Vanessa Williams or Bernardette Peters as the Witch???- Page 3
Vanessa Williams or Bernardette Peters as the Witch???
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/21/04
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
Who is better?#51
Posted: 3/16/05 at 12:18pm
I would love to know the fully story of the firing of Ms. Buckley as well. There are some nasty rumors about booger sugar, but they are simply rumors that I haven't heard confirmed.
Live, I've seen three Witches:
Ms. Rashad (imperious and imposing...I liked her a great deal)
Ms. Foley (sexy, rock 'n roll Witch...really reponded to that)
Ms Williams (beautiful to look at, but was misguided, as was much of the production)
Ms. Peters I've seen numerous times on tape. The funniest of the lot.
Stand-by Joined: 5/13/04
Who is better?#52
Posted: 3/16/05 at 1:00pmBERNADETTE!!!!
Broadway Star Joined: 7/27/03
Who is better?#53
Posted: 3/16/05 at 1:05pm
Out of both Bernadette and Vanessa, I would have to go with Vanessa - I wouldn't say that Vanessa was bland....she just didn't overplay her role, and gave an honest, balanced performance without trying to "steal the show". I really felt that Vanessa's interpretation and relationship with Repunzel was more believeable than other performances of ladies including Bernadette, who have played the Witch. Just my 2 cents. I would also love to know the truth about Ms.Buckley not being involved with Into the Woods. She would have been an incredible Witch.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
Who is better?#54
Posted: 3/16/05 at 1:11pm
But Buckley probably wouldn't have brought the funny.
Funny you say that about Williams' Witch. I actually thought it was a little more sapphic of a relationship than mother/daugher.
Who is better?#55
Posted: 3/16/05 at 1:13pmI liked both for different reasons. But rumor has it that the BEST witch to have done it was Betsy Joslin
Broadway Star Joined: 7/27/03
Who is better?#56
Posted: 3/16/05 at 1:26pm
Whoa! Robbie....didn't get that from her interpretation at all....Just curious....what made you feel/think that? Maybe I missed something?
Who is better?#57
Posted: 3/16/05 at 1:36pm
Well, I dunno which...
But after what munk said, I'd have to go with Vanessa....
Who is better?#58
Posted: 3/16/05 at 1:47pmNo contest whatsoever...BERNADETTE PETERS.
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/9/04
Who is better?#59
Posted: 3/16/05 at 2:51pm
Vanessa Williams.
The immortalized performance on the video recording of the show by Bernadette is weak and dry.
Personally, I didn't enjoy either but preferred Vanessa.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
Who is better?#60
Posted: 3/16/05 at 2:55pm
There was a tension in OUR LITTLE WORLD that clearly wasn't maternal (which is odd...Williams indeed is a mother), but it still was intimate. I thought, 'Wow...this could be FASCINATING.' But then it never went anywhere.
As much as I didn't like Williams in the show, I cannot say that I hold her to blame. I think James Lapine misdirected the entire piece.
Who is better?#61
Posted: 3/16/05 at 4:05pmI thought that Williams (in a disgustingly underrated performance) and Peters were both excellent, and both brought different things to the role.
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/13/03
Could it be the role? Look at "Last Midnight"#62
Posted: 3/16/05 at 4:38pm
Rashad was awfully good, if vocally thin. Peters was always Peters, I remember her performance feeling less original in the theater than it does on the DVD, where she scores more persuasively. I agree with Robbie -- Williams' problems in the show were directorial; in the same space, she burned up SPIDER WOMAN. I felt she was held back by Lapine, and was asked to trade on elegance and charm (which she has to spare) when some deeper character work would've enhanced. Except for her transformation moment, very sexy and almost orgasmic, you never saw her sweat -- but hey, a little sweat might've been good.
But does anyone else just think the part itself is a problem? Sondheim kept diddling with her final number "Last Midnight," to no avail. When I first saw the show in previews, there was an earlier version, "Boom Squish!" which didn't land. His revisions haven't made the number a show stopper, or even ... frankly ... clear. The character has all this heated summing up of motive and intention before she falls through a trap door, and we don't really get what she's so worked up about, do we? "I'm the witch, I'm the hitch, I'm what no one believes...etc." When you have to explain your symbols, you're in explication hell. The role remains strangely muted and hard to invest in. But I love the show, so go figure?
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
Could it be the role? Look at 'Last Midnight'#63
Posted: 3/16/05 at 4:51pm
Couldn't agree more. The role is almost incidental. Obviously, there needed to be a witch in these stories. The role has some interest early on, but there's no emotional investment, like with the other characters. Had they made her truly evil, it would have gone against the ambivalence of character the show revelled (sp?) in...which also happens to be its greatest asset. They couldn't humanize her too much...after all, she's the witch. So we're left with a muddled character that feels more perfunctory than inspired.
And LAST MIDNIGHT just doesn't work...and I think Sondheim would tell you that.
Could it be the role? Look at 'Last Midnight'#65
Posted: 3/16/05 at 5:04pm
First this silly question, then the same but for Donna/Brooke?
Folks, Vanessa & Brooke both did very admirable jobs, but Bernadette & Donna are much higher caliber performers and far outshone the other ladies.
Could it be the role? Look at 'Last Midnight'#66
Posted: 3/16/05 at 6:23pm
Funny you say that about Williams' Witch. I actually thought it was a little more sapphic of a relationship than mother/daugher.
It's not just Williams' Witch, Bernadette's too -- I think it's inherent in the role. There's something erotic about the Witch's possessiveness over Repunzel.
Isn't her motivation for "Last Midnight" her anguish at having lost Repunzel, and Jack is to blame?
Could it be the role? Look at 'Last Midnight'#67
Posted: 3/16/05 at 6:29pmOff-topic, but did you know that Imelda Staunton (VERA DRAKE) originated The Baker's Wife in the London production? She was fabulous, too.
Could it be the role? Look at 'Last Midnight'#68
Posted: 3/16/05 at 6:30pmReally? Could she sing good... well I guess the baker's wife isn't much of a singing role anyway. She semi-chants like the witch.
RENThead, enLIGHist, Ozalot, Grobanite, Ringer, Pickwick LW, Wicked, Lost, American Dreams, West Wing
Lea S. Hugh J. Adam P. Idina M. Matt M. Taye D.
Could it be the role? Look at 'Last Midnight'#69
Posted: 3/16/05 at 6:30pmYES!!!! She's BRILLIANT! I'm still pulling for her to win the role of Mrs. Lovett in the SWEENEY film.
Could it be the role? Look at 'Last Midnight'#70
Posted: 3/16/05 at 6:34pm
Ms. Staunton is the best Baker's Wife of the three I've seen (Gleason and O'Malley being the other two.)
And I second that call for her to be Mrs. Lovett. Perfect!
And Kangaroo, she sings wonderfully, and has a marvellous stage presence. 
Stand-by Joined: 11/15/04
Could it be the role? Look at 'Last Midnight'#71
Posted: 3/17/05 at 3:27pm
I loved both Bernadette & Vanessa in the role but my favorite is Ellen Foley.
I heard Julia McKenzie on the London recording,she was too shrill for me.
Could it be the role? Look at 'Last Midnight'#72
Posted: 3/17/05 at 5:44pmBernadette owns the role. Didn't see Vanessa but heard the revival's OBCR and as much as I love this show not just for its performances but also for its music....I will not buy the Venessa version. She just didn't do it for me. And I like Vanessa! Just not as the witch!
Could it be the role? Look at 'Last Midnight'#73
Posted: 3/17/05 at 6:38pmwhat a waste of a thread! those of you who are under the delusion that vanessa was better need to mosey on back to drama school.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/29/04
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