Mercedes Ruehl is a fantastic actress, but somehow she’s missing the mark here. Maybe it’s the staging, maybe it’s the direction,maybe it’s having to work with another actor who’s entirely over his head…..
I saw this live and agree that Ruehl was a big disappointment. I saw Estelle Getty play it live too; while she nailed every laugh, she came up short with the emotion of the character (just as she did on GG, Getty could deliver great laughs, but if she was required to deliver real emotion, such as the episode containing her son's funeral, she was out of her league). Among the women I have seen play it, Bancroft was the only one to generate both laughs and tears.
Not crazy about Urie’s portrayal. The actress doing Getty’s/Bancroft’s part is good. I think for Arnold they should’ve given Mario Cantone a stab at it. Urie seems completely out of his element, just floating between overacting and inertia. All while every other actor onstage swerves to avoid becoming part of his car crash. Just goes to show Juilliard is no guarantee that they’ll be your best casting choice.
I really think this critique is quite unfounded. He takes a lot of his acting choices from Fierstein’s portrayal so if you have a problem with this, then you’d have a problem with the original. Would love to know what Mario Canton specifically would have been a better choice.
@@matthewweatherhead6002 No, I didn’t have a problem with the original. And there’s nothing in Urie’s performance that reminds me of Fierstein. Like, ZERO!
