I can't decide whether or not I like Claire Danes. She's like a see-saw in my mind:Up: She debuts in Shaw's Pygmalion this week on Broadway as Eliza Doolittle. What a daring choice! Plus she does random ballet moves in Gap ads! She's so classy and bookish and learned!
Down: Prior to accepting the role, she had neither read the play nor seen "My Fair Lady." (I would have thought she'd have been a little more up to speed on her literary and popular culture, for crying out loud.) It makes me skeptical that she'd have the wherewithal to do the role justice.
Now read all of the reviews and re-assess. Just because she hadn't read the play doesn't mean she DIDN'T before it opened last night (clearly), and you know going in to see her that Audrey Hepburn, regardless of how amazing, will not be informing her performance. An audition is an audition, and apparently the director was impressed!
ReplyDeleteActually, it was Julie Andrews, not Audrey Hepburn, who performed the role in the West End and then on Broadway. When Audrey Hepburn was cast in the film version, Andrews was crestfallen. Then they were both nominated for Best Actress and Andrews beat Hepburn for her role in Mary Poppins. If I see another article comparing Danes to Hepburn, I'll scream!
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