ChrisFitzpatrick
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Best recording...Though I'm not big on revivals, movies or TV specials - I have to say the Bye Bye Birdie TV '95 version is spectacular. Jason Alexander is definately the best Albert by far, sorry to all the original lovers.
Mmkay, lol - what's your opinion?
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Music08Man
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Although I llike the '93 movie better in terms of being more true to the stage show, I don't think you can beat Dick Van Dyke as Albert or Paul Lynde as Mr. MacAfee. I also like Vanessa Williams as Rosie better than Janet Leigh.
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Amber
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OK, so here's my mix of who makes the best people for the show.
Albert Peterson
-Jason Alexander. He's naturally a perfect actor for the role, and playing a mama's boy doesn't seem like a far stretch for him. Plus he's an adequate, well, very good dancer, and his voice is very good.
Rose Alvarez
-It's a tie between the original (Chita Rivera) and Vanessa Williams. Williams acted the role brilliantly, and overall has a much better voice than Ms. Rivera. The role was more vocally challenging with Ms. Rivera because they shortened many of the songs for the TV production ("Spanish Rose" cut to a verse and a half? Come on.), and so maybe I'd make a better judgement if Ms. Williams had been given the opportunity to perform the songs in their entirety. So. Vocally, I prefer Vanessa Williams because she's just better, but dance-wise I'll always go for the amazing Chita Rivera. But overall, it's a tie.
Mr. Macafee
-Paul Lynde wins this hands down. Serious. Nobody else can hold a candle to this man's brilliant and fantabulous performance.
Kim MacAfee
-The girl in the original Broadway cast sounds much too old to be playing a young girl of fifteen. Ann-Margaret was nothing special to me when I was watching the original film. Chynna Phillips, from the TV version, is a very good Kim. I think the girl REALLY, really really needed to eat a muffin or something, because she's painfully thin in the movie, but she was vocally perfect, and acted the role well.
Hugo Peabody
-Shane West, who I think played it in the TV version. Mhm.
Conrad Birdie
-Marc Kudisch. He's one of the filmed/recorded Conrads who don't annoy me. Because usually they do. Only Marc and Chris (the guy who started the thread) don't annoy me.
Mama Peterson
-Tyne Daly. She's amazing. AMAZING.
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MsDivaKate
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I agree with music8man about Dick Van Dyke. He's who I picture when I think of that role.
As for the best Kim...I just don't even know. I didn't like the Kim on the OBC or Ann-Margaret. Chynna Phillips also seemed too old..I mean they had to change the lyrics in How Lovely To Be A Woman to "Then hallelujah you're seventeen..." to even remotely make her a believable Kim.
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Salome
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| misericordiae wrote: | OK, so here's my mix of who makes the best people for the show.
Albert Peterson
-Jason Alexander. He's naturally a perfect actor for the role, and playing a mama's boy doesn't seem like a far stretch for him. Plus he's an adequate, well, very good dancer, and his voice is very good.
Rose Alvarez
-It's a tie between the original (Chita Rivera) and Vanessa Williams. Williams acted the role brilliantly, and overall has a much better voice than Ms. Rivera. The role was more vocally challenging with Ms. Rivera because they shortened many of the songs for the TV production ("Spanish Rose" cut to a verse and a half? Come on.), and so maybe I'd make a better judgement if Ms. Williams had been given the opportunity to perform the songs in their entirety. So. Vocally, I prefer Vanessa Williams because she's just better, but dance-wise I'll always go for the amazing Chita Rivera. But overall, it's a tie.
Mr. Macafee
-Paul Lynde wins this hands down. Serious. Nobody else can hold a candle to this man's brilliant and fantabulous performance.
Kim MacAfee
-The girl in the original Broadway cast sounds much too old to be playing a young girl of fifteen. Ann-Margaret was nothing special to me when I was watching the original film. Chynna Phillips, from the TV version, is a very good Kim. I think the girl REALLY, really really needed to eat a muffin or something, because she's painfully thin in the movie, but she was vocally perfect, and acted the role well.
Hugo Peabody
-Shane West, who I think played it in the TV version. Mhm.
Conrad Birdie
-Marc Kudisch. He's one of the filmed/recorded Conrads who don't annoy me. Because usually they do. Only Marc and Chris (the guy who started the thread) don't annoy me.
Mama Peterson
-Tyne Daly. She's amazing. AMAZING. |
I agree with this almost copletely..except Chynna P{hillips. she's dreaful.
I like the Kim from the london recording.
and Paul Lynde was a comic genius.
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Amber
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Who's the Kim on the London recording? That's the one I haven't heard.
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rcs
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The OBC is probably the best of the versions I'm familiar with. The new television version is pretty good too, but I didn't like the girl playing Kim (Chynna Phillips). Not only is she too old (as other people have commented), and her voice has too much of a pop sound, but she's an ALTO!!! Since the role was originally written for a soprano, all of her songs had to be transposed into different keys, resulting in one very awkward (and AWFUL) key change in "A Lot of Livin' to Do" (Kim's first entrance, at "There are men..."). Everyone else was great, though (Tyne Daly is a WONDERFUL Mae Peterson; I'm glad she finally got a song).
I haven't seen the movie in years, and I've never heard the London recording, so I won't comment on them.
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