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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2016 17:21:38 GMT
Not West End but still... Heather will replace Jennifer in The Color Purple on Broadway from May 10th, with Danielle and Cynthia continuing in their respective roles!
www.westendframe.com/2016/04/heather-headley-taking-over-from.html
Jennifer has had amazing attendance apparently and been consistently professional... hopefully Heather will not repeat the attendance quota of her performance in The Bodyguard. |
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Post by Steffi on Apr 7, 2016 17:25:32 GMT
I'm missing her by two weeks on my upcoming New York trip. Perfect excuse to sort the next one asap.
Yes, her attendance rate in Bodyguard was poor. But when she was there she was really THERE. Breathtaking. I only missed her once in about ten visits so hoping my lucky streak will continue at Color Purple. .
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2016 17:30:16 GMT
I'm missing her by two weeks on my upcoming New York trip. Perfect excuse to sort the next one asap. Yes, her attendance rate in Bodyguard was poor. But when she was there she was really THERE. Breathtaking. I only missed her once in about ten visits so hoping my lucky streak will continue at Color Purple. . I have to agree... when I saw her on my second visit to The Bodyguard she was stunning! Not the best of the Rachel's out there, Beverley was the top in my opinion so thank god she is originating the West End return, but Heather was a stunning Rachel too.
I love that Jennifer is staying in time for the Tony Award Nominations so that her chances of a nomination or win are not affected by a departure!
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Post by theatremadness on Apr 7, 2016 17:57:09 GMT
hopefully Heather will not repeat the attendance quota of her performance in The Bodyguard.
danieljohnson14, are you actually Mark Shenton???   |
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Post by ali973 on Apr 7, 2016 18:09:09 GMT
Beverley Knight was/is a poor Rachel. Her bogged up eyes and her strange American "accent" and novice acting was embarrassing. But she made it up with good presence and singing Anyway..
Does anyone know how long Heather's run is? I'd LOOVE to see her in this, but I'm only making it to the States in December. I have a feeling it's probably a summer run before schools start in September so she can head back to Chicago where her family is based.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2016 18:13:52 GMT
hopefully Heather will not repeat the attendance quota of her performance in The Bodyguard.
danieljohnson14, are you actually Mark Shenton??? Damn my secret is out! Haha
I am not Shenton, I am actually really not a fan of a lot of the stuff he writes haha.
I am guessing she will leave when Danielle leaves which would be in the Summertime or late Summer to film Season 5 of Orange is the New Black.
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Post by theatremadness on Apr 7, 2016 18:31:43 GMT
danieljohnson14, are you actually Mark Shenton??? Damn my secret is out! Haha
I am not Shenton, I am actually really not a fan of a lot of the stuff he writes haha.
I am guessing she will leave when Danielle leaves which would be in the Summertime or late Summer to film Season 5 of Orange is the New Black.
Agreed!! He's almost become a parody of himself - it's really quite embarrassing. If Cynthia decides to leave before the show closes for whatever reason, I wonder who they'd have replace her! |
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Post by ali973 on Apr 7, 2016 18:36:47 GMT
I think Cynthia will stick with it for a while, if not until it closes. It's giving her crazy accolades and notices and audiences leave knowing her. She's fantastic in the role, and she knows it. Given her age, juicy roles like this for POC are far and few in between, so I think she'll hang on to it, especially if they decide to go with top tier replacement casting that will give her further exposure.
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Post by theatremadness on Apr 7, 2016 20:02:41 GMT
Just saw quite a funny comment on facebook regarding Heather Headley taking over from JHud:
"... she was rather harshly nicknamed Heather 'Hardly' in the Bodyguard"!!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2016 20:37:58 GMT
I don't think she can have much of a justification for missing in this though... with Rachel, vocally it is incredibly challenging (even though Bev and Alexandra had great track records) so maybe she did vocally struggle. But her role in this is a Supporting Role, not too vocally demanding compared to Cynthia by any stretch. She has no logical excuse to miss.
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Post by ali973 on Apr 7, 2016 20:40:17 GMT
^ On this, we agree. Plus I think there must be a lot of ego involved at this point for her not to miss the way she missed in London, especially that this reputation is now starting to proceed her. I think she'll do fine especially since it seems this is just a limited 3-4 month engagement for her.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2016 21:01:41 GMT
Cynthia has already had offers from Hollywood. I think she'll stick around until Tony time…take the award and leave! How the show will do without Hudson remains to be seen!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2016 21:09:44 GMT
I was thinking the exact same thing... how much of an impact will the Jennifer departure have on the box office?
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Post by ali973 on Apr 7, 2016 21:13:55 GMT
Cynthia has already had offers from Hollywood. I think she'll stick around until Tony time…take the award and leave! How the show will do without Hudson remains to be seen! For what? I don't think the show sells on names, not at all. Jennifer Hudson is great and could be a draw, but I think people underestimate how iconic and important is the Color Purple in American culture, especially for African Americans. There are hoards of people who see this show that normally don't see Broadway musicals. Church going Tyler Perry loving audiences who aren't normally Broadway attendees, women in their 50s-70s who wouldn't even know who or what a Jennifer Hudson is, let alone Danielle or least Cynthia. The original Broadway run did very well and went on multiple tours. I personally don't see this last beyond 2016 I think, but I don't think necessarily requires a big star to sell it. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2016 21:18:21 GMT
Even before The Bodyguard Heather had an unreliable reputation so producers should know what they are getting. That's going to be a whole lot of ego backstage
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2016 21:25:04 GMT
The original production ran just over two years, at 910 Performances and 30 Previews. That is pretty much the same amount I am expecting of this... if they cast it smartly it could run for longer, but I think it will, at most, run through the end of 2017.
I wouldn't be shocked to see a West End transfer of it too, as it has been so well received over there.
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Post by Jon on Apr 7, 2016 21:39:27 GMT
If it does over a year, it would have been a good run for a revival.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Apr 7, 2016 22:13:35 GMT
1. Will she ever show up?
2. Will she sing in tune when/if she does?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2016 22:23:36 GMT
How big of a role is Shug? I mean, I guess it must be pretty big a role for someone like Jennifer Hudson to sign up for it, but is it a massive sing or a demand in acting?
I know that a lot of people are predicting Jennifer to win the Tony for the role so she must be good in it? |
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Post by ali973 on Apr 8, 2016 5:51:11 GMT
It's pivotal and important but it's not demanding. She has around 3 songs, and none of them are I'm going to stand here and sing my face off.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2016 7:43:08 GMT
Heather said on Facebook that she is taking a residence "for the Summer" in The Color Purple... so it can be assumed that she will leave the show by September?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2016 7:43:58 GMT
Beverley Knight was/is a poor Rachel. Her bogged up eyes and her strange American "accent" and novice acting was embarrassing. But she made it up with good presence and singing Anyway.. Does anyone know how long Heather's run is? I'd LOOVE to see her in this, but I'm only making it to the States in December. I have a feeling it's probably a summer run before schools start in September so she can head back to Chicago where her family is based. I thought Bwverley Knight was amazing! She is certainly a good stage star. She must've been popular if they asked her back for the London revival!! |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2016 7:46:27 GMT
The original production ran just over two years, at 910 Performances and 30 Previews. That is pretty much the same amount I am expecting of this... if they cast it smartly it could run for longer, but I think it will, at most, run through the end of 2017. I wouldn't be shocked to see a West End transfer of it too, as it has been so well received over there. I really hope there is a West End transfer! It hasn't been in the West End before, apart from the Menier, so it would be really interesting to see how it does. Also, I love the book so I would love to see the stage adaption. If if it did transfer, I have a feeling Cynthia will come along too as she's British but there's loads of other good actresses for the other roles in the show, so it'll e interesting to se who they cast. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2016 9:19:06 GMT
The original production ran just over two years, at 910 Performances and 30 Previews. That is pretty much the same amount I am expecting of this... if they cast it smartly it could run for longer, but I think it will, at most, run through the end of 2017. I wouldn't be shocked to see a West End transfer of it too, as it has been so well received over there. I really hope there is a West End transfer! It hasn't been in the West End before, apart from the Menier, so it would be really interesting to see how it does. Also, I love the book so I would love to see the stage adaption. If if it did transfer, I have a feeling Cynthia will come along too as she's British but there's loads of other good actresses for the other roles in the show, so it'll e interesting to se who they cast. Whilst I share your enthusiasm for a London transfer, unfortunately I don't think it will happen. Someone directly asked Baz on Twitter some months ago, and he said that there aren't any plans. I could be wrong, however, but I won't hold my breath. I adore the score, and would love to see it, but alas I have now accepted that I'll probably only achieve this by flying across to NY. Unfortunately the earliest I can get there now is October half term, and the current booking period is only until the very beginning of October! |
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Post by ali973 on Apr 8, 2016 9:23:58 GMT
^ Same. I hope they extend until December. I saw the first US tour of the show back in Chicago a few years ago and did not like it one bit. Then I saw the Menier production and thought it was everything. Would love to see the Broadway version. I'm in the minority saying that I'd love to see Heather in it as well.
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