Rachel York and Aaron Lazar join Hilty in ENCORES' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

[E.Davis]

As Dorothy Shaw and Henry.

I couldn't be more excited and now I have to get my ticket.





Rachel York and Aaron Lazar- Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

[AC126748]

Rachel York is an excellent choice for Dorothy, a role which is absolutely the equal to--if not better than--Lorelei. I was wondering who they might get (Tammy Blanchard crossed my mind, as did Block before it was announced she was joining ANYTHING GOES), but I'm glad it's York.

[lovesclassics]

Scrumpdillyicious! I saw Pipe Dream and thought it was delightful, warts and all. I'm sure this will be fabulous. I watched the movie again recently (I've never seen the stage musical), and I was surprised at how well the comedy holds up. Is the courtroom scene where Dorothy impersonates Lorelei in the stage show? If so, I can't wait to see Rachel's take on Megan!

[MrMidwest]

Will they be incorporating any changes from the film or will it pretty much be the same book/placement of songs as the Carol Channing production?

[Zimmy]

There is a code on broadwaybox for anyone interested. Since it is such a short run the seats are getting eaten up quickly! - Hope it's great, can't wait!

[bjh2114]

What a cast! This is going to be awesome.

[macnyc]

I just bought tickets! I gave up on seeing them on TDF. Looking forward to the show! Too bad it's not running for two weeks, as Merrily did.

[AC126748]

Here's hoping Hilty sounds better in performance--she sings "Little Girl From Little Rock" like she's reading from a menu. No feeling for the comedy at all. But it's just a rehearsal.

York looks and sounds amazing.

[EponineAmneris]

GREAT cast and I wish this production well

[E.Davis]

AC, it also seemed really under tempo.

[MrMidwest]

Nice looking dancers!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oi3tW-8m2s

[somethingwicked]

Hilty is incredibly charismatic and sings the song great, but watching her makes me even sadder Katie Finneran fell out (she was supposed to do this before she got pregnant.) The role of Lorelai and all of her subsequent material really works best when played by a broader, bigger comedienne who's winking at the material rather than playing it straight. That's one of the reasons Carol Channing was so genius on stage and Marilyn Monroe (a more "literal" approach) couldn't make the piece soar on film.

As Jule Styne once said on the casting of Channing, "We didn't actually want the cutest, prettiest, littlest girl in town. We wanted Carol's satire on her. We wanted Carol's comedy comment on her." Finneran would have nailed that, but I fear a huge element of fun is lost when using someone who skews so safely along the lines of Hilty, who really could be a "little girl from Little Rock."

Rachel York sure looks terrific, though. She and Hilty really should switch roles.

[EricMontreal22]

Midwest, the production is based on the original script (has Encores! ever added songs from film productions in their musicals?)

[EricMontreal22]

Although I wish every production had this number, complete with the homoerotic men in skin colour trunks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pthokb18V7U (I *think* this is one of the new Hoagy Carmichael songs added to the film and not a Styne one, but...)

Does anyone know much about Lorelei, the flop 70s reworking they did?

[EricMontreal22]

(And then of course there's the not great sequel, But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes--which must have been one of the first times a hit Broadway show was made into a hit film and then given a film sequel--pre Grease and the upcoming Hairspray. Oddly, I remember the score being largely Rodgers and Hart standards...)

[jayinchelsea]

LORELEI was pretty much the same show as BLONDES, with a flimsy frame with Channing as an older Lorelei remembering her younger days, and the flashback was more or less the original show. A bore.

[MrMidwest]

http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/gentlemen-prefer-blondes/4926

[AC126748]

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes the film is an utter delight. It's also very different from the musical. Don't go in expecting the film if you're not familiar with the musical.

Rachel York sure looks terrific, though. She and Hilty really should switch roles.

Please no. There's no conception of reality in which Megan Hilty is Dorothy Shaw. As you note, SomethingWicked, Hilty is very close to Anita Loos' original conception of Lorelei Lee, which veers heavily from the Channing/Monroe model, but she doesn't fit any conception of Dorothy Shaw at all. We'll see how she fares, but that clip does not give me hope.

[random person 112]

For all we know Megan may just be learning the song you can even see her glancing down at the sheet music here, whereas York is doing a full on dance routine with no sheet music. She knows her song already. So, of course Hiltys performance isn't a 100% stage ready yet, and i bet knowing our luck with predictions she'll be great. Need i remind you of the Nice Work and Anything Goes rehersal videos.

Here's a video of Hilty performing Diamonds a girls best friend, you can see she is doing more comedy here.


Megan Hilty Diamonds

[MrMidwest]

Channing sings Little Girl from Little Rock and Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcyDo0fthZI

[somethingwicked]

AC, I was very much joking about them actually switching roles, though I think York really would be a knockout Lorelei.

The Gateway Playhouse on Long Island did a terrific production of the show about five years ago, which got a nice review in the Times. Elizabeth Stanley played Lorelei, and she was absolutely fantastic. She's much closer to the traditional leading lady type, like Monroe, but still quirky and smart enough to comment on the material, like Channing. It made me wish she had a big musical vehicle of her own on Broadway, which her subsequent performances have continued to reaffirm.

[AC126748]

Sorry--I took you on face value! York would indeed make a great Lorelei, and she looks amazing as a blonde (see the episode of Frasier where she played a stripper). Stanley is someone I would kill to see play Lorelei Lee.

[madbrian]

Rachel York can play just about anything. If there's a more versatile actress around, I don't know who it is. It confounds me that she's not a major star.

[EricMontreal22]

"http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/gentlemen-prefer-blondes/4926"

Mr Midwest, thanks for the link--a usual for Slant it's a good review. I think it's a bit ridiculous that the critic says modern audiences have it so wrong when they think the Is Anybody Here For Love number is homoerotic. While it can be obviously viewed several ways, it's not simply a reverse gender version of having a male singer with a bevy of beautiful, objectified women dancing around him. The whole song shows barely clothed men who would rather work out with each other than pay ANY attention to the beautiful Jane Russell, which is the point of the number, it's not simply a routine with male backup dancers.

[Tony2600]

Watching Hilty sing "Little Girl from Little Rock" in the rehearsal footage and now watching the clip posted above of her doing "Diamonds...."I gotta say she's not very impressive. Kinda reminds me of an old Mary Tyler Moore show where Mary sang "One For My Baby". I know you can't tell too much from rehearsal footage. After all, if I had judged Matthew Broderick based on the rehearsal footage from "Nice Work..." I'd have thought he lacked charm, charisma, chemistry with his leading lady or an ability to sing and dance well.

[somethingwicked]

I totally get that this is rehearsal, and Hilty had clearly just learned the song, so I'll reserve judgment until I actually see the show.

The problem is that she didn't really seem to get the number at all. That whole moment in the show is about how Lorelei has done what she's had to do to elevate her status and rise up to become who she's become, and that went completely over Hilty's head. There are tons of little moments of innuendo and she missed those comedy bits built into the number and just sang it as if she was doing it at a concert. I found little to no lyrical comprehension there, which is shocking to me considering how blatant the essence of what's being accomplished through the song is.

We shall see. As I said, Hilty sure is talented, but when Finneran became unavailable, they really should have pursued more of a blatant character actress, which (again) is what the part requires. People like Christina Hendricks, Jennifer Laura Thompson, and Amy Spanger come to mind as much more appropriate ideas.