With Other Desert Cities film version being currently in development do you think there is a chance for any Off and/or Broadway original cast members to reprise their roles in the movie? I know that it is very unusual for stage actors to get roles in film adaptations, but Linda Lavin, Judith Light, Stacy Keach and Oscar nominees Stockard Channing and Rachel Griffiths are not exactly last names in the business. Anyway, who would you like to see being cast in the film version?
It’s quite ironic that an actress, who got rather terrible reviews during her one-time 2006 Broadway stand, landed two back-to-back starring roles in film adaptations of two of the most critically acclaimed plays of American modern theater. Well, at least Ryan Murphy cast Ellen Barkin in his new TV show if it’s any consolation.
Wait...what if Justine came out of retirement to play opposite her brother, henrick.
I can see Glenn Close doing this role. But really...Channing is rather perfect (saw it last night). It would be interesting to see how this translates. It's so...talky.
I can see Glenn Close play any role. Just give her something already. I do understand that unless your name is Meryl Streep or Helen Mirren is next to impossible to land a decent film role for an actress over 60, but Close can't get any film role at all. She was attached to Thérèse Raquin for almost a decade just to be replaced by Jessica Lange right before the shooting. I don't get what's the deal, is she difficult to work with?
In a previous thread, I suggested Jessica Lange for Polly, Gene Hackman for Lyman, Mary-Louise Parker for Brooke, Mark Ruffalo for Trip, and Diane Keaton for Silda.
As I said then, Meryl Streep becoming attached is probably inevitable, but she's a much better fit for Silda than she ever would be for Polly.
Agreed about Lange. I said it the week after I saw the play. Still hoping Lange comes to Broadway in the role. She'd take it in an interesting new direction, and likely be brilliant. And I'm a #1 fan of the Channing performance, which is perfection. But she will leave, and the play needs a star to put a new stamp on it. Lange, yes.
Another wild idea for Polly: Susan Sarandon. Whoa!
I would argue that Sarandon, too, is way more of a Silda than she is a Polly (and a pretty ideal Silda at that.) Whoever plays Polly has to have a very heightened element of sophistication, and Sarandon screams earthy to me.
While I maintain that Lange is as ideal casting as one could hope to find for the role, Sally Field and Annette Bening also come to mind as terrific contenders, particularly the latter. You could even have Bening play opposite Warren Beatty as Lyman. That would sure be fun.
I really hope they take some of these great A-lister suggestions into consideration for replacements on Broadway. I'd kill to see Lange or Parker tackle these roles on stage.
"I really hope they take some of these great A-lister suggestions into consideration for replacements on Broadway. I'd kill to see Lange or Parker tackle these roles on stage."
The play already appears to be struggling with an arguably starry group of actors. Considering The Booth is highly desirable real estate, I don't see it running past the summer, when the original cast will all be ready to depart.
On the plus side, it's getting produced at virtually every regional theater in America next season, so we'll certainly have the opportunity to see other great actors play these roles. Women like Dianne Wiest, Blythe Danner, Judith Ivey, Christine Lahti, Kate Burton, and Deirdre O'Connell who so regularly work on stage come to mind as candidates I'd love to see take the piece on as it begins to have a wider life outside of New York.
Auggie27, in addition to doing THE AMERICAN PLAN on Broadway in 2009, Mercedes Reuhl (yes, a complete and total Silda) was also in THE HOW AND THE WHY by Sarah Treem at the McCarter Theater in January of last year. She's hardly been "long absent from the stage," but she has been semi-retired from film and television the last few years in order to concentrate on raising her son, who has special needs. She was set to be a series regular on the forthcoming season of LUCK on HBO before it was cancelled abruptly a couple months ago, but she just filmed a pilot for FOX that is garnering some nice buzz, so she's slowly returning to a more consistent work schedule.
I wonder if they would go with someone like Jack Nicholson for Lyman in the film version. He doesn't seem ideal on paper, but he seems like someone who would be cast (kind of like assuming Meryl would be Polly), and I could see him pulling it off.
Martin Sheen would be an amazing Lyman. And he knows a thing or two about having difficult children. Still, I would love to see Keach, Channing and Light do this on screen (but that goes without saying). Maybe if they had a Brooke who was a huge name.
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joined:5/27/10
Posted: 4/25/12 at 03:34pm