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| Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? | |
| Posted by: DistantDrumming 12:58 am EST 02/17/21 | |
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| I know nothing of The Act other than the song City Lights. I ended up down a rabbit hole and was surprised to find out Martin Scorsese was the (original) director and then, after a lot of trouble on the road, Gower Champion was brought into "fix" the show before Broadway. It's all in this pretty interesting NY Times piece from 1977. But, it got me thinking, any opinions on the best replacement directors / show doctors who came in (perhaps officially, perhaps unofficially) and who, by your memory or the popular record, helped turn things around dramatically? What about replacement actors? Note: I'm referring to actors who replaced fired actors (perhaps before they even made it on stage), not about later-in-the-run successors. THAT list would be far too long. And, yes, I know "best" is completely subjective... |
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| Link | In The Act,’ The Drama Backstage Is Not An Act |
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| Longbottom, Pimpernel | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 01:03 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? - DistantDrumming 12:58 am EST 02/17/21 | |
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| Everything about that show improved for 2.0, and many of us thought Robert Longbottom had a glorious career ahead of him. He certainly kept working, but never achieved anything on the scale of his one-two punch of the original "Side Show" and the revamped "Pimpernel". | |
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| Yes! This!!! ^^^ | |
| Posted by: GabbyGerard 02:18 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: Longbottom, Pimpernel - Singapore/Fling 01:03 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
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| Longbottom's staging of Side Show was beyond brilliant. Its Brechtian opening sequence's use of metaphor was incredibly powerful and, for me, infinitely more satisfying than the realism used by the revival. His revisal of Pimpernel improved the show more than I think anyone, including me, ever thought possible. Why hasn't he worked more in the NYC musical theatre scene?!? |
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| re: Yes! This!!! ^^^ | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 05:16 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: Yes! This!!! ^^^ - GabbyGerard 02:18 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
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| Even if one felt that Longbottom's work on the original SIDE SHOW was brilliant (and I don't agree), I'm very surprised, based on his subsequent work, that anyone expected him to have a great career, or that anyone would have to ask why he doesn't work more. I for one did not consider his version of PIMPERNEL notably superior to the original, only different. And then it was one artistic and/or financial failure after another, from FLOWER DRUM SONG to BYE BYE BIRDIE to that tour of DREAMGIRLS. His BIRDIE was so shockingly bad in so many ways, including the direction, that I was pretty sure it would end his career right then and there -- but he has continued to work thereafter, if not very often and not on Broadway. | |
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| The mind protects itself. | |
| Last Edit: GabbyGerard 06:15 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
| Posted by: GabbyGerard 06:08 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Yes! This!!! ^^^ - Michael_Portantiere 05:16 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
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| I totally forgot about that wretched production of Bye Bye Birdie--easily the worst production I've seen at Roundabout, probably the worst revival of anything I've seen on Broadway, and definitely in the top (bottom?) ten worst musical productions I've ever seen on Broadway. That being said, I genuinely liked his production of Dreamgirls, which I forgot he directed. I know there's talk of bringing the Casey Nicholaw production to Broadway from the West End. I also know that there are a lot of strong feelings on this board about the necessity of authenticity in representation. But, sweet Jesus, if we have our fourth major production of Dreamgirls in NYC and it's the fourth directed by a WHITE MAN, my "Black ass" (Effie's words!) will be outside that theater protesting. Longbtoom also did a stellar production of Hay Fever at the Old Globe with Alan Campbell and an early-career Santino Fontana whose every second onstage announced him as a star-to-be. |
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| re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? | |
| Posted by: toros 11:40 am EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? - DistantDrumming 12:58 am EST 02/17/21 | |
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| Tommy Tune taking over as director for MY ONE AND ONLY, replacing Peter Sellars (the Sellars production was fascinating - but not at all commercial, and nothing like what audiences would expect from a musical with Gershwin songs starring Tune and Twiggy) |
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| re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? | |
| Posted by: mermaniac 11:39 am EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? - DistantDrumming 12:58 am EST 02/17/21 | |
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| Patricia Routledge in "Darling Of The Day" (replacing fired Geraldine Page). | |
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| re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? | |
| Last Edit: AlanScott 01:56 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 01:55 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? - mermaniac 11:39 am EST 02/17/21 | |
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| Just to clarify, although it was announced that she would star in the much-delayed show (when it was still called The Great Adventure), it was announced in November 1966 that she would instead be starring in Black Comedy. This was around a year before rehearsals started for the show that would finally open on Broadway as Darling of the Day in January 1968. Page had also been announced as a possible star of Mame, which it seems she really wanted to do. It does seem that she wanted to do musicals. The problem seems to have been that she really couldn't sing. So it's not like Page started rehearsals, got fired, and was replaced by Routledge. That Routledge would be starring in it was announced in August 1967, around three months before rehearsals started. John Gielgud and Victor Borge had both been announced as possible casting for Priam Farll. I have wondered if it was ever offered to Alfred Drake. It seems to me that he would have been the best choice. It could be that he was offered the role and turned it down. |
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| re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? | |
| Posted by: Billhaven 04:31 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? - AlanScott 01:55 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
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| I was just rereading an old AFTER DARK (a wonderful rabbit hole to disappear into). They were announcing the musical version of LILLIES OF THE FIELD starring Ethel Merman and Sammy Davis, Jr.! | |
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| re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 04:56 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? - Billhaven 04:31 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
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| While Ethel Merman is believed to have said that when she's working on a Broadway musical she has to "live like a [f'ing] nun", I somehow don't see her playing one, not the one in "Lillies of the Field". Maybe if the premise of the later "Sister Act" were being written for her, but she'd really be kind of like a fish out of water with her patented "take charge loudly" manner. | |
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| re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? | |
| Posted by: Holland 04:14 pm EST 02/18/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? - PlayWiz 04:56 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
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| Perhaps she was thinking, well, if Mary won a Tony for The Sound of Music... | |
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| re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 10:32 am EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? - DistantDrumming 12:58 am EST 02/17/21 | |
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| Another good example, in addition to the ones already mentioned, is Gower Champion taking over the direction of IRENE from (of all people) John Gielgud. | |
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| re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? | |
| Posted by: fredfrankg (fredfrankg427@gmail.com) 10:54 am EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? - Michael_Portantiere 10:32 am EST 02/17/21 | |
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| It's difficult to determine the contributions of directors and choreographers, unless the incoming folks have completely scrapped what their predecessors had created. In reading Becoming Barbra Streisand, there were a slew of directors, choreographers, and scores of versions of the book for Funny Girl. As for performers, the two replacements that immediately come to mind are Pearl Bailey, who deservedly won a special Tony when she became the fifth Dolly in the original Broadway production. Fast forward a few decades to Reba McIntyre taking over for Bernadette Peters in Annie Get Your Gun. Unfortunately, I missed both of those, But I have fond memories of Pat Hingle as the replacement Coach for Richard A. Dysart in That Championship Season; Maryann Plunkett was also superb taking over for Peters in Sunday in the Park with George; Betty Buckley was vastly superior to her predecessors in Sunset Boulevard; Ditto Aaron Lazar as Fabrizio in Light in the Piazza Stay safe and well, Fred |
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| re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 12:09 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? - fredfrankg 10:54 am EST 02/17/21 | |
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| Elaine Paige was superb, both vocally and in her acting in "Sunset Blvd" -- Glenn Close excellent in her acting, the singing less so, but still a memorable performance Jane Powell, just as lovely as Debbie Reynolds in "Irene", and actually a well-trained dancer Jonathan Pryce -- even better than John Lithgow, both stylistically and vocally, in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" Angela Lansbury -- much better than Constance Towers in "The King & I" as Anna when she took over when both Yul Brynner and Towers were on vacation; Michael Kermoyan was the King |
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| The thing is... | |
| Posted by: TheOtherOne 12:14 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? - PlayWiz 12:09 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
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| The original poster didn't ask us who our favorite replacements were once a show had opened. He specifically asked about actors who had been replaced before a show got to its Broadway opening. These answers are to a different question or topic. | |
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| re: The thing is... | |
| Last Edit: PlayWiz 12:32 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 12:22 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: The thing is... - TheOtherOne 12:14 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
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| I know, but that's a really difficult question -- did people here, for instance, see the Peter Sellars "My One and Only" and then see the transformed Tommy Tune version? Perhaps someone did, though it would be pretty rare. It was covered quite a lot in the press at the time in some detail as was the saving of "Irene" by Gower Champion. I think someone did see different versions of "Seesaw". Ok, you're right -- but someone would have to have been pretty quick to see both versions of some of these shows. As someone else opened up the discussion to performances, I took the bait. The performances I mentioned, I saw both performers and could compare, at least in my memory. They want theater lore from documentation -- ok, well, a famous one is that "A Funny Thing...Forum" was flopping until they replaced the opening number "Love Is In the Air" (performed later in "Side by Side by Sondheim") with "Comedy Tonight". It set up that the show was a broad burlesque-style comedy primarily right from the start and not a romance, and it transformed the show into a hit. | |
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| re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? | |
| Posted by: Billhaven 09:44 am EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? - DistantDrumming 12:58 am EST 02/17/21 | |
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| The first one that comes to mind is SEESAW. I believe Ed Sherin was the original director with Lainie Kazan in the lead. When Michael Bennett was brought in they replaced Kazan with Michelle Lee, redid all the sets, rewrote the book with contributions from Neil Simon, fired most of the ensemble and added Tommy Tune in a featured role. | |
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| Lainie Kazan and Michelle Lee interview | |
| Posted by: DistantDrumming 03:38 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? - Billhaven 09:44 am EST 02/17/21 | |
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| Billy Masters recently had a very long (but very entertaining) interview with Lainie Kazan and Michelle Williams and they actually speak to their estrangement (and eventual reconciliation) over Seesaw. You might find it interesting. | |
| Link | Lainie and Michelle |
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| re: Lainie Kazan and Michelle Lee interview | |
| Posted by: Billhaven 04:20 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: Lainie Kazan and Michelle Lee interview - DistantDrumming 03:38 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
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| Thanks. I had seen that interview a while back and found it fascinating! I actually saw Kazan in SEESAW in Detroit. She wasn't especially good. Oddly, she didn't seem that comfortable in the part although she was authentically from Brooklyn. It may have been after she was fired but had to finish the run. That would have sapped the fun out of anyone. | |
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| re: Lainie Kazan and Michelle Lee interview | |
| Last Edit: Chromolume 04:43 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 04:39 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Lainie Kazan and Michelle Lee interview - Billhaven 04:20 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
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| And I guess she could also be quite a handful. I was a young music director getting started in Boston, subbing in occasionally for the long-running sit-down production of Nunsense at the Charles Playhouse (this would have been 1990/91-ish), and they were bringing Kazan in to play Reverend Mother for a few weeks. At the time, I was living with a friend in the show, and she would regale me with awful rehearsal stories. Seems she was being the diva of all divas. To top that, the music director at the time actually called me to say unfortunately not to expect any subbing opportunities while Kazan was in the show, feeling that Kazan was such a wildcard that she would simply fly off the handle if she had to deal with a change in the band. I could truly believe that. I don't think I went to see her in the show. If I did, I've blocked it out. :-( (We did, however, have Pat Carroll and Alice Ghostley in that same role - both were terrific, and great ladies. I know I played when Ghostley was in the show, and I'm pretty sure I played for Carroll as well.) |
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| re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? | |
| Posted by: NewtonUK 08:03 am EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? - DistantDrumming 12:58 am EST 02/17/21 | |
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| Sutton Foster going into THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE; John Rando taking over URINETOWN; Jerry Zaks taking over ADDAMS FAMILY; the bookwriter of SPELLING BEE was dumped; | |
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| re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 01:11 pm EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? - NewtonUK 08:03 am EST 02/17/21 | |
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| The bookwriter of Spelling Bee was dumped twice - she was also the director who was replaced by Lapine. | |
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| re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? | |
| Posted by: TheOtherOne 10:47 am EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? - NewtonUK 08:03 am EST 02/17/21 | |
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| Elizabeth Ashley for Lee Remick in Agnes of God? | |
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| re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? | |
| Posted by: Pokernight 10:54 am EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? - TheOtherOne 10:47 am EST 02/17/21 | |
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| Penny Fuller in APPLAUSE. Also, I was told that the reason Scorsese left THE ACT was to disentangle him from Liza's "affections". There were days when neither would show up for rehearsal or arrive quite late. I don't know if he was removed or if he removed himself, but he did leave the production. I'm sure that 'Shocktheatre' will have something to say about that. | |
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| re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? | |
| Last Edit: lordofspeech 11:56 am EST 02/17/21 | |
| Posted by: lordofspeech 11:54 am EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? - Pokernight 10:54 am EST 02/17/21 | |
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| When Uta Hagen went into A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE to take over as Blanche from Tandy, in preparation for the national tour, Harold Clurman was brought in to direct (and re-direct) it. The word is that Clurman (and Hagen) brought the play’s sympathetic center back to Blanche, something which Brando and director Elia Kazan had wrested from Tandy in the original production. There’s a clip somewhere of Uta Hagen talking about this. Fascinating, I think. Hagen reportedly played against a number of Stanleys, including Anthony Quinn and Ralph Meeker, and, on a couple of occasions, she went on opposite Brando, on Broadway, with no prior rehearsal with him. |
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| Abe Burrows | |
| Posted by: reed23 04:50 am EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? - DistantDrumming 12:58 am EST 02/17/21 | |
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| When producers Feuer & Martin produced GUYS & DOLLS, the original libretto was written by Jo Swerling, a prolific screenwriter, who had contributed or co-authored such films as "Lifeboat" and "It's A Wonderful Life." Frank Loesser started writing his songs based on Swerling's book. The producers decided the book didn't work, and brought in Abe Burrows for a considerable revision. Loesser's finished songs were so good, Burrows wrote his new script to lead into them, lead out of them, and generally accommodate them. Five years later, the writers Willie Gilbert and Jack Weinstock adapted Shepherd Meade's satirical book HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING into a straight play, which they couldn't get produced. Five years after that, their adaptation came to the attention of producers Feuer & Martin, and they decided to produce a full musical adaptation – and reassembled their GUYS AND DOLLS team. Once again, Abe Burrows did a more or less total rewrite of the script, with Frank Loesser providing the songs. On their second show, Gilbert & Weinstock took pains to protect their status by having a contractual clause retaining exclusive authorship – the result was the flop HOT SPOT. Its star, Judy Holliday, begged her old friends Comden & Green to come in and save it, but either they couldn't or wouldn't, and down it went. |
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| re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? | |
| Posted by: IvyLeagueDropout 01:23 am EST 02/17/21 | |
| In reply to: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? - DistantDrumming 12:58 am EST 02/17/21 | |
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| In terms of show doctors, I think a few are well known for doing it often over the years. George Abbott, Jerome Robbins and Michael Bennett to name a few. | |
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| re: Replaced after Boston | |
| Last Edit: SidL 10:43 am EST 02/18/21 | |
| Posted by: SidL 10:30 am EST 02/18/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Who was the best REPLACEMENT director or actor? - IvyLeagueDropout 01:23 am EST 02/17/21 | |
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| Vivian Vance was replaced by Kay Medford in Woody Allen’s “Don’t Drink the Water” after the Pre-Broadway tryout at the Colonial Theatre Show was a hit on Broadway running for two years Speaking of Vivian Vance, Nina Arianda is in talks to portray the actress in Aaron Sorkin’s “Lucy Drama” |
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