It's time for a MAME revival

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

9 hours ago, Ali Gator said:

Don't know if she'd do Broadway, but Melissa McCarthy as "Mame" would be great. 

But why?

Seriously.

What makes you think she's a Mame Dennis?

[skynyc]

I went to a one-night reading of Mame with Charles Busch as Mame and Marion Seldes as Vera some years ago. It was a benefit for the Actor's Fund. It was quite a fun evening...the two of them left no carpet unchewed. 

One of the big problems...they would have to tweak the characterization of Mame's butler Ito. But they're rewriting many of the classics now to address issues that just won't fly with a contemporary audience...and many times they're real improvements. 

Honestly...I'd love to see Sutton Foster do it. At 49, she's older than Angela Lansbury was when she created it. 

 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

37 minutes ago, skynyc said:

Honestly...I'd love to see Sutton Foster do it. At 49, she's older than Angela Lansbury was when she created it. 

I just don't think Sutton doesn't have the gravitas for the role.  

As she ages, she's hitting a wall of not being believably castable in brassy, comedic roles that fit her so well a decade ago.

43 minutes ago, skynyc said:

I went to a one-night reading of Mame with Charles Busch as Mame and Marion Seldes as Vera some years ago. It was a benefit for the Actor's Fund. It was quite a fun evening...the two of them left no carpet unchewed. 

Didn't see that one, but what a fucking cast:

Marian Seldes (Vera Charles), Michael Berresse (Ralph Devine), Sarah Uriarte Berry (Gloria Upson) Charles Kimbrough (Mr. Upson) Beth Howland (Mrs. Upson), Swoosie Kurtz (Agnes Gooch), Alison Fraser (Nora Muldoon), Charles Shaughnessy (Brian O'Bannion), Douglas Sills (M. Lindsay Woolsey), B.D. Wong (Ito), Dylan Baker (Mr. Babcock) and T.J. Larke (Young Patrick Dennis)

I did see Busch play Mame at the Ogunquit Playhouse the next year.

[Marc in Calif]

On 5/12/2024 at 11:04 AM, Ali Gator said:

Don't know if she'd do Broadway, but Melissa McCarthy as "Mame" would be great. 

That's a joke, right? 🤣

[TruHart1]

I’d love to see Bernadette play Mame!!!

TruHart1 😎

[+ WilliamM]

3 hours ago, TruHart1 said:

I’d love to see Bernadette play Mame!!!

TruHart1 😎

Completely agree 

[Streetsmart]

I’d see Sutton Foster in anything. Thought she would be wrong for “Sweeney Todd” (and I’ve seen everyone since Lansbury) but Sutton was amazing. She’d be great as “Mame”, a show that has repeatedly been called too dated (racial overtones) to revive. However, my first choice would be Reba McIntire. Reba has the vocal and physical chops to do justice to all aspects of the show. We could certainly use a little “Mame” right this very minute. 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

3 hours ago, Streetsmart said:

I’d see Sutton Foster in anything. Thought she would be wrong for “Sweeney Todd” (and I’ve seen everyone since Lansbury) but Sutton was amazing. She’d be great as “Mame”, a show that has repeatedly been called too dated (racial overtones) to revive. However, my first choice would be Reba McIntire. Reba has the vocal and physical chops to do justice to all aspects of the show. We could certainly use a little “Mame” right this very minute. 

I get her appeal, but I think she'd be totally wrong for Mame Dennis.

Foster becomes shrill when she's tasked with a certain kind of torch song. 

https://www.pbs.org/video/sutton-foster-performs-being-alive-jnhru1/

I fear that the missing gravitas and huskiness to her voice would make her Mame feel....  Wrong.

Mame, as written, requires a performer to play a WASPY, Park Avenue sophisticate who ages from 35-60 who can act, do physical comedy, sing a challenging score, and not just move, but really dance.  That is pretty specific. 

I'd love to see someone like Toni Collette get a crack at it.  She's amazing.  A true triple-threat.

Honestly, to make a Mame revival really, really work, you'd need a Scott Rudin-level producer to attract a Bette Midler-level name/talent (as he did with Hello, Dolly).  

 

Edited January 6 by BenjaminNicholas

[+ ApexNomad]

In another time, Barbara Stanwyck would have been a fascinating choice for Mame. While Mame is often portrayed with a certain whimsical flair, Stanwyck’s ability to balance humor with deeper emotional resonance could have infused Mame with a unique blend of warmth, strength, and depth, making her not only vivacious but also more grounded and poignant. She would have created a version of Mame that was both fiercely independent and deeply caring, with a complexity that reflected the resilience of the character, while still embracing Mame’s spirited joy and defiance.

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

The story and real-life inspiration of Mane is a grand idea: live life and be exposed to different places and cultures and hobbies and don't be racist.  But if produced today, we'd have to lose the title song Mame because it takes place in South which could trigger people, we'd have to lose the houseboy and other servants lest it promote stereotypes (despite being accurate to the time period and her life), we'd have to re-write Patrick's love interest to be something other than antisemitic given antisemitism is on the rise among the young and college educated, we'd lose the mention of Patrick's childhood teacher who taught class in the nude, and the list goes on.  With all these changes to appease every group, it's best to just write a new story from scratch.

[mtaabq]

I seem to recall that Christine Baranski starred as “Mame” in a short-lived revival that played at Kennedy Center in DC. (Or maybe Lincoln Center in NYC.) Or perhaps it was simply a “special performance” or a 1-time staging in advance of a possible revival. I can see the blurb from a newspaper or magazine in my head. I may be wrong and I want to say there was a video of the opening number on YouTube at one time. Someone here might know what I’m referring to. Or did I imagine it? Lord knows I used to drink a lot. 

[mtaabq]

3 hours ago, Vegas_Millennial said:

The story and real-life inspiration of Mane is a grand idea: live life and be exposed to different places and cultures and hobbies and don't be racist.  But if produced today, we'd have to lose the title song Mame because it takes place in South which could trigger people, we'd have to lose the houseboy and other servants lest it promote stereotypes (despite being accurate to the time period and her life), we'd have to re-write Patrick's love interest to be something other than antisemitic given antisemitism is on the rise among the young and college educated, we'd lose the mention of Patrick's childhood teacher who taught class in the nude, and the list goes on.  With all these changes to appease every group, it's best to just write a new story from scratch.

As much as I want to shout, “NO! NO! You’re wrong! It can still work!”, I have to admit that you’re probably right. And I respect you for saying it. And I hate the fact that I am such a bitter cynic. 

[+ sync]

18 minutes ago, mtaabq said:

As much as I want to shout, “NO! NO! You’re wrong! It can still work!”, I have to admit that you’re probably right. And I respect you for saying it. And I hate the fact that I am such a bitter cynic. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-gBeQpLuhYM&pp=ygUaQ2hyaXN0aW5lIEJhcmFuc2tpIGFzIE1hbWU%3D

[mtaabq]

3 minutes ago, sync said:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-gBeQpLuhYM&pp=ygUaQ2hyaXN0aW5lIEJhcmFuc2tpIGFzIE1hbWU%3D

Yes! Thank you!