Rebecca Luker dies from ALS

[samhexum]

you get to hear Rebecca Luker sing. There's your ticket value right there.

Cinderella - Rogers and Hammerstein from the 50's, but cast holds you. Rebecca Luker is taking over fairy godmother from Victoria Clark, love her voice so I would expect no adverse affect.

It was glorious but the encore was that restored All The Things You are" with Rebecca Luker, full orchestra and a 100 voice choir. It was one of the most thrilling things I've ever heard live. The audience was cheering and on their feet before the final notes ended .... I get chills just thinking about it right now.

 

 

Rebecca Luker, the Tony-nominated star of Broadway musicals such as “Show Boat” and “Mary Poppins,” died Wednesday at age 59.

 

Her agent confirmed to the New York Times that the actress lost her yearlong battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease.

 

Luker, who was born in Birmingham, Alabama, was a mainstay of New York theater for more than 30 years, and her first Broadway show was “The Phantom of the Opera” in 1988. While she was a member of the original ensemble at the Majestic Theatre — playing the Princess in the “Hannibal” ballet — Luker eventually went on to sing “Think of Me” as the leading lady, Christine Daaé.

 

In the ’90s and aughts, Luker was the first choice for iconic roles on Broadway: Maria in “The Sound of Music,” Marian Paroo in “The Music Man” and Magnolia in “Show Boat.” As Marian, said Post critic Clive Barnes, Luker was “entrancing” and “matched up with the original, Barbara Cook.”

 

Luker was nominated for three Tonys in her career, for “Show Boat,” “The Music Man” and “Mary Poppins,” in which she played Winifred Banks.

 

Despite her worsening health in recent months, Luker still determinedly performed three songs this summer in an online concert benefiting ALS research.

 

“[For] the final song, I wanted to do some kind of tribute to New York City, which is such a great city and has sort of shown their mettle these last three months, and it’s an amazing place,” Luker, who has two stepsons with her husband, Broadway actor Danny Burstein, told BroadwayWorld.com. “It’s called ‘Greenwich Time’ and it’s my favorite song about New York and it was written by Sam Davis and Randy Buck. It was hard to sing, but it was fun anyway.”

 

[Best Kisser]

Truly devastating loss from a horrific disease. Through it all she maintained a quiet dignity, determined to fight and the get a new experimental drug passed. She did a concert from her living room several months ago. Prayers for Danny Burstein and their children. We have lost of the great ones.

[Buff Daddy]

So sorry to hear. I know someone who is battling this disease. After all this time you would think we would have a better handle on it.

[dcguy20]

This is a tough one to grasp considering how quickly her disease progressed. In looking at her credits, I saw her in 7 of her 9 Broadway shows, the last being in Cinderella. My favorite performance of hers was as Marian in The Music Man (the last Broadway show I saw as a resident of NYC).

[Merboy]

Wonderful voice and also didn't Marin Mazzie pass away recently too? So sad

[Islesguy]

I saw her in both The Music Man and Showboat. Fantastic both times.