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| re: Bobby Cannavale as Nicky Arnstein? | |
| Posted by: larry13 04:17 pm EDT 08/15/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Bobby Cannavale as Nicky Arnstein? - WaymanWong 02:11 pm EDT 08/15/21 | |
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| I looked too but also couldn't find anything about his reactions to the show, although I thought I had read something somewhere(maybe in an obit?). There are so many stories about how the show came to be and the various people proposed, hired, fired, etc. Obviously, some versions conflict. Not everything can be true. One example that differs from this Wikipedia entry is that Styne, certainly by the time he first saw and heard Streisand, didn't want Bancroft who was still in the picture. He then deliberately wrote music he knew Bancroft couldn't sing(and I've always wondered how much could she sing)and she THEN dropped out. But the connection between Ray Stark and Fanny and Nicky IS absolutely crucial to what emerged. Read elsewhere about the real Fanny and Nicky and you'll find a huge amount of fascinating info that shows just how much the play and film changed the facts. Probably most importantly is that the real Arnstein was MUCH more unsavory than the character onstage/in the film. His daughter may have looked down/askance on Streisand--and fortunately she didn't get her way with casting--but she sure guaranteed a whitewash of her parental origins. |
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| re: Bobby Cannavale as Nicky Arnstein? | |
| Last Edit: PlayWiz 05:20 pm EDT 08/15/21 | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 05:11 pm EDT 08/15/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Bobby Cannavale as Nicky Arnstein? - larry13 04:17 pm EDT 08/15/21 | |
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| Anne Bancroft did some guest spots on television variety shows and had at least one well-regarded special of her own where she sang. I think she also sang in the Mel Brook remake of "To Be Or Not To Be". She had, if I recall, a very nice and pleasant singing voice, but not a thrilling powerhouse one like Streisand. Here she is with Perry Como. |
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| Link | Anne Bancroft-Perry Como singing "Volare" |
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| re: Bobby Cannavale as Nicky Arnstein? | |
| Posted by: larry13 05:26 pm EDT 08/15/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Bobby Cannavale as Nicky Arnstein? - PlayWiz 05:11 pm EDT 08/15/21 | |
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| I was going to say in my post earlier that I'm in awe of Bancroft's acting AND, in particular, her fabulous TV special. I don't recall how much she sang in that but I'm sure it was decent. I think we're in agreement, however, that the role of Fanny, as written, would not have suited her. I don't know if others who have succeeded well in the role--such as Mimi Hines, Carol Lawrence and Barbara Cook--would ever have been characterized as "a thrilling powerhouse" but they had the vocal(and acting)chops apparently for the part. | |
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| re: Bobby Cannavale as Nicky Arnstein? | |
| Last Edit: PlayWiz 05:48 pm EDT 08/15/21 | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 05:41 pm EDT 08/15/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Bobby Cannavale as Nicky Arnstein? - larry13 05:26 pm EDT 08/15/21 | |
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| Hines had a very fine voice and was funny and seemed to have the whole package. The show ran for quite a while with her after Streisand left; my Mom told me that she thought Hines was great and hilarious when she saw her. I saw Carol Lawrence a couple of times in her club act, a very talented lady, although she tried a bit too hard to be funny at spots. I'm not sure how she might have been as Fanny. Regarding Barbara Cook, I'll make an analogy to some great tenors. I don't know if you know opera well, but I once made the distinction between two top tenors of the mid-to-end of the 20th Century -- Franco Corelli and Carlo Bergonzi. Corelli's voice was beautiful because it was so thrilling. (Ok, he was also movie star handsome!) Bergonzi's voice was so thrilling because it was so beautiful. I would bet Barbara Cook's "Glitter and Be Gay " was both thrilling and beautiful! Leonard Bernstein told her before a performance of "Candide" that Maria Callas was attending to not be alarmed; Callas wishes that she had Cook's high E notes! Her Fanny Brice I can mainly judge on her recording of "Who Are You Now" which is exquisitely beautiful -- thrillingly so. Plus she's funny in her "Ice Cream", "Where's My Shoe" in "She Loves Me", "I Wouldn't Marry You" and "The Label on the Bottle" from "The Gay Life", and had major Broadway credit in comedies. So I'm sure she was a whole different but complete package as Fanny Brice, and one I and others would probably pounce on with great anticipation if there were recordings of her doing it. |
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