Mary Sunshine, Chicago
lobo...@dircon.co.uk
They are casting that part in London right now, where they require a man can
do falsetto and who is convincing as a woman (not as a drag queen) and be
above to do a high B flat. My questions are as follow:
1. High Bflat in soprano pitch or tenor pitch, if the former, which non
castrato man can actually do it?
2. Was the original played by a man (there was only an initial on the cast
list), and was it supposed to be part of a surprise ending ala the movie The
Crying Game?
3. Is this therefore an attempt to bring in an American actor because no one
in the UK can do it?
4. Where can I find excerpts of the book on the net?
Thanks
3.
Larry and Brenda Clough
I believe the original was played by a man. When my local theater group
did CHICAGO they had little difficulty finding a countertenor to do the
role. Clever costuming and wigs does the rest -- although it does help
if the man is used to high heels.
Brenda
Ludlow29
I believe the original was played by a man. When my local theater group
did CHICAGO they had little difficulty finding a countertenor to do the
role. Clever costuming and wigs does the rest -- although it does help
if the man is used to high heels.
Brenda
++++
Mara Beckerman, the original CHARLOTTE SWEET, played Mary Sunshine as a
coloratura do-gooder who at the end turned out to be a lowdown stripper.
June Abernathy
In <5orlp0$5c1$1...@newsserver.dircon.co.uk> lobo...@dircon.co.uk writes:
>
>They are casting that part in London right now, where they require a
man can
>do falsetto and who is convincing as a woman (not as a drag queen)
and be
>above to do a high B flat. My questions are as follow:
>1. High Bflat in soprano pitch or tenor pitch, if the former, which
non
>castrato man can actually do it?
>2. Was the original played by a man (there was only an initial on the
cast
>list), and was it supposed to be part of a surprise ending ala the
movie The
>Crying Game?
>3. Is this therefore an attempt to bring in an American actor because
no one
>in the UK can do it?
>4. Where can I find excerpts of the book on the net?
>Thanks
>3.
Mary Sunshine has always been played by a man, and many men who can
sing the role have been found over the years. Also traditionally, that
fact is not revealed, and such a reveal is not a plot point in CHICAGO
as it was in "The Crying Game". Why wouldn't they be able to find an
actor in the UK who could do it? You would probably gain a better
understanding of the role (and the show) by listening to one of the
cast recordings than from any part of CHICAGO's miniscule libretto.
June
W. Douglas Maurer
On Tue, 24 Jun 1997, lobo...@dircon.co.uk wrote (concerning the part of
"Mary Sunshine," the gushy tabloid reporter in CHICAGO who sings "There's a
little bit of good in everyone"):
>2. Was the original played by a man (there was only an initial on the cast
>list), and was it supposed to be part of a surprise ending ala the movie The
>Crying Game?
I just saw CHICAGO in Washington, DC and yes, there was a surprise ending:
Billy Flynn (played by Obba Babatunde) snatched Mary Sunshine's wig off her
head and revealed "her" as a man. And yes, it was just initials in that
performance, too; the actor's name was given as M. J. Stewart, as I recall.
Doug Maurer
composer, arranger, musical director, orchestrator, pianist,
programmer, computer scientist, teacher, researcher,
fool for musicals
Jennifer Randall
On other newsgroups, it's considered good form to put something like
"spoiler" in your subject header to warn people you may be giving
something away that they'd rather not know (like the true gender of a
tranvestite)
some people like surprises
just a thought . . .
jennifer
*******************************************************************************
"The dumber people think you are, the more surprised they're going to be
when you kill them."
-William Clayton
Mor...@webtv.net
Act II, Scene 8
The Courtroom
MARY SUNSHINE: (Into microphone.) Ladies and gentlemen, the final day
of the trial of Roxie Hart has come. A hush has fallen over the
courtroom as Mr. Billy Flynn prepares his summation to the jury. The
next voice you will hear will be that of Mr. Flynn, champion of the
down-trodden.
BILLY: (Music under. Turning to the audience. Sincerely.) Ladies and
gentlemen, you and I have never killed. We can't know the agony, the
hell that Roxie Hart lived through then. This drunken beast, Fred
Casely, forced his way into her home, forced liquor upon her, physically
abused her and threatened her life. At that moment, mother love and a
deep concern for her neighbors stirred within her. She shot him. We
don't deny that. But she prayed to God for forgiveness for what she has
done. Yes, you may take her life, but it won't bring Casely back.
(Roxie enters.) Look, look closely at that frail figure. My God,
hasn't she been punished enough? We can't give her happiness, but we
can give her another chance. You have heard my colleague call her a
temptress, call her adultress, call her murderess. But, despite what
the prosecution says, things are not always what they appear to be.
(Billy crosses to Mary Sunshine. Mary Sunshine sings a coloratura
trill. Billy removes her wig to reveal her to be a him. They bow to
each other.) The Defense rests!
Ludlow29
Mary Sunshine has always been played by a man, and many men who can
sing the role have been found over the years. ...
June
++++
Not so, June. Although ideally Mary Sunshine has been played by a man, in
instances where a suitable man is not found, there have been occasional
instances of a woman playing the role: e.g. the example I gave of Mara
Beckerman, who played the role like a sweet innocent and then turned out
to be a bawdy stripper.
BndLeader
Yes, the original production also had a surprise man play Mary Sunshine.
Actually they originally cast a woman...then Fosse had that heart attack
and afterwords decided to change the concept. It's been that way ever
since.
Matthew W Mitchell-Shiner
Actually, sometimes Mary is played by a woman, and then the effect of the
line has to be changed. In the production I saw, Mary was a woman and
after Bobby's line, her dress flew off revealing Mary in tassels and G
string (looking more and more like the scantly dressed chorus), she then
pulled out a cigar and walked away. It worked, although I missed the
turn it usually has, but it worked for the same effect.
>
>Mary Sunshine has always been played by a man, and many men who can
>sing the role have been found over the years. Also traditionally, that
>fact is not revealed, and such a reveal is not a plot point in CHICAGO
>as it was in "The Crying Game". Why wouldn't they be able to find an
>actor in the UK who could do it? You would probably gain a better
>understanding of the role (and the show) by listening to one of the
>cast recordings than from any part of CHICAGO's miniscule libretto.
>
>June
> _________________________________________________________________
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>
Matthew W Mitchell-Shiner
>
>In the show, they use Mary Sunshine's *masculinity* to prove Roxy's
>innocence. How would they have worked it if Mary Sunshine was
>actualliy a woman?
>
I think they used Mary Sunshine's true idenity to prove sometimes things
aren't always what they seem. (I think that's the line.) So anything
that would some how affect Mary Sunshine's rose-colored, goody-goody
personality should work for the story.
The Fourth Tenor
ludl...@aol.com (Ludlow29) wrote:
>I believe the original was played by a man. When my local theater group
>did CHICAGO they had little difficulty finding a countertenor to do the
>role. Clever costuming and wigs does the rest -- although it does help
>if the man is used to high heels.
In the show, they use Mary Sunshine's *masculinity* to prove Roxy's
Craig Mize
I've also heard (can't remember where) that in some productions ONE
actress played BOTH The Matron and Mary Sunshine since they rarely (if
ever?) appear onstage at the same time. The revelation would be a
clever comment on The Justice System. I think it's a fun idea. -Craig
Sam Ross
Make that almost a quarter of a century old!
Sam
Sam Ross
Jennifer, the musical is more then a quarter of a century old-I dare say
most of the civilized world, at least the civilized portion of it that
occasionally rears itself on this group, would already know about the show
Chicago.
The Fourth Tenor
crai...@webtv.net (Craig Mize) wrote:
>ONE actress played BOTH The Matron and Mary Sunshine since they rarely (if
>ever?) appear onstage at the same time.
The curtain call. :)
Davi...@aol.com
In a message dated 97-06-26 23:33:37 EDT, you write:
> On other newsgroups, it's considered good form to put something like
> "spoiler" in your subject header to warn people you may be giving
> something away that they'd rather not know (like the true gender of a
> tranvestite)
>
> some people like surprises
>
> just a thought . . .
>
Alright, maybe folks could have been a little more careful in this case. But
in their defense, the show IS over 20 years old. I mean, I would hope you
wouldn't get upset if someone happened to mention that Rosebud is the name of
the sled... Also, if you were seeing the show, there's a pretty good chance
you'd know it's a man before they reveal it. Especially if you look at your
program.
David
Jennifer Randall
Well, since I'm about a quarter-century old and not a big K&E fan, the
revival is new to me, and I was relishing a chance to be surprised by a
show I _didn't_ know inside and out. Guess that's what we uncivilized
rubes like to do . . .
On Fri, 27 Jun 1997, Sam Ross wrote:
> Jennifer, the musical is more then a quarter of a century old-I dare say
> most of the civilized world, at least the civilized portion of it that
> occasionally rears itself on this group, would already know about the show
> Chicago.
> Sam