| Having seen both Buckley (twice) and Mazzie (twice) play Margaret, I can see why Cook was chosen. If you watch the DePalma film the robust maternal glow that Piper Laurie maintained in the role certainly suggested Cook at that age. She wore a costume that wasn't dissimilar. Type wise, it wasn't a stretch, and the score was of course written for a higher voice (even though the keys might've been lowered for Buckley; I don't know if they were, so don't shame me for supposition.) I think she sang "Open Your Heart' exquisitely. But I'm a fan of all of Margaret's material in the show, to a number the best stuff there. It held up very well. Cook probably thought, "why not?" Especially with Hands' track record. It's a helluva juicy role, even with limited stage time, and those scenes in the musical -- tellingly -- changed the least in the revision. It's the heartbeat of the story -- this perverse mother-daughter dynamic -- and Cook liked the music, which she often said. |
