5 Actresses That Should be Broadway Bound

It was announced last week that three-time Academy Award Nominee, Amy Adams, will be making her New York stage debut as the Baker's Wife (a role that won Joanna Gleason a Tony back in 1988) in The Public Theater's production of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods. The show is part of the theater company's 50th Anniversary of the annual Shakespeare in the Park–a New York tradition of free shows performed in Central Park. (The other show this year is As You Like It with Lily Rabe and Oliver Platt. You know, some actual Shakespeare to go along with the name of the whole thing...)

Amy Adams started her career doing Summer Stock and has sung on-screen before in Enchanted, Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day, and The Muppets, but hasn't appeared on stage since becoming a star. So, it comes as no surprise that she's finally gonna be treading the boards. I've heard from people that work in casting that Amy Adams is usually at the top of the wish list for any musical being produced on Broadway. It makes sense since she actually has training and experience doing musicals on stage and she just happens to be a famous actress that can get butts in seats. She would have been a more natural choice for Cinderella in Into the Woods, so it'll be interesting to see if she can pull-off the more harder edged character of the Baker's Wife. My only real concern now is how it's gonna be impossible to get tickets to see her. I can't camp-out in the park with all the bugs and...nature; that sound's miserable. And they have a virtual line that I did literally everyday last year until I finally won (and this was for two obscure Shakespeare plays with no well-known stars. I can only imagine how insane it will be to see Amy. I hope The Public's mainframe can handle it...). It will also be interesting to see if she reprises her role in Rob Marshall's intended film version of the musical.

Casting Hollywood actresses in Broadway musicals is nothing new. In fact, tonight's episode of 'Smash' was all about a fictional Hollywood starlet (played by Oscar nominee, Uma Thurman!) being cast in the show's production of the Marilyn Monroe musical, so the show could get funding through the big-name star attached to it. This got me thinking about what other Hollywood actresses should try their hand in a musical on the New York stage. Here are my Top 5 Choices:

5. Evan Rachel Wood

She may have lost the role of Eponine in the Les Miz movie to theater actress, Samantha Banks (thank God it wasn't Taylor Swift), but the girl has some definite singing chops. She appeared in Julie Taymor's Beatles musical, Across the Universe, and was originally supposed to work with the director again as Mary Jane in the Spiderman musical. The show was plagued from the start and Evan dropped out after the first time it lost financing (funny, Taymor isn't involved in the show anymore either...). I would love to see her in a vamp kinda role like Lola in Damn Yankees, something with some bite to it. I don't know if I'd buy her as an ingenue. And after her performance of Justin Beiber's 'Baby' on Jimmy Fallon, she showcased not only her talented vocals, but that she was game for anything.

4. Michelle Pfeiffer

One of the three-time Oscar nominee's earliest role was in the movie musical, Grease 2. She's since gone on to sing in a number of films from her memorable turn atop a piano in The Fabulous Baker Boys to her voice-over work in the animated The Prince of Egypt and as the villain in the film version of the Broadway musical (which was based on the movie...Got that?), Hairspray. She even auditioned for the part of Evita during one of the many times it was in development, before it was finally made with Madonna. Michelle has only appeared professionally once on stage, during the 1989 Shakespeare in the Park production of Twelfth Night. The notoriously shy actress may need some coaxing to appear again on stage, but there's no doubt she would be sensational. Hey, just saying, the Shakespeare in the Park's production of Into the Woods still needs its Witch...

3. Kate Winslet

The Oscar winner is only a Tony away from her EGOT. Maybe a Broadway musical is the way to go? (She's apparently in talks to appear in David Hare's play Skylight, so she's ready to get that Tony regardless.) Although she's yet to appear in a stage musical, the actress has sung many times before on screen including her film debut in Heavenly Creatures, in her first Oscar nominated performance in Sense and Sensibility, and in John Turturro's musical-esque film, Romance and Cigarettes. She even recorded a single that was released in Europe for an animated version of A Christmas Carol (the proceeds went to charity). And during her opening monologue when she hosted Saturday Night Live, she showed-off her live signing and tap dancing(!) skills. Clearly she has the skill for the job, she'll just have to decide what kinda show to do: musical comedy or dramatic rock opera?

2. Gwyneth Paltrow

She's already won an Emmy for playing a singing substitute teacher on Glee and reprised the performance during the live Grammys telecast. In fact, Gwynie was GOOPing her way through tons of live performances to promote her turn as a country singer in Country Strong, so obviously she's comfortable with singing on stage. (And who can forgot her lite-rock staple of 'Cruisin' with Huey Lewis? The late-night music of choice of grocery stores across the country.) I, for one, would love to see Gwyneth in a Broadway musical. Maybe something like High Society that can take advantage of her class and regal elegance. There were talks that she was gonna record an album, but doing a musical would be a better use of her talents as an actress and singer.

1. Anne Hathaway

My friend was telling me that he heard she had been in talks to play Cinderella in the Park's Into the Woods (Can you imagine if Annie and Amy were both in the same production? There's now rumors that Meryl Streep will play the Witch. My head can't process...). Although, Annie probably couldn't fit it in with all the promotional work she's gonna have to do for The Dark Knight Rises (the part went to theatre actress, Jessie Mueller). But, it just goes to show how everyone is waiting for Annie to appear on stage in a musical. She's currently in musical mode filming the film version of Les Miz as Fantine (she already has a history with the show having performed a song from it during the Oscar telecast). In 2002 (with only The Princess Diaries as her claim to fame) she appeared in City Center's Encores presentation of Carnival. She even did a workshop of Promises, Promises but never made it to the Broadway production. And as far back as 2009, it was announced that Annie was set to star in a Broadway production and biopic about Judy Garland. So far, neither has seen any development. As evident from her tribute to Meryl at the Kennedy Center Honors, she's just a Broadway Baby and it's not a question of if she'll be on Broadway any time soon, but when!

Gwyneth Paltrow Here to Save the Day

Let's be honest, most people that watch the Oscars probably haven't seen the films nominated. It doesn't really matter. The Oscars aren't just a celebration of film, but a chance to see movie stars mingling together and being forced to make awkward banter on stage. But, the main reason most people watch is for the fashion. Chances are you'll never have a custom couture gown made for you, so let's look at pretty people who have! The major trend of the night was white, red, and a lot of heavily beaded/sparkly gowns. But, all anyone can talk about is Angie's leg. (It really was kinda amazing/bizarre.) But, one little body part shouldn't get all the attention. I was gonna do a 5 best dressed list, but I was a little unimpressed with everyone as a whole. Luckily, there was one saving grace to the evening. We'll get to her in a moment (pretend like you didn't already read the title of this post). I'm gonna break down my worst, best, and biggest disappointments.

Worst: Shailene Woodley

Maybe I'm biased because I just really didn't like her in The Descendants. She was getting so much praise for crying underwater, but what else did she bring to that role? It's not that she was Jessica Alba-levels of bad or anything, it's just that anyone else could have given that exact same performance. I guess they had to invite her because her film was nominated, but if she stayed on that ABC Family Channel show where she came from, and I never had to hear about her again– I'd be perfectly okay with that. Anyway, back to the dress...

How old is she trying to look here? I think she's still a teenager, but her white-on-white, bedazzled Valentino makes her look like she took her grandmother's old prom dress out of moth balls and is ready for her 40 year high school reunion. This dress is just so dowdy on her. This dress itself is...adequate, i guess (much like her performance). But, it needs like a Diane Lane wearing it–a woman with more maturity that can bring some sex appeal to it. God, would that even work? The more I look at it the more I feel like it's a hopeless cause.

Biggest Disappointments: Rooney Mara and Emma Stone

Y'all know how I feel about these two ladies' style, so it was a huge disappointment when I saw what they chose to wear to their first Oscar ceremony. We knew Rooney was gonna wear something structural, and there are parts of this Givenchy dress that I do enjoy. The back is interesting and weird and the fabric on the train moved so elegantly. But, the front was not right. She told Seacrest that she just picked it out that morning. Maybe if she had had some time, she could have gotten it tailored to actually fit. The bodice was baggy on the sides and tight on the top. There was a strange business happening with her whole ribcage-cleavage area. And what were those scalloped boob shelf embellishments? What was going on there? And the white just washed her out way too much. 

Why would Emma Stone wear a look so similar to the one Nicole Kidman wore to the Oscars in 2007? And Nicole's red bow gown worked so much better. The bow on Emma's red Giambattista Valli gown threatened to devour the actress's head at any moment. It was larger than life. I do like the idea of it. i just think the proportions were off. The color worked well and I do like the flow of the skirt. I just expected so much more from her.

Best Dressed (by far) and My New Hero: Gwyneth Paltrow

You just know that lady behind her in the sari is pissed that she's pulling off a cape 

Without Tilda, Cate, or Nicole at the ceremony this year, it seemed like no one would bring that high fashion look that stands out from the crowd. But then up in the sky came a beacon of white light, in the form of Gwyneth Paltrow in a Tom Ford dress and...cape. I love that cape. It is so elegant and unexpected and really made a pretty white gown, that would have been fine on its own, something to talk about. She looked so glamorous and regal in it, like a 1930's movie goddess. She (and her cape) single-handedly saved the red carpet from being an underwhelming affair. Angie's leg needs to stop stealing the spotlight from the night's real winner. Someone get started on photoshopping Gwyneth's cape on people...

Time Capsule: Ashley Judd, 4th Best Actress of This Millennium

I used to have a magazine addiction. I would collect magazines with my favorite actors on the cover  (Kate Winslet, Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, etc. I have a 'Movieline' with Kate on the cover from 1998) or that had a cover story with a list of say the 30 greatest actors under the age of 30. When I moved out of my dorm in college, I had two suitcases. One with clothes, the other with magazines. Luckily I have weened myself off of the need to collect magazines. (Perhaps because no one really buys magazines anymore and everything is online.) Luckily, my parents- understanding my need to hoard-have safely kept my magazines waiting for me in the garage. Thank god they did because there's nothing like taking out a 12-year-old magazine and seeing how wrong we were.

I came across an 'Entertainment Weekly' dated Winter 1999. It's The 100 Greatest Entertainers 1950-2000. The list itself still holds up pretty well. The Top 10 were: 

The Beatles

Elvis

Marilyn Monroe

Steven Spielberg

Madonna

Frank Sinatra

The Cast of SNL

Michael Jackson

Lucille Ball

The Simpsons

Nothing stands out as being especially ridiculous. Probably because they went pretty classic and stuck with iconic people that everyone knows. The only ones I would argue now are SNL and The Simpsons. Not that they don't belong on the list somewhere. It's just that in the past 12 years since the list came out, both shows have still been on the air and its diminished their impact on society. There is certainly something to be said for longevity. But, watching the shows today makes you long for it's glory days. Neither is really a part of the public awareness anymore nor do they hold the same importance as they once did.  

But my favorite part was a section in the middle in which an online poll (they did those in 1999?) asked who were the next greatest entertainers of the next millennium. Such greats as The Dave Matthews Band and Seth Green took the number one spot for best musical group and television actor. But, since I always tend to gravitate to the cinematic, let's take a look at the Actor and Actress. Actress first: