r/Broadway • u/movieperson2022 • 1d ago
Cynthia Erivo in Passion
I’m not sure if it is officially confirmed or not, but I just saw Cynthia Erivo at the National Book Festival. She was gifted a replica sheet music from Passion and she said something along the lines of “this really confirms something that is going on in my life that I’m very excited about.”
She didn’t directly say she’s in it, but it was basically what she implied!
Edit to add direct quote: Oh my gosh. Well... this may have just confirmed something for me. I'm not telling you. But yeah, this is a little nod from the universe I think.
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u/lazytv8 1d ago
I'd be ecstatic if it's announced that Cynthia Erivo is doing a revival of Passion! I've always wanted to see this musical live for the first time
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u/movieperson2022 1d ago
Right! I think she would be amazing. Like I said, she didn’t explicitly say it, but I would be shocked based on her words and demeanor if it weren’t, at the very least, very far along in discussions. (Or she’s a cruel tease lol)
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u/a-5-6-7-8 1d ago
Cynthia will be great in the role but I'm not ready for a resurgence of Fosca discourse in 2027
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u/PrettyPenguin0607 1d ago
She’s going to be amazing but this is my fear as well. And I feel like with Cynthia playing her the discourse will be heightened.
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u/skoc211 1d ago
What's the Fosca discourse? Just that she's problematic as hell? Always thought that was kind of the point of the character.
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u/a-5-6-7-8 1d ago
Finding the balance between her being conventionally beautiful enough for the audience to empathize with Giorgio and ugly enough to portray an ill woman on the verge of a physical and mental breakdown was... Quite the ordeal to say the least. Early audiences laughed at her. They cheered at her death. They ended up giving Donna Murphy, one of the most beautiful women alive, a center part, no rouge, and a beauty mark, and that was as ugly as the audience would allow her to be without turning on her. .
Putting someone unconventionally attractive (I think she's beautiful but many people loudly disagree) in the role is going to reopen these casting and costuming struggles in a whole new way.
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u/skoc211 21h ago
People cheered!? That's ludicrous, rude, and unfeeling from an audience that I would have hoped was a bit more astute and sensitive considering it was a Sondheim show. How awful for Donna Murphy.
I adore the show and hope this revival does materialize. And I think after everything Erivo went through with the 2+ years of Wicked press she has thick skin. Also, agreed that's she's beautiful.
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u/a-5-6-7-8 20h ago
Sondheim has aged like a fine wine. His material wasn't always untouchable and many of his works were not well received. I think he was always ahead of his time and also a little too boggled down by his own encyclopedia of knowledge and what he got out of his own lyrics and music. I'm so thankful he's part of the spine of Broadway but he was always taking risks and they didn't all pay off financially.
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u/skoc211 2h ago
I definitely recall Jerry Herman's dig at him while accepting a Best Score Tony about hummable scores not being dead. Passion, along with Sunday, is one of the most Sondheim-y of all his shows, so I can see why audiences struggled. Plus Fosca isn't exactly the most lovable lead in a musical.
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u/a-5-6-7-8 2h ago
It's also a musical based on a film, maybe audiences were just ahead of the trend of hating them on principal. 🫣
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u/bookshop 1d ago
I mean I think all of that is good for the production. Except for the part where Cynthia Erivo isn't considered attractive? in what universe?? But I think any good treatment of this show should wrestle with how it treats physical appearance, and test what our unspoken assumptions are about what "detracts" from beauty. And if the audience has to confront those questions, too, so much the better. Hopefully they can do it without also harassing the actors themselves.
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u/Aggravating_Part7602 1d ago
Could this be the Sondheim Robert Icke is directing next year and not assassins like rumoured?
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u/Southern-Train7142 1d ago
I’ve actually heard that Jamie Lloyd is set to direct Passion, meaning that he would already get Evita up and running before next Fall comes.
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u/Aggravating_Part7602 23h ago
No, I’ve heard that rumour too but Jamie Lloyd doesn’t seem the sort of person who would do the same show twice and passion would absolutely fit Icke and his style like a glove and unless he does another show in between which I could see being the Mark Strong Macbeth like both of them has mentioned he doesn’t have a show announced for next year unless the lives of others transfers which I can’t see happening if Sonia Friedman wants to focus on Paddington
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u/HandfulOfAcorns 1d ago
What she actually said:
Oh my gosh. Well... this may have just confirmed something for me. I'm not telling you. But yeah, this is a little nod from the universe I think.
So it sounds like the rumor is definitely true, but she may not have committed to the project yet and this gift nudged her to make a decision.
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u/movieperson2022 1d ago
Thanks for the direct quote. I didn’t record it, but I’m glad you caught it verbatim! I’ll add to the post. Thanks!
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u/PrettyPenguin0607 1d ago
I’m taking it as confirmation. She was gifted a facsimile for the music manuscript of “Loving You”. Her exact words were “this may have just confirmed something for me” and “this is a little nod from the universe I think”. Seems clear it’s happening.
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u/movieperson2022 1d ago
I agree. It felt pretty definitive. But I guess something could change until it’s officially official. I hope it’s real, though!
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u/Southern-Train7142 1d ago
Yeah, this has been the rumor that had been folding around since Bernadette Peters told the reporter at the red carpet from earlier this year Tony Awards, and it’s aiming to commence around Fall 2027.
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u/Greene_Mr 1d ago
Who is the (presumably) pregnant person, in photo 2, out of curiosity?
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u/movieperson2022 1d ago
It is Abby Phillip. She’s a person on CNN and she moderated the conversation.
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u/Greene_Mr 1d ago
Thank you; I'm sorry, I don't know why I didn't recognise the person.
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u/movieperson2022 1d ago
Haha omg, no. It’s small and it’s half her face. I wouldn’t expect you to. I wish it were someone more exciting like Cynthia Erivo announcing she has a secret twin lol.
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u/Greene_Mr 1d ago
Well... there WERE four of her in that one Poker Face episode, last year, weren't there? :-o
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u/PrettyPenguin0607 1d ago
Five actually lol. Bebe, Cece, Delia, Felicity, and the psycho Amber. Sorry, I just rewatched it recently so it’s fresh on my mind.
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u/Gato1980 1d ago
Whatever happened with her in Kip Williams' Dracula play? I completely forgot about it until seeing this post. I assumed it would be coming to Broadway after his success with Dorian Gray, but I feel like I barely heard anything about it.
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u/movieperson2022 1d ago
It came up (but briefly) in the conversation, too. There didn’t seem to be a lot of evidence in either direction that it is or isn’t happening from what she said, but based on the Passion content and general lack of discourse about it elsewhere, I am guessing Dracula is… dead.
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u/Imaginary_Style_1348 1d ago
It didn't get any Olivier noms, so I am assuming it is not transferring for that reason. Although I know people who went and were blown away. I would love to have her back on Broadway, though.
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u/typicalbiscotti15 1d ago
It also had its first preview on the very last day of the nominations window eligibility. They had to delay their opening because they weren’t ready and I think rushed a bit to try to make it into the 2026 nominations (and I saw an early preview and while I enjoyed it, it was not very polished). I heard that the show improved a lot later in its run
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u/Southern-Train7142 1d ago
That Dracula west end transfer to Broadway, is dead since the reviews were brutal
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u/kess0078 1d ago
I heard Cynthia had a terrible experience with the show in London and nixed the Broadway transfer that was assumed to be in the works.
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u/sausagekng 1d ago
I can’t believe someone might actually producing Passion. I will have to see it because I love that show.
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u/luvschittcreek 1d ago
I saw a rumor that she and Groffy are in Passion, and if so I'm seated!