Tony Award nominee L. Morgan Lee to star in A COMPLICATED WOMAN at Goodspeed

[quizking101]

Posted: 3/24/24 at 12:35pm

May 10th through June 2nd.

“John Kenley was a theatre impresario who brought Hollywood stars like Gene Kelly and Ann Miller to Ohio’s summer stock stages. But when summer ended, he wintered in Florida where John disappeared… and Jean came to life. A Complicated Woman is a new musical that features a Golden Age score and a gender-diverse cast. Join us for the intriguing story of a theatre legend who had to navigate the joy, pain and pitfalls of leading a double life.”

https://www.goodspeed.org/shows/a-complicated-woman

https://www.instagram.com/p/C45vdC-ACji/?igsh=Y2t3b2xnZHducWg3

[BeingAlive44Ever]

Posted: 3/24/24 at 8:13pm

L Morgan Lee is very very talented. Y'know what'd be awesome? Jordan E. Cooper in a musical. 

[quizking101]

Posted: 3/24/24 at 9:02pm

BeingAlive44Ever said: "L Morgan Lee is very very talented. Y'know what'd be awesome? Jordan E. Cooper in a musical."

I want him as Hedwig

[Melissa25]

Posted: 4/28/24 at 11:12am

I am super excited to add this show to my trip to see Gatsby at A.R.T.  Very excited to see this. Klea was so good as Dolly at Goodspeed so I’m sure she’ll be great. There are $20 seats in row O. 
 

 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 4/28/24 at 1:58pm

So Nora is the one playing Kenley. Lee is playing a character named Nina Mae. 

[Melissa25]

Posted: 5/26/24 at 10:54pm

I liked A Complicated Woman a lot more than I had anticipated. Perhaps that is partly because I was expecting the creators to infuse some of the music from the TV stars that played in Kenley’s Summer Stock shows.  That was not the case at all.  The show tells John/Jean Kenley’s story through original songs in a golden age style musical.  

Nora Brigid Monahan and L Morgan Lee have beautiful voices and I thought they were very good.  Several songs stood out including Making a Home with You, Afterglow, Where You Belong.  There are 3 musicians (keyboard, bass, reed)listed in the playbill yet it sounds like conductor Debra Barsha is leading a much larger orchestra. Recommended.

[bigbelterbaby]

Posted: 5/26/24 at 11:04pm

I only recently discovered who John Kenley was and thought wow! What a fascinating person. Someone should do a show about them and BAM! Here it is! Wishing the best to the cast and creative team! 
 

..

[TheatreMonkey]

Posted: 5/26/24 at 11:10pm

bigbelterbaby said: "I only recently discovered who John Kenley was and thought wow! What a fascinating person. Someone should do a show about them and BAM! Here it is! Wishing the best to the cast and creative team!


.."

I'll second this -- and there's a very interesting interview on Playbill with the director, Jeff Calhoun, who became Kenley's friend later in life and was entrusted to tell their story. And quite a story it is -- the whole notion of "star (or stunt, in some cases) casting" was established and popularized by Kenly.

Edited: Here's the Playbill story

Updated On: 5/26/24 at 11:10 PM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/27/24 at 1:17am

It's a great premise for a musical, though the songs posted on Goodspeed's YouTube channel are weak out of context.

I fear certain corners of The Internet will take issue with a nonbinary actor playing an intersex character.

Sandy Duncan did a workshop of it as Kenley right before Covid, which is rather charming to imagine despite being inappropriate for aspects of the role:

Duncan said she was working with the director Jeff Calhoun on a new musical about a man named John Kenley, a pioneer in summer stock who gave Duncan her big break in “Peter Pan,” long before the show made it to Broadway. ... In the show, Duncan said, Kenley will be played by three performers of different ages; she is to play the final version.

[quizking101]

Posted: 5/27/24 at 1:02pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said:

I fear certain corners of The Internet will take issue with a nonbinary actor playing an intersex character.”

The internet would be just be stupid then. Being intersex is a spectrum and can present as any number of things which, considering the transgender movement wants to steer away from talk of anatomy, would be countering their own argument and also be extremely invasive. I feel like a non-binary performer is PERFECT if anything.

I saw the production and I found myself quite moved and definitely thought it was worth the trip. Nora Brigid Monaghan is HILARIOUS and heartbreaking, but I was so excited to see L. Morgan take on a fully developed romantic/dramatic character arc as I know she has stated before that she has wanted a role like this and, considering the story she tells is of a woman of trans experience, I’m elated for her