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Justice for Patti LuPone!

The first Ursula was meant to be Elaine Stritch. She won the part, and then she lost it, almost certainly because she was impossible to work with. Pat Carroll took the role and made magic; it's difficult to imagine the film without witty, beleaguered, indomitable (till-right-before-the-end) Pat Carroll.

I'm really upset to read that Melissa McCarthy will likely become Ursula in the unnecessary live action version of "The Little Mermaid" we'll soon be getting. I love McCarthy, but she is not a gay icon, and she is not a Broadway belter. Ursula should have pipes, and she should have a certain weary, seen-it-all, tart-tongued spirit that McCarthy doesn't have.

An ideal Ursula would be--obviously--Patti LuPone. I'm not sure why this hasn't happened yet.

I could also see Bernadette Peters doing fine work in that role, and I imagine Lillias White would have something to contribute, as well.

Chita Rivera, Donna Murphy, Heather Headley, Emily Skinner: These are smart, tough women who have been around the block. They are capable of humor. They have survived. They can sing. They can be casually jaded in a way that is immensely appealing to gay men (and yet we all know they have hearts of gold). Each would be fine as Ursula--the most compelling character in "The Little Mermaid," the one, like the Beast, who is truly fucked-up and so much more watchable than the heroine.

I wish that Disney had looked to Broadway. I wish Disney weren't making this live action version.

But, at least, all of this is a chance to Ponder What Might Have Been. Justice for Bernadette! Justice for Patti! May we learn from this mistake.
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