Who was the best Cassie?

Most of the people on this board probably weren't even alive when those gals played the role, but I certainly look forward to hearing everyone's opinions!

Oh, and don't forget Alyson Reed and her asymetrical haircut in the movie version

I've said it before and I will say it again. Out of all the Cassie's I have seen on Broadway, have worked with and seen in other productions Vicki Frederick wins hands down!

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Deborah Henry who passed away much too young was a great cassie. She was also a pretty snappy Val.

I saw THE Cassie, Donna M, on the tour stop in Richmond VA back in the late '80s. Tears of joy By far the best. Ever. Hands down.

I can not WAIT to see Charlotte.

I bet Bebe was great, too.

Ann Reinking.

I enjoyed Alyson in the movie. I have gotten conflicting information. Did she or did she not play Cassie on stage?

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Updated On: 8/8/06 at 11:41 AM

I used to call Pam Sousa, the dancing Cassie. She was off the charts and really into the moments. As said before, singing just fair.

Sadly, I am old enough to have seen Donna McKechnie, and I saw two subsequent Cassies on stage, plus Alyson Reed in the movie. No one compared to Donna.

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That is so funny you mention her hair in the flashbacks: my best friend refers to her two styles in that segment as the "Heidi" and the "Woodland Sprite" - simply awful!


I'm not sure that "Music and the Mirror" choreography has really worked on anybody other than McKechnie; it is so designed for her body and her amazing torso work.

It would be fascinating to have seen how Bennett modified the choreography for Ann Reinking and Cheryl Clark ("leg" dancers).

I have heard an audio recording of Reinking in the role and her acting was probably the best of any Cassie I've heard.

Updated On: 8/8/06 at 12:56 PM

ACL was the first show I attended on Broadway. At the tender age of VERY YOUNG I saw the original, and best, Miss Donna M.

I was lucky enough to see the original cast (well, 95% of it) when they first toured to L.A. in 1976 and I still remember being blown away by Donna McKechnie. I have seen a few productions since then but none stick in my mind. I would like to have seen Bebe Neuwirth. (Did she ever play Sheila, because her sass would be good for that role?)

But if we want to open up to the best Val (T&A) I've seen, my vote would go to someone I saw in a Canadian tour, Patti Colombo. She at least had the figure for the song. I remember Pamela Blair but the song didn't fit her figure. I recall when she appeared on Johnny Carson and she kidded herself by saying that she was singing about T&A and all she had really were these raisin-ettes.

I would like to have been at the special night when they broke the record for longest-running musical and they had all these Cassies from different productions, Vals, Sheilas, etc, etc. I did see that special ending on TV on something called "The Best of Everything", I think.

Updated On: 8/8/06 at 04:35 PM

My votes goe to Wanda Richert & Donna McKechnie (in that order). What happened to Wanda? I saw her play Peggy Sawyer and Cassie and it was thrilling to how she could pull off the two different roles so effectively...She was something!

I saw Cheryl Clark before she did Broadway as Cassie when she played the role in Sydney and later Melbourne. I saw Pamela Sousa on Broadway. I can't really remember much about either's individual performance but I do remember being madly impressed with both at the time.

I just read a few days ago something I didn't know - that Leland Palmer briefly played Cassie in the Los Angeles production. This is intriguing because, along with McKechnie, the character was largely based on Palmer's relationship with Bennett in the early 70s; and apparently a lot of the confrontation scene dialogue was inspired by their actual fights.

Apparently Palmer agreed to play the role after a lot of persistance by Michael Bennett, but felt very uncomfortable playing "herself" and left after a few weeks.

That's one performance, though, I would love to hear about!