine how many times I saw each of them on Sullivan alone...that outlet really doesn't exist today; if you watched TV then, you had a choice of three prime channels (if you were lucky) and a couple of local ones (if lucky). The probability was that more people were going to see them guesting on those variety shows; they grew up when Radio was star; people like Dorothy Kilgalen and Walter Winchell were huge across the country in those days, and regularly covered Broadway.

I have to day that this is not about talent. Both were talented, but a lot of the ladies mentioned are just as talented, maybe moreso IMO. I only saw each live twice -- Merman in Annie Get You Gun and Hello Dolly / Martin in I Do! I Do! and Hello Dolly in London (something that I had to be reminded of by my sister recently, since I had actually forgotten...obviously didn't make a strong impression on a 15 - m16 year old who had already seen Carol Channing). Of course, there was also Peter Pan.

While these may not have been their best performances, I have to say that I have seen many musical comedy actresses in multiple roles who I thought gave more impressive performances in multiple shows than they did in those shows: Lansbury, Verdon, McDonald, Barbara Harris (in only two shows!!), Lupone, Peters, Donna Murphy, Kelly O'Hara, Sutton Foster.

Bottom line: times and tastes have changed too much in the past 60 years. There are no counterparts to Merman and Martin, fame wise, and they would never be given the airtime on a prime TV station, unless maybe on Labor Day Sunday.

Thank you all who responded with your witty and thoughtful comments to my posting. Apology to Patti, I corrected your misspelled name, sorry. Yes, let's sit Patti and Bernadette on stools have them go through Sondheim, Herman, and Weber like Merman and Martin did with Berlin, Kern and Porter.

There really is only one Merman and Martin. That said, I think a joint Lupone/Peters venture would give a similar, if not completely the same, feeling. They're both very distinctive and have totally different ways of singing/performing and both are modern-day legends of the theatre. Not saying they are on the same level of fame as Merman/Martin, but they are the closest we have these days in terms of name recognition.