| Good story from Riedel | |
| Posted by: | gad90210 07:37 am EDT 08/08/14 |
| In reply to: | Michael Riedel Today: James Corden’s “$28 million CBS offer” leaves ‘Forum’ scrambling - jesse21 07:03 am EDT 08/08/14 |
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| If it's true, and I'm thinking it is, it's a shame because Corden would have been super in the role. But Jim Parsons as a replacement? That I don't see. | |
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| re: Good story from Riedel | |
| Posted by: | simbo 08:40 am EDT 08/08/14 |
| In reply to: | Good story from Riedel - gad90210 07:37 am EDT 08/08/14 |
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| Parsons and Jesse Tyler Ferguson both seem like natural casting for Hysterium, not Pseudolus. | |
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| re: Good story from Riedel | |
| Posted by: | Michael_Portantiere 12:44 pm EDT 08/08/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Good story from Riedel - simbo 08:40 am EDT 08/08/14 |
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| "Parsons and Jesse Tyler Ferguson both seem like natural casting for Hysterium, not Pseudolus." Agreed. And P.S., despite Whoopi Goldberg actually having played the role, the idea of a woman as Pseudolus strikes me as completely ridiculous and a betrayal of the style of the show. I think it's wrong to cast a woman in the part just because she happens to be a big star and no male star of equivalent wattage is available at the time. | |
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| re: Good story from Riedel | |
| Posted by: | writerkev 01:08 pm EDT 08/08/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Good story from Riedel - Michael_Portantiere 12:44 pm EDT 08/08/14 |
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| The Whoopi Goldberg Pseudolus was definitely odd. They kind of half-kept in the leering at the courtesans, but in a way that made no sense. She didn't go all the way and commit to a "I want this lady naked" attitude, and it was hard to understand what it was that she was doing. She needed to make some kind of strong choice and just kind of went wishy-washy with it. | |
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| re: Good story from Riedel | |
| Posted by: | MikeR 09:24 pm EDT 08/10/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Good story from Riedel - writerkev 01:08 pm EDT 08/08/14 |
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| I played Hysterium opposite a female Pseudolus (Megan Cavanagh, best known for A League of Their Own) in San Francisco, and she was superb. She played the role as a man, fully committed to the character. I'd happily pay money to see her in the role again (although I'd rather get to play opposite her again). I do recognize, of course, that neither of us will be considered for the revival. | |
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| re: Good story from Riedel | |
| Posted by: | Michael_Portantiere 01:45 pm EDT 08/08/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Good story from Riedel - writerkev 01:08 pm EDT 08/08/14 |
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| "She needed to make some kind of strong choice and just kind of went wishy-washy with it." Probably because, at some point, she realized it was a really bad idea from the get-go to cast a woman in the role. | |
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| re: Good story from Riedel | |
| Posted by: | Alcindoro 03:49 pm EDT 08/08/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Good story from Riedel - Michael_Portantiere 01:45 pm EDT 08/08/14 |
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| Whoopi was by no means bad in the part. It suffered a bit from the loss of the playful lechery a male would bring, but Whoopi projected a gender neutrality which, while not the ultimate, I thought was certainly acceptable. And she was very funny in the role. And yes, I did see Lane and Silvers. There are plenty of male comedic stars out there who might be good: Mike Myers, Jonah Hill, Will Arnett are just three who spring to mind. Closer to home, Kevin Chamberlin, Jason Alexander, Mario Cantone (if he can reign it in a little). | |
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| Jason Alexander is a great idea! | |
| Posted by: | KingSpeed 01:34 am EDT 08/09/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Good story from Riedel - Alcindoro 03:49 pm EDT 08/08/14 |
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| What happened to his career? He'd be great in this. | |
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| He's directing Neil Simon's BROADWAY BOUND | |
| Posted by: | MockingbirdGirl 02:34 pm EDT 08/09/14 |
| In reply to: | Jason Alexander is a great idea! - KingSpeed 01:34 am EDT 08/09/14 |
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| at the Odyssey Theatre in L.A. | |
| Link | Broadway Bound |
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| re: Jason Alexander is a great idea! | |
| Posted by: | Chromolume 09:33 am EDT 08/09/14 |
| In reply to: | Jason Alexander is a great idea! - KingSpeed 01:34 am EDT 08/09/14 |
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| I heard the broadcast of his recent performance with the Boston Pops at Tanglewood. He was fun, though I thought he sang "around" the songs a lot more than really singing them (lots of "styling" where he, assumedly deliberately, kept reinventing melodies, etc - a bit too "Vegas"-y for my taste). But yes, assuming a good musical director could keep his singing honest (and it's not like Pseudolus has to be sung "perfectly" anyways), he certainly has the comic chops for the role. | |
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| re: Good story from Riedel | |
| Posted by: | bwaydiva1 10:16 am EDT 08/08/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Good story from Riedel - simbo 08:40 am EDT 08/08/14 |
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| Please just no Josh Gad. It would be nice to see someone who's out of the box for the role. I think Ferguson would be terrific. I love him on stage. | |
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| re: Good story from Riedel | |
| Posted by: | StageLover 10:48 am EDT 08/08/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Good story from Riedel - bwaydiva1 10:16 am EDT 08/08/14 |
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| What's wrong with Josh Gad? Not hunky enough for you? | |
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| re: Good story from Riedel | |
| Posted by: | lowwriter 11:06 am EDT 08/08/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Good story from Riedel - StageLover 10:48 am EDT 08/08/14 |
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| Josh Gad sure isn't hunky. | |
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| re: Good story from Riedel | |
| Posted by: | bwaydiva1 11:30 am EDT 08/08/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Good story from Riedel - lowwriter 11:06 am EDT 08/08/14 |
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| And...uh...I don't think of the role that way. He's so one note with fart jokes and frat boy humor. UGH. Every Cunningham I've seen since him I've preferred. | |
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| re: Good story from Riedel | |
| Posted by: | Michael_Portantiere 12:58 pm EDT 08/08/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Good story from Riedel - bwaydiva1 11:30 am EDT 08/08/14 |
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| "He's so one note with fart jokes and frat boy humor. UGH. Every Cunningham I've seen since him I've preferred." I really doubt that Gad would be rewriting FORUM if he does the show, so I don't expect there would be any fart jokes added. | |
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| re: Good story from Riedel | |
| Posted by: | Singapore/Fling 01:15 pm EDT 08/08/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Good story from Riedel - Michael_Portantiere 12:58 pm EDT 08/08/14 |
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| The last revival included a fair number of bits and ad-libs from the Pseudoli. I believe that David Alan-Grier even inserted a few minutes of stand-up into his "Comedy Tonight". I don't see Gad as being in character - I think he pops to mind because he's funny and we tend to think of Pseudolus as broad and fat. He also isn't really a star, but a supporting actor - "Mormon" pulled the trick where the supporting character becomes the star, but it's notable that Andrew Rannels got the much bigger career boost from that show. If folks are thinking Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Hysterium, it might be fun to pair him with Hamish Linklater as Pseudolus. They have great chemistry together, and Linklater would bring his brooding edge to the role - it might be fun to have a more conniving Pseudolus in the part. | |
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| Rannells got the biggest career boost? | |
| Posted by: | KingSpeed 01:38 am EDT 08/09/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Good story from Riedel - Singapore/Fling 01:15 pm EDT 08/08/14 |
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| Yes, Rannells got cast in a sitcom but Gad got to CREATE, write, and star in a sitcom. Both failed of course. But Gad is immortalized with FROZEN. Rannells hasn't reached that height in his career. | |
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| re: Rannells got the biggest career boost? | |
| Posted by: | Singapore/Fling 07:17 pm EDT 08/10/14 |
| In reply to: | Rannells got the biggest career boost? - KingSpeed 01:38 am EDT 08/09/14 |
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| You're forgetting about Rannells in "Girls", as well as that Rannells' failed series was more prominent and buzzed about than Gad's failed series. I think in general, people on this board underestimate the reach that "Girls" has to people in their twenties. It's a huge, huge, huge show with a lot of people, and Rannells was (is?) front and center on it. His storylines didn't quite grab the Adam Driver level of talked-aboutness, but he was big. Gad may be "immortalized" in "Frozen", but we will agree that most Disney voices don't get immortality, or even attention, out of their Disney work. Just talk to Jodi Benson. Or Brad Kane (at least he got to sing on the Oscars). | |
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| re: Good story from Riedel | |
| Posted by: | Michael_Portantiere 01:55 pm EDT 08/08/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Good story from Riedel - Singapore/Fling 01:15 pm EDT 08/08/14 |
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| I disagree. I think Gad might be very well cast as Pseudolus, and not just because of his size and type. On the other hand, I think the exceptionally talented Hamish Linklater would be wrong for the part, and again, not because of his size and type. Billy Crystal in his younger days is only one example of an actor who might be (or might have been) great as Pseudolus despite being a very different from the corpulent Zero Mostel in terms of size and type. | |
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| My favorite Pseudolus... | |
| Posted by: | LynnO 02:07 pm EDT 08/08/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Good story from Riedel - Michael_Portantiere 01:55 pm EDT 08/08/14 |
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| My favorite Pseudolus is Gary Beach, with Don Stephenson as Hysterium! They were the ultimate combo, in my humble opinion. It was over 10 years ago at the Sacramento Music Circus. :-) | |
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| re: My favorite Pseudolus... | |
| Posted by: | Haberville 07:36 pm EDT 08/08/14 |
| In reply to: | My favorite Pseudolus... - LynnO 02:07 pm EDT 08/08/14 |
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| Why is no one mentioning Geoffrey Rush for Pseudelous after he only just played it in his native Australia last year? He took the town by storm and won a Tony with "Exit the King" a few seasons back. He'd be great. | |
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| re: My favorite Pseudolus... | |
| Posted by: | Haberville 07:38 pm EDT 08/08/14 |
| In reply to: | re: My favorite Pseudolus... - Haberville 07:36 pm EDT 08/08/14 |
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| Also, Riedel is wrong that anyone would be interested in Jim Parsons or Jessie Tyler Ferguson as Pseudelous when they are both quintessential Hysterium-types -- I don't mean gay! I mean neurotic and very funny! | |
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