#Nellie Forbush

[blankvort]

cons: racist us military supporter turned on by older french men

pros: soprano drag king who can cartwheel

[vintagestagehotties]

Hot Vintage Stage Actress Round 2

Lisa Kirk: Emily in Allegro (1947 Broadway); Lois Lane/Bianca in Kiss Me, Kate (1948 Broadway); Doris Walker in Here's Love (1964 Broadway)

Mary Martin: Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun (1947 National Tour US); Nellie Forbush in South Pacific (1949 Broadway); Peter in Peter Pan (1954 Broadway); Maria Von Trapp in The Sound of Music (1959 Broadway)

Propaganda under the cut

Lisa Kirk:

She’s so fucking stunning. She did some dubbing work for movies and her voice is all husky and sultry and I just hhrrrnngh

Mary Martin:

I just know y’all are gay for Peter Pan actresses so you better vote for the og Peter Pan lesbian

And some photos of Martin as the title character in One Touch of Venus:

She didn't think she was hot enough to play Venus, so this happened (from My Heart Belongs, her autobiography):

Richard [Halliday, Martin's husband] dealt with my problem in a most imaginative way. He asked if I had ever been to the Metropolitan Museum. Of course, I hadn’t. So he took me to that huge place, led me to where the statues are, and said, “Look, this is a Venus.” We must have seen fifty varieties: tall ones, short ones, even one who was noticeably broad of beam. All were marked “Venus.” “You see?” Richard asked. “Each sculptor has his own idea of Venus. They aren’t all Venus de Milo.” After this had sunk in, he said, “You can play Venus. You’re going to play her wearing the most beautiful clothes in the world.”

And another song that's very far from the Peter Pan image:

[turtle-down]

2024 NOMINEES: Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical - Kelli O'Hara (Days of Wine and Roses)

Past nominations:

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical - The Light in the Piazza (2005)

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical - The Pajama Game (2006)

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical - South Pacific (2008)

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical - Nice Work If You Can Get It (2012)

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical - The Bridges of Madison County (2014)

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical - The King and I (2015)

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical - Kiss Me, Kate (2019)

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical - Days of Wine and Roses (2024)

With Harry Connick Jr. in The Pajama Game (📸: Sara Krulwich) / As Nellie Forbush in South Pacific (📸: Joan Marcus) / As Anna Leonowens in The King and I (📸: Paul Kolnik) / As Lilli Vanessi/Katharine in Kiss Me, Kate (📸: Joan Marcus)

[droughtofapathy]

The Gilded Age's Broadway Divas: Mrs. Bruce (Celia Keenan-Bolger)

Despite having a largely underdeveloped Downstairs role in The Gilded Age, Mrs. Bruce runs the Russell household like a tight ship. From averting near-disastrous soup escapades, to catching escaped dogs in the dusty streets, she approaches her job with no-nonsense competence, all while totally unable to reach the high shelves.

For the first time, Celia Keenan-Bolger (45) has broken free of her child typecast cage to play a fully grown adult with adult responsibilities and it must be such a thrill for her. Those unfamiliar with Celia may not be aware of her illustrious career playing children on Broadway as a grown adult.

In 2005, Celia (26) made her Broadway debut in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee as twelve-year-old Olive Ostrovsky, a precocious spelling bee contestant who should have won, dammit, and I'll die on that hill. In 2011, she (31) played thirteen-year-old Molly Aster in Peter and the Starcatcher, nominated for a Tony the same year as her brother Andrew Keenan-Bolger (Newsies). In 2018, she (40) starred in To Kill a Mockingbird as six-to-nine-year-old Scout Finch, for which she won a Tony. This coming spring, Celia (46) will once again be a child on Broadway as she takes on the role of Jessica Lange's teenaged daughter in Mother Play. (List non-exhaustive)

#1: "Green Finch and Linnet Birds," Sweeney Todd (2002)

In one of her earliest professional roles, Celia (24) takes on sixteen-year-old Johanna Barker, the daughter of the titular Sweeney Todd, who has become Judge Turpin's ward. This is not great for her. But the role was. Too often, this particular song gets the short end of the stick. It's long, slow, and very high, yet Celia approaches it with a controlled vibrato that makes us all sigh in relief.

The Kennedy Center production featured a fantastic cast, including Mary Beth Peil as The Beggar Woman, Broadway's Leading Man Brian Stokes Mitchell as Sweeney Todd, and our very own Agnes van Rhijn, Christine Baranski as Mrs. Lovett.

#2: The Light in the Piazza - Pre-Broadway (2003)

Before Kelli O'Hara took on the role of Clara Johnson, a young woman whose mental development stunted at age twelve after being kicked by a horse, the role belonged to Celia Keenan-Bolger (25). Ultimately, when the production moved on from Chicago, the creative team decided they wanted a Clara who was a little older. Kelli, who had been playing Francesca, the sister-in-law, was unwilling to "steal" a role from someone she considered a dear friend, but either way, Celia was out, so Kelli was in with minimal damage to their friendship, which persists today.

However. Some years later, when South Pacific was auditioning their Nellie Forbush actresses, the final three came down to Kelli O'Hara (who got it), Celia Keenan-Bolger, and Victoria Clark, who won a Tony for playing Margaret, Clara's mother, in Piazza. Talk about awkward.

#3: "The I Love You Song," The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2005)

Losing out on Clara wasn't all thunderclouds for Celia (26). Shortly after, she landed a role in the off-Broadway production of Spelling Bee, and when it transferred to Broadway, she received her first Tony nomination.

In this scene, Olive sings the most heartbreaking and beautiful number in the entire show. It is just devastating. Up until this point, the show is a barrel of laughs, and then suddenly you're sobbing your eyes out over a lonely little girl in a bad home situation.

Will Celia Keenan-Bolger ever be allowed to play an adult again? How long until she is no longer able to play children? How did she get the role of Mrs. Bruce if she's only allowed to play kids? All questions we have no answers to.

LINK TO MASTERPOST

[operaqueen]

Mary Martin as Nellie Forbush - during a late 1950’s touring company of South Pacific.

[theatredreamcasting]

Taylor Louderman as Nellie Forbush (South Pacific)

[pinerbling]

Lieutenant joe cable south pacific

Radio Operator Bob McCaffrey: A sailor, McCaffrey sends and receives messages from an undercover mission. Joseph Cable, a handsome young Marine, arrives with an assignment to persuade de Becque, who is familiar with the nearby islands, to accompany him on a. William Harbison (US Navy): Second-in-command on the island, Harbison is officious and hotheaded. George Brackett (US Navy): The commanding officer and highest-ranking officer on the island, Brackett is slightly self-important, but he hides a heart of gold.Ĭmdr. Joseph Cable (USMC): A handsome and intelligent officer, Cable is newly stationed on the island.Ĭapt. “Professor”: A sailor and Luther’s cohort **“Stewpot” George Watts:**A Sailor and Luther’s cohort, Watts run the laundry machine. He runs a laundry enterprise with a homemade washing machine. Luther Billis: A loveable and crafty man who helps provide much-needed comic relief for his fellow sailors, Billis has little to no respect for authority and is always scheming, but he is a good friend to Nellie. Liat: Bloody Mary’s beautiful Polynesian daughter, Liat falls in love with Lt. He volunteers to serve as a spy for the American troops when Nellie calls things off between them.īloody Mary: A sassy native merchant who makes her living selling souvenirs to the American sailors, Bloody Mary tries desperately to find a rich husband for her daughter Liat who she thinks can give her a better life. He claims to have killed a man in France, forcing him to flee the country. Ensign Nellie Forbush (US Navy): A spirited, young nurse from Little Rock, Arkansas, Nellie is optimistic and tomboyish and falls in love with Emile, but she fights against her own prejudices as their relationship develops.Įmile de Becque: A wealthy, sophisticated and older French gentleman, de Becque has built an impressive plantation on the island.

[retropopcult]

Mitzi Gaynor in South Pacific (1958)

[moxyphinx]

CARMEN CUSACK as Nellie Forbush in SOUTH PACIFIC

I could say life is just a bowl of Jello And appear more intelligent and smart, But I’m stuck like a dope With a thing called hope, And I can’t get it out of my heart! Not this heart…

[sleeponacott]

from a small town sandy to a spirited young nurse to a beautiful heiress to a notorious fugitive to a beautiful princess to the young widow turned celebrated star. laura osnes truly covers all with such grace. this small town girl from minnesota has truly shocked the whole entire broadway community with her kindness, grace, spectacular voice, and beauty.

[redbcbble-blog]

11 Days of Laura Osnes

↳ Broadway Credits 

[thebwayfangirl]

Theatre Challenge –> 2/10 performers: Carmen Cusack

“It’s been a very natural and constant process, and this is where I should be at this point. I’m not an overnight sensation. I know that no one knows who I am here, but I’ve been working at this diligently...People that have it in them, but just aren’t using it for whatever reason, need those people in their life to shake them from time to time and say, ‘Get on with it!’” (X)

[vintagestagehotties]

Hot Vintage Stage Actress Round 1

Mary Martin: Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun (1947 National Tour US); Nellie Forbush in South Pacific (1949 Broadway); Peter in Peter Pan (1954 Broadway); Maria Von Trapp in The Sound of Music (1959 Broadway)

Vivienne Segal: Mizzi in The Blue Paradise (1915 Broadway); Constance Bonacieux in The Three Musketeers (1928 Broadway); Vera Simpson in Pal Joey (1940 Broadway); Vera Simpson in Pal Joey (1952 Broadway)

Propaganda under the cut. Semi-NSFW image below the cut

Mary Martin:

I just know y’all are gay for Peter Pan actresses so you better vote for the og Peter Pan lesbian

Vivienne Segal:

[claudiablacks]

South Pacific (2008)  Tony Award-winning costume design by Catherine Zuber

[singinprincess]

@drmottershead asked: how about Reba smiling? Just a happy gifset!

[thediaryofatheatrekid]

Casting Goals: Nellie Forbush in South Pacific

Anne Hathaway

Carolyn Maitland

Jessie Mueller

Kara Lindsay

Katie Rose Clarke

Kristin Bell

Megan Hilty

Michelle Williams

Sophie Evans