Will Amanda go green? Nettles joins Simm in Hamlet, Holmes and Watson replace Fantasticks, Shaw and Seagrove move into the Apollo — Page 2

"Isn't Shrek the type of show where the title would sell the show"

Didnt work in America

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I think Jodie Prenger would be a great Princess Fiona in Shrek. She has the attitude, vocal chops and acting ability.

Seriously, AngusN? I don't think Jodie's untalented, but she's not right for Fiona at all. Fiona needs to be able to tap dance (I don't think Jodie has any proper dance training at all), project some sort of innocence about herself (I don't think Jodie could pull off Morning Person, for instance) and be... well, not a brassy, razzmatazz kind of person, which Jodie has yet to display herself as in her acting choices IMO (and yes, I did watch I'd Do Anything).

I'm also not convinced her voice is up to it, but then I haven't seen Spamalot so I have no idea how well she pulls off the diva scatting compared to the Hannah Waddinghams and Sara Ramirezs of this world.

Fiona is more of a "twisted Disney princess" kind of thing, and not even that twisted. The show isn't going to reinvent the wheel - she's basically the same as the film character.

Julie Atherton, whose name was mentioned, is more the "type" for Fiona, although she's not really my cup of tea. Emma Williams would be marvellous, but then she's been great in everything I've seen her in; I'd prefer her over any of the ever expanding Strallen clan (not a fan I'm afraid). There must be a good supply of slightly bitter ex-Eponines they could audition, surely?

How about the lovely Dianne Pilkington.....?!

Well she took on a role Sutton foster created with Millie, and I acttually enjoyed her in the role and quite a fan of Ms Holden!

However, she is too old for this role sadly and should have taken the role of Velma in Hairspray when it was offered. It would be lovely to have her in the West End, but quite what I don't know...

And also for the record, I love Rufus Norris' Cabaret! Closet to the book a production has ever achieved.

AnythingGoes - not quite sure what you mean by saying Norris' Cabaret was the "closest to the book". It was certainly a total travesty of Hal Prince's original concept for the show, which was intended to broaden Isherwood's original short stories and create a unique musical and theatreical framework that took those stories to a whole new level.

Prince intended the Emcee to act as a metaphor for the Depression, whose character changes during the show to reflect that depression, as he comments ironically on the Book scenes, highlighting the show's themes. Norris made the Emcee a silly clown throughout who develops NO menace at all and the entire piece seemed more like a pantomime than a serious piece of musical theatre. He restructured the show so that many scenes either made little sense or lost their impact - "Tomorrow Belongs To Me" fell totally flat in this production and it should be absolutely chilling. The original piece was structured in a precise way for a reason - it does not work if that structure is messed around with.

In all it was if Norris completely failed to understand what Prince envisaged for the show. The basic underbelly of what Prince, Masteroff and Fred Ebb created was the axiom that "ordinary folks" became Nazis (which is horrifying because that is the truth of what happened) - that did not come across at all in Norris' show. Neither did the other major subtextual theme of the clash between moral and emotional truth and the inability of people to face reality.

I felt that Norris compromised the artistic integrity of the piece to make it more commercially accessible and frivolous. And it did not even come close to the brilliance of Mendes's production at the Donmar and at Studio 54, which actually enhanced Prince's production while at the same time staying true to the brilliance of Prince's vision for the show. Cabaret is one of my all time favourite pieces of musical theatre and I hated the show when I saw Norris' production.

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