Why hasn't Ann-Margret been on Broadway ?

[David10086]

Posted: 4/9/22 at 12:26pm

Last Sunday, actress Ann-Margret was interviewed on "CBS Sunday Morning", reflecting on her very long career of 60 years (she turns 81 in a few weeks). They recapped her movie stardom starring in so many successful musicals, especially opposite Elvis. Then in the 70s she went to Las Vegas, and did her Vegas act for a while. 20 years ago, she starred in the tour of 'Best Little Whorehouse...' as Miss Mona, and that was the end of her acting in stage musicals. 

I'm curious as to why she never performed on B'way as a musical actress ? Was she never invited to do so by producers, or did she choose not to do so ? I think she would have made an incredible stage actress with her singing and dancing. (Surprised she wasn't offered 'Sunset Boulevard' in the 90s, here or in the UK). 

 

I think she just may make a wonderful Madame Armsfeldt should "A Little Night Music" ever be revived. Any thoughts about this fine actress ?   

 

https://youtu.be/Za1p5EcSjHE

Updated On: 4/9/22 at 12:26 PM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 4/9/22 at 12:39pm

A friend worked on a film with her recently and he asked her this.  She said she received numerous offers to do musicals and plays on Broadway throughout her career but the long commitment didn’t appeal to her.  She gets homesick and hates being away from Los Angeles.  She’ll go on location for a film or TV project as it’s generally one-two weeks.  She loved Las Vegas as she could fly home often, which is why she did those extensively.  The tour of BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE was short which is why she agreed to do it.  There was mention of bringing it to Broadway for a limited run, but she declined.  

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

Posted: 4/9/22 at 12:43pm

Her as Madame Armfeldt is absolutely ingenious.

and she’s actually Swedish haha

also she’d be magnificent in Follies. Her doing “I’m Still Here?”

Updated On: 4/9/22 at 12:43 PM

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 4/9/22 at 12:46pm

rattleNwoolypenguin said: "Her as Madame Armfeldt is absolutely ingenious."

I can see it now:

"On the film set of Viva Las Vegas,
Where I spent a somewhat infamous year..."

 

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 4/9/22 at 12:53pm

Madame Morrible for the Wicked movie?

[White_Lotus]

Posted: 4/9/22 at 1:03pm

DramaTeach said: "Madame Morrible for the Wicked movie?"

ann-margret is a national treasure.

in the mid-70s when there were initial rumblings of adapting ‘a chorus line’ to film she was the front runner for the role of ‘cassie’.

[joevitus]

Posted: 4/9/22 at 3:29pm

Ann Margaret is wonderful, but she always plays Ann Margret (which is why sassy Miss Mona was a good fit for her) and she could never pull of either Madame. Armfeldt (she hasn't the aristocratic bearing or formidity) or Cassie (she has her dance moves, but no way would she be believable as a Broadway chorus dancer). 

She probably would have been great in Applause! though. 

[JSquared2]

Posted: 4/9/22 at 3:34pm

joevitus said: "Ann Margaret is wonderful, but she always plays Ann Margret (which is why sassy Miss Mona was a good fit for her) and she could never pull of either Madame. Armfeldt (she hasn't the aristocratic bearing or formidity) or Cassie (she has her dance moves, but no way would she be believable as a Broadway chorus dancer).

She probably would have been great in Applause! though."

No one could ever be "good" in APPLAUSE.  It's a terrible show with 2-3 good songs.  While the show itself isn't much better, perhaps 25 years ago VICTOR/VICTORIA could have been a good fit?  

 

[joevitus]

Posted: 4/9/22 at 6:20pm

JSquared2 said: "joevitus said: "Ann Margaret is wonderful, but she always plays Ann Margret (which is why sassy Miss Mona was a good fit for her) and she could never pull of either Madame. Armfeldt (she hasn't the aristocratic bearing or formidity) or Cassie (she has her dance moves, but no way would she be believable as a Broadway chorus dancer).

She probably would have been great in Applause! though."

No one could ever be "good" inAPPLAUSE. It's a terrible show with 2-3 good songs. While the show itself isn't much better, perhaps 25 years agoVICTOR/VICTORIAcould have been a good fit?

"

I think Applause! sucks as a show, too, but still think Margo would be a good role for her. Yeah, the lead in Victor/Victoria (again, a bad show) might have worked, too.

[David10086]

Posted: 4/9/22 at 10:40pm

Thanks everyone for the info and replies. I enjoyed the interview so much; couldn’t understand why she’s not a Broadway musical actress. It’s too bad they didn’t cast her as Desiree in the movie ALNM. She would have been so much better than Liz Taylor! 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/9/22 at 11:06pm

It's not just that she didn't do Broadway –– Wikipedia claims she never appeared professionally in any stage play until WHOREHOUSE in 2001, which she did for more than a year. Is that true? Always assumed she must have done theatrical work for Kenley/summer stock/regional.

I think casting her in any serious role (Armfeldt, etc) would be viewed as a summer stock-level stunt by most people, unless she really shocked us with her performance. No doubt she was approached for various roles in FOLLIES revivals, Roxie in CHICAGO, Dorothy Brock in 42ND STREET, countless mothers and grandmothers, etc.

[White_Lotus]

Posted: 4/9/22 at 11:08pm

joevitus said: "Ann Margaret is wonderful, but she always plays Ann Margret”

 

how insulting

you’ve obviously never saw her performances in ‘who will love my children’ , ‘return of the soldier’ or ‘a streetcar named desire’ 

she’s a damn fine actress

 

[David10086]

Posted: 4/9/22 at 11:14pm

Wonder if ALW ever asked her to play Norma Desmond in SB on Broadway? 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 4/9/22 at 11:30pm

Also, Ann-Margret is a 2-time Oscar nominee: for Mike Nichols’ CARNAL KNOWLEDGE and Ken Russell’s adaptation of The Who’s TOMMY.  Takes more than playing an Ann-Margret type to get major acting accolades.  Seems many are unaware her body of work includes acclaimed major dramatic roles along with those oh-so delicious 60s sex kitten comedies.  She did it all.  And still does as she’s still working.  

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/9/22 at 11:41pm

Brody, I think most people here are referencing her work in the past 30-40 years. Any gifts she might have had in the 1960s-70s have been pretty much nonexistant in recent memory, to the point where most of the general public would not view her as a serious talent and to the point where she could be a distraction more than a selling point.

Updated On: 4/9/22 at 11:41 PM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 4/9/22 at 11:52pm

She’s been quite active for decades, including winning an Emmy Award in 2010 for an episode of LAW & ORDER: Special Victims Unit.

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

Posted: 4/10/22 at 9:19am

Whoever said “Ann Margret always plays Ann Margret”

has never seen Carnal Knowledge or her brilliant SVU Guest spot that she won an Emmy for

[The Other One]

Posted: 4/10/22 at 12:37pm

rattleNwoolypenguin said: "Whoever said “Ann Margret always plays Ann Margret”

has never seen Carnal Knowledge or her brilliant SVU Guest spot that she won an Emmy for"

Or many, many other fine performances.  

She probably didn't want to be on Broadway.  She would have had to work her butt off with no guarantee of being welcomed by the then-even-more insular Broadway community.  I don't remember her nightclub act going over very well when she brought it to Radio City -- am I wrong about that?  And she probably preferred giving her all to a role during the relatively short amount of time it took to film it to putting herself through that night after night.  She prefers working from the gut to working technically, I think she's even admitted as much, and working from the gut night after night takes a lot out of a person.  

One show I think she would have been very, very good in is Mack & Mabel.  Her stardom* might have eked a longer run out of it than it actually got, but it still would have been a ferocious commitment for a flop.  She put her energies elsewhere.

*Please read no dig at Bernadette Peters into this statement!  I'm sure she was wonderful, but at the time she was not as big a name as Ann-Margret.

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 4/10/22 at 12:44pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "I think casting her in any serious role (Armfeldt, etc) would be viewed as a summer stock-level stunt by most people, unless she really shocked us with her performance."

 

Nonsense.

 

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 4/10/22 at 12:46pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Any gifts she might have had in the 1960s-70s have been pretty much nonexistant in recent memory, to the point where most of the general public would not view her as a serious talent and to the point where she could be a distraction more than a selling point."

 

More nonsense.

 

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 4/10/22 at 12:59pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "A friend worked on a film with her recently and he asked her this. She said she received numerous offers to do musicals and plays on Broadway throughout her career but the long commitment didn’t appeal to her. She gets homesick and hates being away from Los Angeles. She’ll go on location for a film or TV project as it’s generally one-two weeks. She loved Las Vegas as she could fly home often, which is why she did those extensively. The tour of BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE was short which is why she agreed to do it. There was mention of bringing it to Broadway for a limited run, but she declined. "

She also had a long term marriage to Roger Smith (of the old TV series 77 Sunset Strip fame) who suffered for years from a debilitating illness. I doubt she would want to be away from him for any length of time. I can’t imagine that didn’t play a huge part in her career decisions. 

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 4/10/22 at 12:59pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "A friend worked on a film with her recently and he asked her this. She said she received numerous offers to do musicals and plays on Broadway throughout her career but the long commitment didn’t appeal to her. She gets homesick and hates being away from Los Angeles. She’ll go on location for a film or TV project as it’s generally one-two weeks. She loved Las Vegas as she could fly home often, which is why she did those extensively. The tour of BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE was short which is why she agreed to do it. There was mention of bringing it to Broadway for a limited run, but she declined. "

She also had a long term marriage to Roger Smith (of the old TV series 77 Sunset Strip fame) who suffered for years from a debilitating illness. I doubt she would want to be away from him for any length of time. I can’t imagine that didn’t play a huge part in her career decisions. 

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 4/10/22 at 12:59pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "A friend worked on a film with her recently and he asked her this. She said she received numerous offers to do musicals and plays on Broadway throughout her career but the long commitment didn’t appeal to her. She gets homesick and hates being away from Los Angeles. She’ll go on location for a film or TV project as it’s generally one-two weeks. She loved Las Vegas as she could fly home often, which is why she did those extensively. The tour of BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE was short which is why she agreed to do it. There was mention of bringing it to Broadway for a limited run, but she declined. "

She also had a long term marriage to Roger Smith (of the old TV series 77 Sunset Strip fame) who suffered for years from a debilitating illness. I doubt she would want to be away from him for any length of time. I can’t imagine that didn’t play a huge part in her career decisions. 

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 4/10/22 at 1:09pm

I had a chance to see Ann Margret in a San Antonio tour stop of "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" in 1999.  

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 4/10/22 at 1:16pm

Patti LuPone FANatic said: "I had a chance to see Ann Margret in a San Antonio tour stop of "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" in 1999."

… and?!  Not even a “… but.”   WTF?!