JamesG
03-26-2012, 03:30 PM
Rachel Dratch: "30 Rock" Recasting Wasn't a Big Deal
03/26/2012
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e10/JamesGrec/RachelD.jpg
You won't find a Hollywood feud between Rachel Dratch and Tina Fey. The two "SNL" alumnas starred in NBC's "30 Rock" ... that is, an unaired pilot version.
After the original pilot, Dratch, who played Jenna DeCarlo, Liz Lemon's (Fey) best friend and star of the fictional sketch comedy show "The Girlie Show," the role of Jenna was recast.
Jane Krakowski landed the role and the character became Jenna Maroney.
"When I was let go, I didn't think it was a big deal," Dratch told the New York Post. "The direction of the character had changed and pilots are recast all the time. I thought it would be a nonstory, but suddenly it blew up."
Dratch went on to play multiple parts on "30 Rock", including that of a cat wrangler in the aired pilot.
"Both Tina and I obviously adore Rachel, and we wanted to find a way in which we could go to her strength," Lorne Michaels, "SNL" creator and "30 Rock" executive producer, told Variety in 2006.
"The way it's been rewritten, it's a much funnier part."
In an interview after the recasting, Dratch explained the switch to New York Mag.
"I think the big thing was -- at least what they told me -- that at first they wanted to have more comedy sketches in the show. Then they decided they weren’t going to focus on the sketches, so they needed more of a sitcom actress, as opposed to a character actress."
Most recently, Dratch showed up in "30 Rock's" Season 5 live episode as a cleaning lady obsessed with "Happy Days".
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/26/rachel-dratch-30-rock-recast_n_1379282.html?
03/26/2012
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e10/JamesGrec/RachelD.jpg
You won't find a Hollywood feud between Rachel Dratch and Tina Fey. The two "SNL" alumnas starred in NBC's "30 Rock" ... that is, an unaired pilot version.
After the original pilot, Dratch, who played Jenna DeCarlo, Liz Lemon's (Fey) best friend and star of the fictional sketch comedy show "The Girlie Show," the role of Jenna was recast.
Jane Krakowski landed the role and the character became Jenna Maroney.
"When I was let go, I didn't think it was a big deal," Dratch told the New York Post. "The direction of the character had changed and pilots are recast all the time. I thought it would be a nonstory, but suddenly it blew up."
Dratch went on to play multiple parts on "30 Rock", including that of a cat wrangler in the aired pilot.
"Both Tina and I obviously adore Rachel, and we wanted to find a way in which we could go to her strength," Lorne Michaels, "SNL" creator and "30 Rock" executive producer, told Variety in 2006.
"The way it's been rewritten, it's a much funnier part."
In an interview after the recasting, Dratch explained the switch to New York Mag.
"I think the big thing was -- at least what they told me -- that at first they wanted to have more comedy sketches in the show. Then they decided they weren’t going to focus on the sketches, so they needed more of a sitcom actress, as opposed to a character actress."
Most recently, Dratch showed up in "30 Rock's" Season 5 live episode as a cleaning lady obsessed with "Happy Days".
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/26/rachel-dratch-30-rock-recast_n_1379282.html?