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re: Am I the only one who doesn't like Audra McDonald??

Posted by:	mikem 11:54 am EST 12/07/13
In reply to:	Am I the only one who doesn't like Audra McDonald?? - Lisa 11:01 am EST 12/07/13

I find McDonald's voice to be a bit too "operatic" for my taste, and I thought her performance in Porgy and Bess was disappointing, so I can see why you feel that way. But in the right role, she can be astonishing. I saw her in 110 in the Shade, where she plays an unattractive woman who is insecure about her looks but is secure that her family loves her as she is. She and her brother get into an argument, and her brother says she is "plain," which doesn't sound so bad, but is devastating in context. There was a huge audience gasp when he said it. McDonald conveyed the depths of her character's pain without saying a word or even really moving. And then a single tear rolled down her cheek. I will never forget it. She has a real presence on stage that I did not feel in Porgy and Bess and that does not come across on TV. The chilliness and remoteness that you feel isn't usually true in her theater performances. I think part of the problem with Porgy and Bess is that she was fundamentally miscast. I think the Streep analogy is a good one, in that both she and McDonald project an innate intelligence and control. The role of a drug-addicted woman who makes a lot of foolish choices is not a natural fit for McDonald, and I did not find her very believable.

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Thread:	re: Am I the only one who doesn't like Audra McDonald?? - lowwriter 11:55 am EST 12/07/13

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