Megan Mullally turns down Sally in Nunn's FOLLIES....

[ljay889]

http://www.showbiz411.com/2011/01/06/megan-mullally-how-she-turned-down-stephen-sondheim

I think she'd be awful in that role. I'd be shocked if Maria Friedman doesn't end up doing it. Bernadette Peters reportedly wanted to this production in addition to the DC production to guarantee that she'd play the role on Broadway regardless of which production transfers. But it was reported she wouldn't be able to commit to Nunn's production.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Nice to see a gal who knows her limits.

[broadwaybabytn]

chance for bernadette???

[ljay889]

None. It was reported she's not able to do the London production.

[broadwaybabytn]

prior engagements or what??

i'd love to see donna murphy in follies as well.

[givesmevoice]

Donna Murphy played Phyllis in the 2007 Encores production of Follies and she was divine.

[esparza 333]

Megan Mullally? don't get me wrong I love her but she is not right for Sally. She made the right decision. And gotta love Donna Murphy. Her Could I Leave You from the Sondheim Concert is enough to convince me of her as Phyllis. Can't wait for the Kennedy Center production. If it is successful I would prefer it to transfer to bway then Nunn's production.

[PalJoey]

Megan Mullally would be very funny as Sally.

A laugh riot.

When did Trevor Nunn become a director with stinky instincts?

I remember when he was great. What happened?

[AnythingGoes2]

I think all professional productions of "Follies" - DC, Broadway, London etc depend on Ms Peters calendar!

[A NIce Macaroon]

Oh Puh-leez, we all know Nunn wants Dakota Fanning for Sally and Abigail Breslin for Phyllis.

[backwoodsbarbie]

According to the article, Mullally turned down the part because she didn't want to be away from her aging mother for such a long period of time. I'd love to know if she would have taken the part if it hadn't been for her mother's condition or if she had been offered the part in DC.

[Scripps2]

"I'd be shocked if Maria Friedman doesn't end up doing it."

A few of my Sondbuds are suffering from over-exposure to Maria Friedman.

[sallyann]

Megan mentioned this back in October during an interview and my understanding is that she would have loved to have done it but it was just too far away from her mother. No idea if she would have done the DC gig if she had been offered it.

[qolbinau]

Interestingly at her concert in Sydney she claimed that the production didn't eventuate because of the NYC production, then she sung Losing My Mind. (She also sung Broadway Baby and Could I Leave You? from FOLLIES).

[choitoy]

I am a big Megan Mullally fan, and I think she would be horribly miscast in an actual production of "Follies" as Sally (Carlotta would be OK). But I think she would do a wonderful job singing Sally's songs in a standalone concert or CD without having to act the songs necessarily.

[GavestonPS]

Based on her CDs, Megan Mullally can sing just about anything. The result may not be the time-capsule version of the song, but it will sure as hell be interesting.

(I agree, however, that she is very wrong for Sally. I'd love to see her as Carlotta.)

[Leadingplayer]

I still hate that we didn't get to see her in Lips Together Teeth Apart....that is an incredibly funny role and I think she'd have killed in it.

[The Josh]

I'd love to see her come back to Broadway. Maybe in something with her husband, Nick Offerman?

[ComingUpRoses2]

I could see her as Phyllis or Carlotta (talk about a HILARIOUS Carlotta), but not really Sally. I love her to pieces, but I just don't see it working. She's the right age and could probably sing it quite well, but there's just something about her that doesn't seem right for the role.

[Addison D.]

^^Agreed.

[GavestonPS]

but there's just something about her that doesn't seem right for the role

I agree. I think all of Mullally's characters (including a minor guest starring role from the late 80s/early 90s on WINGS) just scream "quirky".

Sally is the opposite of quirky. She may even be clinically insane, but she's as normal as apple pie.

For the same reason, I don't see Mullally as Phyllis. I think we already saw Mullally's very funny version of Phyllis on WILL AND GRACE.

But of course Mullally's very smart and wouldn't play Phyllis or Sally so broadly, so perhaps I'm not being fair to what she would do with a "straight" role.

[random person 112]

I think she could do any of the main female roles in follies if she wanted. Have any of you seen season six of Will and Grace when Stan goes to Jail? In it Megan got to do some pretty hard hitting scenes that focused on Karens loss and loneliness after Stan was gone and how painful it was to lose him. Very Sally indeed.

[somethingwicked]

Megan Mullally as Sally opposite Nick Offerman as Buddy would be quite a sight to see.

[SondheimFan5]

Didn't she get offered Reno in AG at the Roundabout too?
And weren't Reba and Donna Murphy also offered the part but they turned it down?

[Owen22]

Oh please, let the woman ACT. Don't judge her on past roles or on her persona.

I saw her do the Jayne Houdyshell role in "The Receptionist" in LA, and though primarily a comedic part, she had a whole lot more shadings than the characters she's played on TV.

[followspot]

I imagine Nunn offering Buddy to Patton Oswalt didn't help.