The Women - Great Performances
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- Опубликовано: 11 янв 2021
- Roundabout Theatre's 2001 stage production of Claire Boothe Luce's all-female play The Women aired on PBS. With Cynthia Nixon, Rue McClanahan, Kristen Johnston, Jennifer Tilly, Jennifer Coolidge, Mary Louise Wilson and more.
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Jennifer Coolidge is hilarious she delivers the lines so perfectly
I about pissed myself the very first time I saw this when she mumbled with a mouthful of food “NO SELF CONTROL!” ROFL
Play begins around 2:25 ...
Kristen Johnston and Jennifer Coolidge stole the show lol they were hilarious! Great production
I was able to see this in NYC - and the set design was spectacular! What a rare treasure to have all these amazing women on stage together.
We are currently working on this production for my local theater company. This was EXTREMELY helpful in my research for my role as Olga 😊and I truly enjoyed seeing so many of my favorite female performers on one stage. It was great to see Ms. Rue MaClanahan 🙏🏾🕊she was truly a talented woman.
The original Olga is the best. Use her instead.
How'd it Go..?
@@BeesWaxMinder it was a lot of fun!!! Great crowds-I wish we could have recorded it
Ehhhhhh love Cynthia Nixon but she’s no Mary Haines. her voice for this part is wrong, doesn’t show the sweetness of Mary. Kristen did a better job but she is no Rosalind Russell. See the movie. It’s perfection.
Even in 2001, Cynthia Nixon and sweetness didn’t belong in the same sentence. ….oh okay, there it is. There was some in Miranda too. I was too harsh. Mary Haynes requires it throughout, though, and I agree with everyone who calls this “uneven.”
@@kristinazubic9669 check her out in little darlings. She used to be sweet.
Ugh. I don’t like her at all.
The casting was mostly wrong with some exceptions. I appreciate the attempt. But….
Norma Shearer was fabulous as was Russell and, of course, Joan Crawford.
Absolutely Fantastic. The original film was outstanding. This play and cast are FABULOUS.
It was a play first, the movie was based on this play
AMY RYAN!!! Loved seeing her in this! 💚
Great to see this. Thank you for posting.
"Why didn't you confide in me????" This was excellent.
Thank you so much for sharing this 🙏🏼
I surely enjoyed this. Thank you for sharing.
Kristen Johnson is FANTASTIC!
She is amazing in this. Sad to hear that she wants a do-over on this role because she believes she didn't do it justice. Couldn't disagree with her more but now really interested on what her NAILED performance would look like.
@@jonathanwinans2842 I saw this production live. It's too bad that people really can't see the show's genuine star...the sets of Derek McLane. They were so stylish and quite clever.
@@jonathanwinans2842 She does a perfect impression of Rosalind Russell; impressed with how she consistently keeps it up.
@@comedycomedy6888 Exactly. She channels Miss Russel. It's very exciting.
She's always been my favorite in this
Clare booth Luce, rage for fame, excellent read. Her life was inspiring. She set a standard for women of the time, had a real zeal
The Original Swan 🦢
Brilliant cast.
Delicious. Thank you
1:07:43 =I relate to Little Mary... That feeling that you have to remain non-challant & calm and yet you want nothing more but to scream, cry, throw a fit and be angry...
I would love to have had a woman introduce this play.
I believe in equality and inclusiveness. A man is totally appropriate given the ratio of women to men. You shouldn't give the matriarchy a dominance. Not fair. Just kidding. I wanted to see what it felt to be a SJW...
@@keith536 horse shit
Agreed. And the “humor” was flat. He should be on his knees to Larry David. Oof with the estrogen remark.
Would it have made a difference.
Or at least not him. That was pretty bad.
have always loved this. thank you!!!
@@eduardo_corrochio Intermission? Have you never been to a play?
@@eduardo_corrochio That's precisely what an intermission is for. So "duh" yourself.
The Golden Girls finally meet Sex and the City. Miranda still getting cheated on and Blanche still being the cougar. :)
Thank you!
Awww, they missed my favorite line.
Its back to the perfume counter for me. And by the way ladies, there's a word for you in high society but its not mentioned outside of a Kennel.
That's the one line I wish would have been in this! Otherwise I loved this!!!!
I had this recorded on VHS it was sooooo good, I wish they would release it streaming somewhere!
And what is this????
@@rodneykingston6420 I'm confused by your question? It's "Stage On Screen - The Women" a play from the 1930's that there was a revival in the early 2000's?
@@babyjenks1784 "I wish they would release it on streaming somewhere!" - The whole thing is here on YT, isn't it?
@@rodneykingston6420 I meant an official release. Something with higher definition in video and sound. This could be taken down for copyright
@@babyjenks1784 Most of us knew that you meant a platform like Netflix or Hulu. Some people just need to be pedantic or can't help appearing obtuse.
Brilliant play!
Heather Matarazzo!!! My gurl!!
It's nice to see her onstage.
Thought that was her! 😊
Wow I would’ve loved to see this
I missed "I've had 2 years to grow claws, Mother - JUNGLE RED!"
They had it at the end. Better placed in the movie
4:18 omg it's Heather Matarazzo ❤ (Solondz's Dawn Wiener)💕
Nixon is just darling as always.
Fun, Fun, fun...fabulous cast.
4:25 =Why is that actress (the maid) so familiar????? NO WAY!!! MIA'S BFF IN THE PRINCESS DIARIES!!!
For me, she's Dawn from "Welcome to the Dollhouse."
4:18 oh my gosh it’s Lilly Moscovitz
The great, GREAT Mary Louise Wilson.
Just for fun, I looked at the cast list of the original 1936 Broadway production to see if anyone made it into the film. Two actresses got to recreate their characters in the 1939 film: Phyllis Povah as Edith Potter and Marjorie Main as Lucy. I was also reminded of something I've noticed before, that Arlene Francis (one of the main panelists from WHAT'S MY LINE, the popular television game show) was in the Broadway production. She played Princess Tamara (who is the model at the fashion show that Sylvia gets into a tangle with) and she also is credited as playing "Helene." There is no Helene in the film, but there is a Helen - the maid in the scene that takes place in Crystal's bathroom (with Sylvia), so I assume that's the role (makes sense, one small role in each act). Hilarious. (There is also a woman named Doris Day in the Broadway cast listed as "saleslady," but I see that THE Doris Day would have been 14 years old at the time. Que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be.)
Yes, in the original stage script, Helene is listed as "Crystal's chic French maid".
Thanks for the history highlights. 🙋🏾♀️
Perfection ❤️
Didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did
Somebody help me stop watching this. So hooked.
I recorded this on VHS. I wore out the tape! Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant!
It’s finally up 🥺😭💕
Better than the movie remake with Meg Ryan 2008 this is so campy and funny great casting actor's members this play, Jennifer Tilly is everything bath scenes reminded me of bride of chucky death scene..
That Meg Ryan flick was an abomination
1:26:44
“Oh. That’s an ash.”
Jennifer Coolidge seriously has the best comedic timing. 😂😂😂
Best line in the whole play
@@md61211 Yep, only saw it once, in the original production, and still remember that line and moment. Scene, even play, stealer, she is!
@@md61211 my personal favorite is “Edith are you Catholic or just careless?” Kills me everytime
Crystal was written to be a clever imposter who conceals her low class staus. That's why she is a fierce competitor for Mary to brinf to justice.
Kirsten Johnson doing her best Rosalind Russell.
Give me the movie!
I've seen the 30's film with Norma Sheared and Crawford.
Cynthia Nixon of course brings her own style to Mrs Thalbergs role ... enjoying it more as I appreciated the difference between the women.
The 1939 MGM classic is a gem of rapid-fire dialogue indeed. By the way, your Norma 'Sheared' made my day! I'm sure that's just how she felt after her scenes with Crawford. Ha! 😂😂😘😘
Fascinating the play differs greatly 👌🏾🦹🏾♂️😍🏳️🌈🌷stunning cast
The fitness instructor is likely smoking a brand of cigarette recommended by her family physician...
THIS IS THE BEST!
If you like bad acting, you're right.
@@billysullivan6788 Correct. Woof!
You lying. Straight buns
They were shouting, no one could land an accent, and Tilly was like watching someone strike out every time at bat. I know Cynthia Nixon is good (I remember her in Amadeus) but shrill and whining doesn’t hold up.
Makes you really appreciate the movie.
Rue was perfectly cast
Holly from the Office plays Peggy
Is that the Joan Fontaine role!
This is not to be critical of anyone posting here (speak your mind - you do you - etc.) ... but, I realize we all have busy lives and/or things we want to do beyond getting involved in long discussions online. Therefore, many comments are just "I loved it" or "it sucked" or "this is the best" or "this was just dreadful" - again, speak your truth, but I thought it would be helpful (for anyone interested) to read a professional review from when the show opened. It was published in VARIETY in November of 2001 and it's written by Charles Isherwood (who subsequently reviewed theatre for the NEW YORK TIMES). He doesn't have much praise for the production or the cast, but at least this gives us more to think about vs. "I'm Team No" and "I'm Team Yes"
FOR THOSE WHO DON'T HAVE THE TIME OR INCLINATION, HERE IS A SHORTER VERSION WHERE I'VE PULLED THE REVIEWERS MORE MAJOR COMPLAINTS (leaving out his reviews of individual performances), below that I’ve put the full version with NO edits.
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THIS IS THE EDITED VERSION:
... An air of aimlessness perfumes Elliott’s production. It sets in early, as Derek McLane’s pink, rose-covered curtain rises to reveal the all-female cast in careful poses. They walk to the lip of the stage, smirk a bit and recede; the point remains elusive, as does that of a misguided curtain call requiring the entire cast to appear - many looking distinctly uncomfortable, and who can blame them? - in fancy period lingerie. The last-minute revelation of the characters’ sartorial underpinnings only points up the fact that the production hasn’t done much to expose their psychological ones.
That’s a pity, because even through the hollow chatter of this mindless production you can sense a lot going on beneath the galloping wit of Luce’s dialogue. With its formulaic plot and sketchy characters, “The Women” isn’t a masterwork, by any means, but it remains compelling because it has a molten core of anger that still glows hot.
An inquisitive director with a taste for exploring the play’s dark undercurrents of protest could bring them to the fore without discomposing the play’s glittering comic surfaces (paging Joe Mantello), but Elliott’s production ignores them in favor of securing as much easy laughter as possible.
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THIS IS THE FULL REVIEW:
November 8. 2001
The Women
The hats and heels nearly walk off with the show in the Roundabout Theater Co.'s pretty, pink and pointless revival of Clare Boothe Luce's cat-clawed comedy "The Women."
By Charles Isherwood
The production does boast one notable asset that the movie doesn’t: a real actress in the central role of Mrs. Stephen Haines, played onscreen by that plaster vessel of noble suffering, Norma Shearer. Cynthia Nixon’s multifaceted and honestly felt performance as the wronged wife is the production’s lone revelation, and it’s a considerable one.
For the most part, however, an air of aimlessness perfumes Elliott’s production. It sets in early, as Derek McLane’s pink, rose-covered curtain rises to reveal the all-female cast in careful poses. They walk to the lip of the stage, smirk a bit and recede; the point remains elusive, as does that of a misguided curtain call requiring the entire cast to appear - many looking distinctly uncomfortable, and who can blame them? - in fancy period lingerie. The last-minute revelation of the characters’ sartorial underpinnings only points up the fact that the production hasn’t done much to expose their psychological ones.
That’s a pity, because even through the hollow chatter of this mindless production you can sense a lot going on beneath the galloping wit of Luce’s dialogue. With its formulaic plot and sketchy characters, “The Women” isn’t a masterwork, by any means, but it remains compelling because it has a molten core of anger that still glows hot.
Superficially, the play seems to be a vivisection of women’s vanity and venomousness: Mary Haines and her circle of plushly married girlfriends play bridge and gossip, have their hair and nails done and gossip, have babies and gossip, get divorces and gossip. But Luce’s accusatory finger - with its famously “jungle red” nail polish - isn’t actually pointed at the figures onstage. The play is really a seething indictment of the permanent state of powerlessness the female sex was reduced to by American society (which is to say, American men). The self-absorption and friendly betrayals so amusingly paraded across the stage are just the symptoms, not the disease.
The play was written in 1936, when the ambitions and competitive instincts of men could find an acceptable social outlet in business, but women were still locked out of that sphere of play (their segregation is tellingly symbolized by the lack of a single male presence onstage). Women could only compete for the attentions of men, and could only prove their value by asserting their attractiveness to the opposite sex.
As a result, their energies were turned against themselves and each other, with nasty - if amusing - results. (The only morally cultivated woman onstage, it’s not so subtly suggested, is the mannish author Nancy Blake, played by a miscast Lisa Emery. She scorns the women’s world and has no place in the men’s either; off she goes to Africa …)
An inquisitive director with a taste for exploring the play’s dark undercurrents of protest could bring them to the fore without discomposing the play’s glittering comic surfaces (paging Joe Mantello), but Elliott’s production ignores them in favor of securing as much easy laughter as possible. The cigarettes constantly dangling from the ladies’ lips might be a hint that he’s aware of the self-destructiveness that Luce suggests their predicament engendered, but then again it might just be a period-appropriate stylistic tic; the rest of the production offers few clues.
The performance of Jennifer Tilly in the role of Crystal Allen, the hard-bitten shopgirl who steals Mary’s husband, is a case in point. Luce’s play has some things to say about class divides as well as sexual ones, and the role of Crystal offers a chance to explore the fear and desperation that powered women of the underclass into the higher echelons of society. But Tilly’s braying Crystal is a banal portrait of a platinum-blond mantrap from the wrong side of the tracks, nothing more.
Most of the rest of Elliott’s cast of name-brand performers don’t bring out the subtexts of Luce’s writing, either, although they do full justice to Mizrahi’s eye-filling parade of beautifully realized costumes. Kristen Johnston does a hilarious riff on Rosalind Russell’s backstabbing Sylvia Fowler, and gets to wear some of Isaac Mizrahi’s riotous headgear to boot. But there are only a few glimmers of depth in the performance - chiefly a frozen look of pain followed by one of determination that play across Sylvia’s face when she decides to unveil to Mary her husband’s infidelity.
Jennifer Coolidge, as the serially pregnant Mrs. Phelps Potter, gets laughs with her oddly childish manner and rubber-raft lips, but her approach is happily cartoonish. Heather Matarazzo (“Welcome to the Dollhouse”) and Rue McClanahan (endless TV) are simply unpersuasive in their smaller roles.
Nixon’s sensitive performance as Mary thus stands out starkly, a rose among thorns, to borrow McLane’s floral imagery. When Mary discovers her husband’s affair, Nixon clarifies all the turbulent emotions that flutter in her heart: sadness and betrayal, shame and injured pride and, above all, a kind of luminous loneliness that infuses all her scenes. Only she and the tough but tender Mary Louise Wilson as her mother bring a full humanity to their characters. (Amy Ryan at least tries, but her role is tiny.)
And Nixon’s presence adds extra dimensions to our interpretation of the play, thanks to this longtime stage vet’s new prominence on TV’s “Sex and the City,” which can almost be seen as the late 20th century’s tart riposte to Luce’s play (and Cukor’s picture).
Even in their cozy nests of communal femininity - the beauty parlor, the dressing room - the women of “The Women” were utterly isolated; the social and sexual orders pitted them against each other. The girls on “Sex and the City” may spend as much time shopping for shoes and getting waxed, but their sense of community is deep and true. Those jungle-red claws come in handy in the office, but they’re delicately sheathed over brunch. This and other observations ignited by Nixon’s performance offer food for thought that the rest of this calorie-free production never does. Hey
Thank you for posting this.
@@amykaufman6327 that’s a very good correction especially since Christopher wrote I AM A CAMERA - thank you, I’ll fix it now 😬
Spot on review. I recall reading it after the show opened at the Roundabout. This video seems to give the necessary proof.
good production - but the 1939 movie is the best
That’s my vote too ⭐️
Very enjoyable to watch. A great story.
Fuck the haters, fuck the critics this production is AWESOME!!!
You must not have much theatrical experience.
@@jonathanmcvay4499 Not really Clive Barnes I just like what I like.
by Clare Boothe
I thought the whole face mud scene was unnecessary.
Oh, grow up.
Wait till Mrs Morehead speaks of sleeping like a swastika in bed 😮
BRILLIANT! REVIEAL! 🤗!
Such an excellent production. I saw it during its run on Broadway. Recorded this on DVR when it was broadcast, but the drive took a dump before I could rip it to the computer. Unfortunately, Roundabout never made it available for watching again or purchase. Of course PBS viewers didn't get the full view of Jennifer Tilly in the bathroom scene...
I haven't gotten there, is she taking a dump
I saw the full Monty for Tilly on Broadway too which I didn't expect when I took my 11-year-D daughter to see the show.
I saw the play on Broadway and was amazed at how strategically placed the bubbles were on Tilly’s body. ❤
Well, that was good. Everyone was perfect. I loved Tilly as Crystal. That was a good call. She fit right in. I didn't recognize Nixon till 30 minutes in.
Nothing like a good cat fight, yall
Why are we yelling???
you'd be glad they are if you were sitting in the back of that theater
I know. Every line
I don’t know about you, but I lost my voice asking for a raise.
Somebody tell me which part of the video Has the most famous line “THERES A NAME FOR YOU LADIES BUT IT’S NOT USED IN HIGH SOCIETY OUTSIDE A KENNEL”
The mother of Boys in the Band! Was this classic! Lol😂
1:28:44 =yeah... she's right... You can't whine when you haven't experience the worst yet...
Jennifer Coolidge is the best.
Jennifer Tilly was an inspired choice for the Joan Crawford character
You're nuts. That voice? The lack of talent?
I agree with you. Jennifer Tilly is a good actress who never gets enough credit. I saw her in this and Don't Dress For Dinner. She was very entertaining in both shows.
@@sgtdroxie did you mean DON'T DRESS FOR DINNER?
I'm sure she was playing Suzanne the model? (I did this play once)
However, I pity your ear drums for having to sit through a Jennifer Tilly "performance." The only thing she was ever good in was BULLETS OVER BROADWAY.
She peaked in that, then again was it really a stretch for her?
We all have different taste but I love Jennifer Tilly. Yes, Don't Dress For Dinner. She was great in it.
@@sgtdroxie there is something too be said for taste. If you like an "actress" like that, I'd hate to see what kind of food you go for.
26:03 =Odd.. I am reminded of SuperNanny...
In the actual stage play, Jennifer Tilly reveals full frontal nudity to the audience when she stands up in the bathtub. But for this broadcast on PBS, producers decided to angle the camera so that it only showed her bare back because some local stations in more conservative markets wouldn’t have aired it with the nudity.
I don’t think you even can air nudity on “over the air” tv?
Depends on the channel Some,with a label or "warning" show rear nudity and breasts. But I believe PBS has shown shows/movies as they are before without censorship. It's later that in some places that have been "scandalized " they alter the broadcast.
I liked it. For me the movie is a little better. Until the end. I never liked Crystal getting the last word and then calling them bitches. Really? Pot calling the kettle black. 🤓
Always LOVED the movie.
Now love the play ..
This WONDERFUL bunch of VERY talented women.
Thought Cynthia Nixon's accent.. a bit odd ...
Nevertheless .. she was GREAT!
Ok that was great but why did they do bows in lingerie
Especially since the cast includes a literal child
Major miscast Cynthia Nixon amidst otherwise excellent cast.
I have to agree with You, Mr. Hinnenkamp; her casting throws the proceedings into an imbalance from which it never fully recovers. Her projection is too strident, perhaps an indication of nervousness.
@@cunajo1 I do believe the play works best when the character, Mary, has the most to lose. But it most be genuine. Love for husband and daughter otherwise the play becomes a "bitch hunt" which leads nowhete.
I agree. Feels like she is just screaming her way through every line. Mary needs a much softer approach IMO. Meg Ryan and Norma Shearer nailed the vulnerability without seeming like lapdogs.
I am surprised (yet not surprised) at the Cynthia Nixon critiques. I suspect some of the sniping can be traced to the fact that Nixon is indelibly associated with SATC. I, for one, am glad to see her doing something other than that TV show.
Having seen Ms Nixon a dozen times on stage in everything from the daughter in Hurly Burly to Miss Jean Brody, I can tell you there is little she can’t do. She was absolutely astonishing in The Little Foxes.
Adina Porter!
3:19 scene 1
17:20 scene 2
25:26 scene 3
Awesome cast, better than the movie version! Fabulous production! Thank you!
I completely disagree! The film is so much fun, and a true comedy classic! This isn't even funny; just tedious.
@@joelsheridan5622 I agree
I hope you are not comparing it to the remake.
@@joelsheridan5622 I don’t think he means the classic version.
Yes compared to 1936 version!
The original movie version this title is one of my favorite movies. This presentation can’t touch it. I’m not sure who did the worst job of acting…Cynthia Nixon or the little girl who played her daughter. Jennifer Coolidge somewhat redeemed this play …she was right on point. I hate that the dialogue was changed so much. Sorry, but compared to the movie, this play was just mediocre.
This play came first, the movie was based off the play
@@babyjenks1784the rewrite for the screenplay was brilliant.
31:40 =Sometimes, I can't help but think being a traditional woman is sad... Unless you know that your heart is strong to not care what your husband thinks and still give the world to your children, that world is frightful & scary... I'd rather be a woman like Nancy, independent & strong, not needing a man & would rather get rid of him if he ever appears...
No matter how many women are on stage - the play does not favor them. Their lives spin around relations with men, they behave and look miserable. It is not so nowadays, and I beleive was not so 100 years ago
wait i just skipped to the end but isn't this the plot to Now, Voyager?
I know it’s been a year but the answer is no. Not even close.
Yikes.
It’s a period piece and I’m not making a pun. It was made today and it’s called Euphoria. It’s just less literate.😅
@1:26:42 that's an ash. 😂😂😂
It's interesting to see how much of a full scaled re-write the movie is and what they had to edit and censor to get it on the screen. Having been brought up on the movie there are things I missed, but I find it interesting how much they have to make the material sincere and sentimental in the film. The play is clearly much harsher and more cynical.
This performance unfortunately makes the play seem more dated than it is, very very self conscious and stilted line deliveries and extremely broad characterizations.
Have you seen the movie? There are extremely minor changes to the play.
Agreed.
@@paillette2010I have in fact scene the movie. I stand by my comment. The changes are cosmetic (subtly or otherwise) and the tone is much sharper and cutting in the play, which has very little of sweetness that the movie emphasizes.
@@petercallahan7321 I think you need to watch the film again.
The play differs inasmuch as this version is terrible (you really see the limits of many of these actresses, and they are making us suffer in their lack of skill at parsing this dialogue)
Anyhow, the movie certainly is more subtle than this junk version. Doesn’t mean any of the cynicism or inherent toughness is missing.
Maybe the schmaltzy scene with the daughter, but it’s only a few blue allusions that are removed. Hays, you know.
I was excited to see the play. Watching it, coupled with the ham-fisted performances was a chore.
Take that into consideration while lauding this garbage version.
You have to remember the movie is filled with Oscar winners & nominees.
Did Heather Matarazzo walk out for her curtain call with no bra on????
Kristen Johnston and Jennifer Coolidge are even better than the gals in the movie.
Stick with the original version and enjoy a great cast in acting with the light touch this story requires
Yup. The poor video quality and overreaching actors gave me a headache in minutes.
@@mattmasc6386 hahaha, and a bit nauseous
Agree. I saw this on Broadway and hoped for the best, but I came out feeling only a handful of the performances truly delivered the goods. The 1939 film did of course (as some have pointed out) trim the edges (or the edge) a bit, but I disagree with the gentleman who said the film was a full-scaled re-write. I'd have to take another look, but I remember reading the play at some point, definitely noticing some cuts (like the scene with Edith smoking a cigarette in the hospital room after just giving birth yet again), but my recollection is that long passages of dialogue and perhaps full scenes remained fairly in tact. If I'm wrong, the screenplay is still one of the best (imho) and the cast of the film is inarguably flawless, with pitch perfect delivery of character from Norma Shearer as Mary, Joan Crawford as Crystal Allen (certainly one of her best performances), Rosiland Russell as Sylvia (lshe is relentless, unbearable, vulgar and, most importantly, hilarious) -- and this level is found from each actress, including fantastically funny turns from in the smaller roles, like the brilliant woman who plays he blabbermouth manucurist or even the lingerie model ("zips up the back and no bones"). There's also Mary Boland as The Countess (I love Rue, but there's no way to top Boland's joyfully delusional take on the role), gorgeous Paulette Goddard as Miriam, Joan Fontaine perfectly cast as Peggy, Phyllis Povah also exactly right as Edith, and if that's not enough, Marjorie Main enters about halfway through as Lucy (who runs the ranch at Reno) and she's always a sure bet. I also must mention Virginia Grey who plays the shop girl who torments Crystal (Joan Crawford) in Crystal's opening scene. Virginia was basically a bit player who worked her way up - and she's actually the third billed star in ANOTHER THIN MAN with William Powell and Myrna Loy. But, beyond this dream cast and the extremely funny and pointed script, the real star of this film is George Cukor. It is an all female cast as written for Broadway, but one can easily imagine a director (or producer) saying "let's add in some of the men" and suddenly we are dealing with someone playing Stephen Haines and Howard Fowler, which would literally pull this beautiful sweater apart at the seams. It's called THE WOMEN for a reason ... and Cukor did not allow even any of the dogs you see in the film be male. It is certainly stylized and exagerrated, but these women did (and to some degree, still do) exist within the very monied society of parts of Manhattan -- and at the core of it, you have sensible, earnest, Mary who refuses to engage in the back-stabbing bitchery until she decides she wants her husband back, and she'll pull out her claws ("jungle red") to get it done quickly and efficiently. Yes, of course it's old fashioned (my god, Mary should have been glad to have Stephen gone), but it's a deliciously fun period piece with gowns by the legendary Adrian and beautiful sets as well. Oh, and you get the bonus fashion show (in Technicolor!) with over-the-top couture leading right into what may be the finest scene in the film - the dressing room confrontation when Mary learns that Crystal is across the hall, trying on clothing, which will obviously be paid for by Stephen, Mary's husband. The dialogue in that scene is impeccable, with Shearer delivering slight melodrama (but never enough to make it ghoulish) and Crawford at her MOST hilarious, swatting away "the wife" with every word, and enjoying it to the hilt until Mary finally finds her weak spot and Crawford, now boring and irritated, tosses her out. Even then, Mary thinks she can get on more dig in, but Crystal wins that final round. Can you tell this is one of my favorite films? I think one problem with mounting a revival nowadays is ... you hire top notch people, but getting this large a cast to really understand every aspect of playing these women. We have THANKFULLY moved WAY forward in society and women move the levers of power and don't put up with what what was once so insanely expected of them (cook, clean, be sexy and be quiet -- or if you had the money, just be sexy and quiet). So, it's understandably dificult to see why most actresses have a tough time with this type of broad, manned comedy. That said, this revival makes a MUCH more respectable stab at it then the unwatchable film remake starring Meg Ryan. There is another "sorta remake" with a different title: THE OPPOSITE SEX (1956). They use pretty much none of the dialogue, just the basic plot points and relationships. They add the male characters back in (mmmm, big mistake). Oh, and it's a musical - sorta. And although the cast list has plenty of talent, this is not anyone's best work. The producers started with hoping for Grace Kelly to play the lead (Kay in this film, Mary in the original), but Grace was retiring (to do the princess thing), next was Esther Williams (who apparently didn't see herself in the role), then Eleanor Parker (who was replaced by June Allyson). With exceptions to the rule, it's not usually a good start to go through four actors for the lead. And although Joan Collins SEEMS a great choice to play Crystal Allen - again, the script is very weak, and she's fun, but she ain't the real JC (not Jesus Christ, Joan Crawford1). My advice would be to skip THE OPPOSITE SEX. One last bit of fun (if you've made it this far, god bless you) ... I was an assistant stage manager for the notorious staged reading of TWEED THEATERWORKS notorious staged reading of THE WOMEN starring Charles Busch as Mary (now THAT is perfect casting) and the legendary Lypsinka -- glamorous, wicked and hilarious -- as Crystal. Kevin Maloney directed it in that wonderful old-school NYC downtown theater style (the more ragged edges, the better). This was part of TWEED'S "FRACTURED CLASSICKS" - Mr. Maloney invited some of THE up and coming drag perfomers of the day AND he posed with the principals to create the famous photo of George Cukor and his leading ladies.
@@Gary_Jaffe thank you for wonderful information
@@Gary_Jaffe Thank you, thank you!!!!!
This production worked fine in person. But it didn't come off at all in this taped version. Guess you had to be there. Jennifer Tilley appearing nude, standing in the tub, was my only complaint, as it was completely unnecessary.
Rose Torres
Those fabulous stars from the 30s.must be rolling their eyes.and gasping!!!....what is with that wierd accent Nixon is using.....theyre all just YELLING and hoping to be funny......ohhhhhh poor George Cukor...WHERE ARE YOU......
Boy, we think alike. Only the woman playing the mother was any good.
Agreed. And despite cleaning it up, the tightening of plot worked better.
I wholeheartedly agree with these comments. This is dreadful on a monstrous scale. I didnt care for the reboot Diane English directed but after seeing this that doesn't seem so bad.
You have to remember that this was the stage production on film so obviously it looks overreaching and sounds as if they’re yelling but it’s correct for a theatrical production, not for film. They have to reach the furthest row of the theatre.
@@GM-xh6gj no dear...lve spent my LIFE on stage..leads in 65 musicals'.-plays-one women shows....l did NUNSENSE.in BUDAPEST( fabulous theatre where your voice bounced to the last seats..NO YELLING...did G&S operetta.in Stern Grove...NO YELLING...l waa MAME..DOLLY..ELIZA..MARIA..blah blah..NEVER YELLED..its called PROJECTING ..from the diaphragm..NOT FROM THE THROAT.......That cast was bodymiked ....and most were YELLING.....was UN necessary..and obnoxious
8:27- 8:38 holy cow
Issue with the black actress playing the uniformed nurse. Must her nurse speak like Beulah? Was that in the script?
Sacrilege. Nobody can replace Shearer and Crawford. Anything seems parochial
Agreed. Aside from some raunch, it was more convoluted and so many overblown performances.
Thank goodness for the movie. No one can hold a candle to Rosalind Russell.
Anything The Women is great. I dislike jennifer tilly as crystal though
Jennifer Tilly was absolute cringe.
I liked Kristen Johnston as Sylvia
I can see why they cast this with these women. Though in practice I found it spotty and often misguided. For me, Jennifer Coolidge stole the whole thing. Her line delivery elevated the writing where the others fairly just shouted them. Too much screaching not enough delicious womanly shade. Curtaincall in underwear didn't seem a good idea after all as the characters were largely lost without costume and hair.
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Seriously, saw this and left early.
Clearly Isaac Mizrahi has done an AMAZING job with the clothing design except with Rue McClanahan and her awful mini-dress, tacky as hell, and more suitable for the "Monster´s Parade" than for a countess. Sounds like a private revenge against Rue who, I´ve been told, was not pleased with the horrendous garment she had to wear. Then, Jennifer Tilly is not fit for the role of Crystal. She sounds like the stereotypicall dumb blonde. I miss Joan Crawford and her magistral acting in the 1939 movie, on which she portrays a somehow sophisticated, wordly and very smart gold digger. I must say that, although the play sounds so dated nowadays, I liked it and have fun despite its portrayal of a women´s world that, thankfully, no longer exists.
They should ALL skip that old movie star exaggerated New England/East coast upper class accent that old Hollywood stars had to master but I see what they were attempting. Not all actors can do it all.
Clearly.
1:26:30
Yes, it is misogynistic, and a bit dated, but superbly acted and zingy as hell! The bitchiness reaches monumental proportions, but it's gleeful and the actresses enjoy it as much as, if not more than, the audience. The gowns are beyond stunning!
Misogynistic? Really? This coming from a MAN!
We have no need for you to "Mansplain" the definition of Misogynistic to us women. Thanks anyway!!!
How is it misogynistic when there is not one man around
Cynthia Nixon’s accent was distracting.
Fine production. Unfortunately the role Mary, the deceived wife, does not capture my empathy. She is quite devoid of portraying a woman in love.
Therefore the play becomes superficial.
Cynthia Nixon acts as if she is in a fog or quaaludes!