Posted on 11/29/2009 10:28:32 PM PST by americanophile
Julie Andrews to return to London stage (AFP) – 4 days ago
LONDON — Julie Andrews, the star of "Mary Poppins" and "The Sound of Music", is returning to the London stage for the first time in 30 years with a one-off show in May, the organisers announced Wednesday.
The 74-year-old Oscar winner and five other performers will wend their way through some of the greatest musical theatre songs of the last 50 years, many of which Andrews made famous.
She will also narrate "Simeon's Gift", the best-selling children's book she wrote with her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton.
Andrews' singing voice was severely damaged 12 years ago during an operation to remove non-cancerous nodules on her vocal chords -- a blow she described at the time as "devastating".
She sued the New York surgeons who treated her and won 600,000 pounds (one million dollars, 660,000 euros) in an out-of-court settlement.
"Julie cannot sing as she once did," her manager Steve Sauer told The Times newspaper on Wednesday.
"Fortunately she has subsequently been able to regain some of the notes she was once well known for. The show will be a beautifully woven blend of her singing along with her guest stars."
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“Great to hear she’ll be singing again!”
That is good news. But she never let that get her down. She is great in those Princess Diary movies. I love her, she is just wonderful.
I hope she doesn’t take her top off.
...there was a time.
Will she dress in drag again, like in Victor/Victoria?
She is the epitome of class. I don’t believe she even had to go to the bathroom, some angles came down every night, and tapped into her and drained her of such mundane things.She is wonderful.
What great news. My family and I have been praying for her for years, such a wonderful voice.
And just in case she ever visits FR :), “Ma’am, we enjoyed the sound of your voice then, and we will enjoy it now. It might not be the ‘same’, but it will still be beautiful!”
btt
I would buy a ticket. Julie Andrews was one of the greats of her generation. I still cannot manage to watch the film version of My Fair Lady all the way through. I just keep thinking how great it would have been with Julie Andrews in the lead role - and then I turn it off. I give it a try every few years with the same result.
You know, though, that even without the bad surgery, everybody's voice changes as they get older. Generally, the bigger the voice the longer one can sing, but that isn't always the case.
And the really great ones learn to adapt and tune their new instrument. Sounds like Ms. Andrews has done that, and good for her! Glad she's singing again.
Great news — I wonder if the same surgery would work for Brian Wilson?
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