So this was a subject I’ve been interested in writing about recently, and now seems like a good time to do so.
I recently heard director Lonny Price talk in a podcast about the importance of capturing theatrical performances on video. He felt what’s great about that is the fact that audiences would be able to see what was so great about an actor/actress’ performance rather than just hearing about how great it was. The way I see it, there are two different ways of preserving a theatrical performance on video for the world to see; filming a performance of a play/musical to be shown on television or in movie theatres. The other would be having an actor/actress reprise their theatrical role(s) in a film/TV adaptation.
Of course, the usual way is having the New York Public Library’s Theatre on Film and Tape Archive filming the performance of a Broadway show. Though you would have to visit that library located at Lincoln Center if you’re in the city. So I’d like to talk about 10 legendary performances in musical theatre that were unfortunately never captured on video professionally.
Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady
At only 20 years old, Julie Andrews became a Broadway star when she originated the role of Eliza Doolittle in the original Broadway production of My Fair Lady back in 1956. When Warner Brothers made the film adaptation in the early 1960’s, producer Jack L. Warner turned Andrews down for the chance to reprise her role as he had his doubts about having an unknown actress (to the film world) leading a major motion picture. So Audrey Hepburn ended up being cast in the film, but as that door closed for Julie, another opened when Walt Disney had cast her to be his Mary Poppins, and the rest was history.
Len Cariou as Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd
While he was obviously too old to be reprising his Tony-winning role when the film adaptation of Sweeney Todd was made in 2007, Len Cariou still missed out on the opportunity to have his work preserved on video when the national tour of the original production was filmed in Los Angeles for PBS back in 1982 as the title role was taken on by George Hearn. In a recent interview, Cariou admitted that had he known that the show was going to be filmed, he would’ve done the tour. Though luckily when the national tour of Newsies will be filmed in Los Angeles on September 11th, Jeremy Jordan, Kara Lindsay, Ben Fankhauser, & Andrew Keenan-Bolger will be returning to the roles they originated.
Carol Channing as Dolly Gallagher Levi in Hello, Dolly!
Not only did Carol Channing originate the title role in Hello, Dolly! on Broadway back in 1964 when she was almost 43 years old and won a Tony for it, she also went on to play the role a hundred times more in multiple productions all the way through the mid-90’s. Sadly, when the show was brought to the big screen in 1969, she was replaced by 26-year-old Barbra Streisand because despite her Oscar nomination for Thoroughly Modern Millie in 1968, the filmmakers still felt that Channing's personality was too larger-than-life to carry a film. Though the end results were not all that successful. Streisand for one, was criticized for being way too young to play a widowed matchmaker. Not only that, but the film itself was an enormous flop as the era of the ‘Hollywood Musical’ was starting to die down. When Carol Channing was asked about her thoughts on the film adaptation years later, her response was “Was there a movie? I didn’t even know there was one!”
Michael Crawford as The Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera
From 1986 to 1991, Michael Crawford played the title role in the long-running hit musical The Phantom of the Opera in London, New York, and Los Angeles. When Warner Brothers began developing a film adaptation of the musical in 1989, Crawford along with Sarah Brightman were set to reprise their roles in the film. But production ended up being stalled with Brightman’s divorce from composer/producer Andrew Lloyd Webber. By the time the film was released in 2004, Crawford was too old to have reprised his role in it. It’s also too bad that he was never even able to do it in a filmed concert via Les Miserables in 1995 and 2010.
Alfred Drake as Curly McLain in Oklahoma!
When the original Broadway production of Oklahoma! opened in 1943, it was game changer in the musical theatre with having all the songs and dances fully integrated into the plot. Yet, when the musical was brought to the big screen in 1955, Alfred Drake didn’t get to reprise his original role as Curly McLain.
Richard Kiley as Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha
In 1965, Richard Kiley became a bona fide Broadway star as the original Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha (even won a Tony Award to prove it). He went on to reprise his role in two re-mountings of the original production back in 1970’s. When development began on a film adaptation, Kiley along with Joan Diener were screen tested by original stage director Albert Marre, who was set to direct the film. But due to Marre’s inexperience with filmmaking, he used up part of the film’s budget on screen tests which angered the executives at United Artists which then led to him being fired. As a result, Kiley and Diener both left the project as well. The film was eventually released in 1972 with Peter O’Toole in the starring role.
Angela Lansbury as Mame Dennis in Mame
Opening the very same season as Man of La Mancha was Jerry Herman’s follow-up musical to Hello, Dolly!, Mame. The title role was originated by three-time Oscar nominee Angela Lansbury, which would win her the first of her five Tony Awards. However, when the film adaptation was in development, Warner Brothers unfortunately never asked Lansbury to reprise her role. Lucille Ball on the other hand, put up $5,000,000 to finance the film on the agreement that she would star. Jerry Herman went to the executives at Warner Brothers, begging them to reconsider and even explained why Ball was wrong for the part. But nonetheless, the film was still released in 1974 with Lucille Ball in the title role to some very disastrous results. Not only did the film flop, but was also a critical embarrassment with most of the criticisms aimed at Ball’s performance. Ball was so hurt by the film’s reputation, that she vowed to never make a film again (thus, Mame ended up being her final feature film appearance ever). Many still feel to this day that Lucille Ball as Mame was one of the worst casting decisions in film history. Angela Lansbury later admitted in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that she never forgave Warner Brothers for passing her over.
Ethel Merman as Mama Rose in Gypsy
In 1959, Ethel Merman originated one of (if not) the most behemoth characters in musical theatre, Mama Rose in what many people consider one of (if not) the greatest musicals ever written, Gypsy. Around that time, Rosalind Russell along with her husband, theatre producer Frederick Brisson were hoping to do a straight dramatic adaptation of the story based on the memoir by Gypsy Rose Lee, but the rights were all tied up with the stage musical. When Russell starred in the film adaptation of Leonard Spigelgass’ A Majority of One, all parties came together for Rosalind Russell to star in a film adaptation of Gypsy released in 1962. Ethel Merman was so angry about not getting the chance to reprise her role in the film, that she received a copy of the original recordings of Rosalind Russell’s vocal performance (most of her singing in the film was dubbed by Lisa Kirk) as somewhat of a consolation prize.
Stephanie Mills as Dorothy Gale in The Wiz
When the original production of The Wiz first opened on Broadway in 1975, a then 17-year-old Stephanie Mills got her big break for her star turn as Dorothy Gale. When Motown Productions bought the film rights in 1977, they originally had Mills signed on to reprise her role in a film adaptation. When 33-year-old Diana Ross asked Motown CEO Berry Gordy to cast her instead, he declined feeling that she was way too old for the role. Ross then went behind Gordy’s back and got in contact with Universal Pictures about financing the film, but only if she starred in it. So when the film was released in 1978, it was panned by critics with most of their criticisms aimed directly at Diana Ross for the exact reasons why Berry Gordy didn’t want her at first. The film’s failure put an end to Ross’ short career on the big screen. Luckily, Stephanie Mills received a great consolation prize when she played Aunt Em in NBC’s live production of The Wiz last year.
Zero Mostel as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof
In 1964, Zero Mostel originated another one of the most behemoth roles in the musical theatre, Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. Yet, when the film adaptation was made in 1971, there was some controversy over Mostel not getting to reprise the role he made famous. It was director Norman Jewison’s decision not to cast Mostel as he felt his larger-than-life personality would not translate well to a film setting. It was the West End production where Jewison discovered a then 35-year-old Israelian performer named Topol, and felt he found his Tevye. The end results there turned out to be successful. The film was a hit at the box office, earned 8 Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture and Best Actor for Topol), and Topol went on to play Tevye many more times on stage through 2009.
So what do you think of this list? What are some other legendary theatrical performances you can think of that had never been captured on video?
I recently heard director Lonny Price talk in a podcast about the importance of capturing theatrical performances on video. He felt what’s great about that is the fact that audiences would be able to see what was so great about an actor/actress’ performance rather than just hearing about how great it was. The way I see it, there are two different ways of preserving a theatrical performance on video for the world to see; filming a performance of a play/musical to be shown on television or in movie theatres. The other would be having an actor/actress reprise their theatrical role(s) in a film/TV adaptation.
Of course, the usual way is having the New York Public Library’s Theatre on Film and Tape Archive filming the performance of a Broadway show. Though you would have to visit that library located at Lincoln Center if you’re in the city. So I’d like to talk about 10 legendary performances in musical theatre that were unfortunately never captured on video professionally.
Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady
At only 20 years old, Julie Andrews became a Broadway star when she originated the role of Eliza Doolittle in the original Broadway production of My Fair Lady back in 1956. When Warner Brothers made the film adaptation in the early 1960’s, producer Jack L. Warner turned Andrews down for the chance to reprise her role as he had his doubts about having an unknown actress (to the film world) leading a major motion picture. So Audrey Hepburn ended up being cast in the film, but as that door closed for Julie, another opened when Walt Disney had cast her to be his Mary Poppins, and the rest was history.
Len Cariou as Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd
While he was obviously too old to be reprising his Tony-winning role when the film adaptation of Sweeney Todd was made in 2007, Len Cariou still missed out on the opportunity to have his work preserved on video when the national tour of the original production was filmed in Los Angeles for PBS back in 1982 as the title role was taken on by George Hearn. In a recent interview, Cariou admitted that had he known that the show was going to be filmed, he would’ve done the tour. Though luckily when the national tour of Newsies will be filmed in Los Angeles on September 11th, Jeremy Jordan, Kara Lindsay, Ben Fankhauser, & Andrew Keenan-Bolger will be returning to the roles they originated.
Carol Channing as Dolly Gallagher Levi in Hello, Dolly!
Not only did Carol Channing originate the title role in Hello, Dolly! on Broadway back in 1964 when she was almost 43 years old and won a Tony for it, she also went on to play the role a hundred times more in multiple productions all the way through the mid-90’s. Sadly, when the show was brought to the big screen in 1969, she was replaced by 26-year-old Barbra Streisand because despite her Oscar nomination for Thoroughly Modern Millie in 1968, the filmmakers still felt that Channing's personality was too larger-than-life to carry a film. Though the end results were not all that successful. Streisand for one, was criticized for being way too young to play a widowed matchmaker. Not only that, but the film itself was an enormous flop as the era of the ‘Hollywood Musical’ was starting to die down. When Carol Channing was asked about her thoughts on the film adaptation years later, her response was “Was there a movie? I didn’t even know there was one!”
Michael Crawford as The Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera
From 1986 to 1991, Michael Crawford played the title role in the long-running hit musical The Phantom of the Opera in London, New York, and Los Angeles. When Warner Brothers began developing a film adaptation of the musical in 1989, Crawford along with Sarah Brightman were set to reprise their roles in the film. But production ended up being stalled with Brightman’s divorce from composer/producer Andrew Lloyd Webber. By the time the film was released in 2004, Crawford was too old to have reprised his role in it. It’s also too bad that he was never even able to do it in a filmed concert via Les Miserables in 1995 and 2010.
Alfred Drake as Curly McLain in Oklahoma!
When the original Broadway production of Oklahoma! opened in 1943, it was game changer in the musical theatre with having all the songs and dances fully integrated into the plot. Yet, when the musical was brought to the big screen in 1955, Alfred Drake didn’t get to reprise his original role as Curly McLain.
Richard Kiley as Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha
In 1965, Richard Kiley became a bona fide Broadway star as the original Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha (even won a Tony Award to prove it). He went on to reprise his role in two re-mountings of the original production back in 1970’s. When development began on a film adaptation, Kiley along with Joan Diener were screen tested by original stage director Albert Marre, who was set to direct the film. But due to Marre’s inexperience with filmmaking, he used up part of the film’s budget on screen tests which angered the executives at United Artists which then led to him being fired. As a result, Kiley and Diener both left the project as well. The film was eventually released in 1972 with Peter O’Toole in the starring role.
Angela Lansbury as Mame Dennis in Mame
Opening the very same season as Man of La Mancha was Jerry Herman’s follow-up musical to Hello, Dolly!, Mame. The title role was originated by three-time Oscar nominee Angela Lansbury, which would win her the first of her five Tony Awards. However, when the film adaptation was in development, Warner Brothers unfortunately never asked Lansbury to reprise her role. Lucille Ball on the other hand, put up $5,000,000 to finance the film on the agreement that she would star. Jerry Herman went to the executives at Warner Brothers, begging them to reconsider and even explained why Ball was wrong for the part. But nonetheless, the film was still released in 1974 with Lucille Ball in the title role to some very disastrous results. Not only did the film flop, but was also a critical embarrassment with most of the criticisms aimed at Ball’s performance. Ball was so hurt by the film’s reputation, that she vowed to never make a film again (thus, Mame ended up being her final feature film appearance ever). Many still feel to this day that Lucille Ball as Mame was one of the worst casting decisions in film history. Angela Lansbury later admitted in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that she never forgave Warner Brothers for passing her over.
Ethel Merman as Mama Rose in Gypsy
In 1959, Ethel Merman originated one of (if not) the most behemoth characters in musical theatre, Mama Rose in what many people consider one of (if not) the greatest musicals ever written, Gypsy. Around that time, Rosalind Russell along with her husband, theatre producer Frederick Brisson were hoping to do a straight dramatic adaptation of the story based on the memoir by Gypsy Rose Lee, but the rights were all tied up with the stage musical. When Russell starred in the film adaptation of Leonard Spigelgass’ A Majority of One, all parties came together for Rosalind Russell to star in a film adaptation of Gypsy released in 1962. Ethel Merman was so angry about not getting the chance to reprise her role in the film, that she received a copy of the original recordings of Rosalind Russell’s vocal performance (most of her singing in the film was dubbed by Lisa Kirk) as somewhat of a consolation prize.
Stephanie Mills as Dorothy Gale in The Wiz
When the original production of The Wiz first opened on Broadway in 1975, a then 17-year-old Stephanie Mills got her big break for her star turn as Dorothy Gale. When Motown Productions bought the film rights in 1977, they originally had Mills signed on to reprise her role in a film adaptation. When 33-year-old Diana Ross asked Motown CEO Berry Gordy to cast her instead, he declined feeling that she was way too old for the role. Ross then went behind Gordy’s back and got in contact with Universal Pictures about financing the film, but only if she starred in it. So when the film was released in 1978, it was panned by critics with most of their criticisms aimed directly at Diana Ross for the exact reasons why Berry Gordy didn’t want her at first. The film’s failure put an end to Ross’ short career on the big screen. Luckily, Stephanie Mills received a great consolation prize when she played Aunt Em in NBC’s live production of The Wiz last year.
Zero Mostel as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof
In 1964, Zero Mostel originated another one of the most behemoth roles in the musical theatre, Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. Yet, when the film adaptation was made in 1971, there was some controversy over Mostel not getting to reprise the role he made famous. It was director Norman Jewison’s decision not to cast Mostel as he felt his larger-than-life personality would not translate well to a film setting. It was the West End production where Jewison discovered a then 35-year-old Israelian performer named Topol, and felt he found his Tevye. The end results there turned out to be successful. The film was a hit at the box office, earned 8 Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture and Best Actor for Topol), and Topol went on to play Tevye many more times on stage through 2009.
So what do you think of this list? What are some other legendary theatrical performances you can think of that had never been captured on video?