Threaded Order Chronological Order
| The (hopefully correct) answers to Wayman's three questions (re: A number of questions about '1776' the movie) | |
| Last Edit: Marlo*Manners 02:55 pm EDT 07/07/21 | |
| Posted by: Marlo*Manners 02:39 pm EDT 07/07/21 | |
| In reply to: A number of questions about '1776' the movie - WaymanWong 02:14 am EDT 07/05/21 | |
|
|
|
| * I don't have sources for this but the question of Betty Buckley being replaced by Blythe Danner as Martha Jefferson has come up before. I remember the gist of the conversation. One issue is that Buckley had no screen or television credits until she appeared in "Carrie" in 1976. One TV appearance in 1971 singing. I think there were questions as to her being photogenic. Also, even at this very early date, Buckley had already acquired a reputation for being difficult during the original Broadway run. Betty was an attractive woman with strong bone structure - but also very womanly. The voice is also very strong and steely and made for a big theater. The camera favors smaller features in a leading lady especially a pretty young ingenue like Martha Jefferson. Hence, they opted for the young, blonde and experienced film actress Blythe Danner whose voice was nowhere near as rangy or powerful as Buckley but who photographed as young and delicate and sexy. I like Danner in the film but when "He Plays the Violin" starts I am hearing Buckley on the OBC recording in my head the whole time. Someone should do one of those YouTube dub jobs like they do with Audrey Hepburn, Roz Russell and Natalie Wood replacing the dubbers with their original voices in MFL, Gypsy and WSS. Overlay Buckley's vocals over Blythe's film performance. * I have the 166 minute Blu-ray of "1776" it has all the cut numbers and scenes and commentary by Peter H. Hunt & Peter Stone. There is a director's cut included on the disc and "Cool, Cool Considerate Men" is there. There are screen tests and all kinds of extras. No idea if Buckley was screen tested. I recommend it highly. * I don't know that Edwards was planning another musical - he died at age of 61 in 1981. Sherman had a large number of pop hits as a songwriter, from an online bio "In the late 1950s, he began writing popular music, including the hit songs Broken-Hearted Melody" (lyrics by Hal David), "See You in September" (music and lyrics co-written by Sid Wayne) and "Wonderful, Wonderful" (lyrics by Ben Raleigh). It is likely he wasn't hurting for money. His only other Broadway credit is the incidental music for a 1960 play called "A Mighty Man is He" that closed after three days. Marlo Manners (Lady Barrington) |
|
| reply to this message |
| Thanks, Marlo Manners, for your thoughtful replies | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 05:29 pm EDT 07/08/21 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 05:17 pm EDT 07/08/21 | |
| In reply to: The (hopefully correct) answers to Wayman's three questions (re: A number of questions about '1776' the movie) - Marlo*Manners 02:39 pm EDT 07/07/21 | |
|
|
|
| I've Googled around and haven't been able to find if Betty Buckley ever did a screen test for ''1776.'' And haven't seen her address it in interviews. How she landed the role of Martha Jefferson sounds like the stuff of movies. Buckley was the last one to be seen auditioning for it. At her agent's urging, she arrived in New York and didn't even know what she was really trying out for, and landed the part on the same day, her 1st day in NYC. By the way, Jack Warner reportedly considered Tammy Grimes to play Abigail, but after seeing Virginia Vestoff's screen test, stuck with Vestoff. I just found out that Vestoff passed away at only 42, from cancer in 1982. ''1776'' proved to be one of her few roles in feature films. |
|
| Link | 1971 Tony Awards: William Daniels and Virginia Vestoff reprise 'Till Then' from '1776' |
| reply to this message | |
| re: Thanks, Marlo Manners, for your thoughtful replies | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 10:44 pm EDT 07/08/21 | |
| In reply to: Thanks, Marlo Manners, for your thoughtful replies - WaymanWong 05:17 pm EDT 07/08/21 | |
|
|
|
| Virginia Vestoff had a really beautiful singing voice which was showcased in "1776". She also must have been quite a good dancer, as she was understudy for Elizabeth Seal in "Irma La Douce". She passed away very young indeed. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Thanks, Marlo Manners, for your thoughtful replies | |
| Posted by: StageLover 06:40 pm EDT 07/08/21 | |
| In reply to: Thanks, Marlo Manners, for your thoughtful replies - WaymanWong 05:17 pm EDT 07/08/21 | |
|
|
|
| I remember her vividly in the play THE SHORTCHANGED REVIEW at the Newhouse. I also saw her in another Joe Papp production, a musical version of THE MISANTHROPE at he Public. It's the only show I ever saw at the Anspacher. I liked it but I guess Papp didn't, as it didn't seem to ever "open" after previews. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
Time to render: 0.017863 seconds.