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Post by Mark on Oct 12, 2018 12:23:04 GMT
If it is Mcphee then why not just cast a British actress. Mcphees fan base in the UK is very small, it's not like she is going to shift loads of tickets on her name. Why not cast an American actress over Sam Barks in Pretty Woman on Broadway?.... McPhee was great in the role, loved her, and I really hope she does open the show here. |
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Post by 49thand8th on Oct 12, 2018 14:30:53 GMT
The only time I've seen Waitress was when Katharine McPhee was out (I went on purpose not because I don't like her, but because I knew rush would be easier) and really enjoyed her understudy. Meanwhile, a friend who's seen Waitress a few times said McPhee was her favorite.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2018 17:52:00 GMT
Loved McPhee back in the American Idol days. Can she act tho?
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Post by geeky101 on Oct 12, 2018 20:51:44 GMT
Intriguing news about Katharine McPhee, heard very mixed things on here and elsewhere. I saw Nicolette Robinson last night on Broadway and she was simply phenomenal... one of the best acted performances I have ever seen, in anything. It’ll be very hard to top that.
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Post by singularsensation10 on Oct 13, 2018 8:20:29 GMT
I saw both Sara and Katharine as Jenna on Broadway and enjoyed both performances equally - Katharine certainly has more of a household name status in the USA than here in the U.K. so I don’t think the decision is anything to do with ticket sales, more to do with opening the show with a safe pair of hands (in terms of the role and the show). She received a standing ovation after She Used To Be Mine so the audience certainly lapped her up. There is certainly nothing lacking in her vocal or acting ability, but I was hoping for a home-grown actor to open the show here (Dearman, Janson, Khadime etc).
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Post by mrbarnaby on Oct 13, 2018 10:06:16 GMT
I really, really hope you're wrong mrbarnaby... leaving aside the fact that in the good old Smash days I've always found her terribly overrated, while I haven't seen her on Broadway I have seen several videos of her performing numbers from the show on YouTube. My (very personal) opinion is that she can of course sing all the notes (although I find that she constantly goes for a pop-py voice quality, which is too much even for this material), but she seems to never have got the memo reminding her she is meant to act through song when doing musical theatre. Of course, if you're right and she is cast, I'll be more than happy to be proved wrong and I promise I'll be back here saying it out loud if she makes me change my mind. But I can't hide I'll be hoping for her understudy to be on, when I see the show, at least as fervently as when I cross my fingers for Rachelle Ann Go to not be on when I see 'Hamilton'  As I’ve said- I’m *not* wrong. I know a few people working on the show. I gather the plan is for her to do 3/4 months and then have a Brit take over- like Idina did with Wicked here. I have to say I’m not convinced that it will last to a change of lead. |
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Post by ali973 on Oct 13, 2018 10:16:03 GMT
You think it'll only last for 3-4 months? I'm not sure about this. Unlike the US, shows in London have no issue just limping along for over a year before they close. I think with the little variety and turnover of musicals in London, this should do okay.
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Post by martello736 on Oct 13, 2018 10:23:30 GMT
You think it'll only last for 3-4 months? I'm not sure about this. Unlike the US, shows in London have no issue just limping along for over a year before they close. I think with the little variety and turnover of musicals in London, this should do okay. |
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Post by westendcub on Oct 13, 2018 10:26:25 GMT
I miss ‘Made in Dagenham’ still, it played for 6 months.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Oct 13, 2018 12:24:28 GMT
If I asked what the stereotypically intended audience for this was, what would the answer be? What ‘crowd’ is it aimed at? The kinky boots lot? The dreamgirls posse?
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3,057 posts
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Post by ali973 on Oct 13, 2018 14:05:10 GMT
You think it'll only last for 3-4 months? I'm not sure about this. Unlike the US, shows in London have no issue just limping along for over a year before they close. I think with the little variety and turnover of musicals in London, this should do okay. Correct - but this is now a successful Broadway musical with multiple productions and arguably with a big marketing budget and capital that can sustain. I actually think it will do well. Brits love Americana. There will be countless covers of She Used To Be Mine, and people will love and talk about the pies they sell at the foyer and how the entire theatre smells of baked goods and cinnamon. On top of that, there really wouldn't be much competition besides Come From Away as a new musical, DEH does not begin until the end of the year, and is 9 to 5 really the scale that would threaten Waitress sales? At the end of the day, we don't know, but it wouldn't occur to me why this musical wouldn't succeed as everyone keeps on saying. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2018 17:13:30 GMT
The Adelphi is definitely not the right house for this imo. It's huge. Something like the Wyndham's or the Gielgud seems more appropriate.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2018 16:42:50 GMT
It just has to get over the initial hurdle with promotion and word of mouth to see how it will do in the future. It has potential to be a big hit if they play their cards right.
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Post by jvoom on Oct 14, 2018 17:43:21 GMT
I saw Katherine in New York and thought she sounded really, really fantastic. One of the best voices I've ever heard live, probably but there was something strange about the character of Jenna that I'm not sure if it was how it's written or if it was perhaps McPhee's interpretation.
I'm trying to find the nicest way to say it but I just couldn't quite get why the other characters were so interested in Jenna, the doctor especially. I found the character very cold, for lack of a better term. I understand a huge part of the show (the 11 o'clock number straight out says it) that Jenna is a woman who has lost herself yet it wasn't even a case where I could see Jenna underneath it all is a bright, funny, loving person who has become defeated and lonely over the years. If that makes any sense at all? Perhaps something will echo that thought and be able to word it better than I.
Of course, my feelings about her personality doesn't forgive the way she's treated by her husband so I felt for her absolutely in that regard yet I couldn't help leaving the theatre feeling like there was something missing that could easily be tapped into with either the right actress or a bit more direction. I'd be interested to see either someone else play the role or read the script and see if I felt the same way.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2018 8:06:23 GMT
The Adelphi is definitely not the right house for this imo. It's huge. Something like the Wyndham's or the Gielgud seems more appropriate. It does seem like an odd fit I agree. The Adelphi holds about 500 more people than the Brooks Atkinson (where it's currently playing in NYC). |
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Post by spendleb on Oct 15, 2018 13:07:21 GMT
Loved McPhee back in the American Idol days. Can she act tho? Her acting was perfectly fine during her run in Smash. |
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Post by Being Alive on Oct 15, 2018 14:03:34 GMT
Thought she was poor in this on Broadway. In fact, I thought the whole cast weren't good enough. Hence I didn't really enjoy it...
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Post by sparky5000 on Oct 20, 2018 5:59:23 GMT
I saw Katharine in the show when I visited NYC in June and she was a brilliant Jenna. I’d seen it previously with Jessie who I love and she was great, but I actually thought Katharine made a better Jenna because her performance was more purposefully understated, and therefore way more moving and authentic. And her voice singing the score was phenomenal, it was made for Sara Bareilles’ music. The crowd I saw it with lapped her up, and the entire cast. Christopher Fitzgerald as Ogie was genius! I think Katharine would be a great choice for Jenna in the West End actually. She’s proven herself in the show so the producers have no worries there, and I think her less showy and more understated portrayal would work with British audiences who are a bit more reserved. And I have zero concerns about her acting, it was superb in the show. My concern is how a show like Waitress with its southern charm sensibilities will relate to British audiences. I’d be more confident if the show was in a more intimate theatre, but the Adelphi just seems way too big for a ‘small’ show like Waitress. It’s 50% bigger capacity than the Brooks Atkinson!
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Post by sparky5000 on Oct 20, 2018 6:05:34 GMT
The Adelphi is definitely not the right house for this imo. It's huge. Something like the Wyndham's or the Gielgud seems more appropriate. It does seem like an odd fit I agree. The Adelphi holds about 500 more people than the Brooks Atkinson (where it's currently playing in NYC). The show absolutely works in the smaller setting of the Brooks Atkinson so yes I’m super surprised they went for the Adelphi. Seems such an odd choice. Were smaller theatres not avaialable? I wonder if Andrew Lloyd Webber owning the theatre was a factor, with the added publicity that might bring? |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2018 17:47:02 GMT
Come through casting news!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2018 18:04:56 GMT
They're clearly just waiting for Jane McDonald to finish the next series of 'Cruising with..' before they can say anything.
#LongWayFromWakefield
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2018 18:10:37 GMT
I think Sara and Keala will be in the OG London cast. Sara is most known as the woman who sang "Love Song", and Keala for "Greatest Showman". I doubt Katharine "Nanny" McPhee will be in the cast. She's not well known enough over here to put bums on seats.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2018 18:13:02 GMT
I think Sara and Keala will be in the OG London cast. Sara is most known as the woman who sang "Love Song", and Keala for "Greatest Showman". I doubt Katharine "Nanny" McPhee will be in the cast. She's not well known enough over here to put bums on seats. In truth, I'd argue at this current moment, Keala is even more well known than Sara in the UK. Especially from the recent X Factor performance and the success of Showman and that song! Not that it could sell off her name alone, but still. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2018 18:14:55 GMT
In my opinion the X Factor performance was rather dreadful, but I believe that this casting is safe for an American show in London which hasn't really had the same levels of hype as other imports such as DEH and Hamilton.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2018 18:52:39 GMT
I think Sara and Keala will be in the OG London cast. Sara is most known as the woman who sang "Love Song", and Keala for "Greatest Showman". I doubt Katharine "Nanny" McPhee will be in the cast. She's not well known enough over here to put bums on seats. The McPhee rumour has come from multiple sources, so I'm not inclined to dismiss it. People are assuming they will stunt cast this/fill it with names, but they haven't done so for Come From Away, and they didn't for King George in Hamilton when a lot of people assumed they would, so I think assumptions that this will have big names may well be wide of the mark here. Aside from Sara, possibly. |
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