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| When was the last time there was a good Velma Kelly in the Broadway production of Chicago? | |
| Last Edit: GabbyGerard 04:17 pm EDT 09/01/18 | |
| Posted by: GabbyGerard 04:11 pm EDT 09/01/18 | |
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| I'm not referring to understudies or understudies who've received temporary star billing during an extended headliner's vacation (e.g., Donna Marie Asbury doing a two-week run here or there). I'm referring to a regular run of at least three months. I'd be willing to bet that the vast majority of the production's performances at the Ambassador have featured a sub-par Velma because Brenda Braxton and Amra Faye Wright have headlined SO MUCH OF THE RUN.* Perhaps there was a point when Braxton or Wright turned in an impressive performance, but, in the multiple times that I have seen each of them as Velma, they have been--at best--underwhelming...and more frequently sloppy and detached. Many of the other Velmas I've seen at the Ambassador (Luba Mason, Pia Douwes, Roxane Carrasco) have also been problematic, though not nearly to the same extreme. I think I have to go all the way back to 2003 and the runs of Deidre Goodwin (perhaps the best to dance the role besides Bebe) and Caroline O'Connor to single out performers who have met the standard that this exquisite production of a damn near perfect musical should maintain. That being said, I have not seen many of the shorter-run headliners, including Carly Hughes, Nikka Graff Lanzarone, Reva Rice, Nancy Lemenager, Bahiyah Hibah, and--perhaps most notably---original revival Go-to-Hell Kitty Leigh Zimmerman. I post this not to trigger a litany of "Chicago is tired! It should have closed years ago" posts. I post this because I love this production and it holds a special place in my heart. Even in recent years, I have seen some wonderful performances in the roles of Roxie, Billy, Amos, and Mama...but never Velma. I'm hoping someone has had a different experience that could help me decide when to return to the production myself. *Terra C. MacLeod has also done a good chunk of the run. I've only seen video clips of her. Though I'd put her ahead of Braxton and Wright, she still does not seem to deliver in the way that I want a Velma to deliver. |
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| re: When was the last time there was a good Velma Kelly in the Broadway production of Chicago? | |
| Posted by: NewsGuy 09:19 pm EDT 09/02/18 | |
| In reply to: When was the last time there was a good Velma Kelly in the Broadway production of Chicago? - GabbyGerard 04:11 pm EDT 09/01/18 | |
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| Did Stephanie Pope ever headline Broadway? I saw her three times on tour and thought she was absolutely terrific. Agree with your thoughts on this posting, too. |
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| Stephanie Pope on Broadway | |
| Posted by: GabbyGerard 11:22 pm EDT 09/02/18 | |
| In reply to: re: When was the last time there was a good Velma Kelly in the Broadway production of Chicago? - NewsGuy 09:19 pm EDT 09/02/18 | |
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| To be honest, I'm not sure how long her run was, but I'm confident that I saw her opposite Amy Spanger's Roxie and Michael C. Hall's Billy Flynn around 2003 when he was on hiatus from Six Feet Under. Spanger has become one of the production's frequent "go-to" Roxies, but, back when she was in the ensemble at the Shubert, she understudied both Roxie and Velma. I wonder if she ever went on in the latter role. Pope was indeed terrific. Her extensions alone were worth the price of admission--those legs go on forever, and kick higher than the Chrysler Building! |
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| re: When was the last time there was a good Velma Kelly in the Broadway production of Chicago? | |
| Posted by: finally 08:11 pm EDT 09/01/18 | |
| In reply to: When was the last time there was a good Velma Kelly in the Broadway production of Chicago? - GabbyGerard 04:11 pm EDT 09/01/18 | |
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| I saw Terra MacLeod when she did the tour stop in DC last year (in which Brandy stepped in for a 2-week stint). She was absolutely terrific. I've been seeing this show since the late 90s, and she was easily in my top 3 (with Bebe and Ute). She was a real dancer but also captured the wryness of the character perfectly. | |
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| re: When was the last time there was a good Velma Kelly in the Broadway production of Chicago? | |
| Posted by: GabbyGerard 09:45 pm EDT 09/01/18 | |
| In reply to: re: When was the last time there was a good Velma Kelly in the Broadway production of Chicago? - finally 08:11 pm EDT 09/01/18 | |
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| Oh man, I wish I’d posted this question LAST a week when she was spelling Amra on Broadway. | |
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| re: When was the last time there was a good Velma Kelly in the Broadway production of Chicago? | |
| Posted by: theaterbear 04:26 pm EDT 09/01/18 | |
| In reply to: When was the last time there was a good Velma Kelly in the Broadway production of Chicago? - GabbyGerard 04:11 pm EDT 09/01/18 | |
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| Vicki Lewis sang the role very well and was hysterically dry and sarcastic in the role in the early 2000's. | |
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| Yes, she was wonderful, but... | |
| Posted by: GabbyGerard 04:32 pm EDT 09/01/18 | |
| In reply to: re: When was the last time there was a good Velma Kelly in the Broadway production of Chicago? - theaterbear 04:26 pm EDT 09/01/18 | |
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| ...her run pre-dates the production's transfer to the Ambassador. I saw her at the Shubert and loved the distinct comic timing she brought to the role, and the image of her Jessica Rabbit red hair against the production's monochromatic design. | |
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| When Chita Rivera played the part! n/m | |
| Posted by: Roscoe 04:21 pm EDT 09/01/18 | |
| In reply to: When was the last time there was a good Velma Kelly in the Broadway production of Chicago? - GabbyGerard 04:11 pm EDT 09/01/18 | |
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| :-) | |
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| I know you're making a joke, but... | |
| Posted by: GabbyGerard 04:30 pm EDT 09/01/18 | |
| In reply to: When Chita Rivera played the part! n/m - Roscoe 04:21 pm EDT 09/01/18 | |
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| ...it devalues the stunning contributions to musical theatre history made by Velmas in the current production, including Ute Lemper, Deidre Goodwin, Ruthie Henshall, Vicki Lewis, Caroline O'Connor, Stephanie Pope, Donna Marie Asbury, and ESPECIALLY the Tony Award winning Bebe Neuwirth. She gave, as Brantley put it, "an ecstatic benchmark performance" that was "a dancer's anatomy lesson." | |
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| Cough...cough...Jasmine Guy....cough nm | |
| Posted by: Genealley 04:54 pm EDT 09/01/18 | |
| In reply to: I know you're making a joke, but... - GabbyGerard 04:30 pm EDT 09/01/18 | |
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| nm | |
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| Yes! I should have included Jasmine in my list! | |
| Posted by: GabbyGerard 05:19 pm EDT 09/01/18 | |
| In reply to: Cough...cough...Jasmine Guy....cough nm - Genealley 04:54 pm EDT 09/01/18 | |
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| She danced the role BEAUTIFULLY, and brought a compellingly hard edge to the book scenes. (It was delightfully un-Whitley!) I do wish her singing had been less nasal and more varied in dynamics, but the MD may be just as much to blame there as she was. | |
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| re: Yes! I should have included Jasmine in my list! | |
| Posted by: blue70 01:23 pm EDT 09/02/18 | |
| In reply to: Yes! I should have included Jasmine in my list! - GabbyGerard 05:19 pm EDT 09/01/18 | |
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| I loved Ruthie Henshall. Nikka Graff Lanzarone was very good as well. | |
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| Ruthie and Nikka | |
| Posted by: GabbyGerard 11:19 pm EDT 09/02/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Yes! I should have included Jasmine in my list! - blue70 01:23 pm EDT 09/02/18 | |
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| Ruthie's Velma was a triumph of icy elegance! I believe the NY Times (?) re-reviewed the show either with her and Charlotte d'Amboise or her and Sandy Duncan. (I was supposed to see the latter pairing, but Nancy Hess was on for Duncan when I went.) In the re-review, the critic talked about the sense of danger Ruthie brought to the role--how she was a Velma who truly seemed like a murderess--and I thought that was an interesting interpretation. I truly regret missing her Roxie. I chose not to see Nikka during her brief run on Broadway because I found her performance as the Whore in the Transport Group's revival of Hello Again very frustrating. I now regret that decision. |
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