Today's Performances that Will Become Iconic — Page 3

^ Besides, he didn't have **** on Tony Sheldon!

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Why do people love Laura Osnes as Cinderella so much? I thought she was fine, but I wouldn't equate her to Tonya Pinkins or Christine Ebersole...

To each their own. I do think she will be remembered for her performance in Cinderella for a LONG time. The arrival of Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella on Broadway has been anticipated for years, and Laura Osnes is delivering an incredible performance. I found her performance to be breathtaking and extremely memorable. Not all performances are going to be "equal" per se, but that does not mean they are not iconic or memorable. A lot of it is going to be personal opinion as well.

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Can someone please add the word "Iconic" to the list of words including "diva", "bitch" and "fierce", that the kids need to learn the definition of?

Unfortunately, I think we are past the age of iconic musical theatre performances. Sure there are wonderful exceptions like Alice Ripley in Next to Normal, but those are the rare ones. Most of the stars mentioned -- like Carol Channing, Angela Lansbury, Ethel Merman, Dorothy Loudon or even two of the biggest stars still working today, Bernadette Peters and Patti LuPone -- gave what are remembered as iconic performances because they themselves are such unusual, idiosyncratic one-of-a-kind talents. Often, those talents have all the right screws loose, if you know what I mean. Nothing safe or easily replicable about their performances. It's what makes them so memorable. It seems that these days when literally 10s of millions of dollars at stake with a large Broadway production, casting is less about finding that wild, unpredictable, unusual Broadway talent but more about finding talent that fits neatly into a prescribed role and who can, if the producers are lucky and have a long run, be easily replaced over the course of several years by actors who simply "track" a part.

I think a lot of the present day examples are a bit much. Osnes, for example, has a lovely presence and is a gifted actress with a beautiful voice, but to suggest that there aren't a dozen actresses (some of whom we may not know the name of yet) who couldn't easily replace her is silly.

Yes, please enlighten us, wise old one. Tell us what they mean.

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Then tell me what they mean? Instead of criticizing me, why not educate me since you feel you know more than me about the subject.

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Faye Dunaway in Curse of the Aching Heart.

Oh, I thought that said laconic.

""To each their own. I do think she will be remembered for her performance in Cinderella for a LONG time. The arrival of Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella on Broadway has been anticipated for years, and Laura Osnes is delivering an incredible performance. I found her performance to be breathtaking and extremely memorable.""

AMEN! for the under 30s she's on her way to turning into OUR Patty, Liza, Kristen, Babs. With a sweeter voice even.

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"Also, today's BIG ICONIC PERFORMANCES must catch fire in a bigger way than the iconic performances of the past. Why? Because back then, Broadway had much bigger cultural cache. "

This is so very true. I would also add that the incidence of broadway stars having long broadway careers has greatly diminished as stars have more crossover appeal and transition to television or film which can sometimes make them big stars on screen but not necessarily as iconic as they could have been had they stayed on Broadway.

Take Sutton, Osnes, etc, when that television and film money comes knocking, it's hard to say no, especially given how rigorous live theatre is.

To whoever said Miller will be better remembered than Vereen... I actually don't have words.

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Perhaps you misunderstood what I was trying to say, so let me try to explain. I didn't say Miller will be better remembered than Vereen or that her role will be "more" iconic. I said I think her performance will become the model for future performers. By that, I was largely referring to younger musical theater fans and students. I anticipate that, with the success of the Pippin revival, it will gain new popularity among schools, particularly because its two main roles are no longer for men now that the Leading Player role has been reinvented for an actress. And when female students look to see how that role has been played, they will look at Miller's performance in YouTube videos for guidance. For that reason, I stand by my opinion that the Miller performance will be iconic and a future model for other performers.

None of that takes anything away from Ben Vereen's performance at all or makes it any less iconic. I was never intending to denigrate his performance or suggest Miller is better. I don't think they can really be compared, because they each bring different things to the role and each production is a reflection of a very different time and style of Broadway production. I think it is possible to appreciate both.

Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner in Sideshow

Colm Wilkinson in Les Misérables

Re: Jesus Christ Superstar, a lot of people who saw the '71 production have told me that Ben Vereen's Judas is the performance to beat. But speaking strictly of what I've seen? Carl Anderson wins iconic, hands down. And it counts as today (or at least relatively recent) because I saw him on his last go-round in the role, in 2003.

I'd seen him in the film and expected him to be good, but I also thought maybe his age would hinder his performance. Man, was I wrong. I have never seen someone with so much energy on a stage in my life. It was a commanding performance -- dignified, passionate, intense... so much emotion. His voice was beautiful -- very muscular, very musical (odd example, but I've never heard a better reading of "Cut out the dramatics / You know very well who" in the Last Supper scene). Watching him destroy himself as Judas was like seeing a man set himself on fire before your eyes. His performance was the closest to actual method acting that I think I'll ever see. I'll never forget the moments before Judas committed suicide, seeing Carl staring into the spotlight with tears flowing from only one eye as he sang, "When he's cold and dead, will he let me be? / Does he love me too? / Does he care for me?"

Met him at the stage door after the show when I was seeking an autograph, and if it's ever said that anyone has given 110% for a show, it would apply to Carl. He literally had "no voice" when it was over.

Maybe I'm cheating a little bit because Carl was more of an old-school performer, but no one I've seen as Judas since has ever touched his performance.

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