Vanessa Hudgens is Gigi (Officially) — Page 2

I clicked on the link provided by the OP that reads:

She grew up doing musical theater and says that's "what brought me out of my shell. So being onstage is something I feel very comforting." She starred as Mimi in "Rent" at the Hollywood Bowl in 2010.

Still don't know why everyone hates this girl so much.

But, then why did they hire Carly Rae Jepsen in Cinderella or Wendy Williams in Chicago?

Because replacements are generally when producers stunt-cast. Williams was brought in after the show had been running almost 17 years. Hudgens won't be a replacement.

I'm waiting for them to announce Mylie Cyrus and Taylor Swift in the Wicked movie.

That's a pretty wonky comparison.

At any rate, I'd be very surprised if the show makes it to Broadway. And the role of Gigi isn't that vocally demanding.

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Isn't the point of the revival that it has a completely reworked book by Heidi Thomas who is a great writer. I hate the film because it's so sexist. Don't we think the new book by Heidi will remove some of that. Isn't that the point?

Updated On: 9/10/14 at 04:40 PM

Considering who is directing it (Eric Shaeffer) and the success of the past shows that the Kennedy Center has (Side Show and Follies) I am sure they are not just throwing crap on a stage.

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"Wow, a lot of people seem to hate Gigi. I don't know anything about it. What are people's issues with the show?"

I find the short story (by Colette) quite good. But the story has lost some of its charm in the film transcription. They tried to adapt a 50 pages story into a 2h film by add scenes and characters. Some additions are nice (like the character of Honoré), but most of them are boring and slow the movie.

Of course, the story can be call sexist by today standards, but we have to go back in time. In the novel (less in the movie) Gigi wants to chose what life she want to live, against her family's will.

SPOILERS
In the original novel, Gigi never go out with Gaston. It's her refusal that leads to the proposal.

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I think Gigi (the film) is marvelous. It's a period piece, and quite a good one too. Is it sexist? Yes. Is Gone With the Wind racist? Yes, but's it's still a damn good film and novel. Just because a work is a property of a different time does not mean it is bad. It just means society has naturally progressed.
Gigi's score is amazing. I listen to the OBC constantly and I am very excited that a version of the show will be back on Broadway. I'm nervous the orchestra will be diminished, and the Overture and Entr'acte will be cut :/
As for Vanessa, I'm hoping for the best. She's not a huge star, so she's not really going to attract people to the show, so that can't have been the only reason she was cast. I hope I'll be pleasantly surprised by her.
Karen Wolf sounds perfectly lovely on the recording, but the role is very easy to be dull. I'm still hoping a "naughty" recording will turn up of the OBC. Maybe in my dreams.

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Updated On: 9/10/14 at 10:46 PM

Greeeeaaat.....

Oh how I weep for my lady Broadway.

I have heard Hudgens is extremely charming in the role.

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Saw the 1974 stage version (yes I'm old- F you) and found it blah. Just like the movie. It has good bones but needs a seriously different thinking (bad grammar) director and choreographer to liven this thing up.

I thought the show was already cast and that Howard McGillin was Honore.

Why do some confuse a sexist setting or a depiction of a sexist society (most societies since the beginning of time have been sexist and newsflash: our own still has a long way to go) with a sexist work?

I find this complaint particularly odd vis a vis Gigi, a work which, though a comic romance or musical comedy actually has its protagonist complain and in no uncertain terms rebel from a situation in which she knows she will be being wickedly exploited and end up being abused by the system laid out for her. If the cry of sexism is that she instead becomes a wife then one should equally complain about almost any 19th-early 20th century romance.

Updated On: 9/11/14 at 01:06 PM

I agree with you both. It is depicting a time and place, and features a heroine breaking out of the life that has been chosen for her, making her own rules and expressing her reluctance to be disposable. That all exists in the Colette original as well as in Lerner's adaptation.

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