Disney Voice Actors Discussions- Jodi Benson

[carolinakid]

Being the voice of the REAL Ariel, she should rightly distance herself from that fake Little Mermaid !

[UmbrellaFish]

Being the voice of the REAL Ariel, she should rightly distance herself from that fake Little Mermaid !

She’s literally in that . You’d know that if you watched half the things you criticized.

[carolinakid]

I know that, Einstein. That’s why I said she should rightly distance herself from that in which she had a blink and you’ll miss her “cameo”. I didn’t need to see that stinker. Jodi’s “cameo” was all over this site as well as D23 and other sources that cover Disney. Sorry to have triggered you, my friend! I’ll try to be more careful..... and there’s always the handy dandy block feature this site so generously offers....
Have a magical day!

[UmbrellaFish]

And you have a Disney day!

[carolinakid]

Thanks, Brelly!
You take care!

[twihard]

I know that, Einstein. That’s why I said she should rightly distance herself from that in which she had a blink and you’ll miss her “cameo”. I didn’t need to see that stinker. Jodi’s “cameo” was all over this site as well as D23 and other sources that cover Disney. Sorry to have triggered you, my friend! I’ll try to be more careful..... and there’s always the handy dandy block feature this site so generously offers....
Have a magical day!

did you read her book? She doesnt even mention the new movie in that so I think that shows her true feelings on it that it wasn't even worth bringing up. Best part of the book is that she refused to do it with Disney. It's not a Disney publication but one based on her faith group.

I recommend reading her book. The mermaid stuff wasn't that interesting cuz most of it is online but it was everything else I loved learning about her. Her Broadway work (never knew she was tony nominated for best actress), how she struggled finishing her degree cuz of work, her musical interests, etc. What shocked me was learning that during her most prolific period of work, playing Ariel, was also when her personal life was going all wrong.

She goes mum on what went wrong but if you read between the lines, it sounds like she may have had an affair or an emtoinal affair since she and her husband were living apart for work and barely saw each other. Also sounds like her husband responded by having one too. Glad they are all better now. She talks a lot about the problems they were having but doesnt explain exactly what it was but the vibes I was getting seemed like she strayed.

I loved learning about her faith. I think God is mentioned on every page which even as a person of faith can take sometime getting used to because her particular view of religion is that you need to bring God into everything you do. To me it sounds very overwhelming but it sounds like it brought her peace when she needed it so maybe her way is the way to go??? Loved learning about her kids but what made me cry was the story about her niece who was lost to cancer It shocked me to learn that even a woman of Jodi's strong faith in God almost lost her religion and became confused when that happened cuz she couldn't understand why God owuld do this. It makes me feel better about times in my life when I've felt lost or confused and that it's okay to feel this way as a human.

Liked hearing about Paige O'Hara as well when they became friends. Someone needs to tell Paige to please write her own book.

[carolinakid]

I said before that all Jodi fans should check out the Broadway cast recording of Crazy For You. It’s an all Gershwin show based on his Girl Crazy. Ginger Rogers played her role on stage and Judy Garland played it in the 1943 film.
Jodi’s songs are fabulous!

[twihard]

I said before that all Jodi fans should check out the Broadway cast recording of Crazy For You. It’s an all Gershwin show based on his Girl Crazy. Ginger Rogers played her role on stage and Judy Garland played it in the 1943 film.
Jodi’s songs are fabulous!

Thank you for the recommendation!

I follow her on Instagram and her daughter is now in muscial theatre as well. I don't remember what musical she's in right now

[UmbrellaFish]

Jodi Benson is performing the title role in Hello, Dolly! for a limited engagement in Orlando this summer

https://playbill.com/article/put-on-you ... ello-dolly

If I lived in FL I’d totally check this out. It’s only two performances, I think, but now that her kids are grown I wonder if she might commit to more theatrical performances in the not so distant future? I’d love to see her in The King and I or South Pacific— I think she could still play those roles.

Also— the performances will benefit “Give Kids the World” which is a very neat place. It’s a small theme park in the Orlando for sick kids and their families to visit for free. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Give_Ki ... ld_Village

[carolinakid]

I’d love to see Jodi in Hello, Dolly! this summer!

Although she looks younger than 62, I think she could pull off the lead roles in Applause, Gypsy, Mame and King and I.
Personally I think she’d be too old for Nellie Forbush who is supposed to be early to mid 20s, but that’s just my opinion.

[UmbrellaFish]

Yeah, I concede she’s a little old to play Nellie as written but it’s been played by many women in their 40’s and 50’s. But I understand what you mean. I feel like she’s more suited to R&H musicals than something like Gypsy or even Mame. It’s too bad things didn’t line up in such a way that we could have seen her play all the classic ingenue roles.

Come to think of it, Jodi Benson would be a lovely Fairy Godmother or even Mother Superior…

[Disney Duster]

Jodi was the Queen in a Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella concert. I saw a clip on YouTube. I bet she'll be great in Hello Dolly. I wonder if she would have been a great Cinderella, or would be a good Fairy Godmother or Mother Superior as has been suggested.

[Escapay]

Jodi Benson is performing the title role in Hello, Dolly! for a limited engagement in Orlando this summer

https://playbill.com/article/put-on-you ... ello-dolly

I've got a ticket for one of the shows, will report back here again to share my review after seeing it. Casting Jodi in an Encore! Performing Arts production has been a real coup for the theatrical troupe; they've built up a wide talent base from Disney Entertainment cast members and have performed full-scale productions of shows such as Aida, Ragtime, Hairspray, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Cabaret, Head Over Heels, Sordid Lives, and Spamalot. Every time I see one of their shows, I'm consistently floored by the sheer level of talent on that stage. So I am definitely looking forward to seeing Jodi as Dolly Levi, especially opposite several Encore! performers that I've seen in some of their past productions.

Last year, Jodi performed as Rose (opposite her daughter Delaney as Louise!) in a two-night-only production of Gypsy in Ft. Myers, Florida. It did not get much media coverage beyond her social media, a couple articles announcing it, and a review by Aaron Wallace, who felt compelled to write his article because, in his words, "what Jodi Benson did on that stage simply cannot remain exclusively in the memory of a few hundred Floridians."

A small group of us made a weekend trip of it to see the show and explore downtown Ft. Myers. It was an amazing show, one which has fully cemented Jodi as the definitive Rose portrayal for me. I still get chills thinking about how she handled not just every number, but familiar lines from the libretto that have been burned in my memory. The way she played both the loving mother and the calculating manager, the shrewd businesswoman and the naively optimistic dreamer, the woman who foisted the career she wanted onto her children. It's a true shame that little remains of this tour de force performance beyond press photos. There are no sound board audio recordings, no video clips surreptitiously taken from the audience, nothing except for the collective memory of a roomful of gasps as we all marveled when she optioned-up and turned "Rose's Turn" into the most desperately-needed nervous breakdown ever heard.

Alby

[UmbrellaFish]

Escapay, enjoy the show! My excitement for your review almost outweighs my jealousy for your getting to see it! lol I think Dolly is a great character for Jodi to play, I can imagine that her audiences will be filled with Disney fans and the love that gushes out during the title number will just be electric.

Now that you mention it, I do remember news reports about Jodi and her daughter doing Gypsy but I never read any reviews. Thank you for sharing Aaron Wallace’s. It sounds incredible. I have to admit, imagining “Ariel” doing Rose’s Turn feels a little jarring at first but from yours and Aaron’s reviews it seems we have all missed out on Jodi not performing more of the musical theatre canon over the last 35 years. Well, it is promising that she’s doing more of these kinds of projects now!!

Aaron Wallace also praises Jodi’s daughter Delaney, I wonder if she will someday “inherit” Ariel? I would like that better than some rando coming in.

[Disney's Divinity]

Wow, I would've liked to see Benson's version of Gypsy. Hard for me to imagine her in the role, and I always think of Bette Midler as my go-to for that one, but it must've been impressive.

[PatchofBlue]

It did not get much media coverage beyond her social media, a couple articles announcing it, and a review by Aaron Wallace, who felt compelled to write his article because, in his words, "what Jodi Benson did on that stage simply cannot remain exclusively in the memory of a few hundred Floridians."

I'd heard about Jodi's Gypsy performance with her daughter. Well, I'd heard that it was happening. When I accepted that I would never get to see it, I guess I kinda tuned it out. But I live for reviews like that, when you know that an artist has really made their mark on their audience.

What little I have seen of Jodi outside her Ariel work has been phenomenal. I'm obviously the first to proclaim all that she's accomplished with Little Mermaid, but she also deserves to celebrated as an artist in her own right.

[Disney Duster]

I am incredibly jealous of you, Albert, and Aaron! That Jodi would be your definitive Rose must mean she was, well, amazing! So she probably will be as Dolly as well. Enjoy the show! And then please tell us about it!

[Escapay]

Jodi Benson is performing the title role in Hello, Dolly! for a limited engagement in Orlando this summer

https://playbill.com/article/put-on-you ... ello-dolly

I've got a ticket for one of the shows, will report back here again to share my review after seeing it.

My Review was posted on Friday afternoon. It's a bit of a read (I tend to write more when covering a local productions rather than a touring show), so if someone wants to skip directly to assessment of Jodi Benson, here's a few choice paragraphs:

This weekend’s performer, the ebullient and cheerful Jodi Benson, may know a thing or two about navigating that second act. By name alone, Disney fans will already know her as the iconic voice of Ariel, central heroine in 1989’s animated classic The Little Mermaid. She’s returned to voice the role time and again, including for the syndicated television series, two sequels, and various theme park shows and parades. Most recently, Benson returned to record a few lines for the company’s centenary-celebrating short film “Once Upon a Studio.” But what many might not know is Benson’s roots as a performer began in Broadway. Before she found herself in a recording booth, Benson could be found among the ensemble for Marilyn: An American Fable or starring in the now “lost” musical Smile, which introduced her to future The Little Mermaid collaborator Howard Ashman. In 1992, Benson received a Tony Award for her role as Polly Baker in Crazy For You. She then joined the touring production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as the Narrator. Then, a left turn.

No, this wasn’t a pause on her career. Hardly. The trajectory of her life pointed her towards parenthood as she and husband Ray raised their two children – son McKinley and daughter Delaney – while both still active in their performing fields. Benson continued to voice Ariel in various Disney projects, also stepping into other voice roles (such as Barbie in the Toy Story films) and the occasional acting job when time allowed. But with McKinley now a filmmaker and Delaney a performer, Jodi Benson has decided to return to stage acting after over two decades away from that spotlight. Last year, she co-starred with daughter Delaney in a production of Gypsy. The production lasted only two nights, but served as a long-overdue welcome back for Benson to the stage.

Having attended a performance, I must say it was a transformative experience. The fleeting nature of live theatre means that some of the best performances ever made are left solely to memory. Jodi Benson as Mama Rose was a game-changing interpretation of the role, one which deserves much more recognition and accolades than a weekend's run at a local theatre. Fortunately for audiences, Benson and her daughter will reprise the roles next year for a weeklong production in Rochester, New York. In the meantime, Benson and Encore! Performing Arts have teamed up to bring us this year’s Encore! musical extravaganza as these unstoppable forces of talent, time, and devotion come together to share in the timeless tale of Dolly Levi, Horace Vandergelder, Cornelius and Irene, Barnaby and Minnie, and how it only takes a moment to be loved a whole life long.

[...]

Dolly’s occasional asides to her late husband Ephraim, for example, typically play on the stage without much notice. Sometimes, they simply come across as Dolly talking to herself to justify her actions. Sheola’s turned these asides into moments of prayer, adjusting the lighting and the tone of the words to feel more ethereal. We’re witnessing Dolly at her most vulnerable, with Sheola directing Benson to create a communal moment of serenity among the comedic din that dominated the stage only seconds ago. I’d never noticed how impactful these asides were in the past, but now they make the pay-off by the end worth all the wishing and the hoping that a prayer will be answered.

[...]

Chief among them is Disney Legend Jodi Benson, whose Dolly Levi is a far cry from Gypsy’s Mama Rose. Whereas Rose was brash and domineering, Dolly is sparkling and resourceful. The sharp tongue of Rose gets traded for the wittiness of Dolly. Benson knows how to work the crowd in the show without drawing away from the story, never showboating for the sake of a reaction. Rather, she holds a line, exaggerates one, or even adjusts her movement to keep the pace of a scene organic, while still working with the audience’s energy. And that voice that we’ve loved for thirty-five years? She’s still got It. The restrained, whispery delivery that made “Part of Your World” so endearing has been optioned up for truly powerhouse delivery on a belting song like “Before the Parade Passes By.” She takes true advantage of the acoustics at Steinmetz Hall, so much so that one would think the concert hall was designed specifically to showcase her holding the long note in “So Long, Dearie.”

[...]

The intense physicality of all these performers require workable costumes that allow them to not feel stuffed or restricted. Wesley Schaffer has designed a variety of costumes for these players, including no less than four costumes for Jodi Benson alone. All his designs are period specific, but with the practical sensibility of performers in constant motion. Thus, they’re form-fitting with a great degree of flexibility. The bright pastels for the people of Yonkers are countered by more urban and darker tones once we reach New York. And yet there’s that classiness to everyone dining or working at Harmonia Gardens. The way all these elements come together – vocals, choreography, and costuming – certainly befits not just HELLO, DOLLY!, but its performance space as well.

[...]

To turn a phrase that Dolly Levi and Horace Vandergelder was wont to say: love is like manure. It’s not worth a thing unless it’s spread around, encouraging young things to grow. The amount of love that’s been put into this production of HELLO, DOLLY! will return tenfold to its community. Whether it inspire more folks to check out the arts, or finance another child’s wish to see Cinderella Castle, or give us more moments to be loved a whole life long, HELLO, DOLLY! will never say goodbye. Likewise, Jodi Benson will always be Ariel, but now she is Mama Rose and Dolly Levi and whoever else she encounters on this journey. And, as always, Encore! will be here to make sure that we in Central Florida have a reason to smile, to laugh, and to applaud them for everything they do. Holy cabooses, isn’t this world full of wonderful things?

Alby

[UmbrellaFish]

Escapay, I’ve been looking forward to your review— thank you for sharing it! It sounds like a magical production. I also enjoyed your history of the show— I had no idea Hello Dolly’s roots went deeper than Thornton Wilder.

Any chance this sparks a new trend of Encore bringing Disney legends to headline splashy shows? I’m already dream casting Jodi, and Paige O’Hara, and Susan Egan in more productions!

[Disney Duster]

Albert, you are a very good writer. I decided to read your whole review. I liked what you said about the whole history of the show and why you think it has been relevant and revived all these years later and why it will continue to be. I like how you really talked about every inch of the production. As a costume lover I am not crazy about the costumes, but none of them are bad, and they are good for being very simple. I do like that Jodi, who is very religious, has been in a show that found a way to make religious her asides to her late husband, and given you a great experience for your faith. Anyway, thank you for writing and sharing this review. It is so great that Jodi has found a "second act" and has excelled in it as well.