Who would be a good Lola ? - Damn Yankees (1958) Discussion

[–] 18 years ago

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I don't get your take on Lola/Verdon at all, but I guess one has to keep a Historical Perspective about Verdon and the role. She was hot stuff in the 1950s, and merely won four Tony Awards by the end of the decade. She never became a major film star, but as I've said elsewhere, thank heavens they were smart enough to have her play Lola on-screen so that at least one of her performances was preserved and we can get a hint of the spontaneous combustion which occurred when she was on stage.

As for Verdon not fitting the role of a temptress or seductress, it should be noted that although DAMN YANKEES opened on Broadway to excellent reviews, business was somewhat sluggish - until the ads began using a photo of Verdon in her skimpy "Lola" outfit!!!! This provided more than enough "temptation" for ticket-buyers to put the show into the "Sold-Out" category.

"I don't use a pen: I write with a goose quill dipped in venom!"---W. Lydecker

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] xylonian-1 17 years ago

"She never became a major film star, but as I've said elsewhere, thank heavens they were smart enough to have her play Lola on-screen so that at least one of her performances was preserved and we can get a hint of the spontaneous combustion which occurred when she was on stage."

Agree....was she considered 'too old' to play the parts on screen she played on stage????

As above, Catherine Zeta Jones comes to mind....

Read My Lips!!!!

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[–] PenTheater 17 years ago

As above, Catherine Zeta Jones comes to mind....

that is who I'd like to see

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[–] klc-16 14 years ago

Please notice people that some of Versdon's torrid dancing was watered down for the film because it wasn't "acceptable" in those days.

Watch her in Whatever Lola Wants... not just the song and dance but the entire seduction scene from beginning to end. She is absolutely perfect; she may be "playing" a Spanish temptress, but her reactions are totally believable, as they would have to be for her to be playing it well enough to hopefully snare Joe.
She is so coy, girlish, teasingly playful, and hot (look at her hip thrown out just after she has removed the outer skirt and is still in her lace pedal pushers...what a body!).
I really cannot imagine anyone else playing Lola in a more appetizing way. Zeta Jones or others will certainly be able to get the hotness...but the coyness, the playfulness, all the while coming across as sincere? I doubt it.

Oh, and Jake Gyllenhaal as Joe... puh-leeze! They couldn't have found anyone more vapid than Jake. What a disaster!
MAYBE Jim Carrey as Applegate.. if they can make him tone it down. Ray Walston was dripping with sinister seductiveness and glib irony. He was perfect. Carrey COULD be a good devil...if he doesn't mug it up to the point of cheesiness. Im' v ery skeptical of the choices already made. If they don't pick an absolutely perfect Lola, the whole thing will fall through. And if they film the dance numbers à la Moulin Rouge - in other words, like an MYV video - Fosse's choreography will have been butchered.

In any case, I really can't imagine a new version being more charming.

Gwen Verdon forever! :0)

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[–] Isaac5855 17 years ago

I can't see Kristin Davis playing an all-out vamp like Lola...maybe it's all of those years playing Charlotte York, but I just can't picture her as Lola, besides can she sing? Dance?

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[–] fluffyka 16 years ago

Nicole Kidman?

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[–] johnnyb94109 16 years ago

Definitely Catherine Zeta Jones, just for her dark, sultry and leggy beauty. I could also see her up to the task of performing that burlesque routine, in that vain attempt to seduce Hardy. By the way, Gwen's singing was dubbed, so let's have Alicia Keys singing "Whatever Lola Wants" in this version.

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[–] beb11572 16 years ago

Gwen's singing was not dubbed. That is definitely her own voice.

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[–] sparklingsoull 16 years ago

JANE KRAKOWSKI!!!

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[–] ssglinus 16 years ago

Okay,

I love this show. I like the Faust story. I am a BIG baseball fan. The music is fun. The movie did cut out some of my favorite songs from the show, however. I know, because I played Rockie, in 1996 in a community theater in Panama.

This question intrigued me.

It's a challenging role. The actress has to sing well, dance well, and pull off an incredible range. She has to be conniving, and callous, in the beginning with Applegate. She has to ooze sex on a supernatural level during the song "Whatever Lola Wants". She has to be vulnerable.

I remember watching the movie to help me prep playing the Rockie role, and thinking that the moment at the end of "Whatever Lola Wants" where Gwen Verdon shakes her butt, and then looks over her shoulder at Joe ... she exuded a hungry sexuality that was ... well, I saw it 12 years ago, and it still floors me.

I read the first page of this thread, and was convinced that there wasn't a good answer to this question. There definitely weren't any good answers there.

spark, you proved me wrong. Jane would be perfect.

Big Sarge
"If you gotta be one, be a BIG RED ONE!"

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[–] blondie1972 16 years ago

Those of you who mentioned Jane will be very happy .. . she's playing Lola right now at the City Center "Encores" in New York City. I just caught her performance over the weekend and she was outstanding!!

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[–] Gympie14 15 years ago

It's interesting that you say that, because every review I read said that her performance was disappointing.

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[–] blondie1972 15 years ago

I think she did great . . she stole every scene she was in and overshadowed everyone around her .. which I think is supposed to be intentional.

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] blondie1972 15 years ago

Yeah I saw Sweet Charity with Christina as well . . she's a great dancer and could possibly pull off Lola as well. Nicole Kidman . . not sure about that choice, I don't think her voice is strong enough and I don't know if she can dance Fosse style. Tom Cruise as Hardy is actually pretty funny . . LOL, yeah he already sold his sole back in the 80's when he joined that cult.

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[–] Mayesgwtw39 15 years ago

Angelina Jolie would be an excellent choice--She is a living example of an all-time Lola and would be very believable as the personification of temptation.

I have seen her move (the tango in "Mr & Mrs. Smith") and think she'd bring a lot of sensuality to the dancing.

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[–] angelx 15 years ago

But can Angelina SING?

Someone suggested Jane Krakowski which I think is an excellent choice. Here are a couple of other suggestions: Kristen Bell or even PENELOPE CRUZ (if she's successful in the movie version of Nine)

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[–] DryToast 15 years ago

<< PENELOPE CRUZ >>

Lola's "Latin spitfire" persona is supposed to be an act, not her actual character. In fact, when it fails, Applegate complains that it's a dated cliche. The character of Lola is from Providence, Rhode Island. She only acts Latin when she first meets Joe and tries to seduce him, then she drops it. Penelope Cruz does not have that option.

I've been married to one Marxist and one Fascist, and neither one would take the garbage out.

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[–] angelx 15 years ago

Penelope is NOT Latin. She is Spanish.

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[–] DryToast 15 years ago

<<Penelope is NOT Latin. She is Spanish. >>

That makes no difference. From what I can tell, she is unable to pretend to have an accent in one scene and then speak like an American woman from Rhode Island throughout the rest of the movie.

I've been married to one Marxist and one Fascist, and neither one would take the garbage out.

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[–] ssglinus 15 years ago

Well, Scooter,

you got all of us there. You are right Penelope Cruz is not "Latin".

There is a pretty simple reason for that. NO ONE HAS *EVER* BEEN "Latin".

"Latin" is the language spoken by the ancient Romans, by definition. It has been a "dead" language for several hundred years, now.

Even when Latin was a "living" language, there were no "Latin" people. They were Romans who spoke the Latin language.

The "Romance" languages (Italian, French, Portuguese, and Spanish) are the modern descendants of that language. ("Romance", in this instance meaning: "like, or from, the Romans".)

Hence the term: "Latin America" ... the parts of the American continent where "Romance" languages are the primary language. A person from this area can be called "Latino", not "Latin".

So, to follow your logic, and the facts, for instance, Hugo Chavez is Venezuelan, and Latino. King Charles of Spain, on the other hand, is Spanish, and not Latino. However, neither is "Latin". Though, they both speak, primarily, Spanish.

I really don't mind people getting confused when they are debating the metaphorical "apples vs. oranges". I get irritated when people decide to debate the metaphorical "apples vs. the 1927 New York Yankees".

http://www.greghughes.net/images/stuckonstupid2.wmv

"Here is your sign" ... you are stuck on stupid, to mix Bill Engvall with LTG Honore.

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[–] TRRkey 15 years ago

Good post except that French is not considered a "Romance" language in the classical sense. You forgot about the other one, Roumanian, which absolutely is. Cheers.

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[–] ssglinus 14 years ago

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_languages#Current_status

I beg to differ on your first point, and concede the second one.

To address your first point:

Gaul, or modern France was one of the first areas that Rome conquered outside of the Italian peninsula. The language there bears a striking resemblance to the Italian and Spanish language.

The main historical and cultural difference between French and the Spanish/Italian languages, historically, are because of the domination of the Franks in that region, after the fall of the Roman Empire. (After the death of Charlemagne, the Frankish kingdom (the original Holy Roman Empire) was split into two separate kingdoms, north and south. The northern one becoming modern Germany, and the southern becoming modern France.)

To address your second point:

I had been taught that there were 3 and only 3 Romance languages: Italian, Spanish, and French. Your post, and this article informed me that there are MANY others. As a classically-trained musician, who has lived in Europe, and Central America, with a wife that has 5 years of French language training, I have a passing knowledge of those three. My knowledge of the rest of Wikipedia's list is, at best, sorely lacking.

Thank you for increasing my knowledge. I believe that ignorance is one of the most plentiful, and dangerous commodities in the world.

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[–] ArmandoSerrano 15 years ago

Charlize Theron is a trained ballet dancer. She could do well in the role.

I also think Rose McGowan or Jaime Pressly could be fun.

Rose singing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntEWQRN08Bw
Jaime singing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZJ_b9MFtWw

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[–] DryToast 15 years ago

Rose McGowan's a great idea! Lola needs to be funny. Can Charlize play comedy?

I've been married to one Marxist and one Fascist, and neither one would take the garbage out.

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[–] crachelm 15 years ago

I'm sure if she was given a chance, she could do comedy. Someone has said Catherine Zeta-Jones. I liked Pene Cruz until you mentioned she can't do an accent.

"She plays like a Stradivarius, man," said Mr. Dobkin of Rachel McAdams.
R.I.P. Heath Ledger

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[–] Gympie14 15 years ago

The only people that I know for sure can sing, act, and dance that I think would do well in the role are:

Catherine Zeta Jones
Jennifer Lopez

People probably wont agree with either of the two names I'm about to mention, but I think either one of them could do it well

Christina Aguleira (sp)
Brittany Spears (YES She has a winey voice, but I think her vocal style might be an interesting choice for the character)

Beyonce might not be bad either.

I disagree with Penelope Cruz because of the accent thing. I also diasgree with Christina Applegate, she is more the Gloria Thorpe type than the Lola type.

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] iesusmcnasty 15 years ago

Yeah, I could see Penelope Cruz, but not Zeta-Jones for some reason. LOVE Chicago, they could have given her the Oscar during shooting. But she's not Lola.

I try not to be narrow minded about remakes and homages etc., But I can't think of anyone that could nail it :) The idea really turns me off.

What made Gwen Verdon so great was her talent(duh), her innocence and her sex appeal. Angelina, Kidman and Zeta-Jones are all decent and sexy in their own ways, but they don't have IT.

Maybe an unknown will get the part.

"I know what I like, AND I liiiike what I KNOW"

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[–] viixxix 15 years ago

Err... Isn't Emily Blunt playing Lola?

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[–] illusionsboy 15 years ago

Yeah I just saw that she was cast, but I didn't know who as though I assumed Lola.

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[–] iesusmcnasty 15 years ago

OH AWESOME! Problem solved :)

"I know what I like, AND I liiiike what I KNOW"

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[–] vanityfair_713 15 years ago

Yep. You've probably seen it by now, but the cast list is up. Anne Hathaway as Meg, Emily Blunt as Lola, Jake Gyllenhaal as Joe, and Jim Carrey as Applegate.

Personally, I think I have too much bloom. Maybe that's the trouble with me.

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[–] Gympie14 15 years ago

How is Anne Hathaway playing Meg? Meg is like 50 years old? You must mean Gloria.

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[–] gosh717 15 years ago

I'll bet the producers think sticking to the original story--having Joe & Meg be a middle-age couple--would not be "box office" with the younger viewers who make up most movie audiences. "Eew, gross! They're so OLD!" I'm guessing they will be 30-ish, or even younger. Will there be an older actor playing the Joe of the beginning & end of the story, or will it be all Jake, all the time? And I would hope Jim Carrey doesn't do TOO much mugging. It sounds like it would be a so-so pic. No one anywhere--ever--could even come close to Gwen Verdon's astounding performance.

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