What and/or Who should be on Broadway?

Funny I should pull this topic up, considering that Townshend's been arrested.

Anyway, I agree that Quadro is somewhat more coherent as a story but Tommy has more of an old-fashioned razzmatazz kind of musical feel to it.

Who should be on Broadway?

Leonardo diCaprio should definitely trod the boards. He would be, for example, an excellent Gentleman Caller in another revival of The Glass Menagerie.

What should be on Broadway?

I would like like to see revivals of at least two shows which I don't think have ever been "revived:"

1. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
2. The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd

The one show they didn't bring to Broadway they should have was "Jolson." I saw the show in Toronto by accident, and it was one of the best musicals I have ever seen. The guy that played Jolson sounded just like him, and the show was interactive where the audience was encouraged to sing along on some of the songs. It was really great. The show was brought over to Toronto from London. c.i.

williamhenry: There was one revival of Virginia Woolf in the 70s. The original was in the early '60s and starred Uta Hagen and George Grizzard. The revival was in 1976 and starred Colleen Dewhurst and Ben Gazzara. I agree that it's time for another! But who would they cast? Any ideas?

macsm<

I would cast Kathleen Turner as Martha, but will have to think about poor 'ole George and the others. Any suggestions?

Thanks for the info re: the '76 revival. Dewhurst and Gazzara were probably very good.

Dewhurst and Gazzara were indeed sensational in the '76 revival, williamhenry3. Dewhurst in particular was so intense that, from my seat in the first row, I was a little bit frightened about being so close to her!

I also saw a revival of the play at the Almeida in London in 1996, with Diana Rigg and David Suchet as Martha and George. Once I got over how strange it was to hear both of them speaking with American accents (which they did very well), I thought they both gave great performances.

If I were casting a revival on Broadway today, my choice for Martha would be Stockard Channing. For George, I could see either David Strathairn or Roger Rees. Although the latter is English, he's based in New York these days, and does a lot of stage work here -- and if David Suchet could do an American accent, I'm sure he could too!

I love David Strathairn, bree. Have you ever seen him on stage?

mac,

I think I've only seen David Strathairn onstage once. That was about four years ago, when he and Lindsay Duncan were in an off-Broadway production of a very bizarre Harold Pinter play (if that isn't redundant) called Ashes to Ashes. I'm a big fan of his, too, and someday I'd like to see him in a play where I understand what's going on.

If you're curious about the Pinter play, there's a review at http://www.curtainup.com/ashes.html

Thanks for the link bree. That reviewer certainly had a lot of theories! I'm not familiar with that Pinter play, but I know some of his very well - and people do tend to try to second-guess the playwright. (And yes, "bizarre Pinter play" is probably redundant. )

How about Kevin Spacey for George? I can't picture anyone but Elizabeth Taylor in the role of Martha.

I would like to see the Boublil & Schonberg musical Martin Guere open on Broadway. I have the original London cast on CD and love the music. It's been at least two years since I read that it would be produced on Broadway. There was talk about changing the plot (conflict between Protestants and Catholics) and I did hear one of the new songs(written for the Broadway production) performed by Michael Ball on a TV special a year or two ago, but have heard nothing since.

Strathairn must enjoy weird plays. I saw him a few years back in a Manhattan Theater Club play by Sam Shepard, "Eyes for Consuela". It was about an American (Strathairn) visiting in a small Mexican village who encounters a peasant who wants to cut out his blue eyes for his girlfriend, who regrets the fact that all of her friends have brown eyes, or something to that effect. I told you it was weird.

I saw that one, too, flyboy, but I had completely forgotten about it until you mentioned it! I think I must have blocked out all memory of it because it creeped me out so much.

How's this for a coincidence? I just got e-mail from a co-worker, asking if I knew anything about the Classic Stage Company's new production of The Winter's Tale. She bought a ticket for the play, which she's seeing this weekend, based solely on the fact that David Strathairn is in the cast (presumably as Leontes)! Sounds like something I may have to look into...

Oh, yes, please do! And tell us all about it!!!

When CSC cast him they must have sensed that we on A2K would be discussing him, thus giving them some free publicity.