Victoria Clark rags on Nathan Lane's behavior

[chanel]

Posted: 12/2/13 at 10:06am

Says he was mean to her during her stint in Guys and Dolls.

Also quoted from the same book: When Judy Kaye subbed for LuPone in Sweeney Todd, there was a problem there too.

http://www.out.com/entertainment/michael-musto/2013/12/02/what-are-nathan-lane-patti-lupone-really-heres-broadway

[chanel]

Posted: 12/2/13 at 10:07am

PS: Sometimes a video pops up at this link. If so, you can click it away and the text comes right back.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 12/2/13 at 11:17am

" “He didn’t know who I was,” Clark relates, dripping with rue. “Didn’t care. I wasn’t Faith. I wasn’t going to be as good as Faith no matter who I was, no matter what I did. I was a waste of his time. And it wasn’t until I finished her first week away that he said, ‘Great job this week’. I thought, ‘Even if you didn’t know I was going to do a great job, if you had just lied a bit and told me on Tuesday night, “You’re going to be great,” this would have been a much easier week.” Nowadays, of course, Nathan always gives Clark a nice big hug when he sees her. “He and I have come a long way,” she beams, as if getting ready to belt one of those happy-ending songs that get the tourists cheering."

You call that ragging on? Ms Clark deserves her reputation of being a sweetheart every bit as much as Mr Lane deserves his for being an unhappy curmudgeon. She told the simple truth about her less that pleasant experience with Lane. That's hardly ragging on. I will never understand why actors allow themselves to be interviewed by these hacks. Seriously: "dripping with rue"?

Updated On: 12/2/13 at 11:17 AM

[chanel]

Posted: 12/2/13 at 11:34am

"Rue" means sorrow or regret. It applies. One of the definitions of "ragging on someone" is criticizing. It applies. And the writeup is sympathetic to Clark and her remarks about Lane's behavior.

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/2/13 at 11:43am

This book sounds pretty good.

[MCfan2]

Posted: 12/2/13 at 11:59am

Truthfully, I think that's one of the least substantive articles I've ever seen. And I've seen my share of unsubstantive articles.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 12/2/13 at 12:01pm

I know what "rue" means. I also know that no one speaks "dripping with" it. It's bad writing.

"she beams, as if getting ready to belt one of those happy-ending songs that get the tourists cheering."

Sounds like it was written by a twelve year old with a word minimum. I suppose it could be a fun book, in a bitchy, catty gossipy sort of way.

[Patash]

Posted: 12/2/13 at 12:05pm

Well, let's be honest. It's clearly meant to be a "gossipy" book. Why wouldn't it be written in a bitchy, catty, gossipy way?

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 12/2/13 at 12:23pm

Point taken.

My problem with these kinds of books (Making It on Broadway comes to mind) is that actors are interviewed under false pretenses - you can't tell me that Victoria Clark knew this was going to be a catty and bitchy book. The author(s) then go through and cherry-pick the negative stories spoken in an unguarded moment that put nearly everyone in a bad light, going even further by editorializing their words, putting on their spin how they said them.

Is it too much to ask that it at least it be written fairly well?

Eh. This is obviously a huge pet peeve of mine.

Carry on.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 12/2/13 at 1:23pm

Reading the description of the book on the OUP website, it seems more like Musto picked some of the cattier moments than the book being full of catty stories.

"In Nothing Like a Dame, theater journalist Eddie Shapiro opens a jewelry box full of glittering surprises, through in-depth conversations with twenty leading women of Broadway. He carefully selected Tony Award-winning stars who have spent the majority of their careers in theater, leaving aside those who have moved on or occasionally drop back in. The women he interviewed spent endless hours with him, discussing their careers, offering insights into the iconic shows, changes on Broadway over the last century, and the art (and thrill) of taking the stage night after night. Chita Rivera describes the experience of starring in musicals in each of the last seven decades; Audra McDonald gives her thoughts on the work that went into the five Tony Awards she won before turning forty-one; and Carol Channing reflects on how she has revisited the same starring role generation after generation, and its effects on her career. Here too is Sutton Foster, who contemplates her breakout success in an age when stars working predominately in theater are increasingly rare. Each of these conversations is guided by Shapiro's expert knowledge of these women's careers, Broadway lore, and the details of famous (and infamous) musicals. He also includes dozens of photographs of these players in their best-known roles.

This fascinating collection reveals the artistic genius and human experience of the women who have made Broadway musicals more popular than ever-a must for anyone who loves the theater."


That being said, I am curious to see the complete interviews when the book is released.



Nothing Like a Dame on Oxford University Press

[amoni]

Posted: 12/3/13 at 3:19pm

'‘Even if you didn’t know I was going to do a great job, if you had just lied a bit and told me on Tuesday night, “You’re going to be great,” this would have been a much easier week.”

Oh Dear.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 12/3/13 at 4:07pm

It's my experience that people with reputations for being unstintingly "nice" remember every slight, real or imagined, and will bitch about them whenever the opportunity comes up.

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 12/3/13 at 4:24pm

No wonder she was such a good Sally!

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/3/13 at 8:29pm

In the interest of fairness, I feel the need to point out that her experience as an understudy/ vacation cover with Nathan Lane was exactly the opposite of the one Jeffrey Denman had with Lane in The Producers when he went on for Matthew Broderick. He wrote about it extensively in his book, A Year With The Producers.

[justoldbill]

Posted: 12/4/13 at 11:21pm

I've been told that the cast of CINDERELLA wasn't all that sorry to see her go.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/5/13 at 1:45am

^She also departed Sister Act very abruptly, leaving the role in the hands of understudies until Carolee Carmello (who was significantly better in the role) was available.