Time is seriously running out to see one of Broadway's best sung musicals, the Tony-nominated revival of Violet. The show stars Sutton Foster as the title character, a disfigured young woman traveling through the South in 1964 to see a television preacher she hopes will heal her face. Along the way she meets a pair of handsome soldiers (Joshua Henry and Colin Donnell), and she opens up to them about all the movie stars she hopes to look like in the big number "All to Pieces."
And while it's easy to enjoy this song on vocals alone (hello!), wouldn't it be helpful to get a sense of who this character is idolizing? Who she dreams she sees in the mirror? So below, BroadwayBox is breaking down all the old Hollywood starlets Violet name-checks in "All to Pieces" and what Violet wants from each.
A pair of Gene Tierney eyes
Monty’s mouth on for size
Gypsy hair
Or the total Cyd Charisse
Bridget Bardot’s glare
Ursula Andress’ legs and chest (thanks soldiers)
Elke Sommers’ hair
Judy Garland’s pretty chin
Grace Kelly’s nose
Rita Hayworth’s skin
Ava Gardner’s eyebrows
Ingrid Bergman’s cheekbones
You get all that? Now you should have a better sense of the song. And for our grand finale, we present what Violet might look like with all these characteristics. (We apologize in advance for Suttonstein.)
Violet continues at Broadway's American Airlines Theatre through August 10.
