Veronica Answers YOUR questions!

Alice Ripley: Don't Forget

Hello, my adoring, beautiful fans! One of the women who has graced the Broadway stage in the last 20 years that has always caught my eyes and ears is Alice Ripley. La Ripley made her big splash in the original Broadway production of Side Show, as the higher belting siamese twin, Violet Hilton. (I secretly understudied in this production. Find out more about my career here!) Before that, she played the role of Betty in Sunset Boulevard. Most people now know her for her Tony Award winning performance as Diana in Next to Normal, the story of a woman who suffers from mental illness...and her family sometimes sings too. Ironically, she and I are often compared for our fearless belting and strange vowels.

Alice Ripley is now often parodied for her mannerisms, but I think it's important to take a look back at her beginnings and remember that she BELTED HER FACE OFF!!! She made singing decisions in Side Show that would have ruined other people after ONE night. In Sunset Boulevard, the show obviously belongs to Norma Desmond (especially when I play it)...but how come in clips of her singing the ingenue role of Betty, I could care less about Norma...especially if it's being played by Glenn Close. If I had been Norma to her Betty (And I almost was!), I would have shot her at the TOP of the show. Get that show stealing, beltress off the stage and get me Judy Kuhn! Here are some of my favorite clips of Alice Ripley in her prime!

     "She's Gone," cut from Side Show. Who can say why they decided to cut this number during previews. It does sort of stop the story in its slow, melodramatic tracks, but COME ON!

Beautiful head voice!!! "Too Much In Love To Care," from Sunset Boulevard

She only appears at the beginning of this video, but listen to her steal the show from Betty Buckley in 30 seconds. 

Missed Opportunities

Hello, my gorgeous fans! One of my favorite things to do is to "dream cast" musicals, which means taking a musical, and casting it with your ideal, perfect cast. Most of the time I cast myself as the leading heroine when I play this game, but sometimes I ponder on things like: "What if Betty Buckley had replaced Patti LuPone in Evita?" "What if Judy Garland had starred in the movie version of Gypsy?" or "What if Shirley Bassey had done a stint as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard?" "Why wasn't Master Class written sooner so Anne Bancroft could have starred in it?" These questions spark glorious fantasies in my mind, but usually lead to depression since they never happened.

What is so maddening is that some beyond fantastical casting opportunities have been SO CLOSE to actually happening, but for some reason or another (schedules, artistic differences, drug use) they never came to fruition. Here are some from stage and screen...

1. Judy Garland as Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (there were some talks)

2. Betty Buckley as The Witch in Into The Woods (she was in the workshops, but had artistic differences)

3. Patti LuPone in Sunday in the Park with George (she auditioned, but it didn't work out)

4. Judy Garland in Valley of The Dolls (click here for video)

5. Elaine Stritch in Gypsy (she almost did it over Angela Lansbury in London in the 70s, but for some reason it didn't happen. Obviously I'm glad Angela said yes and did it, because it's an amazing performance. Check out clips!)

6. Liza Minelli in the Evita movie. (This didn't happen because Tim Rice was involved and wanted Elaine Paige, his then girlfriend, who had originated the role in London, to do the movie.)
7. Cher as the Witch in an Into The Woods movie. (The fact that this movie didn't happen makes me so upset. It was to be directed by Rob Reiner also starring Goldie Hawn as the Baker's Wife, Robyn Williams as the Baker, Elijah Woods as Jack, Roseanne Barr as Jack's mother, Steve Martin as the Woolf, etc. Major UGH!)
8. Meryl Street in Sunset Boulevard movie. (This project just never happened. Streep was battling Glenn Close and Barbra Streisand for the part. Hugh Jackman was supposed to play Joe.)
9. Britney Spears in Streetcar Named Desire. (She was offered to do it in London...I know what you're thinking, and I don't care. I would have enjoyed it if it was shockingly bad, and I would have enjoyed it if it was miraculously good. I would have been in heaven.)
10. Veronica Garland in everything. (I have been offered so many parts in so many different stage productions, movies, etc and for some reason or another I have had to decline. Truly sad.)

Some rare treats!

Hello, gorgeous ones! Besides acting, singing, cosmetics, etc, I also love getting lost in the world of youtube. One of my favorite finds on youtube is this sound recording of Patti LuPone in her FINAL performance of Sunset Boulevard in London. Even though I've always thought I would have been fabulous in the role, Madame LuPone really nails it. Also, on the initial cast recording with Patti, the ending that was used for Broadway wasn't included. Here we have it, LIVE!!!

Another video, from the same user, also caught my eye recently.  A video of Betty Buckley and Linzi Hateley performing "Eve Was Weak," a song I've immortalized, from Betty's Carnegie Hall concert. I'd always read that they reprised their roles in selections from Carrie during this concert, but no recordings existed, and I was out of town at the time! FINALLY, I found this and got to see two fabulous performers reunite to recreate a fabulous, musical theater moment.