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| re: There’ll be a new “Funny Girl” cast recording. | |
| Last Edit: Delvino 10:04 am EST 11/17/22 | |
| Posted by: Delvino 10:03 am EST 11/17/22 | |
| In reply to: re: There’ll be a new “Funny Girl” cast recording. - duckylittledictum 08:32 am EST 11/17/22 | |
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| Recording the Shields iteration of Wonderful Town -- she's not known for her vocal prowess -- struck me as an odd decision. But, different era. | |
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| Brooke Shields in WONDERFUL TOWN | |
| Last Edit: JereNYC 11:54 am EST 11/18/22 | |
| Posted by: JereNYC (JereNYC@aol.com) 11:53 am EST 11/18/22 | |
| In reply to: re: There’ll be a new “Funny Girl” cast recording. - Delvino 10:03 am EST 11/17/22 | |
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| What you have to remember is that that revival of WONDERFUL TOWN was troubled due to Donna Murphy's illness. Murphy had gottern stellar reviews, but her illness meant that she rarely went on as Ruth. The show was all over the gossip columns of the time because the producers were trying to hide that Murphy was, essentially, out of the show and not coming back. Murphy was even forbidden from discussing publicly what was going on and it impacted her reputation for quite a while afterward. When Shields came in, it was a complete relaunch of the production, on par with what's happened at FUNNY GIRL this season. And Shields was TERRIFIC and delivered a wonderful performance AND managed to carry the show in a way that she didn't have to do in her other Broadway outings (her Sally in the CABARET revival was also very under-rated...seriously...she found an approach that I never saw any other actress in that production attempt). I can't imagine that anyone would have ever thought of Shields as the less attractive, less desirable sister in any pairing, but she is also very tall and used that to create a gawky, awkward character that you believed had been sidelined her whole life in favor of her younger sister. And you believed that her Ruth had been told all her life that Eileen was the pretty one. It was remarkable. And, yes, Shields is not the world's finest vocalist, but she's always been very canny about choosing her musical roles, and Ruth, like Rizzo, like Sally, like Morticia doesn't require that. This is a role written for Rosalind Russell's limited range and Shields aquitted herself nicely. I was glad to see them put out a cast album with her and Wills. I think more people would have had the chance to see Shields as Ruth than Murphy. |
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| re: Brooke Shields in WONDERFUL TOWN | |
| Last Edit: AlanScott 05:12 pm EST 11/18/22 | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 05:09 pm EST 11/18/22 | |
| In reply to: Brooke Shields in WONDERFUL TOWN - JereNYC 11:53 am EST 11/18/22 | |
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| Not to take away from most of the basic points you are making, but more people would not have had the chance to see Brooke Shields in Wonderful Town than saw Donna Murphy. Previews started on November 5, 20003. Murphy played her last performance on August 28 or 29, 2004, if what I find online is correct (and it is at least close to correct), four weeks before her contract was over, leaving early. During the time she did play in the show, I think she missed around 60-70 performances because I think it was said that she had missed 100 altogether, but that was including the last weeks when she was completely gone. If so, that would mean she played around 260-270 performances in the role. Shields took over on September 28, 2004, and the production closed on January 30, 2005. If she missed no performances, she would have played 144 performances, barring the possibility that the show played nine performances for a week or two around Christmas-New Year's. I saw both of them in the role. I saw Murphy during previews, before her vocal problems started. I thought neither of them was altogether ideal in the role, but Shields was probably a bit better, despite being miscast physically. Alexis Smith, a similar physical type to Shields, played the role in stock in 1957. |
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| re: Brooke Shields in WONDERFUL TOWN | |
| Posted by: JereNYC (JereNYC@aol.com) 08:38 pm EST 11/23/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Brooke Shields in WONDERFUL TOWN - AlanScott 05:09 pm EST 11/18/22 | |
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| Thanks for all that info. My memory, obviously, faulty, was that Murphy started missing performances in WONDERFUL TOWN soon after the opening, starting with 1 or 2 in the week and eventually not appearing at all. I'd have loved to have seen Alexis Smith in the role. Also Carol Channing, who replaced Russell, who was also tall, but not the glamour girl of Smith and Shields. |
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