A film of FOLLIES? Please make it soon!
Steve Newport
Chita Rivera: "Who's That Woman?"
Barbara Cook: "One More Kiss."
Liza Minnelli: "I'm Still Here."
Leslie Caron: "Ah, Paris."
Elaine Stritch: "Foxtrot."
Mickey Rooney and Gloria DeHaven: "Rain on he Roof."
Harlett O'Dowd
Well, Marshall did his FOLLIES homage in the NINE film. If he can get
the money now, he could certainly direct it.
fmomoon
"Steve Newport" <birdp...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:29106-4B3...@storefull-3173.bay.webtv.net...
Oh, these look great! So who would do the leads?
--
Moni
"Who told you that you should be able to walk on water? You're human, get
used to it."
My mom
>
David Levy
> "Steve Newport" <birdpare...@webtv.net> wrote in message
>
> news:29106-4B3...@storefull-3173.bay.webtv.net...
>
> > Angela Lansbury: "Broadway Baby."
>
> > Chita Rivera: "Who's That Woman?"
>
> > Barbara Cook: "One More Kiss."
>
> > Liza Minnelli: "I'm Still Here."
>
> > Leslie Caron: "Ah, Paris."
>
> > Elaine Stritch: "Foxtrot."
>
> > Mickey Rooney and Gloria DeHaven: "Rain on he Roof."
>
> Oh, these look great! So who would do the leads?
I used to fantasize about Shirley Jones as Sally and Julie Andrews as
Phyllis, but alas, they're too old now. Olivia Newton-John would
probably be the closest thing to "right" as Sally in terms of having
the star's actual history and public persona resonate with the
character. Could Debbie Allen pull off Phyllis?
fmomoon
"David Levy" <dl...@post.harvard.edu> wrote in message
news:76b020ef-e917-4b5c...@a6g2000yqm.googlegroups.com...
-------------
I don't think Debbie Allen would be right but I'd love to see Audra McDonald
as Sally. Sadly, I suspect Catherine Zeta Jones would get Phyllis.
David Levy
Come to think of it, Bebe Neuwirth would probably make a great
Phyllis. As would Christine Baransky. Although both of those are
perhaps a little too casting-to-type.
Steve Newport
Shirley Jones as Sally and Julie Andrews as Phyllis
I want Julie to do COCO and Shirley a STATE FAIR remake with Amy Adams,
Harry Connick Jr, John Cullum, Audra McDonald, Patrick Wilson, and
Theodore Bikel.
Steve Newport
-------------------------------------
My picks: Streep as Sally, Close as Phyllis, Christopher Walken as Ben,
Jason Alexander as Buddy.
fmomoon
AndrewJ
> Harry Connick Jr, John Cullum, Audra McDonald, Patrick Wilson, and
> Theodore Bikel.
COCO would need a stronger libretto.
Robert Bouton
> "Steve: Streep as Sally, Close as Phyllis, Christopher Walken as Ben,
> > Jason Alexander as Buddy.
>
> a) not a strong enough voice b) see a c) good choice and d) too young
Jason Alexander turns the same stage as the original Broadway Buddy
this year. For comparison, the original Broadway cast ages: Phyllis -
50; Sally - 45; Ben - 42 and Buddy 51.
Audra McDonald (39) is the best Sally I can think of at the moment.
And I think she'd sound great on Too Many Mornings opposite Taye Diggs
(who today turned 39). Vanessa Williams (46) should be sharp enough
for Phyllis and I can see Will Smith, a "name" that sells tickets,
doing well with Buddy. And wouldn't it be delicious to see Lena Horne
(92) do I'm Still Here?
Steve Newport
I want Julie Andrews to do COCO and Shirley Jones a STATE FAIR remake
with Amy Adams, Harry Connick Jr, John Cullum, Audra McDonald, Patrick
Wilson, and Theodore Bikel.
COCO would need a stronger libretto.
Perhaps, but there's enough there to work with. Rene Auberjonois could
take over the George Rose role.
Steve Newport
As Ben: Taye Diggs (who today turned 39) and I can see Will Smith, a
"name" that sells tickets, doing well with Buddy.
I'm not a big fan of either-- and I'm having a flashback (not a god one)
of Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor in the CALIFORNIA SUITE film. So far, I
still like my choices for the four leads better than any that have been
suggested.
David Levy
I think I would put Streisand on I'm Still Here, bump Minnelli to
Broadway Baby.... and probably not include Angela, who's sort of too
old for this. (I also don't imagine Ah, Paris, Rain on the Roof, or
Foxtrot making it into the film. Or One More Kiss.)
Robert Bouton
don't imagine Ah, Paris, Rain on the Roof, or
> Foxtrot making it into the film. Or One More Kiss.)
I was hoping for One More Kiss with Leontyne Price
Steve Newport
old for this.
-------------------------------------
The original Ethel Shutta-style Hattie seems a good fit for Lansbury.
Steve Newport
Lena, etc.
Steve Newport
Buddy 51.
But not necessarily the ages of the characters. A nine year gap between
Ben and Buddy wouldn't make much sense in the plot. On top of that, the
film could be set later than 1971.
In terms of cuts, I'd like to see the young counterparts and their
musical material cut. I like "Don't Look at Me" and "Too Many Mornings"
but don't think they would work on film. Sondheim should write a new
Oscar-eligible song to replace "The Road You Didn't Take."
David Levy
> In terms of cuts, I'd like to see the young counterparts and their
> musical material cut. I like "Don't Look at Me" and "Too Many Mornings"
> but don't think they would work on film. Sondheim should write a new
> Oscar-eligible song to replace "The Road You Didn't Take."
I strongly disagree with everything in this paragraph. I think
"Waiting Around for the Girls Upstairs" would have to be shortened,
but I think "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow / Love Will See Us Through" is
a really, really important moment.
I think part of the way to make Follies work on film is to make it a
reunion of a film studio ala MGM (which did produce its own Follies,
after all) rather than a stage show. And to make Don't Look At Me
work, all you need is one smart line where someone laments what's
happened to film musicals, waxing nostalgic for the age when no one
needed an "excuse" to sing their feelings...
Steve Newport
Girls Upstairs" would have to be shortened
SN: Not with the young characters gone.
------------------------------------
make it a reunion of a film studio ala MGM
SN: That's been discussed, but I prefer a valentine to Golden Age
theatre.
-------------------------------------
to make "Don't Look At Me" work, all you need is one smart line waxing
nostalgic for the age when no one needed an "excuse" to sing their
feelings...
SN: I could live with that.
Harlett O'Dowd
> I think part of the way to make Follies work on film is to make it a
> reunion of a film studio ala MGM (which did produce its own Follies,
> after all) rather than a stage show.
That was the conceit in the late 70s when Hal Prince was trying to
sell it as a kind of plot-driven THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT! with Gene Kelly
as Buddy, Shirley MacLaine (Sally?) and Crawford as Carlotta and Davis
as Hattie (but swapping songs.)
Presumably the film of ALNM put the kabash on that.
Harlett O'Dowd
> I think I would put Streisand on I'm Still Here, bump Minnelli to
> Broadway Baby.... and probably not include Angela, who's sort of too
> old for this. (I also don't imagine Ah, Paris, Rain on the Roof, or
> Foxtrot making it into the film. Or One More Kiss.)
The FOLLIES numbers would be easiest to include - especially if
Marshall gets to direct it - as they would be performance/memory
pieces.
The scary stuff would be book numbers, especially "Could I Leave You?"
and "Too Many Mornings."
David Levy
wrote:
> The scary stuff would be book numbers, especially "Could I Leave You?"
> and "Too Many Mornings."
Too Many Mornings is a Rob Marshall specialty -- Ben sings it to his
memory of Sally.
Harlett O'Dowd
No - Ben would *imagine* himself singing it to Sally 30 years ago.
The numbers that would scare Marshall to death are
"Don't Look at Me"
"Waiting for the Girls Upstairs"
"The Road You Didn't Take"
"In Buddy's Eyes"
"I'm Still Here"
"Could I Leave You?"
"The Right Girl" would be easy to do if they go with the London
conceit of Buddy singing it to his younger self to explain how he
f*cked up his life (although virtually all the material in it is
repeated in "Buddy's Blues," making it perhaps the easiest number from
the stage show to cut entirely for any proposed film.)
As the first four numbers on the list above contain flashbacks similar
to "Too Many Mornings" Marshall might be able to finess his way around
some/most/all of them.
The killers would be "I'm Still Here" and "Could I Leave You?" It
would destroy ISH to sing it as a cabaret number and CILY? *is* an R&H
book number. Period. It and NINE's "Be On Your own" are essentially
the same song - and we see what happened to BOYO in the NINE
film...
David Levy
> would destroy ISH to sing it as a cabaret number and CILY? *is* an R&H
> book number. Period. It and NINE's "Be On Your own" are essentially
> the same song - and we see what happened to BOYO in the NINE
> film...
Except that Could I Leave You is a far, far superior song. All they
need to do to ensure that the song (and whichever of Phyllis's Follies
numbers makes it into the script) end up in the final cut is cast
Streisand. :)
Harlett O'Dowd
> Except that Could I Leave You is a far, far superior song.
Well, that's not entirely fair. "Be On Your Own" is one of the top
20 or so show tunes written in the past 30 years. "Could I Leave You?"
is probably in the top ten of all time.
But both are of the "plant-your-feet-and-hit-the-back-wall-of-the-
theatre" school of theatrical singing and, as such, aren't terribly
cinematic. Great, exciting, dramatic moments, yes, but there's no way
to explain why these characters have suddenly decided to stop talking
and start singing their feelings.
I suppose Marshall (or whoever) *could* use "Could I Leave You?" as
Phyllis' FOLLIES number (and, say, evoke the reprise of "Bewitched"
from PAL JOEY) but it still wouldn't really work in that spot.
The best we could hope for is that that one moment becomes a book
moment, like "And I Am Telling You" in the film version of DREAMGIRLS
- filmed with the hope that the moment is so dramatically powerful no
one will notice the dramatic/structural incongruity.
Steve Newport
film studio ala MGM: That was the conceit in the late 70s when Hal
Prince was trying to sell it as a kind of plot-driven THAT'S
ENTERTAINMENT! with Gene Kelly as Buddy, Shirley MacLaine (Sally?) and
Crawford as Carlotta and Davis as Hattie (but swapping songs.)
At various times it was Doris Day as Sally. Then Prince said only
Dorothy Collins could play it-- perhaps with Kelly, Reynolds, and
O'Connor. Off-Broadway playwright Jean-Claude van Italie supposedly
wrote a screenplay.
Steve Newport
ensure that the song (and whichever of Phyllis's Follies numbers makes
it into the script) end up in the final cut is cast Streisand. :)
I don't see Streisand in FOLLIES. As Reno in a film of the 60's version
of ANYTHING GOES, yes.
Steve Newport
hope for is that that one moment becomes a book moment, like "And I Am
Telling You" in the film version of DREAMGIRLS
We can hope Marshall's "audition" failed and someone else directs.
Without "In Buddy's Eyes" "I'm Still Here" and "Could I Leave You?"--
it's not FOLLIES.
Robert Bouton
wrote:
"Be On Your Own" is one of the top
> 20 or so show tunes written in the past 30 years.
Much as I admire Be On Your Own and missed it in the film, I wouldn't
call it one of the best five songs in Nine.
Which got me thinking of 20 finer show tunes from the past 30 years,
other than Nine, one per show:
Something - Upstairs At O'Neals
What Could Be Better? - Baby
Children and Art - Sunday in the Park With George
With Every Breath I Take - City of Angels
What More Can I Say? - Falsettos
Some Girls - Once On This Island
Lay Down Your Head - Violet
Friends - A...My Name Is Alice
Lady's Maid - Titanic
Breeze on the River - The Full Monty
Everyone's a Little Bit Racist - Avenue Q
Anytime (I'll Be There) - Elegies
Heart and Music - A New Brain
The "I Love You" Song - 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Say It Somehow - The Light in the Piazza
Princess - A Man of No Importance
Nothing Is Too Wonderful To Be True - Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Die Vampires Die - [title of show]
How Glory Goes - Floyd Collins
One of the Good Guys - Closer Than Ever
Harlett O'Dowd
Some of the shows you name have some good songs in them (FALSETTOS,
TITANIC, AVENUE Q) but the titles you offered are hardly the best
songs from their scores, let alone the best of the last 30 years.
As for the others, well, some of them are pleasant.
Steve Newport
as Phyllis>>>
---------------------------------------
Surely Close is as strong as Alexis Smith, or Blythe Danner.
Harlett O'Dowd
> From: fmom...@comcast.net (fmomoon) <<<My picks: Streep as Sally, Close
The problem with Close, as with Streisand, is that she's too
demonstrative a presence for Phyllis. For Phyllis, you need a lady who
can be acerbic, not an acerbic who can be a lady. Close or Striesand
would be too much in the role - especially on the screen. Maybe
Angelica Huston, but I'm not sure she's a big enough name anymore to
be trusted with the role - and of course I don't know if she could
sing it.
Steve Newport
or Streisand would be too much in the role - especially on the screen.
Maybe Angelica Huston
---------------------------------------
I don't see her in the role at all. I just saw her in a cable movie as
the mother (a twisted AUNTIE MAME type) of a sex addict, played by Sam
Rockwell. Joel Grey is also in it-- and there are plot steals from
ANYONE CAN WHISTLE.
David Levy
Harlett O'Dowd
> What about Elaine Paige as Sally and either Betty Buckley as Phyllis?
That might be interesting on stage (although they're getting a bit
long in the tooth for those roles now) but again, I don't think they
would have the marquee value to lead what would be a very expensive
film.
David Levy
wrote:
They're too old now, but Mary Tyler Moore as Sally and Valerie Harper
as Phyllis would have been interesting too.
fmomoon
"Steve Newport" <birdp...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:1247-4B4...@storefull-3171.bay.webtv.net...
--
Moni
"Who told you that you should be able to walk on water? You're human, get
used to it."
My mom
fmomoon
"David Levy" <dl...@post.harvard.edu> wrote in message
news:2e0fad91-a2db-4330...@l30g2000yqb.googlegroups.com...
> What about Elaine Paige as Sally and either Betty Buckley as Phyllis?
Elaine Paige, yes. Betty Buckley, oh please no.
Steve Newport
Alexis Smith, or Blythe Danner.>>>
I saw them all sing on stage (Close in BARNUM and REX) and I'd say Close
was the strongest of the three. She can also project that ice queen
thing that Smith did so well.
Harlett O'Dowd
> From: fmom...@comcast.net (fmomoon) <<<Surely Close is as strong as
A little TOO well. that's my concern. Shirley Jones or Julie Andrews
would be interesting Phyllises too - but they are too old as well.
AndrewJ
Steve Newport
Based on his APPLE TREE vocals, I'm not so sure.
Victor S. Miller
Steve> From: ajmi...@cavtel.net (AndrewJ) Alan Alda would have made a
Steve> *terrific* Ben Stone 20 years ago.
Steve> ---------------------------------- Based on his APPLE TREE
Steve> vocals, I'm not so sure.
You're right. Although it's necessary for a role to be able to act
well (and I think acting wise he would have been excellent), you also
need to sing (it is a musical after all), and Sondheim is particularly
demanding.
Victor
BADDONIS
(Fox) studio
BADONIS FOLLIES OF 2012
BADDONIS
Steve Newport
Minnelli nabs NORMA in "Sunset Blvd"
I still say Lansbury for that- no matter how old she is. Minnelli should
play the Debra Monk role in a film of CURTAINS.
Steve Newport
Mickey Rooney and Gloria DeHaven: "Rain on he Roof."
--------------------------------
Or-- replace DeHaven with Stritch and have Carol Channing do "Foxtrot."