dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
#0dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
Posted: 1/24/05 at 2:57amif u havent seen her yet...dont wait until its over...u have one more week to see the biggest star on Broadway on one of the best shows of the year"wonderful town" i also went to see "pacific overtures" and fell asleep during the show....LOL....i say it all!!! love sondheim,hated the show.Anyhow...if we want to see something fun.....there is a new fun show in NYC i didnt have any expectations...and thought it was gonna be as shallow and nonsense as "mamma mia" but "good vibrations" is a very fun show ...and it actually has a plot!!! and good looking people going to the beach...thats always hot! go check it out people.
#1re: dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
Posted: 1/24/05 at 8:30amWow it's interesting how people's impressions can have certain effects on others even if they may not be the desired ones. Based on your comments on "Pacific Overtures" and "Good Vibrations" I think that I'll pass on Ms. Sheilds in "Wonderful Town" because we obviously have very different ideas of good theatre.
#2re: dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
Posted: 1/24/05 at 8:42amI agree - don't miss her. She is excellent in the part (wife agrees). I had seen her a long time ago in "Grease" - she has really progressed!!!!
#3re: dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
Posted: 1/24/05 at 10:27am
Brooke is good...but Donna was the real deal. Am I the only one who thinks that Brooke's "Ohio" is wooden:
"Now listen, Eileen, Ohio was stifling...we just couldn't wait...to get out...of the place."
She sounded like a stroke victim. The rest of her performance was good, though.
#4re: dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
Posted: 1/24/05 at 11:25ami saw Donna and she didnt impress me at all...Brooke is so much better than her i think.just becuz donna won a tony and she is a "broadway actress" even tho she is trying to get to hollywood....everyone attacks Brooke and she is awesome as Ruth Sherwood.
#5re: dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
Posted: 1/24/05 at 11:41amAgreed :) Yay brooke!
#6re: dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
Posted: 1/24/05 at 12:09pmI saw Donna at the Tonys (was there) and Brooke. Brooke was much better doing the same stuff.
#7re: dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
Posted: 1/24/05 at 12:12pm
Brooke is amazing in Wonderful Town. I wouldn't miss her, if I were some of you. I hope I can catch the shows last performance.
I can't wait for Brooke in Chicago! I hope they bring her to Broadway.
#8re: dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
Posted: 1/24/05 at 12:15pmI'm not knocking Brooke. I'm just saying Donna was better.
#9re: dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
Posted: 1/24/05 at 12:17pm
Well. Donna was better singing wise.
But I heard acting wise Brooke is JUST AS GOOD. (I only saw Brooke, no Donna. But own both Cast Recordings)
#10re: dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
Posted: 1/24/05 at 12:20pmLately, knocking Donna has been all the rage. Yes, she missed a lot of performances. She's hardly the first. Not everybody can be like Ethel Merman. But when she was there, and she was the 4 times I saw it during her run, she was beyond extraordinary.
#11re: dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
Posted: 1/24/05 at 12:31pm
Yep. Missing over 70 performances is completely okay and normal 
Anyway, I respect Donna. I think she is quite talented.
#12re: dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
Posted: 1/24/05 at 1:01pmDonna and brooke both gave very different great perforamnces why compare them there both different people and there not going to give the same performance.
#13re: dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
Posted: 1/24/05 at 1:08pmBrooke is better than expected but not better than Donna. I wouls recommend the show to anyone looking for a nice weekend.
#14re: dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
Posted: 1/24/05 at 1:11pm
Who do you guys think was better as Eileen?
Jennifer Westfeldt (original)
Jennifer Hope Wills (replacement)
Nancy Anderson (understudy, who took over for several weeks when Jen West abruptly quit)
Jennifer Westfeldt gets my vote
#15re: dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
Posted: 1/24/05 at 1:15pm
In order of preference: Jennifer Hope Wills, Nancy Anderson, Jennifer Westfeldt.
Once Westfeldt left it was nice to actually hear the colortura part in "Conversation Piece." Nancy and JHW gave the vocals more of a mix-like quality and brought youth to the role. I love JHW though, I wish her many more shows!
#16re: dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
Posted: 1/24/05 at 1:18pm
I found Nancy annoying in the role. She was perfect in "A Class Act", but not vocally suited to play Eileen.
Anybody know why Laura Benanti was not asked to be in the show?
#17re: dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
Posted: 1/24/05 at 1:32pmjennifer westfeld was great in"kissing jessica stein" but she is not that pretty to play Eileen i think...it has to be a beauty like jennifer hope wills besides her singing is better than westfelds in my point of view...brooke and j. wills have a great bond chemistry and u can see it onstage.
musicalsFan
Broadway Star Joined: 3/3/04
#18re: dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
Posted: 1/24/05 at 2:20pm
in order of *preference*,
(1) Jennifer Westfeldt
(2) Susan Derry
(tie) Nancy Anderson, Jennifer Hope Wills
#19re: dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
Posted: 1/24/05 at 2:23pmI never saw Susan Derry. She was good?
musicalsFan
Broadway Star Joined: 3/3/04
#20re: dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
Posted: 1/24/05 at 2:49pm
Yes, I thought so.
I am big Nancy Anderson fan - loved her as Bianca in the KISS ME KATE tour - but not suited for Eileen.
#21re: dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
Posted: 1/24/05 at 3:03pm
The only time I saw her was "Broadway on Broadway"---you could tell she was struggling.
If I'm not mistaken, wasn't she announced as Jen West's replacement, then unannounced? That's what I heard.
#22re: dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
Posted: 1/24/05 at 3:50pm
As I only was able to see a few shows when I was up there, I chose to see WT because I am a big fan of the Murphy Recording.
Words cannot express my extreme disappointment.
Shields was horrendous.
Can't sing. Can't act. Poor comic timing.
For your sanity, skip seeing her at all costs.
But, I will admit, she is a better dancer than I expected.
The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.
#23re: dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
Posted: 1/24/05 at 3:55pm
Not everyone agrees with you, Priest. The fans dont and the critics don't . Brooke was a breath of fresh air for a production left in shambles because of it's star.
#24re: dont miss Brooke Shields in WT
Posted: 1/24/05 at 4:00pm
Well, 58.9% and 63.3% attendance isn't exactly saying the fans love her.
Now, I'm not saying that attendance percentages are a barometer of a show or a performer's merit...we all KNOW that isn't true considering what sells well these days.
But to say the fans love her isn't exactly true.
As for the critics, well, I've been on a completely different page than most major NY critics (Ben Brantley) these days, it seems. So no surprise there that I disagree with him.
The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.
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