What was Molly Ringwald like as Sally Bowles?
What was Molly Ringwald like as Sally Bowles?
Urban
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/27/05
#0What was Molly Ringwald like as Sally Bowles?
Posted: 8/16/05 at 6:22am
Just bizarre curiosity? I heard mixed reviews about her. Interested in knowing what anybody that heard her thought? Gosh I have had a thing for Molly since like 1987, I wish I could've seen that! LOL. Of course there is the snag of being on the other side of the world. 
#1re: What was Molly Ringwald like as Sally Bowles?
Posted: 8/16/05 at 7:11am
Hi Urban
I was lucky enough to see Molly play Sally in 2001. It was an amazing show and she was wonderful in the role. I thought she was far better than Natasha Richardson sounded on the CD. To this day watching her in Cabaret has been the best piece of theatre I have ever seen. She really knows how to belt out a show stopping tune. She surprised me- to be honest as I was expecting a movie star in a musical - purely there to attract punters. She had good reviews in the UK too for When Harry Met Sally. The show was just a movie retread but she was praised.
#2re: What was Molly Ringwald like as Sally Bowles?
Posted: 8/16/05 at 9:20am
Sorry, but you're right...there are mixed reviews about her. I saw her from the very front table at studio 54. She was terrible. She has NO sex appeal at all, she acted the same way she did when she was 8 on "The Facts of Life" and her singing was nothing more than okay, at best. I know what people say, that the role isn't supposed to sing well, and all that jazz. Well, my take is that if she sings better than okay, it makes for a more sympathetic character. Now, I saw Joely Fisher twice, and she had it down PERFECT. Her voice was amazing, with some flaws that really worked brilliantly. Simply, simply amazing. That's a woman that needs to come back to Broadway, NOW.
-Vincent
Kicks8567
Broadway Star Joined: 6/15/03
#3re: What was Molly Ringwald like as Sally Bowles?
Posted: 8/16/05 at 10:42amI saw Molly Ringwald the first time I saw Cabaret for Kids Night on Broadway. We had great seats on a center banquette and I thought she was amazing (granted I had never heard the music before and was dying to see the show). Now that I ahve two things to compare to, I thought she sounded much betetr than Natasha Richardson on the NBCR, but I definitely liked Susan Egan better. I also saw Raul as the Emcee and he was amazing!
#4re: What was Molly Ringwald like as Sally Bowles?
Posted: 8/16/05 at 12:22pm
Add me to the list of Molly fans. My partner and I also saw Cabaret from the front row table at Studio 54, and I was more than pleasantly surprised. I loved her! I thought she a little bit of a deer in the headlights quality to her, which I had never seen in a Sally before, and I thought it worked and was really appropriate.
I've always been a huge Molly fan. Cabaret remains my partners fav. show he's ever seen. It's definitely up there in my top ten list.
#5re: What was Molly Ringwald like as Sally Bowles?
Posted: 8/16/05 at 12:52pm
Kicks, I'm jealous.
I dug this up a while ago to see what Brantley had to say about Raúl Esparza. Thought it might be something to post here, as well:
Times re-reviews Cabaret (Ringwald and Esparza)
#6re: What was Molly Ringwald like as Sally Bowles?
Posted: 8/16/05 at 1:43pm
I thought she was almost perfect. The one thing missing was during Cabaret, her breakdown was almost non-existent. There was no sense of desperation or anything in that last verse. Sally didn't "lose it."
Other than that, she was fantastic.
AngusN
Broadway Star Joined: 3/23/05
#7re: What was Molly Ringwald like as Sally Bowles?
Posted: 8/16/05 at 2:00pmWow, Susan Egan as Sally Bowles. Susan has such a beautiful tone to her voice; she is definitely one of the best sopranos I have ever heard, but as Sally Bowles?
#8re: What was Molly Ringwald like as Sally Bowles?
Posted: 8/16/05 at 2:01pmI thought Susan was perfect, perhaps my only complaint being that for the part, her voice was almost too beautiful. Her portrayal was spot-on, I thought. Witty, cheerful and naive, but altogether a vulnerable disaster.
BwayBaby18
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/19/05
#9re: What was Molly Ringwald like as Sally Bowles?
Posted: 8/16/05 at 2:21pmMolly Ringwald was ok when i saw it. John Stamos stole the show away from her though and he was EXCELLENT!!!!!
cabarethed
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/03
#10re: What was Molly Ringwald like as Sally Bowles?
Posted: 8/16/05 at 7:25pmBORING, whiny, and sexless. I always hoped for an understudy.
#11re: What was Molly Ringwald like as Sally Bowles?
Posted: 8/16/05 at 7:49pmDitto to the thumbs-up for Stamos/Ringwald combination. I thought John Stamos was fantastic, though at times I was like "Uncle Jesse, what are you doing!?!" I thought Molly was good - not stellar but better than I expected. Decent singing voice that definitely overcame the "cast because she's a celebrity" stereotype, which I was worried about. All in all a great show, even if I was in the last row...
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?
#12re: What was Molly Ringwald like as Sally Bowles?
Posted: 8/16/05 at 8:54pm
molly was nothing short of a miscast.
susan egan, however, was wonderful. i even liked jane leeves.
My avatar: Yummy, no?
Mini_Mimi17
Understudy Joined: 3/16/05
#13re: What was Molly Ringwald like as Sally Bowles?
Posted: 8/17/05 at 10:26pmMolly was fantastic! She played the role so well, she could have done Mein Herr a little better tho but other wise I loved her!
Becky
Broadway Star Joined: 5/14/03
#14re: What was Molly Ringwald like as Sally Bowles?
Posted: 8/17/05 at 11:13pm
Wow, Susan Egan as Sally Bowles. Susan has such a beautiful tone to her voice; she is definitely one of the best sopranos I have ever heard, but as Sally Bowles?
All I can say is that I went through 5 women playing Sally - and each time I was desperately wanting someone to *get* the character. ALL aspects of the character. I enjoyed several of the ladies but none of them won me over completely. Susan was my 6th (and last) Sally, and I agree with luvtheemcee. She was spot on. No other way to describe it - she was everything I ever wanted in the character.
As for Molly? I saw her in tick, tick...BOOM! and it broke my heart that the only exposure some people had to the role was her horrid performance. So you can imagine my feelings going into Cabaret. However, she did fine. She was a *little* more suited for that role, but she wasn't anything special. Basically I just felt she was adequate overall - but weak in some aspects. I was impressed - but it wasn't hard for her to be impressive when I went in with such low expectations.
PJ
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#15re: What was Molly Ringwald like as Sally Bowles?
Posted: 8/18/05 at 2:40amCabaret was my very first Broadway show and I was really interested in seeing it based on the film and Molly. Of course when I got to the theatre, she was out, as she supposedly was quite often. I was devastated--and only 16. But I did love Raul Esparza's performance.
MTRBOI24
Broadway Star Joined: 12/11/04
#16re: What was Molly Ringwald like as Sally Bowles?
Posted: 8/18/05 at 8:54amI did not care for her at all. I did not think she could sing. And, Yes, John Stamos did steal the show. he was amazing.
#17re: What was Molly Ringwald like as Sally Bowles?
Posted: 8/18/05 at 9:29amI saw every major Sally throughout the revival's run and Molly was one of my favorites. Sexy, vulnerable, beautiful. A really excellent performance.
#18re: What was Molly Ringwald like as Sally Bowles?
Posted: 8/18/05 at 9:36amI didn't like Molly at all. I found her annoying and whiny. Nope...she definitely didn't do it for me. Though, I did love the fact that she had a bit of costume difficulty, the masochist in me, that is! During the scene where she first meets Cliff backstage, she just could not get the zipper up on her boot. She sat there fidgiting w/ it for several minutes, trying to get her lines out in between, and eventually she had to tromp off w/ one boot falling down and dragging behind her. Then, poor Cliff and Bobby were stuck in that lip-lock for ages. It wasn't one of those feels like forever, but it's really 10 seconds. She was off stage before her entrance for Mein Herr for what seriously felt like minutes. It got to the point where the audience started rustling, then snickering, and I even checked my watch a couple of times. Very funny indeed!
Chrysanthemum62001
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/14/04
#19re: What was Molly Ringwald like as Sally Bowles?
Posted: 8/18/05 at 10:22am
Molly and Raul starred in Cabaret the very first time I saw the show. I had been looking forward to seeing this for months.
I wasn't exactly sure about Molly, but I was already a fan of Raul Esparza's voice. Honestly, I didn't think she was all that bad. Up until I saw Jane Leeves, she was actually my favorite. Looking back on that performance, she was...well, not as good as I remembered her being. Susan Egan is my hero when it comes to Cabaret. She was practically perfect in every way. I only saw her once, but she made me care so much more for that character than I had ever done before. I would have loved to seen her paired with Raul Esparza or NPH.
#20re: What was Molly Ringwald like as Sally Bowles?
Posted: 8/18/05 at 11:32amJane Leeves was wonderful as Sally, IMO.
BwayFan4
Stand-by Joined: 6/1/05
#21re: What was Molly Ringwald like as Sally Bowles?
Posted: 8/19/05 at 11:21pmI thought John stamos was lousy in cabaret.He was too goofy . I thought Molly was great tho.
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