Who else could have played Francesca?

If the show was produced years would have Lupone been able to do it? I think she has a more similar look to Streep in the movie. Actually what about Donna Murphy? I feel like Murphy would be an obvious choice, no?

Very true, I guess I was mainly looking at type not necessarily vocal range. My bad.

Marin Mazzie is the most obvious choice to me. She has Kelli's legit soprano voice but more maturity and a killer belt that if used sparingly would have brought a fresh take on the score without truly breaking the Kelli mould (I could imagine her belting in sections of To Build a Home, Falling Into You, One Second and a Million Miles, and Always Better). This would have been the perfect role for her to originate or replace.

And who better to cast along-side her than her husband Jason Danieley. I realise he probably doesn't have Steven's voice but I think he would get by and the novelty of them together would make it worth it (it definitely added something to their performances in NEXT TO NORMAL, for me).

Plox Marin and Jason, tour with the show or take it to London.

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Updated On: 5/18/14 at 02:05 AM

I think Marin is the obvious choice but as soon as I read the thread title my mind went to Carolee.

Francesca is actually supposed to be in her late 30s.

I think Benanti always read WAY older.

Ljay, just out of curiosity, could you explain a bit what you found childlike about Shaddow's sound? She has a much brighter timbre than O'Hara, which results in a more technically proficient sound. Yet I imagine many would find that she lacks the warmth and voluptuousness of O'Hara's voice. Yet I don't think I ever found she sounded like a child; her voice actually reminds me a lot of Benanti.

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"Is that true? There was much talk about O'Hara and Pasquale being too young for these roles."

Similarly, back in the day, I think there was a discussion that Streep and Eastwood were too old for theirs. But anyone saying that is probably using the movie as their entry point to the material.

Makes sense. Although in the musical, we see Francesca age throughout the years. Kelli nails it by changing her physicality and mannerisms.

Haterobics has it half right. Not sure it matters all that much, but judging by the book, O'Hara's the right age and Pasquale is not.

In the novel, Francesca is, one would guess - war bride 20 years after immigration - late 30s to early 40s. But Robert is 52.

At 38, O'Hara is more age appropriate than Streep was when she played the role (47). (It is far more likely than Francesca was 18 than 27 when she met Bud.)

Even Streep was far more age-appropriate for Francesca than either Eastwood or Pasquale were/are for Robert.

Updated On: 5/18/14 at 11:56 AM

I'm excited to see where they take the musical. If it will tour or just go the regional circuit. I think it'd be smart to do a Caroline Or Change type tour and just take it to the bigger markets.

I would love to hear Melissa Errico take a stab at the role!