| re: Prior casting miscalculation: Henry Goodman/Dreyfuss as Max Bialystock | |
| Last Edit: waterfall 01:42 am EDT 08/02/22 | |
| Posted by: waterfall 01:38 am EDT 08/02/22 | |
| In reply to: Prior casting miscalculation: Henry Goodman as Max Bialystock - Delvino 07:38 pm EDT 08/01/22 | |
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| "And the same issue with Richard Dreyfuss in London?" Those were two completely different situations. Dreyfuss was simply not up to the task, and not for the first time. He also dropped out of All That Jazz, for similar reasons. Goodman wasn't Nathan Lane's Bialystock, nor was he encouraged to be. He was quite good, as was Bloom, Steven Weber. They just weren't Lane and Broderick. I think perhaps the powers that be thought the material was stronger than it was, and that the show would survive the change in direction and cast. It quickly became evident that audiences did not want to see a different take of Max. They made a mistake, which they quickly rectified, by buying out Goodman's contract, $15,000 a week for 8 months. Brad Oscar took over the role, in the style of Lane's Max. Jim Borstelmann was briefly given Oscar's Franz Liebkind, and was even reviewed quite positively in the New York Times. That decision, too, was soon reversed, possibly because Borstelmann was too valuable in his role of Roger De Bris' choreographer, and his quite capable understudying of both De Bris and Franz. Goodman was poorly treated in his dismissal, imo, by the producers and even Lane himself. The week before Goodman was due to take over, Lane hit a point in the show where he usually got huge laughs. That night, the audience's response was lukewarm. Lane said, "Just wait until next week and we'll see how [expletive] funny that British guy is". It did not go over well, nor did the rest of that performance. |
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