My Lily Garlands include Madeline Kahn, Judy Kaye, Carolee Carmello, and Julia McKenzie (the greatest).
Kristin seemed born to play the role, and indeed her Lily ranks among the most acclaimed musical performances that failed to win a Tony (it was Kelli O'Hara's year). I know I'm very much in the minority, but I found that Kristin, while able to breeze through the score, gave a charmless, excessively calculated and self-regarding performance (even for a self-regarding character like Lily). And don't get me wrong: I thought she was fabulous in "Wicked."
I would imagine that even back in '78, Christine Ebersole would have been dazzling in the part; she became the Lily understudy when Judy Kaye took over as Lily, and she got to go on.
But I must put in a word for Marin Mazzie's Lily in the 2005 Actors' Fund benefit concert. She was pretty much ideal in all departments, even if Kristin getting the Broadway revival was inevitable. |
