WOMEN ON THE VERGE coming to the West End...- Page 2

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/21/14 at 11:29pm

Broadway_Boy, I saw the show seven times throughout its run, and I agree that it kept getting better and better. Sure, it was bloated and overdone, but the score blew me away each and every time. During a first week preview, I sat there listening to the opening notes of the overture, and instantly knew that I was going to have some kind of connection with the score. I was one of the few at the time praising the score, and received harsh criticism on here for supporting the show. It was strange how the message boards managed to create such strong negative buzz based on early previews, buzz that the show was never able to recover from. The hatred for the show from theater fans and critics was so visceral. But I knew and said at the time that people would eventually warm up to the show, and I was right, many people changed their minds once hearing the cast recording. This show truly deserves this second chance.

Updated On: 6/21/14 at 11:29 PM

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 6/21/14 at 11:36pm

The score for this show is one of my favorite scores ever. It is lush, flavorful, fun, and jam packed with killer orchestrations and some of the most beautiful and poetic lyrics. I REALLY REALLY love this show and the score. What other people thought was an ADHD mishmash and mess of ballads and bad book scenes, I found to be a terrific screwball comedy that was over the top in a beautiful and, at times, even whimsical, way. I am really hoping the new production isn't too toned down.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 6/22/14 at 12:03am

"it was strange how the message boards managed to create such strange negitive buzz"

Not strange at all, the show was a mess and most people saw that. And it was such a mess that the score (which some people loved) got lost in the mess. The fact that the same book writer and Director are tackling it again is bizarre. If they knew what was wrong before, why didn't they change it then? Maybe we can ship Missy B over to repeat her role since most people liked her.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 6/22/14 at 12:54am

Can anybody else imagine Sheridan Smith as Candela?

As soon as I heard this was being produce in London, I thought of Sheridan Smith as Candela. Greig is certainly a highlight in EPISODES, her scenes with Kathleen Rose Perkins are my favorites. It seems that by casting Greig the creative team are going in a completely different direction than Sherie Rene Scott, who was so miscast as Pepa. There's something about Greig that could match the no-nonsense strength Carmen Maura so nicely brought to Pepa. Curious about Greig's singing, it's hard to picture her singing something like "Lovesick," but we'll see.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 6/22/14 at 3:47am

I continue to be disheartened that Bart Sher is filling this piece with Caucasian actors, much like he did on Broadway. Josefina Gabrielle is a dynamite West End star and she would have been a perfect Pepa, though Tamsin Greig is indeed a huge talent.

Samantha Spiro (who's won Oliviers for both MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG and HELLO, DOLLY! in London) played Lucia in the recent workshop. I imagine she's continuing on to the full production.

[tazber]

Posted: 6/22/14 at 6:01am

I think you're giving the negative buzz that was generated here on BWW too much credit ljay.

I remember liking the score and the performances very much, but the overall package was less than the sum of its parts.

The thread here was more of a reflection of that frustration, not a catalyst for damaging word of mouth.

To be fair though, some of the comments here were pretty harsh. But isn't that to be expected on a public message board?

There was a great musical in there, it just needed some significant rewrites.

[Owen22]

Posted: 6/22/14 at 12:48pm

I was an advocate for this score from the moment I saw/heard it. "Invisible" might be one of the best songs from a Broadway musical in the last ten years. Sure, there were problems with the book (most of the shows still running that opened this season have much worse) but it was a solid, sometimes thrilling piece of musical theatre entertainment, perhaps a little over-designed but much better than the Internet bashing, critical drubbing and short run it deserved.



Updated On: 6/22/14 at 12:48 PM

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 6/22/14 at 1:02pm

I'm with Taz on this one. I think we're overestimating the power of BWW. If the creative team had built a solid show around the score and those actors--and had cast the show differently, mainly in terms of their leading lady--then no message board chatter could have kept the show from being more successful. I do feel that the buzz leading up to the previews was so strong (that cast! that director! that composer!) that it had to struggle to develop under such a large spotlight. Let's hope this time around, the team can do something else. I will say "Model Behavior" is one of the great musical comedy numbers this side of the 2000s.

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/22/14 at 1:26pm

It was just a very strange time. During this period, somebody kept joining BWW pretending to be me, harassing me in threads and PMs. It occurred for months and months. It was creepy. It was like there was such animosity for anyone who supported this show at the time. But again, this was just my perception.

Updated On: 6/22/14 at 01:26 PM

[Owen22]

Posted: 6/22/14 at 1:32pm

ljay, I remember that time as well. It was like Women on the Verge was the runt of the litter and BWW posters were schoolyard bullies (sorry for the mixed metaphor but it's Sunday and I'm lazy). The utter hatred from some toward this show still strikes me as odd. There was a bad buzz generated that the show never recovered from. I disagree with those who say this type of Internet drubbing had no effect on the show. Remember: perception is everything.

[AC126748]

Posted: 6/22/14 at 1:47pm

I have to agree with SomethingWicked re: the propensity for Sher to cast Caucasian actors, and I hope that actors of color (particularly actors of Hispanic derivation)find a place in the cast.

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/22/14 at 1:53pm

I agree, I really hope that there will be some Hispanic cast members in this.

I remember being annoyed during Patti's scheduled absences, they kept putting Rachel Bay Jones on for her, instead of the Hispanic Alma Cuervo. Cuervo would have been fantastic. I saw Jones, and she was OK.

I assume it was easier to put Jones on because she was a swing. Cuervo was a regular cast member. Updated On: 6/22/14 at 01:53 PM

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 6/22/14 at 2:01pm

Ljay, I had no idea. That is so creepy! How weird.
I'm still wondering about Greig's singing. Have they decided to go with an actress/comedian who can sing rather than a more typical musical theatre actress like Sherie Rene Scott? Or does Greig have a musical background? I ask because I remember being so disappointed when Salma Hayek didn't move on with the show after being part of the workshop, and I recall people saying that it was because the role called for a singer. The workshop cast featuring Hayek and Argentinian actress Mia Maestro had more appeal to me than the cast they ended up with on Broadway (as fantastic of a cast as that was) since it actually featured Hispanic actresses. The music has so many Spanish influences and of course Almodovar's humor is very much tied to his cultural background--while Latin America has some differences in terms of culture, I still think Hispanic actresses could have brought something that was largely missing from some of the Broadway cast.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 6/22/14 at 2:19pm

As far as I know, Greig has absolutely no musical background. She's certainly never sung publicly. All the press about her doing the show suggests she's taking vocal lessons specifically to prepare for the material.

I'd agree that Salma Hayek not moving forward with the show to Broadway was a huge missed opportunity. She has the absolutely perfect sensibility for Pepa- someone who can convey an immense amount of warmth and passion despite being depressed (which proved to be the fatal flaw in Sherie Rene Scott's performance as she just came off completely disinterested). From what I've heard of her singing, I'm sure her not doing it had much more to do with her film commitments than it did her musical sensibility. Linking her singing "The Star Spangled Banner" below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi8NunzFCz0

As everyone remembers, Catherine Zeta-Jones was offered Pepa and chose A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC instead. While I don't think she's as ideally suited as Hayek would have been, I'd certainly consider her more appropriate casting than Scott ended up being.

Updated On: 6/22/14 at 02:19 PM

[SidebySidebyLogan]

Posted: 6/22/14 at 4:22pm

Somethingwicked wasn't Zeta-Jones' A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC the same season as Scott's EVERYDAY RAPTURE, then WOMEN ON THE VERGE bowed the following season? Not saying your wrong, just wondering how it all played out. I assume the workshop timeline predates both shows. I'm interested in WOMEN ON THE VERGE's workshops if anyone feels like going into more detail. Who else was involved with Salma Hayek? Anyone else of note, Hollywood or Broadway, that worked on the show but didn't make it to the sage?

[AC126748]

Posted: 6/22/14 at 4:26pm

Catherine Z-J wasn't going to do two high profile musicals back to back.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 6/22/14 at 4:33pm

Zeta-Jones was offered WOMEN ON THE VERGE... and A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC at the same time. WOMEN ON THE VERGE... was already set into Lincoln Center's season for the following year, so she would have done the workshop at the time and then been set for the production sometime later, whereas A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC was set for that fall and she ended up going right into it.

As far as other Hollywood types involved in the WOTV developmental process, Jessica Biel played Candela in every reading/workshop but ultimately didn't want to commit to a Broadway run.

Updated On: 6/22/14 at 04:33 PM

[SidebySidebyLogan]

Posted: 6/22/14 at 4:35pm

interesting, thanks for elaborating. Jessica Biel instead of Laura Benanti? Thank god that didn't happen!!

[AlbertPeterson3]

Posted: 6/22/14 at 4:38pm

Well, the thing is that spaniards ARE, in fact, caucasian. They're not mexican nor cuban. They might be comparable to italian people (a la Laura Benanti, for example). They're not usually blonde, but they aren't dark-skinned either. To compare them to people of latin-american heritage is a misconception (although it happens a lot). In the pic, Carmen Maura, Pepa in the film

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/22/14 at 4:42pm

Didn't Riedel say at the time that czj was insulted LCT asked her to audition for Verge? Then Sondheim and Nunn each personally offeyed her Night Music.

Updated On: 6/22/14 at 04:42 PM

[Owen22]

Posted: 6/22/14 at 4:58pm

"Well, the thing is that spaniards ARE, in fact, caucasian. They're not mexican nor cuban. They might be comparable to italian people (a la Laura Benanti, for example). They're not usually blonde, but they aren't dark-skinned either. To compare them to people of latin-american heritage is a misconception (although it happens a lot). In the pic, Carmen Maura, Pepa in the film"

THIS

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 6/22/14 at 5:01pm

I do recall the story about Catherine Zeta-Jones being asked to audition. I remember Jessica Biel played Candela in the reading involving Hayek and Maestro, and I've always wondered if "Model Behavior" was written when she was involved or if it was developed when Benanti came in. The song is so perfect for Benanti and it's such an ideal pairing of song/actor that I can't imagine Beil singing it, especially since she might have struggled with the song's tempo, not to mention the fact her comedic timing can't be compared to genius Benanti.
AlbertPeterson3, no one is talking color here really. If you wanna go in that direction, there's plenty of Caucasian Argentinians, Mexicans, Venezuelans, etc. Latin American is not a race (regardless of what the census tells you), the same way that Spanish isn't a race. What we're talking about are the cultural similarities between Latin American and Spain, and the fact that Hispanic actors (aka U.S. Latino/as, Latin Americans, and Spaniards) share more culturally than Americans and Brits. To say that Sherie Rene Scott has as much or more in common with Carmen Maura (again, in terms of the sensibility that she can bring to a character like Pepa) than Salma Hayek is quite misguided IMO.

Updated On: 6/22/14 at 05:01 PM

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 6/22/14 at 5:02pm

I'm not talking about the appropriateness of how people look, AlbertPeterson3. I'm saying that I find it insulting that Sher did the show on Broadway (about the people and the city of Madrid) without a single Spanish actor in the principal cast. Every other possible ethnicity was represented except the one actually in the source material. I would be willing to wager the same thing happens again in London.

Updated On: 6/23/14 at 05:02 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/23/14 at 12:06am

BTW, here is that old Riedel article regarding CZJ & Verge.

Catherine Zeta-Jones had been offered the role of Pepa Marcos, a depressed, pill-popping TV actress. But then Lincoln Center decided she should probably audition, which, I’m told, she took as an insult. She passed on the show and will instead do “A Little Night Music.”
http://nypost.com/2009/09/04/verge-of-a-shakeup/

Clearly she made the right choice, lol.

[another sloe eyed vamp]

Posted: 6/24/14 at 5:14pm

There's a production of this coming to Indiana this fall. Does anyone know anything about it?

It was originally announced as a reworking, I don't know if it still is or if it's the same one they'll be doing in London. I'd love to see the one in London, and am going to try hard to get there, but Indiana is a lot closer.

http://www.theatreatthecenter.com/2014-Women.asp