THEATRE GOSSIP #374: "Prepping for Paolo" Edition

Paolo Szotz *is* Albin in La Cage aux Folles.

God bless, OP.

But a photo link or some other thematic visual appeal would have been nice.

Just saying.

Will this do for thematic visual appeal, r2?

Gypsy! Follies! Bajour!

Now that we've got that out of the way...

Sorry, r4, but I feel the need to add Buttrio Square!

And now... One of the greatest theatrical performances of ALL time... Put your little homosexual hands together for...

Gotta give ol' Faye this - she might not look, sound, or act anything like Hepburn, but that's pure star power in that clip. Some people really do just have "it", don't they?

I was going to say the opposite, R7. She actually comes off marginally better than when she played Faye subbing in for Christina in the Secret Storm

Some people really do get taken in by names.

There was nothing in that clip that any competent, charismatic regional theater actress could not have done.

"Star power" is not an "it" the artist has. It is a willing suspension of disbelief on the part of certain easy to please audience members.

^^^that should read "reasonably charismatic" not "charismatic."

And what awful stilted dialog. That reasonably charismatic regional theater actress probably could have made it sound a little more realistic.

I love Szot and I love this production of Chicago but nothing will make me go back. I’ve seen it four times already

What if Paulo agrees to do a nude scene, r11? When Billy takes off his pants in "All I Care About is Love," he takes off his underwear as well?

What a bizarre role for him to play. Does he have enough of a following that his appearance will affect the box office?

Was there ever a stage version of the movie Swing Kids? I mean, if we could have Newsies, why not Swing Kids?

Some of us have speculated that Paulo is doing CHICAGO only to earn weeks of Equity employment for health insurance purposes. I can't imagine any other conceivable reason for it.

P.S. That screen cap of SOUTH PACIFIC in the last thread reminded me how very unfortunate it was that Paulo gained SO MUCH weight between the opening of the show and the video recording of it for PBS.

P.P.S. re SWING KIDS, I seem to remember there was talk of a stage musical of it, or maybe one was actually written but didn't go anywhere.

Paolo is having an "open door policy" backstage at "Chicago" If you open the door, you can slip in a little "message".

[quote] Some of us have speculated

Who is “us,” r15?

Will The Music Man continue after Hugh's one year commitment?

I was actually more impressed by Paolo's acting than his singing in "South Pacific". A very nice voice, and yes, I know he sings mostly light lyric parts in the opera, but his "Some Enchanted Evening" just didn't have the weight and ummmph of Ezio Pinza's. Very cute guy though and quite tall -- I met him when giving a donation in the lobby afterwards for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

It’s a cruel indictment of our healthcare system if a person is forced to play in Chicago just to get insurance.

He just did "Madama Butterfly" at the Met, but AGMA, the opera singer and ballet dancer union, has even less pull than Equity. Plus the Met double casts and only gives like 4 performances per opera, so not many weeks to earn.

Isaac Powell is a hottie? GROSS. Skinny little queer.

And the kid has Wes Taylor as his gay nurse: according to Tay Tay's twitter feed.

[quote]Who is “us,” [R15]?

Some friends and I. You gotta problem wit dat?

[quote]I was actually more impressed by Paolo's acting than his singing in "South Pacific". A very nice voice, and yes, I know he sings mostly light lyric parts in the opera, but his "Some Enchanted Evening" just didn't have the weight and ummmph of Ezio Pinza's.

Szot would have been laughed off the stage if he had sung that song in full-out operatic style and volume the way Pinza does on the cast album. That style of singing just isn't acceptable on Broadway anymore, at least not in a love ballad like that.

[quote]It’s a cruel indictment of our healthcare system if a person is forced to play in Chicago just to get insurance.

Ha! Well he didn't have to do CHICAGO specifically, but given the crazy short-term casting of the leads in that show by the producers, it was probably the only role he could easily and quickly slip into, even though he's miscast.

R24 Oh, Audra oversings all the time, except maybe her Lady Day, so that's BS. Szot would have been thrilling ending "Some Enchanted Evening" with a full-out sung "Never let her go". He wouldn't have been laughed off stage. The sound guys could have lowered amplification and let him sing out.

I saw Paulo in the London revival of "South Pacific." I was not impressed. I was aghast at Samantha Janus' singing. She was pub singer quality at best.

"That style of singing just isn't acceptable on Broadway anymore, at least not in a love ballad like that."

It should be -- it's call great singing, and the screechers and mellismas on Broadway have changed the standards for the worse in many cases. As my singer friend says, "Idina is a screamer and Kristin Chenoweth sounds like a mosquito".

I thought Paolo was superb in SOUTH PACIFIC at LCT, and sang the role to perfection.

Not sure what the rest of you are all going on about.

I've seen Mrs. Doubtfire...I don't know how it's gonna do. It's not terrible but it's not good either. And, it's too damn long.

Rob McClure is very good though. He doesn't copy Robin Williams but he certainly captures the "wackiness" of a Williams performance without it being a weak imitation.

Is the score any good, R29?

The mediocre score is part of what killed TOOTSIE on Bway.

R30 No. Not really. I saw it 2 weeks ago and nothing stuck in my head....like most contemporary musicals.

The kids have a cute song and there's this crazy dream sequence number with Daniel (aka Mrs. Doubtfire) having a nightmare with dozens of Mrs. Doubtfires in it and his social worker, a black woman, getting a big crazy diva solo, which is really the only "original" piece in the show....they really follow the film scene by scene for 95% of the show.

Oh, and the brother/make up character (played by Harvey Fierstein in the movie) and played by Brad Oscar in the musical, has a husband who is a big tall RuPaul-esque drag diva type and they want to have a baby which is a very tiny B-story (more like D-story) they added to the musical to make it more "diverse" and modern.

That last part sounds awful. Brad Oscar is very good but that storyline sounds very.... obligatory.

I still don't understand the allegedly huge audience for this project on Bway--I barely remember the movie--but then I'm not a producer, thank god.

If you're a 90s kid, the movie is major. Ditto "Hocus Pocus." That doesn't mean it will be a hit, of course.

R32 Brad Oscar and J. Harrison Ghee (as the RuPaul-esque husband) are both good but they're really not integral parts of the story after they create the original Doubtfire look and the musical rather awkwardly tries to insert them into it through out.

They've also tried to make the wife role, more important and empowered and it's....awkward. I mean, the movie is really all about Robin Williams being Robin Williams for 2 hours and nothing else is very important.

They even give the new boyfriend (the Pierce Brosnan role) a song, and it's just filler.

"The kids have a cute song and there's this crazy dream sequence number with Daniel (aka Mrs. Doubtfire) having a nightmare with dozens of Mrs. Doubtfires in it"

Like Beetlejuice, which Rob was also in. A number with a dozen Beetlejuice. No creativity. But we knew that.

Just looked it up: the score is by the SOMETHING ROTTEN writing team.

I managed to avoid ROTTEN, but I do have friends who liked the score. Clearly this will not be the second coming of Sondheim.

It's a very slick, well produced/well directed show but it's just....meh. I know general audiences have liked it but anyone with much actual taste isn't. I guess it depends on how you feel about the movie...if you adored the movie and the Williams schtick (pretty much ALL the bits from the movie are included) and you have a very low bar when it come to decent songs in a musical, you'll be entertained even though the show is like 2 hours 45 minutes long. But, it really feels like it should be an hour long and something you'd modestly enjoy while on a cruise.

[quote]Szot would have been thrilling ending "Some Enchanted Evening" with a full-out sung "Never let her go". He wouldn't have been laughed off stage.

Uh ... he wasn't laughed off the stage doing it just the way he did do it, either. He was a huge hit with rave reviews and a Tony win.

But not follow up parts of note...

[quote] Szot would have been thrilling ending "Some Enchanted Evening" with a full-out sung "Never let her go". He wouldn't have been laughed off stage. The sound guys could have lowered amplification and let him sing out.

But that's not how the song is written. "Never let her go" is sung sotto voce, never full out.

Jerry Herman has died. Encores! is doing his MACK & MABEL soon.

R24, what other show could he have gone into? The Lion King? Wicked?

HAMILTON. Then he could sing "My Szot."

I have to admit, I would love to see him in Book of Mormon.

[Quote] Jerry Herman has died.

So young.

That’s not how opera works, at all R21. Soloists are paid per performance, and he gets something close to top fee, about 16,000.

Is no one mentioning the fact that Jerry Herman is dead, or have I just blocked so many of you that I can’t see it.

I would answer but you've probably blocked me.

Jerry Herman died? I guess people really didn't want hummable showtunes.

Oh, that's sad, r41. Not unexpected, really, because he'd been so ill for so long.

At least he got to see "Dolly" become a huge hit again, even if he didn't get to actually come up and see the show himself.

Chin up, ladies.....

RegardinG the clip at r6: Faye didn’t even attempt Hepburn’s vocals or mannerisms, did she? Watching her aimlessly pace around and reciting those tepid lines for over an hour would have driven me out of the theater.

Sad that Herman just died and Encores will do Mack & Mabel in February!

Dunaway still has a watchable quality. I'd rather have seen her in the Hepburn play than Midler in the Mengers one.

That's probably what killed him, r53.

Not many musical theater giants left: Sondheim, Strouse, Kander, Harnick. Who else? (Oh yeah, Lloyd Weber.)

Patti!

R56, I thought Strouse died

Any way, none of those musical giants are making music anymore.

Lin Miranda, the guy who composed Frozen, and the guys who did La La Land are the Kings now

What is Patti talking about when she describes a "technical" and how arduous they are? How is it any different than a normal rehearsal?

She also says that scenery is all automated now, instead of put into place by stagehands. How does that work? Is the scenery on tracks in the floor and is moved by remote control?

DL fave and "Cats" co-star Robbie Fairchild and his "roommate."

R59 Gosh she is so ugly. haha.

"bitches" needs to die.

R56, you forgot about me, but that's okay, I forgive you.

Jerry Herman had a long and productive life. The Times did a nice job on his obit.

Younger theatergoers may not realize what a hero Herman was: an openly gay man (born in 1931), openly living with HIV since the 80s, who created shows like CAGE AUX FOLLES with gay characters in functional, loving, romantic relationships. Some audiences saw his work as "safe" or conservative:

[quote]Critics — gay and straight — called the show far too cautious, especially at a time when AIDS was becoming a full-blown crisis in America and homophobia was widespread. But Mr. Herman insisted that the musical stage was not a soapbox, and said of the gay community: “One day when they are old and gray they will realize what this show is doing for their cause and send a thank-you note.”

Technicals are arduous because you are constantly stopping, waiting for tech to do their thing then either redoing what you just did or starting back up until the next stop. Essentially, it amounts to doing the work multiple times with lots of interruptions.

"They." Was Herman not out then? And I'm skeptical that he was out in the 80s as HIV positive.

Re: Jerry Herman...

Just consider: at what point did Sondheim write openly gay characters in a show? BOUNCE/GOLD/ROADSHOW features a gay man in one of the lead roles, but are there any others? (Don't dare suggest Bobby in COMPANY.)

Similarly, I was shocked to read recently that Fred Ebb of Kander & Ebb (CHICAGO, CABARET, etc.) was never publicly out during his lifetime. Everyone knew but he never acknowledged it, even after KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN, with its gay content.

There are younger music theatre writers all over the LGBTQ spectrum today who are indebted to Herman and artists like him.

Herman wrote about being gay, his HIV status, and the loss of his partner in his autobiography:

[quote]Shortly after the show opened, Herman's companion, Marty Finkelstein, died of complications from AIDS. And Herman was diagnosed as HIV-positive at a time when that seemed like a death sentence. Herman was one of the first people to receive the complex cocktail of drugs that has kept so many HIV patients alive, and he helped raise millions of dollars for AIDS research. Co-author Marilyn Stasio says Herman's HIV status spurred him to write his memoirs — and to also set some things straight. "One thing that really got him mad was he thought people really felt he was putting it on, the optimism and the joy and the happiness and the way he loved life. And he wanted to make it clear that it was true. He did. He loved every minute of life."

Herman wrote about being gay, his HIV status, and the loss of his partner in his autobiography:

[quote]Shortly after the show opened, Herman's companion, Marty Finkelstein, died of complications from AIDS. And Herman was diagnosed as HIV-positive at a time when that seemed like a death sentence. Herman was one of the first people to receive the complex cocktail of drugs that has kept so many HIV patients alive, and he helped raise millions of dollars for AIDS research. Co-author Marilyn Stasio says Herman's HIV status spurred him to write his memoirs — and to also set some things straight. "One thing that really got him mad was he thought people really felt he was putting it on, the optimism and the joy and the happiness and the way he loved life. And he wanted to make it clear that it was true. He did. He loved every minute of life."

Herman's memoir was first published in 1996, correct?

What a tacky cover. I'm guessing it was published by a minor house.

This looks like it was such a lovely, well-cast production.....

Battle of the Yenteses......

I never understood the whole fuss and stress of tech week. It never bothered me. I just chilled and waited. Actors are so annoying and dramatic. Get a real job and then we'll talk.

"Never let her go" from "Some Enchanted Evening" can be sung full out when it is reprised at the end of Act One. But Szot was really good otherwise, especially in his acting, while singing a more lyrical version and lighter-voiced performance of Emile. I recall how excited and awed he was to get his Tony from Liza Minnelli!

No one seems to remark about it, but Jerry Herman was very handsome, especially when he was young -- I think very short, too, but really very CUTE!

...and the tony Award goes to...Paulo SZOTTTT!

PASSING STRANGE and A CATERED AFFAIR... I have no memory of 2008, clearly, R76.

I love me some Paolo but that was one dull speech.

PaUlo, not PaOlo. The first is Portuguese; the second is Italian.

PaUlo, not PaOlo. The first is Portuguese; the second is Italian.

3 Girls 3

Is Paulo a gay homosexualist?

No, he's a straight one

The BBC News obit of Jerry Herman I read online said Hello, Dolly! is being revived this season in the West End. Imelda Staunton will be playing Mrs. Levi. I wonder if Charlie Stemp will be Barnaby again.

I'm 95% certain Paulo is, indeed, a gay homosexualist. I read a profile of him quite awhile back that said he and his bf own Weimaraners (funny the odd details one remembers).

Miss Loudon.....

WHET Jimmy James?

Charlie Stemp is doing Mary Poppins with a Strallen sister.

They had breakdowns for Cornelius, Barnaby and the rest of the supporting/featured players on Spotlight which I thought was unusual. Open to all the membership not just agents.

Paulo Szot is openly gay, and was when he was doing South Pacific. I think he's been out for a long time.

Has anyone read Jerry Herman's memoir? Is it worth reading?

I read it so long ago, r89, but I remember liking it.

That "Topsy Turvy" song is dreadful. Weirdly, Barbara Barrie is much funnier in that clip than Nancy Opel, who loses pretty much every laugh. I did see Barbara Barrie, though (at her last performance) and she was a real weak link, although she could have been off her game, having just been fired.

Shy

Oy. "The Rumor" is a pretty weak song in an otherwise exceptional score. This replacement song is (arguably) even worse.

Was "The Rumor" an in-one number during which the scenery was changed? It serves its function in that way and it also gives us a little bit of plot. But yes, not a great song, obviously.

I worked briefly with Paulo Szot about 10 years ago. A great singer, a very very good actor, and a wonderful guy. (And no, just to save you all the time, I did not sleep with him.)

Do you think he was a victim of casting agents' homophobia?

He'll probably play Georges next time LA CAGE comes around.

It was the loathsome Cindy Adams who first reported jerry was HIV positive, without his permission, forcing Jerry to admit his status. May Cindy be in the next bunch of 3's.

Jesus, Paulo is gay...Can we all just fuck him HARD. He is nasty hot!

But did you have sex with him, r95?

Jane Olivor’s Some Enchanted Evening.

I remember Herman's memoir being very upbeat, glitzy, very old Broadway with stories of last minute rewrites. He writes about Judy almost being cast in Mame, and I Don't Want to Know being a favourite song.

The only bad thing I recall him saying was about Martha Raye being a cunt to him when he didn't come see her opening in Dolly (he was sick at the time).

Angie loves "I Don't Want to Know" too...

And Liza adds her "special swirl"....

Never heard of him.

OP, you refer to this guy as a "super hunk", please define what the difference between a "hunk" and a "super hunk"

Turn in your theatre card, r105, if you have never heard of Paulo Szot. He made his Broadway debut in the revival of "South Pacific" at Lincoln Center (after a career in opera), and got a Tony Award.

Jerry Mitchell and his infant bf are engaged

The Jerry Herman memoir is not on Apple books, regrettably. And I am embarrassed to admit that I will only read books on my iPad. It is so much more convenient than a regular book.

I loved Passing Strange!

I remember Herman’s memoir being utterly forgettable.

R108, check your local library. You can download ebooks

Is Norm Lewis gay?

r108, also check Amazon. You can download a Kindle app free for the iPad, and that allows you to get e-books from Amazon. Much wider choice than Apple Books.

That was the rumor around these parts, r112, but there was never much, if any, evidence of it.

So did I, R109. I thought it was much more deserving of the Best Musical Tony than "In the Heights" and I say that as someone who likes LMM.

Just got in from a matinee of "Grand Horizons," the new Jane Alexander/James Cromwell play at the Helen Hayes. I enjoyed it and think it has the potential to be a crowd-pleaser if not perhaps a critical darling (I'm sure they will zero in on the sitcommy spots and the lack of a real emotional payoff). Still, it's an enjoyable two hours and the act one closer is quite shocking (also Ben McKenzie is such a cutie).

The Jerry Herman book is, alas, not available in any e format. That surprises me; you would think he is popular enough for it to have remained in print.

I went to a talk Herman have over a decade ago. He gave away his biography which I think had recently been published.

I think I read it quickly in one sitting. It was pretty light reading without much personal insight

Does he describe his days as a bathhouse queen in LA, r118? He was pretty notorious.

r119

for what?

^Anal.

You were never going to get a lot of dirt or insight from Jerry Herman. He was one of those people of a certain age who never dished in public and who never put up less than a positive front. Everything was wonderful, everything was perfect and magical. We know that isn't true. But these older people, it's like they still worry they won't get hired for the next job if they don't keep their mouths shut. You're 80+ and you're been in the biz for decades. You have the right to speak your mind. And sometimes the stories are just that- dish- but sometimes they're important to talk about, and to perpetuate the falsehood that everything was amazing does a disservice.

R122 not everyone wants to engage in cancel culture

I would love to have heard Jerry Herman's sex stories. He was a good looking man back in the day. I'll bet he got fucked by everybody worth fucking.

Almost 30 years ago I saw Jimmy James perform in Vegas, and a lot of us hung out with him after. He made it quite clear he was a top. I don't recall any takers.

He wasn't bad looking. Looked a little like one of the Walker Brothers.

Maybe he spent his final reclusive Florida years dictating a salacious tell-all second volume of his autobiography.

Here’s hoping!

What is there to tell?

I saw The Sound Inside last night and was truly impressed. Great performances, strong writing, and the rare ability to captivate a Broadway audience without song and dance. At this point, if David Cromer is involved. I will see the show.

Exactly, r122. The guy who wrote "It's Today" and "The Best of Times (is Now!)" isn't like;y to reveal a dark side, even if he had one.

Agree that Grand Horizons is a lot of fun, even if it is a bit sit-commy. The audience loved it, Jane Alexander looked like she was having a ball. Maulik Pancholy is also cute as Michael Urie’s very horny date. Maulik played the gay (?) secretary of Alec Baldwin on 30 Rock. He strips down to tight boxer briefs and a tank top in Grand Horizons.

It's Sunday.

[quote]You were never going to get a lot of dirt or insight from Jerry Herman. He was one of those people of a certain age who never dished in public and who never put up less than a positive front. Everything was wonderful, everything was perfect and magical. We know that isn't true. But these older people, it's like they still worry they won't get hired for the next job if they don't keep their mouths shut.

That never stopped Arthur Laurents.

It would have been fascinating to hear what Herman really thought of his contemporaries and the changing face of musical theatre.

Herman was a young king on Bway in the 60s with HELLO DOLLY and MAME (with an equal number of failures); by the mid-70s, Sondheim had been crowned by the critics in his stead (regardless of how financially successful his shows were). They would go on to be critically contrasted as opposing forces, culminating in the 1983 TONY competition, where LA CAGE took Best Score over SUNDAY IN THE PARK... and Herman's "hummable melody" speech.

I think that was as public as it ever got, but what did Herman really think of Sondheim? And the decline of the more traditional "big lady" musicals Herman specialized in? Versus, say, A CHORUS LINE and "concept shows?"

What was the last "big lady" musical? Millie comes to mind but I think the character is too young.

Funny Girl.

[quote]What was the last "big lady" musical?

The Lloyd Webber musicals: Evita, Cats, Sunset Boulevard.

Did PLATINUM aspire to be a Big Lady musical for the 70s?

It may have, but it was stolen by a little lady...

Does Kathie Lee's AIMEE SEMPLE MCPHERSON count?

[quote]Does Kathie Lee's AIMEE SEMPLE MCPHERSON count?

It doesn't even count as a musical.

The least you can do is call it by the right title, as swipe at r140. It's called SCANDALOUS. And before that SAVING AIMEE. And before that HURRICANE AIMEE. And...you know what? Whatever. Fuck you, asshole. Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!

Yours in the Risen Christ,

Just wait a goddamn minute, r142!

I'm guessing that Herman genuinely admired Sondheim's work, but could never compete with him in terms of complexity or critical praise. But he had no reason to feel bad. He filled a niche that no one else did better.

BTW, Mame (and Sweet Charity) lost the Best Musical and Best Score Tony to Man of La Mancha. Did the voters make the right choice?

I think in retrospect they did, r144.

New Year's Eve Sondheim tribute (?) concert by the NY Philharmonic this week (and broadcast on PBS). The only names I've seen attached are Bernadette Peters and Katrina Lenk. Anyone here know anything more?

Certainly, they can round up a few good old standbys with those names attached? Donna Murphy could at least show up and sing "Could I Leave You?", yes?

[quote]Herman was a young king on Bway in the 60s with HELLO DOLLY and MAME (with an equal number of failures)

Even though "Milk and Honey" didn't make its money back on Broadway, it wasn't regarded as a flop, because it ran for 16 months, had a hit song ("Shalom"), and then toured for over a year with two of its three original leads (Molly Picon and Robert Weede). Then it did the stock circuit for another couple of years.

"Dear World" was a definite flop, and yet it managed four months (after six weeks of previews) and its leading lady won a Tony.

"Mack & Mabel" had a real flop run, less than two months, but it's one of Herman's most popular shows. And no one ever thinks of "The Grand Tour" one way or another. It's almost like it was never done. Then comes "La Cage," and Jerry went out on a huge hit.

So his flops have all been unusual cases, three of them to go with his three solid hits. It's a shame he didn't have one more Broadway show in him (if only he had accepted Mel Brooks' offer to write "The Producers.")

Miss Benzell couldn't be bothered, r148?

I have no idea why she didn't do the tour. Terry Saunders (Lady Thiang from the film of "The King and I") took her part for the tour. And I forgot Tommy Rall did the tour. That's three of four Broadway leads.

And let's not forget that Hermione Gingold kicked up her heels in Molly Picon's role for a while in 1962, while Picon was off filming "Come Blow Your Horn."

You mean Christine Crane-replacement Terry Saunders, r150. Isn't that much more impressive on her resume than some old R&H movie role?

Not when the old R&H role was a major lead who sang one of the hit songs, r152.

Christine Crane is just a name in a program. No one, but no one, knows who the character is or what she does.

Milk and Hermione

[quote]So his flops have all been unusual cases, three of them to go with his three solid hits. It's a shame he didn't have one more Broadway show in him (if only he had accepted Mel Brooks' offer to write "The Producers.")

Plus, Jerry Herman added three of the best songs in "A Day In Hollywood/A Night In The Ukraine". He wrote "Just Go To The Movies" "Nelson" and "The Best In The World."

I guess she's the best, r155.

I wouldn't be a bit surprised if, privately at least, Herman considered himself Sondheim's equal as a lyricist but thought himself the superior composer. It's an unpopular opinion, but Herman wouldn't be alone in preferring his own melodies to Sondheim's compositions. They're fundamentally different writers.

Sondheim is the superior lyricist of his generation. Fred Ebb, Herman, and others have written some great lyrics, but they don't come close. I would argue that Sondheim's music is uneven; at times, underwritten and overrated.

Herman's music is so tuneful, so accessible, so deceptively simple seeming that it's easy to dismiss the art behind it.

Herman had a gift for melody, as did Jule Styne. Sondheim does not. In working with Styne on "Gypsy," Sondheim was amazed that, if a song wasn't working, Styne would simply throw out the melody and write a new one, rather than attempting to revise the old one. Sondheim didn't understand Styne's lack of economy, but concluded that he was so gifted at writing melodies, he found it easier to just try something else.

Years ago, I went with a friend to see PASSION and she was, like, "They're just talk-singing, as if they're making up the tune as they go along. Very sing-songy." Needless to say, she hated the show. How did it win Best Musical?

The 90s were very hit and miss, R159. PASSION won over BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (which the critics just hated), CYRANO (which no one even remembers), and A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING, which was basically a cruise ship review of R&H songs. Not a hot year for new musicals. FOSSE and TITANIC would also win Best Musical in their respective seasons with a similar lack of serious competition. There were only 2 nominees in 1995: SUNSET BLVD & SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE.

Then you have the other seasons: LION KING winning over RAGTIME. WILL ROGERS FOLLIES winning over ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, THE SECRET GARDEN, & MISS SAIGON.

Go figure. I'd forgotten what a weird decade that was.

Holy moley.

How did SPAMALOT win Best Musical in 2005 over LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA? And DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS? And SPELLING BEE? (Okay, maybe not the last 2 so much).

Does SPAMALOT get done much regionally? Can anyone envision a major revival? I saw the touring company (I think) in Toronto and just hated it, so I'm biased.

Spelling Bee is a very fun show. It's a unique premise and they pull it off.

"I would argue that Sondheim's music is uneven; at times, underwritten and overrated. Herman's music is so tuneful, so accessible, so deceptively simple seeming that it's easy to dismiss the art behind it"

I'm not sure I agree with either statement. If there's anything that is a distinctive feature of SJS' canon, it's detail, detail, detail. Hardly underwritten. Quite the opposite, in fact. And anyone who can claim that he can't write melody is simply not listening. He's about the ONLY composer of the last forty years that churned out singular, memorable and, yes, absolutely hummable songs with regularity at his peak. I love Herman's work as well, but the degree of musical invention and distinction are nowhere comparable. There's a difference between simple and simplistic and sometimes JH coasted, utilizing the same harmonic progression in songs (TIME HEALS EVERYTHING and I'LL BE HERE TOMORROW, for example). But at his best, such as THE TEA PARTY from DEAR WORLD, he was right up there with Irving Berlin in his felicitous combination of words and music.

Everything Sondheim’s written from Into the Woods onward sounds exactly the same, save for Assassins.

And his lyrics suffer from overkill’s a lot of the time, from being excessively and gaudily “show-off-y”.

R164 ...but he has so much to show off.

I think I realized I must have previously blocked whoever started the thread

PASSION has beautiful music. Boring as fuck and stupid storyline but stop hating on the music.

[Quote] I think I realized I must have previously blocked whoever started the thread

Which post made you hit the block button?

[quote] FOSSE and TITANIC would also win Best Musical in their respective seasons with a similar lack of serious competition.

noteworthy about the [italic]Titanic[/italic] year, r160, was that it had entries from Cy Coleman ([italic]The Life[/italic] ), Kander & Ebb ([italic]Steel Pier[/italic] ), and, well, Wildhorn ([italic]J&H[/italic] ). At the beginning of the season, Titanic[/italic] looked like the least promising.

R167, Passion has “Loving You” and that’s IT. All the rest is a meandering, dithering and irritating pile of shit.

Sondheim's work has been praised and dissected by classical music scholars and critics, and interpreted and recorded by jazz musicians. Herman? Not. I adore his music, but it isn't a patch on Sondheim's virtuosity.

R170 WRONG.

Herman's music hasn't been interpreted by Jazz musicians?

^^^One song? haha

*

^^^haha! Oh come on. You're reaching.

[quote] Maulik Pancholy is also cute as Michael Urie’s very horny date. Maulik played the gay (?) secretary of Alec Baldwin on 30 Rock. He strips down to tight boxer briefs and a tank top in Grand Horizons.

Pancholy is openly gay. Glad to see him back on Bway!

While I have enjoyed productions of Passion, it's about a mentally disturbed woman, not particularly passion.

& husband.

Just to remind: Passion was originally intended to be a one act followed by....what was it....Muscle? Anyway. Passion still feels to me a one act musical that's been stretched to two.

Has anyone bought TodayTix day of Rush tickets? Should I expect the worst seats in the house?

[quote] Passion still feels to me a one act musical that's been stretched to two.

It’s still one act. A longish one act, but just the one.

LongISH? I don't think so...it's endless!

PASSION isn't about Eros but Thanatos.

Do you know what's also a one act...?

r185 - That....

Sadly, Universal has decided to abandon its Academy Awards campaign for "Cats."

I got TodayTix day of rush tickets for The Sound Inside a few weeks back. We were given second row of the rear mezzanine, which was a decent view. I also had front row rush seats for another show through TodayTix.

Ive heard nothing but good things about TodayTix.

I give out whatever the producers offer and the seats don't seem any better or worse than the ones TKTS gives out

Jerry Herman was so below the radar even after Hello, Dolly! opened the WML? panelists didn't have to be blindfolded at 3:20.

Anytime someone mentions SPELLING BEE, I’m reminded how much I intensely hate Dan Fogler with the heat of a thousand suns. Such an arrogant fat little bastard.

Will Jennifer Hudson go rogue and pull a Melissa Leo?

Coming out of the Christmas season, I have to say, every single Christmas station plays "We Need A Little Christmas" endlessly. That's Jerry Herman's legacy.

Jerry was cute

Face palm from DL fave Arlene Francis when after fails to have recognized Jerry Herman at R190.

It is ASTONISHING that these erudite, smart and sophisticated people didn't recognize JH!

[quote]It is ASTONISHING that these erudite, smart and sophisticated people didn't recognize JH!

Especially Tony Randall!

Agree with r196. These people supposedly go to all the shows, stay on top of theatre news - how could they not know the hot young composer of the year's top hit?

Arlene mentions that he played piano for her, and she sang for him. By any chance, does she mean that she auditioned for Dolly?

I loved both Passion and Titanic, play the cast recordings often

[quote] These people supposedly go to all the shows, stay on top of theatre news - how could they not know the hot young composer of the year's top hit?

Especially Arlene, who always gave the impression that she knew all there was to know about "the legitimate theater."

[quote]Arlene mentions that he played piano for her, and she sang for him. By any chance, does she mean that she auditioned for Dolly?

Maybe she auditioned to be a replacement in "Milk and Honey."

I do, r200.....

R187 Jennifer looked more like a badger than a cat! Horrendous movie, btw.

[quote]Passion still feels to me a one act musical that's been stretched to two.

"Passion" is still the only show I have ever attended where the matrons said out loud to me they wished the show would close. Those ladies knew bad when they saw it, and so did I.

I saw it for free during previews and was so disappointed in it. But let's see if I can find something nice to say about it. Marin had a lovely bosom, Jere had a great ass, and Donna was wonderful in a rather thankless role.

To this day, I've still never seen Passion. I consider myself a big fan of Sondheim, but his post-Assassins work has been so poorly regarded that I'm too scared to see him fall from grace, so I've avoided it altogether. I do think "Loving You" is a pretty song, though.

[quote]I do think "Loving You" is a pretty song, though.

Why thank you, R206.

Maybe that was it, r201. But would anyone really think of Arlene for the character part of a wily Jewish widow who carries the comedy in a show? I mean, she was still beautiful in her fifties, she would hardly have “take anything that’s left.”

[quote]But would anyone really think of Arlene for the character part of a wily Jewish widow who carries the comedy in a show? I mean, she was still beautiful in her fifties

Hell, R208, Arlene was still getting pregnant in her fifties!

^^In "The Thrill of It All," with Doris Day (1963). ^^

Despite the multiple Tonys, Passion was reviled. Later productions have “vindicated” the Best Musical, but there is still residual bitterness. It’s a stunningly beautiful piece of work that wallows in truths some people don’t want to see. However, I’m hardly neutral, as it aired on PBS the night after I first slept with a guy.

I suspect Arlene meant she hired Mr. Herman to play piano at one of her swank cocktail parties when he was a struggling young composer. And he shtupped her son in the kitchen between sets.

[quote]I suspect Arlene meant she hired Mr. Herman to play piano at one of her swank cocktail parties when he was a struggling young composer.

I always imagined Arlene's life to be one long series of swank cocktail parties.

I only saw PASSION in its original iteration on Bway. The leads all sang the score beautifully, but the production was ugly and confusing to follow. I do like some of the music a lot.

There may be a great show in there, but it would take another director's vision to find it. Lapine is so awful--one of Sondheim's collaborators who's never been close to his equal in talent.

In kinda-sorta theatre news, Michelle "Judy" Williams is preggers and engaged.... with a little HAMILTOT on the way!

R215, Judy?

R215 Hamicocklet?

Don't you mean Michelle "Gwen" Williams, r215?

It's Renee "Judy" Zellweger.

Hey, Brits - is this Charlie Stemp's boyfriend? He posted this pic, and calls him his "B". And says he loves him, etc. Is it just dude bro-ing? Or are they an item?

Don't know who the other guy is except his first name is Callum.

He's taking the piss. No one (British) would use "B" that many times in a short sentence.

Is Theater Ridiculous? Movies, TV and Books Seem to Think So:

Has anyone posted this? It's Jerry Herman's interview on Theater Talk:

Here's to the perfect year.....

The 20 Most-Anticipated New York Theater Productions of Early 2020:

[quote] Despite the multiple Tonys, Passion was reviled. Later productions have “vindicated” the Best Musical, but there is still residual bitterness.

Lapine is a decent book writer, but he’s a terrible director. All three of his Sondheim collaborations have gotten better with age, in productions not directed by Lapine.

[quote]I only saw PASSION in its original iteration on Bway. The leads all sang the score beautifully, but the production was ugly and confusing to follow. I do like some of the music a lot. There may be a great show in there, but it would take another director's vision to find it. Lapine is so awful--one of Sondheim's collaborators who's never been close to his equal in talent.

I wholeheartedly agree -- but if you say anything against Lapine, prepare to Sondheim to attack you like a rabid dog. He credits the man with getting him back to work after the devastating flop of MERRILY, and he's right to do so, but that doesn't mean Lapine's work on SUNDAY, INTO THE WOODS, and PASSION isn't seriously flawed. Interesting: Although I would say there are some problems in the writing of PASSION, it seems as per your comment above that the major problem with the first production was Lapine's direction, proven by the fact that several productions since then have been far better received.

[quote]Lapine is a decent book writer, but he’s a terrible director. All three of his Sondheim collaborations have gotten better with age, in productions not directed by Lapine.

I would say he's better as a book writer than as a director, but still not a very good book writer. SUNDAY is too episodic, and I would describe much of the dialogue in both SUNDAY and PASSION as very stilted. Act I of INTO THE WOODS is probably Lapine's best writing, but many people feel that Act II has major issues.

I love Sunday and ITW but have never had any desire to see passion

Well, r226, maybe Sondheim is just being loyal to a friend and collaborator? Is that so hard to understand?

Little Charlie Stemp is losing his hair. Will he be able to dance with hair extensions?

Oh for heaven's sake "Passion" sucks. Sondheimites would cheer the grocery list he wrote this morning.

Into The Woods Act 2 goes straight down the shitter. Casting director Benton Whitley once told me Into The Woods was a metaphor for AIDS. That the show was about AIDS. Is that true? Does anyone know for sure? I said it was bullshit.

[quote]Well, [R226], maybe Sondheim is just being loyal to a friend and collaborator? Is that so hard to understand?

It's not hard to understand at all, and it's basically what I wrote, in different words:

[quote]If you say anything against Lapine, prepare to Sondheim to attack you like a rabid dog. He credits the man with getting him back to work after the devastating flop of MERRILY, and he's right to do so, but that doesn't mean Lapine's work on SUNDAY, INTO THE WOODS, and PASSION isn't seriously flawed.

Amazing how may people seem to have huge problems with reading comprehension.

I adore Sondheim, but I tend to think he's like Meryl Streep: a major talent who lives to collaborate--preferably with lesser talents. Look at Meryl's directors and (in recent years, at least) her co-stars: the woman doesn't particularly like strong-minded individuals around her. She likes control.

I think after severing his professional relationship with Hal Prince, Sondheim was determined not to work with anyone who would challenge his authority. But with collaborators like Lapine, that comes with a price.

Someone said that Sondheim wanted to write an opera and Passion is the result of that.

Sorry, but those anti-Sondheim folks ignore that many of his fans actually are critical of his lesser work, most notably Road Show/Wise Guys/Bounce. Many critics and audiences have embraced Passion, Into the Woods, Sunday, and Assassins as much or more than the Prince/Sondheim shows. Just because you don’t like these shows doesn’t mean many others don’t see their value.

Does anyone champion ROAD SHOW/GOLD/BOUNCE/WISE GUYS?

I really enjoyed ROAD SHOW at Encores this summer. Encores is exactly where it belonged. But the show itself is largely unsalvageable, despite a few good songs.

There is no reason to tell the musical story of the Mizner Brothers. None at all.

[quote]Sorry, but those anti-Sondheim folks ignore that many of his fans actually are critical of his lesser work, most notably Road Show/Wise Guys/Bounce. Many critics and audiences have embraced Passion, Into the Woods, Sunday, and Assassins as much or more than the Prince/Sondheim shows. Just because you don’t like these shows doesn’t mean many others don’t see their value.

Sondheimites, can't love them, can't beat them to death with a Playbill from the16th and final performance of "Merrily We Roll Along".

I'm watching the 50s musical Give a Girl a Break on the Criterion Channel and Gower Champion is the lead male. I've never seen him this young. He was pretty cute. Were there gay rumors about him or am I mixing him up with Grover Dale?

I thought I knew the book to Into the Woods fairly well -- I've seen it a few times -- but I can't think of how it could possibly be a parable about AIDS. I thought it was about being careful what you wish for, and that there is no such thing as happy ever after What am I not getting?

r239 I don't think it holds up - but the folks who posited this were referring to the Giant: anonymous killer, trampling at random, and how do communities face it?

I'd love to see an evening of Acts 1 of both "Into the Woods" and "Sunday in the Park with George". I think people would be thrilled, and if you were taking the kiddies, you could leave after the "Into the Woods" and leave them happy without all the mixed messages of Act 2, plus without having the deal with the difficult George Seurat.

I'm one of the few people out there, I guess, who loves Act II of SUNDAY. It genuinely moves me, despite that near-calamitous museum scene.

But I LOATHE Act II of INTO THE WOODS. It's so preachy and so confused and so on-the-nose. I know it's the alleged point of the whole thing, but it has nothing interesting to say and yet insists on saying it in the most insufferable manner imaginable.

I feel like we are back in the 80s, with the last number of posts delivering “new” insight 30 years late.

People at the time thought ITW was an AIDS allegory, but the creators denied it. People have long begged to drop the second acts of both ITW and SITPWG, which I guess works if you are generally simple anf have totally missed the point of both shows.

I saw a local production of Assassins recently and enjoyed it more than I remembered when I saw it on broadway in 04

I think Sondheim has approved productions of only Act 1 of "Into the Woods" in productions aimed mainly for children, like at schools and children's theaters.

R239 That's what I thought too. Just a parable on life.

Prepping for Paolo? What about ME? I have a 'girlfriend' now too! Doesn't that count for something?

r238: GIVE A GIRL A BREAK is one of my favorite 'little' MGM musicals, with a lovely Burton Lane - Ira Gershwin score. And it features Helen Wood, who later changed her name to Dolly Sharp who got her cunt eaten out in DEEP THROAT.

Cunt? When did I eat cunt?

Theater, the last bastion of humanity in the arts, would only be ridiculous to soulless cretins.

Are there any Sondheim musicals that end on a happy note?

I saw the original production of Sunday several times, and never cared for Act 2. I saw a bootleg of the recent Gyllenhaal version, however, and it moved me deeply. I didn't care for the original version's act 2 because NOTHING can compete with the tableau created at the end of Act 1. Everything after that was a let down, and the stupid chromolume display was tedious. With the play stripped of the scenic wonder of the original production, Act 2 was able to stand on its own, and it is brilliant, and I was moved more than I thought I would be. Act 2 of Into the Woods? There are some great songs, but it just felt heavy handed and ponderous, although I didn't hate it.

Welcome...

[quote]I saw the original production of Sunday several times, and never cared for Act 2.

Plus, it had Bernadette Peters trying to talk like Julie Andrews.

Oh, Ge-orge, there are soooo meh-ny things weee need to saaaaaaay to one ay-nother. Did Dot attend the Henry Higgins School of Enunciation?

R249, That photo contradicts what Carol wrote in her autobiography. She claimed that Ethel never allowed herself to be photographed with Carol after Hello, Dolly!. If they were attending the same event and photographers requested a shot of them together, Ethel would refuse and say "No, not with Carol".

[quote] [R238]: GIVE A GIRL A BREAK is one of my favorite 'little' MGM musicals, with a lovely Burton Lane - Ira Gershwin score. And it features Helen Wood, who later changed her name to Dolly Sharp who got her cunt eaten out in DEEP THROAT.

Yes, I was shocked to read that this morning when I looked her up while watching the movie. I wanted to see who the third girl was. I think she was also fibbing mightily about her age. She claims to have been born in 1935, which would have made her 17 while filming GAGAB. She EASILY looked 35, so I'd put her at least in her late-mid 20s.

I remember someone telling me that the lyric in INTO THE WOODS ("Do not put your faith in a cape and a hood / They will not protect you the way that they should") was a reference to condoms and the AIDS epidemic. In other words, there's no such thing as 'safe sex.'

That seems like a stretch, R257. I took the line to mean that superheroes don't really exist, and you can't expect other people to fight your battles for you. I think the only reason one might believe the alternative read is that condoms are often called "hoods."

Into the Woods can be used as an allegory for any life-threatening destructive force and how it affects the lives of those involved.

{quote]That photo contradicts what Carol wrote in her autobiography. She claimed that Ethel never allowed herself to be photographed with Carol after Hello, Dolly!. If they were attending the same event and photographers requested a shot of them together, Ethel would refuse and say "No, not with Carol".

And yet Ethel and Carol appeared together in "The Love Boat Follies."

[quote] Are there any Sondheim musicals that end on a happy note?

Yes. Forum and A Little Night Music.

I can’t believe how bad Ethel looks in that picture w Carol. That must’ve been right before her brain tumor got her.

[quote]Are there any Sondheim musicals that end on a happy note?

"Company" ends on a somewhat hopeful note, with the substitution of "Being Alive" for the far more bitter "Happily Ever After."

How does Frogs end?

I saw Passion with Audra McDonald and Patti LuPone in NYC about a decade ago (very limited engagement). They are both such powerful performers that they lifted the material into the stratosphere.

R260, Yes, and Carol writes extensively about that Love Boat appearance with Ethel, Ann Miller and Della Reese and what a bitch Ethel was during rehearsals. Their relationship was contentious, but Carol did visit Ethel after her stroke and her description of Ethel's condition is heartbreaking.

I wish Patti would do a VEL commercial.

The title "Into The Woods" can be traced to underground gay slang in post-war NYC. "Woody" or "woods" was gay slang for erections. A young man who was "into the woods" would have been a French active (performing fellatio) on numerous other men.

It's very likely that Sondheim was familiar with its slang meaning.

You're over-thinking it, r268.

Possibly. But Sondheim loves puzzles and wordplay (and presumably, erections).

Yrs, and he word “the” was 40s slang for “hard” and Into was slang for cocksucking. So try the title means “Cocksucking Hard Cocks.”

Plus, “Last Midnight” was what 1920s gays called a gang bang. “Agony” was slang for double penetration.

Joan

oops

[quote]The title "Into The Woods" can be traced to underground gay slang in post-war NYC. "Woody" or "woods" was gay slang for erections. A young man who was "into the woods" would have been a French active (performing fellatio) on numerous other men.

And even before that, "woods" signified getting lost. Going into the woods meant straying off the main road, and presumably getting lost.

And didn't Elaine Stritch say the Merman never missed? I was looking up some stuff in the NY Times archives and she seemed to missed a bunch that made the paper during "Gypsy". 8/22/59 she was out at least 2 shows due to laryngitis. They closed the show for a night so Merman could perform at Kennedy's inauguration, she took off a day to fly to Denver for her daughter's graduation forcing the cancellation of the matinee and evening show. So much for show must go on.

[quote]during "Gypsy". 8/22/59 she was out at least 2 shows due to laryngitis.

And at the same time, I was performing The Sound of Music with a broken arm. Have you ever tried to strum a guitar with a broken arm? I can tell you, it's not easy.

R276 Hence why you won the Tony!

Can’t woods just mean woods?

Here's to 2020 being the perfect year....

Did anyone catch "Celebrating Sondheim" on "Live From Lincoln Center" this evening? Bernadette was the host. At the risk of being "that person," I have to say I was very unimpressed with Katrina Lenk's rendition of "Losing My Mind," and not just because of her silly indicating hand gestures. She really brought nothing to the song.

R266 Carol also wrote about visiting Mary Martin on her deathbed and she makes a strange reference to Martin's one weakness or addiction (I forget which word she used) without explaining what it was--death from ODing on Janet's pussy? opium smoking? poppers?

I loved loved loved Carol, but it sounds like she was the Angel of Death.

It will be a happy New Year...

[quote]Carol also wrote about visiting Mary Martin on her deathbed and she makes a strange reference to Martin's one weakness or addiction

Carol, of course, was Mary's co-star in the truly awful "Legends," by James Kirkwood, the last play Martin ever did. It closed on the road, and rightly so. I saw it in during its Boston engagement in 1985. I would say it was the worst play ever done by professionals, but I saw one that was even worse, and it was on Broadway: Edward Albee's "The Man Who Had Three Arms." I had gotten a free ticket from Equity, but that didn't make me hate it any less.

I love both the second act of Sunday and ITW. I think they are both very touching and I don't need to try to look for hidden allegories in either of them.

r280: Her Could I Leave You was equally....weird, for lack of a better word.

Mary and I were as thick as thieves!

[quote]Mary and I were as thick as thieves!

Could two people look more like drag queens?

Carol kind of reminds me of Marian Anderson in that photo.

[quote]I saw the original production of Sunday several times, and never cared for Act 2. I saw a bootleg of the recent Gyllenhaal version, however, and it moved me deeply. I didn't care for the original version's act 2 because NOTHING can compete with the tableau created at the end of Act 1. Everything after that was a let down, and the stupid chromolume display was tedious. With the play stripped of the scenic wonder of the original production, Act 2 was able to stand on its own, and it is brilliant, and I was moved more than I thought I would be.

That makes zero sense to me. If the book of Act II were in fact so flimsy that it could be overwhelmed by a scenic effect at the end of Act I, then that in itself would be a very negative comment on the writing. I suspect the main reason you had a much more highly positive reaction to Act II in the revival as compared to the original production is that Lapine has zero talent as a director, even less talent than as a book writer (which is saying something). On the other hand, some people feel he ghost-directed the Gyllenhaal revival, which was credited as having been directed by his niece. So who the hell knows?????

I'm costarring in a play with Annie Joe Edwards, who was part of the Legends tour, this spring. I'll try to get some backstage dish.

R265 But wait...WHO was the ugly one? That sounds like the dumbest production ever.

R290 Please do! I will be (im)patiently awaiting.

R291 LuPone was 'Foscar' McDonald was 'Clara,' and Michael Cerveris was 'Giorgio.'

R292 Gross. All three are ugly. Did they keep the line, "your skin so white, so pure, so delicate" with ugly black Audra as Clara? DUMB.

I have a surprisingly good quality bootleg of Legends. It's execrable, but incredibly watchable, thanks to Carol. It's a dreadfully written play.

R294 Are you implying that Mary was terrible?

I’m always suspect of people who describe something as “too episodic,” as R226 does about Sunday. It’s usually the kind of remark an idiot trying to sound smart makes. Care to elaborate, R226?

I WISH I COULD FORGET YOU from Passion is one of Sondheim’s best moments, both music and lyrics. It is an aria, not a tune, and captures the irony of the moment beautifully.

A love as pure as breath, as permanent as death. Implacable as stone

A love that, like a knife, has cut into a life I wanted left alone.

A love I may regret, but one I can't forget.

imho

[quote]Are there any Sondheim musicals that end on a happy note?

Well, they're all happy at the end (beginning) of "Merrily We Roll Along."

[quote] [R294] Are you implying that Mary was terrible?

No, Mary wasn't terrible, but her role wasn't as fun as Carol's and she was just sort of there. She didn't bring more to the role the way Carol did. I think she was miscast.

[quote]What was the last "big lady" musical?'

"Hazel," of course.

Channing is almost always wearing a jacket and tie when you see pics of her - in any context or any year (other than staged pics like r286) - throw in the gay husband and it does make you wonder about her sexuality - rinse and repeat the same for Stritch ...

R294, The touring revival with Joan Collins and Linda Evans was dreadful, but this sounds interesting . . .

Hayley and Juliet Mills Australian tour: Legends! made its Australian premiere in 2015 with Hayley Mills and Juliet Mills: The production, which featured Juliet Mills' husband Maxwell Caulfield, debuted at the QPAC (Brisbane) with a 2-14 June run having previewed from 28 May, subsequently playing a second and final 18 June-5 July engagement at the Theatre Royal (Sydney).

Juliet Mills is hilarious and would be better in a comedy than those two slags.

[Quote] I have a surprisingly good quality bootleg of Legends. It's execrable, but incredibly watchable, thanks to Carol. It's a dreadfully written play.

Post it to YouTube, please.

It was kind of Carol to visit Ethel after Merman never failed to refuse a photo with Channing.

Again and again, Merman said No.

R305, Carol and Ann are wearing ID badges. I'm guessing that was taken at rehearsals for the original Night of 100 Stars, the only one Bacall appeared in.

R306, Is that Princess Grace to Ethel's left?

Yes.

The big lady musical gave way to the old lady musical-70 Girls 70, Follies, Molly, No No Nannette, Lorelei.

Don't forget Betty's shows!

[quote][[R294]] Are you implying that Mary was terrible?

[quote]No, Mary wasn't terrible, but her role wasn't as fun as Carol's and she was just sort of there. She didn't bring more to the role the way Carol did. I think she was miscast.

All of that is true, but she also couldn't remember her lines. She wore an earpiece.

Legends wasn't all bad. Gary Beach was in it, and we got to hear Carol Channing say: "Well, here's five bucks, go fuck yourself!"

Blackface and no bra? Did Channing do her own styling?

Martin seems fine in that clip, much less stagey than Channing.

In the PBS NY Phil and Sondheim show with Bernadette Peters:

Peters is famous for having wonderful skin, even as she ages but she was botoxed into looked Chinese ( a la Melania) for that show

PBS televised the Passion with McDonald and LuPone so it’s out there

Just for the record, Paulo Montalban is straight, Gower was bi.

Patti LuFosca...

I suspect R290 is merely appearing in a play with Annie Joe Edwards. To "co-star" implies that a performer has a name, and no one has heard of Ms Edwards (and I presume R290).

A show like ITW that was created and ran through the height of the AIDS crisis couldn't help but be seen by some as reflective of its social background, especially with a song like No More.. Whether the creators had that explicitly in mind, we may never know.

[quote]The touring revival with Joan Collins and Linda Evans was dreadful, but this sounds interesting . . .

"Legends" is a godawful play, and no "interesting" casting can save it. I feel I'm something of an expert on this. I saw the original with Channing and Martin, the touring version with Collins and Evans, and a somewhat revamped D.C. staging with two men in the leads, including Lypsinka in the Martin role. Lypsinka managed to get some laughs, because she's Lypsinka, so I guess it was better than the first two versions. But "better" shouldn't be confused with "good."

[quote]I’m always suspect of people who describe something as “too episodic,” as [R226] does about Sunday. It’s usually the kind of remark an idiot trying to sound smart makes. Care to elaborate, [R226]?

Ummm, sorry I angered you, and maybe "episodic" is not the right word for the book scenes in SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE. I do find some of the dialogue very stilted and choppy, and I don't think the deterioration of the relationship between George and Dot in Act I is well charted in the dialogue as written by Lapine -- although it's very well done in the songs by Sondheim. You may say that's fine for a musical, but if you look at SOUTH PACIFIC, for example, you would still understand and respond to the progression of the two main characters' relationship even if all of the songs were removed. Anyway, that's how I feel about Lapine's work. You are free to disagree, but no need to be a bitch about it.

Juliet Mills was referred to as General Mills by those who observed her relationship with Maxwell Caulfield.

Now I have to watch some Lypsinka....

Most of Sondheim’s second acts are weak

It stunk! It stunk all seven times I saw it!

Speaking of matters Sondheim....

Show queens all over the interwebs are tearing Katrina Lenk a new one after her appearance on the PBS concert last night. "Does not bode well for COMPANY!"

I was out and missed it. Hoping PBS repeats the show.

I love, love, [italic]love[/italic] the score of Passion, and I'd consider it one of Sondheim's most ambitious and sophisticated scores. Although I didn't see the OBC live, I think the filmed version is pretty wonderful and I listen to the various recordings with some regularity. I've also read the original Tarchetti novel and sought out Ettore Scola’s Passion d’Amore. I’m probably more of a Passion fan that most.

But fuck me, in performance, I've never seen a production that came close to being satisfying. Even the good ones. When experienced live, the narrative feels oddly too compact to be believable, and so it’s hard to be emotionally involved or moved by any of it, and it just feels like weird melodrama. But then simultaneously, musically and structurally, it also feels far too long. I think the score was conceived like one long piece rather than being made up of individual numbers, (or maybe I'm mistaking it with SITPWG), but as there are no buttons or moments for applause, it just absolutely drags. The Donmar production in 2010 had an interval, IIRC, which also made it feel even longer.

I feel that there’s this huge dramaturgical problem at its centre, which feels pretty irreconcilable.

Speaking of Juliet Mills, I just watched "Avanti" on Amazon Prime the other day; she gained 25 lbs for the role, is quite lovely as always (ah "Nanny and the Professor"!) and it features her boobs and behind and Jack Lemmon's butt (twice) in nude scenes. The movie is overlong by about a half-hour, isn't ha-ha funny, but is amusing but also has good work by Clive Revill (from the OCR recording of "Oliver!" and "Irma La Douce") in a supporting role. Lemmon's tush wasn't half bad and he's otherwise shirtless in a few scenes if you're interested.

Marin Mazzie was wonderful in the original "Passion" but I just wanted to have Jere Shea pull off the blanket and give the audience a full-frontal view of himself.

Happy New Year, bitches!

Here is the Sondheim PBS show featuring Asian Peters and lazy Lenk?

Well, watch and decide for yourselves.

[quote]The big lady musical gave way to the old lady musical-70 Girls 70, Follies, Molly, No No Nannette, Lorelei.

Don't forget "Irene." And "Coco."

It was so carefully, self-consciously staged so his frontal goods would NOT be exposed, r330. That blanket was NOT going to slip an inch.

R332, Ballroom

Was at Geffen Hall last night and the program stank to high heaven. Was in a side box and noticed that Bernie was reading her commentary from a large monitor at the front center of the First Tier--quite a distance from the stage. Brief program and the audience felt cheated--no Blue Danube Waltz and no Radetzky March. Tired of Bernie, her hair, her voice and her tits and tired of Sondheim's music too. That Lenk dame is just weird and without a scintilla of talent. Too bad the Gong Show is still not on the air.

R335 on BWW it has gotten mostly praise though a couple did complain about Lenk and seem to be worried about how well she'll do in COMPANY.

[quote]It stunk! It stunk all seven times I saw it!

If you're referring to my three viewings of "Legends," R326, I was paid to cover all three productions. But your reaction is understandable.

[quote] on BWW it has gotten mostly praise though a couple did complain about Lenk and seem to be worried about how well she'll do in COMPANY.

And rightly so, based on her performance of two Sondheim songs last night.

Bernadette looked fantastic. Whatever work she has had done or demon she has sacrificed to has paid off. Katrina Lenk, on the other hand, needs to be replaced immediately for the upcoming Company run.

Why has "Legends" been revived even once? Surely there's a whole host of (virtual) two handers for women of a certain age?

[Quote] Juliet Mills was referred to as General Mills by those who observed her relationship with Maxwell Caulfield.

Caulfield has admitted that he was a terror around the time of GREASE 2. It sounds like he needed someone's rod to keep him in line.

The upside, r337, is that obviously they weren't "You couldn't pay me enough to see..." level bad.

How does a bad play/musical ever make it to Broadway or even on the road? Don't the creators realize that they have a stinker?

The Lenk performance of Losing My Mind reminded me of Bjork in her expressions/vocal inflections. It didn't work well in the 1st half of the song, but she finished stronger than I expected.

It will be curious to hear her version of Being Alive/Marry Me A Little, but I already feel like this version of Company isn't going to work for me because of the gender-swap so she's not going to "ruin" it.

[quote] Speaking of matters Sondheim.... Show queens all over the interwebs are tearing Katrina Lenk a new one after her appearance on the PBS concert last night. "Does not bode well for COMPANY!" I was out and missed it. Hoping PBS repeats the show.

They aren't Show Queens , they are worse, they are Sondheimites and Sondheimites are so crazed they will rip any professional, even legends to bits if they don't sing a Sondheim song EXACTLY as presented on the original Cast Album of the whatever show the song is from. No original interpretation allowed.

Thanks, R331.

You rawk!

I thought Lenk sounded fine. I would be perfectly happy to never hear those songs again, but her renditions kept me interested. She might have overacted a touch at the beginning of Losing My Mind, but I will cut her slack because she was not onstage before she started singing, so had no time to adjust to the room. Does she speak with an accent? She sings like she has a slight Eastern European accent.

I saw a bootleg of the gender swap Company, and it was fantastic. Lenk is a very different kind of actress than Rosalie Craig -- but I will hope for the best.

Also: I was shocked to see so many empty seats!!!

I watched a fabulous Naked City. Miss Nina Foch played...an actress. She had a great scene at the end. "I am a STAR! blah-blah-blah, I am a STAR! blah-blah-blah, I am a STAR! blah-blah-blah". The blah-blah-blahs were the hard and inconvenient things in her life because she was...a STAR! But the best performance was given by Miss Shirl Conway.

And I did not know that Shirl Conway was a replacement Auntie Mame!

I've seen and heard enough Sondheim salutes. Choose someone else who hasn't been done to death. Sigmond Romberg. Sammy Fain. Even Styne doesn't get his due aside from GYPSY and FUNNY GIRL.

R349. Shouldn't that be Shirl Conway as Aunti Mam?

I played Mame Dennis with all vowels intact, r351.

That's what we need - a Rudolf Friml revue. Perhaps Vera Charles could star in a terribly modern operetta style...

More old school. More Heidi Schiller.

[quote]More old school.

Maybe Encores! should consider doing "The Black Crook."

I don’t know where Shirl Conway did that “Auntie Mame,” but it was NOT on Broadway!

I looked it up. Shirl did the US national tour of “Auntie Mame,” and then took it to Australia. The cigarette ad is from Australia.

Yeah why is Katrina Lenk singing with an accent. I thought it was just for Band's Visit. The bitch is from Chicago. I totally hear Bjork. Good call! R344

She also was a replacement Dorothy Shaw....

My god, that Sondheim tribute was... dull. Strip that music of its theatrical context and it's just tedium.

The ASSASSINS suite in particular demonstrated what a second-rate score that is, "The Ballad of Booth" notwithstanding.

And yes: whoever compared Lenk to Bjork was on the money. It wasn't as dreadful as some people described, but it's not gonna sell many tickets for her either. And Bernie was phoning it in.

So glad I didn't bother to attend the live performance.

That Katrina Lenk "Losing My Mind" was terrible. What the hell was that? It's not a song to over-emote on. And she doesn't have that great of a voice. And yes, I'm wondering where the Eastern European accent came from. Is this a Soviet Bloc production of Follies?

I haven't watched this Nurses episode yet, but look at this cast:

Vivica Lindfors, Joey Heatherton, Arthur Hill, and Ruth McDevitt guest-star in this early episode of the 1963 series "The Nurses," with Shirl Conway, Zina Bethune, Diana Sands, Hilda Simms, and Elizabeth Fraser.

Wow, Joey is looking rough in that photo!

It sounded like Lenk had just learned the songs an hour before she went on. She even messed up a lyric on "Could I Leave You?" She changed "passionless love making" to "passionate love making." Quite a whoopsie.

She was better on that song than "Losing My Mind".

That’s Viveca Lindfors, r363. It took Joey another five years before she looked trashed (while still in her mid-20s).

"Could I Leave You" works well in context in FOLLIES, but it's a pretty terrible standalone number, IMHO. Not sure why cabaret ladies love it so. Showing off their "acting chops," I guess.

Interesting fact: both Joey Heatherton and late opera star Tatiana Troyanos were in the chorus of the original cast of the "Sound of Music".

R352 She looks like Cesar Romero's Joker.

Noticed several gayling couples at Geffen Hall New Year's Eve wearing capri pants, no socks (of course) and one must have stayed up all night sewing sequins on his Belgian Shoes. Another one had on a pink brocade dinner jacket. A frau mother and daughter combo asked him to take a pic. Maybe going to a swank private party chez David Geffen afterwards? Sondheimites? Bernadette's claque squealing when she came on stage tits first? The old farts/Phil subscribers in the audience were mystified by the whole program. I mean "Multiple Amys"?

[quote]That Katrina Lenk "Losing My Mind" was terrible. What the hell was that? It's not a song to over-emote on.

Darling, dignified nervous breakdowns don't work.

Future Boys in the Band actor Keith Prentice was in The Sound of Music as well, also John Randolph (was in You've Got Mail and Prizzi's Honor). And Patricia Brooks, later a soprano star with the New York City Opera. Very big in the 1970s for Manon, La Traviata, etc. She threw a rosary to the floor in fury at one point in the latter. Also a great Gilda.

It was Rodgers who cast them all. Hammerstein had very screwy ideas about casting, so no one ever took him seriously on the matter.

[quote]Martin seems fine in that clip, much less stagey than Channing.

Martin was fine, r314. Her timing was a little thrown off by having to wear an earpiece. The stagey-ness and even the bra-less aspect of the character wasn't her choice. It was written and directed that way.

Jon Voight was a Rolf replacement in The Sound of Music OBP.

Incidentally, why do Africa-Americans say that white people have no culture when they've often appropriated European white culture? Slaves were stripped of their African identity and afterward borrowed from the English, French, Irish, etc. to form their own identity. Nowadays, they've appropriated Alexander Hamilton et al. and Bonnie and Clyde, to name a few, and many people assume they were black. Also, they remake white roles/stories instead of coming up with new roles/stories about the black experience. So who's stealing from whom?

It's a fairly character-specific song, r366. Of course Losing My Mind is open to interpretation.

Christ, R374. Sit down.

I'm guessing Lenk's casting in COMPANY was offer only.

I thought Lenk was mesmerizing, and it took balls to sing the first song in front of Peters. And if you had problems with her interpretations, just remember that she was directed by that hack Lonny Price. She'll hacvve a stronger director for COMPANY.

I think she'd be better off taking up the Eartha Kitt songbook, r378.

Lenk seemed to have been beamed in from a different era. And I don't mean that in a good way.

[quote]"Could I Leave You" works well in context in FOLLIES, but it's a pretty terrible standalone number, IMHO. Not sure why cabaret ladies love it so. Showing off their "acting chops," I guess.

And aside from Lenk's weird interpretation, I think "Could I Leave You?" was marred by Gemignani's jerky, start-and-stop conducting. I know some of that is written into the song, but the way he conducted the song, it seemed to have no flow at all.

I don't know enough about music direction but it did seem like he work of Gemignani fils was sub-par overall. And Lenk choices were too big and too multitudinous.

r376, telling people to "sit down" and "take all the seats" is your go-to for any subject you can't debate, right?

I watched the premiere airing of the Sondheim NYE PBS concert, not a repeat, yet it said PREVIOUSLY RECORDED.

Making Katrina Lenk's interpretive choices worse was the amateurish execution she displayed and the poor musicality. How could she go from being so good in THE BAND'S VISIT to so bad here?

The concert started at 7:30 and the broadcast started at 8:00 so they were showing a recording of what took place half an hour earlier.

Lenk really does seem to be from a different time period. I wonder how that's going to mesh with this very modern take on Company. Also, she looks like a really well preserved 50-something. She's stunning and gorgeous, but she reads so much older.

[quote] [R376], telling people to "sit down" and "take all the seats" is your go-to for any subject you can't debate, right?

Simmer down R383.

Has anyone seen Is This A Room at the Vineyard?

Rush seats are only $25 and it’s a small theater so the worst seats are still good.

Wasn't Alexander Gemignani, the conductor for the Sondheim show, a Bway actor before? His father is Paul Gemignani, a music director, particularly for mnay Sondheim shows.

What made Alexander suddenly a conductor? Nepotism?

R306, Are you inferring that my late, beloved, former wife was a liar?

[quote] The concert started at 7:30 and the broadcast started at 8:00 so they were showing a recording of what took place half an hour earlier.

And they could bleep out all the curse words from the audience like "Fuck, this shit is boring!"

Thank you R331 for posting this. Love it or hate it, at least we get to judge for ourselves

She's a doll, r387....

Alexander Gemignani's Broadway credits

r390 - Yes.

R395, so the upcoming West Side Story is his first and only credit as Musical Supervisor

Years ago, Alex Gemingnani used to be such a sexy bear. Now, he's 40 but his hairloss has added a decade at least to his look

Alexander Gemignani played Laura Benanti's father? They're the same age. And she looks older than him.

I think we can all agree that Katrina Lenk would be a terrible Sally.

Is This a Room? was intense. Very well acted.

[quote] The concert started at 7:30 and the broadcast started at 8:00 so they were showing a recording of what took place half an hour earlier. And they could bleep out all the curse words from the audience like "Fuck, this shit is boring!"

Actually it was to edit out all the Sondheimites furiously masturbating every time a new song began.

The self-loathing homophobia of "Sondheimites" really is tasteless. I would encourage the use of a different perjorative.

R393, Do we know if Sondheim was there on NYE?

It's quite strange to have Bernadette host and not sing a couple of songs. It's not Lenk has any name value, unlike, say, DL fave Cynthia Erivo.

But she'd be a fabulous Carlotta, r400. Anyway, which witch?

Nah. At best she's a Solange.

Someone upstream mentioned the reason I've been doubting casting Lenk as Bobbie. Although Lenk is gifted and beautiful, she does not project as an everyman, which, I think Bobby/Bobbie should. The character should stand for all of our anxieties about relationships, but she reads as a very singular performer. I'm sure the director and producers know what they are doing, and maybe we are just going to get a different play than what we expect. I will say that I am looking forward to it in a way I have not looked forward to other productions.

[Quote] I'm sure the director and producers know what they are doing

Or they're "Tony winning star"-fuckers.

After THE INHERITANCE, Bway theatregoers shouldn't assume that raves and awards on the West End necessarily translate into the same on Bway.

This could be a bloodbath.

I’ve just seen the London production of Fairview. Was there much discussion of it here during the 2018 New York run?

Why did they recast Bobbie at all?

They hope to sell tickets. And Patti's last outing showed that she can't be relied upon for that. "Recent Tony Winner + Veteran Tony Winner" etc.

What I've loved about Lenk in her last two Broadway shows is that she seemed mesmerizing in a strange and exotic way. That is the exact opposite of what Bobbie should be. She should be the girl who always fits in. And based on the concert, she really doesn't have the voice for the part either.

If Emma Stone had more voice, she'd be right for it.

Apparently this is a different Ricky Schroeder.

Cynthia Erivo isn't an automatic DL fave.

[Quote] Cynthia Erivo isn't an automatic DL fave.

Agreed. She's put in the work to become a DL fave.

She's clearly talented, but misinformed about how that show actually was pro-racially diverse before she shot off her twitter fingers.

Good god, Mitchell's boytoy is not going to age well.

[quote]What I've loved about Lenk in her last two Broadway shows is that she seemed mesmerizing in a strange and exotic way. That is the exact opposite of what Bobbie should be. She should be the girl who always fits in.

Very true, but for that matter, Bobby is not supposed to be Bobbie. COMPANY was written as a show about a marriage-phobic MALE character living in New York City in 1970, and about how his friends -- all married, heterosexual couples -- react to his avoidance of marriage. To try to make it about how present-day straight and gay couples react to the fact that a female friend of theirs doesn't want to get married in 20019 must have changed the show so completely that I would think Lenk's miscasting in terms of looks and personality will turn out to be a relatively very minor issue.

[quote]And based on the concert, she really doesn't have the voice for the part either.

And twenty seconds before she took the stage Bernadette Peters said Sondheim enjoyed seeing his work re-imagined. Unfortunately his fans don't.

[quote]What I've loved about Lenk in her last two Broadway shows is that she seemed mesmerizing in a strange and exotic way. That is the exact opposite of what Bobbie should be. She should be the girl who always fits in.

NYC is not the same city as was portrayed in the original Company. Technology has helped people to become more isolated than ever. In a way, Lenk's strange and exotic way could work as an isolation technique in the show.

What doesn't work any longer is LuPone's character. The boozy thrice married "life of the party" woman is foreign to many viewers. But did it ever really work? Why is a 50 year old woman hanging around with a group of 30 somethings?

What exactly happened with NYMF? It was such a big deal the first few years and had a lot of successes and then it just crapped out.

[quote] Why is a 50 year old woman hanging around with a group of 30 somethings?

I wouldn't want to be hanging since Patti was 50.

[Quote] enjoyed seeing his work re-imagined. Unfortunately his fans don't.

I have to laugh at you trying to spin criticism of Lenk's instrument as "Sondheim's intolerant fans strike again." Technically "poor" voices are not uncommon in Sondheim productions ("Glynis Johns! Come on down") but those voices tended to sing parts that they could handle. No one sought out Elaine Stritch to play Carlotta in FOLLIES.

*in a production of FOLLIES

I saw Company in London. I did have some issues with Rosalie Craig's performance but after seeing Katrina Lenk in that video, I'm worried for the Broadway production. It's not that I didn't like what she was trying to go for, it was the fact that she went about it the wrong way. New interpretations should definitely be embraced but her performance was just strange. The Icelandic Bjork sounding accent (is that her real accent?), the constant hand/ arm movements and the permanent smile on her face. To me her performance didn't tell a cohesive story. She also sounded like she was struggling, vocally. Maybe she was tired and nervous? Idk.

What does everyone think of this?

Will he play the gay father?

Jake Gyllenhaal as a closeted gay man? Huh?!? It strains credibility.

Yes--Bruce Bechdel, the role Cerveris won his second Tony for. Maybe Jake hopes it will bring him an Oscar.

R422, but does Sondheim like to see his work reimagined by someone who 1) can NOT really sing and 2) seemed to have never seen Follies in her life and had absolutely no clue what Losing My Mind's setting is? All I could think of was how much Bernadette had to be drinking backstage and covering her ears during that monstrosity. And the accent was beyond weird.

I could see Lenk as a wonderful Desiree in A Little Night Music, but she's not really an everywoman. She projects an odd, exotic sophistication and that's why her "Could I Leave You?", though strange, worked better for me than her "Losing My Mind." She's a Phyllis and not a Sally.

Boyd Gaines couldn't really sing Bobby, could he?

Didn't they even lower the keys for Boyd Gaines? I'm all for getting someone's voice to fit a musical theatre role, but if you change the keys and still can't sing it, get off the stage and give it to someone who can.

Can someone post a link to Lenk’s “Losing My Mind”? I’m sort of curious to watch it now (in a train wreck sorta way).

R431, Isn't Jake playing Leonard Bernstein in a biopic, another gay father?

Will Tom Holland be playing the twink he seduces?

IIRC Jerry Herman after spending most of the preceding 15 years creating flop after flop, made some quip when winning for La Cage that maybe tradional musicals still had an audience. Everyone took it as a dig against La Cage's competition Sunday in the Park and the successes of Sondheim. Would be really curious what they had to say about each other. Did Sondhein critique Herman's work in that book where he discussed composers?

Sondheim doesn't critique living songwriters. Perhaps if he writes another volume....

[quote]Did Sondhein critique Herman's work in that book where he discussed composers?

I always took "Everybody Loves Louis" from "Sunday in the Park" to be, among other things, a dig at Jerry Herman.

"Not afraid to be gooey, Louis sells what he bakes."

Of course, Louis IS a decent guy, apparently willing to raise another man's child, whereas Georges dies of syphillis, so there's that analogy too.

It’s extremely unlikely that Louis was inspired by Jerry Herman. La Cage broke a series of Herman’s flops, and it premiered in Boston in 1983. Sunday was workshopped in the summer of 1983, with most of the first act songs that were in the final show (including Everybody Loves Louis).

Also, the real Seurat died of an unknown illness - but I have never seen anyone suggest syphilis. His son (not in the musical) died two weeks later of the same illness, so r443 is pretty much pulling that of his ass.

R437 Here's the link someone posted earlier. Her performance begins at around 53:55.

Is Gavin Creel Sara Bareilles' emotional support animal or what?

Lenk's performance has to be seen to be believed. I love how she gestures right and left when she sings, "Not going left, not going right." It's just soooooo high school. I remember a time when PBS and Lincoln Center broadcast only the best of the very best. Now any old hack gets on tv.

Obviously nobody got the point of Lenk's re-interpretation. She was parodying First Lady Melania Trump.

[quote]Why is a 50 year old woman hanging around with a group of 30 somethings?

And screaming for everyone to RISE! RISE! for Christ's sake.

R448 HAHAHA that's my favourite part too! It's so god damn corny and amateurish. It's truly shocking how someone (i.e. the director) approved this performance. Actually it's even more shocking that Lenk thought it would be appropriate and would enhance the performance. After such physical gestures, I seriously question her ability as an actress. One would think that she is making up the performance on the spot and doing these bizarre gestures because she didn't rehearse and didn't know what to do.

[quote]but does Sondheim like to see his work reimagined by someone who 1) can NOT really sing

Sure

[quote] but does Sondheim like to see his work reimagined by someone who 1) can NOT really sing

Someone who can NOT really sing is a prerequisite.

[quote]And Bernie was phoning it in.

And Bernie was *tele-prompting* it in.

Bernie seemed half-drunk. Her Queens accent was a lot thicker than it normally is.

Sondheim has taken swipes at Andrew Lloyd Webber in interviews.

I recall an interviewer asking Sondheim if it annoyed him that his musicals were not the financial successes as those of ALW's. His response was "Well, I'd like to think I write musicals that I can be proud of."

Just a thought about Lenk's very weird accent in those two FOLLIES songs in the NY Phil concert: It sounded to me like she was channeling Marilyn Monroe, of all people, with that very off-putting, very coy sexpot voice she put on for both songs, so for example the word "could" came out like "cooed," Whatever the hell she was doing, it was totally bizarre.

I thought Lenk was doing a mash-up of Bjork pitchiness and Audrey Hepburn's weird "Europa" diction. It was weird and grim.

Re: Boyd Gaines. That Roundabout COMPANY revival in the 90s was so bad, so misbegotten (what decade are we setting this in? It doesn't matter!) that his solid if unexciting performance was a strength. He's not a great singer, but he was also charming and quite likeable in their production of SHE LOVES ME (which I preferred to the more recent one, frankly).

I am completely maxed out on COMPANY, having experienced the Papi Raul version and the production NPH did for TV in more recent years. I need never sit through it again. I think the score is glorious but the show has dated poorly and the book simply doesn't work anymore.

I am much more curious about the CSC production of ASSASSINS this spring: a much weaker score but a more interesting cast and at least, a possibility for greater surprise and engagement.

[quote] And Bernie was phoning it in.

And he thinks he can be president!

The NPH semi-staged concert was made for cinema broadcast. It was subsequently shown on TV. And one strength of that production is that the book scenes absolutely worked. Solid comic actors abounded in that one.

R449 I will CUT a bitch!

As far as Alexander Gemignani’s “musical direction “ of WSS goes, let’s just say there’s an actual conductor with actual experience literally waiting in the wings.

r461 did the Doyle/Papi version have one laugh?

Top ten musicals of the past ten years. I'm sure DLers would object.

Bill in San Diego's take on the Sondheim concert ( from ATC):

The New York Philharmonic’s “Celebrating Sondheim” New Year’s Eve concert might have been a good idea on paper, but it was a bad idea in performance.

Sondheim writes theatre music, and the New York Philharmonic is a symphonic orchestra, not a Broadway pit orchestra. While the Phil’s talented musicians can play Broadway theatre music, it’s not the best choice for them from a repertory standpoint. And, Alexander Gemignani was not the right person to serve as conductor. As a Broadway conductor, his job is to keep everyone together and keep the music well timed to the other technical elements of the performance. A symphonic conductor with an appreciation for Broadway music might have found the right balances and interpretation. I would have loved to have seen Gustavo Dudamel conduct this performance, for example – it would have been a much different show.

Nor, did the Phil musicians get a lot of help from the arrangements, which were designed to highlight what oftentimes was composed to be background, and which virtually ignored the strings. Lonny Price’s direction tended to highlight individuals or sections with exposed parts, and the majority of the close-up shots focused on the woodwind and brass players. The principal oboist got a lot of screen time, mainly because the arrangers tended to give her the line that replaced the voice part.

The voice part was much missed, especially because Sondheim’s music is designed to highlight it and his masterful lyrics help keep the listener engaged. Without it, attention fades quickly. The exceptions, for me, were the orchestral waltz from “A Little Night Music,” which was written to be performed solely by the instrumentalists, and the suite from “Sunday in the Park with George,” which was set more as a symphonic piece and which featured solos from each of the string parts, starting, beautifully, with one from the principal violist. The vocalist, Katrina Lenk, didn’t appear until the end of the performance, which immediately put her at a disadvantage, as the audience suddenly realized what it had been missing for much of the evening. It did not help Ms. Lenk that the songs selected lay poorly on her voice, though she made a good effort to compensate. It also didn’t help that a premiere interpreter of Sondheim music, Bernadette Peters, was serving only as host (though, she teased the audience with a little of the Witch from “Into the Woods” before declaring, awkwardly, that there would be no such singing that evening). It did not help that there had to be a hold whenever Ms. Peters left the stage, because the microphones were clearly picking up the clomping of her heels on the boards.

As for Ms. Lenk’s interpretations, no, they were not definitive, perhaps not even well considered, Given the circumstances, I, for one, was glad that she even got through them, because of the difficult circumstances in which she found herself.

Given the ATC discussion that has ensued, I was pleased that I got to see this performance, if only to have a chance to analyze it and form my own opinions about it.

Lonny Price "directing" a concert. That doesn't sound like him. He has such range.

Lonny Price "directing" a concert. That doesn't sound like him. He has such range.

[quote]As for Ms. Lenk’s interpretations, no, they were not definitive, perhaps not even well considered, Given the circumstances, I, for one, was glad that she even got through them, because of the difficult circumstances in which she found herself.

Don't give her a pass. Yes, she may have been singing with difficult arrangements, but that doesn't excuse the weird accent or the weird body gestures. She is Tony Award Winner Katrina Lenk and she is paid according to that prestige. She must perform up to that standard.

[quote]but that doesn't excuse ... the weird body gestures.

They weren't weird gestures, it was the worst indicating I have seen in a performance. It was as if she was performing for the deaf. Every lyric had to be made visual.

[quote]Top ten musicals of the past ten years. I'm sure DLers would object.

How the Hell was "Hamilton" the cure for cancer not number 1? My friend works at Paper Mill so I'm glad Bandstand was included at number 1 no less.

Oh they went alphabetical, never mind...

There's a thread here about his new Beverly Hills mansion. Well that paycheck ain't coming.

[quote]I thought Lenk was doing a mash-up of Bjork pitchiness and Audrey Hepburn's weird "Europa" diction. It was weird and grim.

I'm not familiar with Bjork, but yes, I did hear some Audrey Hepburn in there, as well as maybe some Marilyn Monroe, as I noted.

[quote]She may have been singing with difficult arrangements,

Not sure what you mean, those were the standard arrangements/orchestrations.

[quote]The NPH semi-staged concert was made for cinema broadcast. It was subsequently shown on TV. And one strength of that production is that the book scenes absolutely worked. Solid comic actors abounded in that one.

When I saw that performance of COMPANY, it seemed to me that they actually paid more attention to the book scenes than the score -- which was REALLY weird, considering how it was a New York Philharmonic presentation. Neil Patrick Harris's singing is okay but he probably has the thinnest voice of anybody who has ever played play Bobby, plus the ensemble numbers seemed under-rehearsed, and Stephen Colbert barely got through what little he had to sing

So, I finally watched Katrina Lenk’s interpretation of “Losing My Mind” and, wow. Just, wow. It really was that bad. Whoever said that it was an uncomfortable mix between Bjork and Melania Trump was dead-on. The phrasing made no sense and it seemed like she had no idea what the song was saying about the character. Has she ever even seen or heard of Follies?

I was really interested in seeing this new version of Company but there is no way in hell I would subject myself to that woman on stage. Never.

Bloodbath! I can see the reviews now:

LENK FALLS IN BAD COMPANY!

[quote]The Board of Directors of the New York Musical Festival (NYMF) announced today that after 15 years of presenting vibrant, new musical theater, NYMF will cease operation immediately. The first Festival, staged in 2004, featured over 30 new fully staged full-length musicals and was met with critical and popular acclaim. More than 400 shows have premiered at the Festival since then, featuring more than 8,000 artists and entertaining more than 300,000 audience members....It is with a heavy heart that we face the reality of the arts funding crisis in the United States. It has caught up with NYMF. The Board and donors have been valiantly subsidizing NYMF operations for 15 years, but looking ahead, we do not see a clear path forward.

For those of us who actually attend, support, and help develop new musicals this is really terrible news. It's usually a mixed bag, of course, but I've seen great things at NYMF over the years.

[quote]It's usually a mixed bag, of course, but I've seen great things at NYMF over the years.

But, any great things lately? I stopped attending years ago because it seemed they had gotten to the point where there was no more quality control whatsoever, and NYMF was only "presenting" shows that were fully funded already.

[quote]It is with a heavy heart that we face the reality of the arts funding crisis in the United States. It has caught up with NYMF. The Board and donors have been valiantly subsidizing NYMF operations for 15 years, but looking ahead, we do not see a clear path forward.

NYMF has poor development director. If they can't get funding from major musical stars, then why bother? Can't they hit Sondheim or Andrew Lloyd Webber or Barbra Streisand up for a million? Think about all these high profile people who will give money to politicians but not to arts groups?

One thing the Central Park Conservancy should have taught everyone. You can't depend on the government to provide nice things. You need to find stable sources of private funding. And there are plenty in the music business who could and should help.

[quote]If they can't get funding from major musical stars, then why bother? Can't they hit Sondheim or Andrew Lloyd Webber or Barbra Streisand up for a million?

That's a very good question. I wonder if NYMF did try to get money from people like that? Any of those you name, and many more, could have written a check that would be the equivalent of chump change for them but would have fully funded NYMF for years and would have allowed them to be more selective and choose the best shows for presentation, not just the ones that could pay for themselves.

The New York of 2020 has nothing to do with the New York of 1970. Much like a 1920 musical set in New York being updated and produced in 1970.

Most of the married characters in Company are in their 30s to early 40s.

Elaine Stritch was 45 and would have had no problem related to everyone else except possibly to the young girlfriends.

Everything Sondheim wrote after Merrily is second rate. He never recovered from that disaster despite it being one of his best scores. And he may be proud of his musicals but when you are writing in a popular form but they have little popular acceptance what really is there to be proud of?

Miss Juliet!

[quote] I wonder if NYMF did try to get money from people like that? Any of those you name, and many more, could have written a check that would be the equivalent of chump change for them but would have fully funded NYMF for years and would have allowed them to be more selective and choose the best shows for presentation, not just the ones that could pay for themselves.

Especially if they put the money in a trust and it was properly managed. Part of their operating money could be just the interest off the original investment. Of course, like Central Park Conservancy, they would have to have other fundraisers. A couple of high profile cocktail parties with a Kristin Chenoweth or Idina Menzel entertaining. Central Park Conservancy sells a yearly calendar. There are many ideas to raise money for a worthy cause. Did they even try to crowd fund like the old biddy who runs that English tea room in Greenwich Village?

They way people are criticizing her, you'd think Lenk killed a small child onstage. I never need to hear those songs ever again, but I was intrigued and enjoyed hearing them performed differently. Not all of her choices worked within the context of the song, but they worked to the extent that they kept me interested and engaged. We don't always have to look at amber; not all interpretations need to be fossilized and the same as everything that came before.

For me, it was about her solidifying my fears that she's wrong for the part in Company, and really will not sing it well. She was brilliant in her last two shows.

I did keep thinking while watching Lenk that this is probably what Audrey Hepburn would have sounded like if she had a better singing voice.

It was an incredibly weird performance. She kept trying to be a vamp the entire time like Carlotta suddenly got both Sally and Phyllis' big songs. It didn't work for either of them (though, her "Leave You" was better than her "Losing My Mind.") It felt like an uncomfortable rehearsal and I hope this isn't what she'll be doing with Bobbie in Company. She seems inherently miscast in the role.

NYMF's audition notices mainly had roles for characters in their 20s. Even if you were in your 30s, it was just a one-off for a slightly older person in most of those shows. It's strange that younger composers/book writers can only write about mainly their own generation; usually at least fathers and mothers (especially) are considered easy to write. I mean, Alan Jay Lerner wasn't around during the Gold Rush, but he wrote roles for a father and his daughter in "Paint Your Wagon", among other things. Perhaps older audience members are tired of not seeing too many of their experiences represented on stage as well when it's mainly twinks up there.

I thought Lenk would have a better voice based on her performance in "The Band's Visit", but maybe she thinks singing with an accent will be "her thing" and that it might cover up that she's not that secure vocally as she would like to be. Maybe the producers of "Company" will freak and cast Bernadette as Bobbi?

Hello to Lenk’s PR team at R484.

This was not a great way to drum up sales for the West End transfer of Company, that’s for sure. Is Bobbie being portrayed as a Romanian refugee in this new version?

[quote]Maybe the producers of "Company" will freak and cast Bernadette as Bobbi?

I think they would try to get Sutton Foster, Laura Benanti or Jessie Mueller first.

I would much prefer Laura Benanti as Bobbie.

My friend and I were all set to get tickets but that has changed now.

Sutton’s already booked with Music Man. Benanti or Mueller would be obvious, I wonder if they tried?

Better choice would have been bringing Rosalie Craig over, even if it’s just for four or five months. They should have begged AEA.

[quote]They way people are criticizing her, you'd think Lenk killed a small child onstage.

Exactly, people are usually blinded by the diva singing it, all Lenk did was point out the fact the song sucks. A true dirge.

Ah yes, blame the song for that performance. That always works well 🙄

[quote]Better choice would have been bringing Rosalie Craig over, even if it’s just for four or five months. They should have begged AEA.

Yes, they could have made the exchange. Did any British actress ever get a US job based on Amber Riley doing Dreamgirls in the West End?

I heard Katrina Lenk sing Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah at a Broadway Dreams benefit two years ago. She blew the house down.

She has a huge voice or at least did

You queens are on crack. I just watched Lenk's performance, expecting to see a full on game of charades the way you bitches went on and on. She was fine. It's not the best performance I've ever heard of the song, but it was nowhere the disaster that was portrayed here. She sounded more nervous than foreign. Her voice was shaky, but it definitely felt like it was from nerves.

[Quote] We don't always have to look at amber; not all interpretations need to be fossilized and the same as everything that came before.

Why does point keep being repeated as if there aren't numerous interpreters and interpretations of Sondheim? Bernadette Peters is not Julia McKenzie is not Cleo Laine, for instance. All three have been widely appreciated as Sondheim interpreters. Remember Cleo taking "I'm Still Here" up the octave at the end? Absolutely no one has suggested that X must be performed as on the OBC. It's a tired response to criticism.

*Why does this point

That clip of Juliet Prowse makes me wish I could have seen her play Lalume in Kismet. Not that she ever did it, but clearly she was perfect for the part.

Juliet Prowse was kind of a bore as Phyllis.

[quote]Ah yes, blame the song for that performance. That always works well

Well it does suck.

[quote]you'd think Lenk killed a small child onstage

Two songs. It was a double homicide.

It was a like the Lindbergh kidnapping times two.

In “Fun Home” doesn’t the dad supply young boys with alcohol and seduce them, or am I crazy? Do you think they’ll keep that aspect in the movie considering the political climate we live in?

[quote]Juliet Prowse was kind of a bore as Phyllis

Not in Long Beach, she wasn't. The bores there were Dorothy Lamour and Yma Sumac. Prowse was fine as Phyllis. Shani Wallis was kind of weird as Sally, but not hideous. Oh, Ed Evanko was kind of a bore as Ben. The standouts were Karen Morrow as Carlotta and Susan Johnson as Stella.

I didn't think Lenk's "Losing My Mind" was too bad at all. I mean, I didn't understand her acting choices, but it was okay. "Could I Leave You?" wasn't so good, though. She sounded really pitchy. Plus, why the hell did they pick that song? I mean, if it was about the glories of Sondheim's music, why pick a patter song that doesn't have one of his best melodies?

[Quote] I didn't understand her acting choices, but it was okay.

...

Long Beach Follies sounds kinda like a train wreck. When Carlotta and Stella steal the show...

How did Shani Wallis sing "Too Many Mornings?" Down the octave? She doesn't strike me as much of a soprano.

[quote]In “Fun Home” doesn’t the dad supply young boys with alcohol and seduce them, or am I crazy? Do you think they’ll keep that aspect in the movie considering the political climate we live in?

The father in the film version of FUN HOME (to be played by Jake Gyllenhaal) won't be gay at all, just a bit shy and misunderstood. Never met the right gal, unfortunately.

We're targeting a family audience.

Shani sang with a rather metallic edge to her voice, a bit like Betty Lynn.

The powerful song stylings of Katrina Lenk as she sings the Deplorables favorite song at 2:24.

NYMF's financial model was to heavily charge the participating productions.

As years went by, it got you less and less attention for being part of NYMF, there seemed to be less and less reason to shell out the money. So NYMF lost the best work out there and instead presented lesser work by people with money to lose....and because the quality was down you got even less attention and had even less reason to pony up.

Yay Jake!

L&J is the patter song r507, not Could I Leave You.

[quote]Long Beach Follies sounds kinda like a train wreck

Oh, not at all. It was beautifully directed, very much in the style of the original, by Fran Soeder. It was the original book, not one of the rewrites (so Juliet talked about her wringing wet panties). Shani sang the song in the original keys, or sounded like it. Her voice was still in good shape at that point (she must have been in her early 50s), and she seemed to have the notes. Harvey Evans was good as Buddy. Morrow blew the roof off with "I'm Still Here," and Susan Johnson was great. Her voice was terrific, although it seemed much lower than it had been. She was a "caftan queen" by that point.

Denise Darcel was cute in Ah Paris. I think Jackie Joseph was the "Rain on the Roof" lady.

Well, Could I Leave You has a patter section in the middle. And frankly, Lucy & Jessie has more to offer musically. So I wonder why they chose that for a show that was centered on Sondheim's music, not his lyrics. Even lyrically, there are better songs.

The idea of Jackie Joseph, the first Audrey, acting in a musical in the early 90s is making my head explode.

Shani....losing her mind.

[quote]why pick a patter song that doesn't have one of his best melodies?

Oh Jesus, DUCK!

Oh lord. Shani looked left. And then right.

Pitter...patter....

Someone posted an article here about a year or so ago. Poor Shani and her husband were in their 80s and living in a tiny apartment in Los Angeles, having a terrible time making ends meet. I couldn't find it, but I found a later article (from 2017), and her husband is dead now. But she seems a bit more upbeat, and there's no mention of money woes. Maybe she got a good insurance payout on her hubby.

Whatever happened to Fran Soeder? He did some really good shows in Cleveland, of all places. His production of Pacific Overtures made it off-Broadway and then...?

Wow: Elizabeth Taylor as Nancy would have been strange. She could have taken on Oliver Reed punch for punch, and, presumably, Marni Nixon's services would have been required.

Shani looks great for 84.

Whoever posted this to Instagram deserves a slap.

She was offered Carol Brady?

Sure, Shani.

"Shan" was right there, Marcia.

Losing My Mind is one of the greatest musical theater songs ever.

If they get rid of Katrina Lenk they could just bump up Nicki Renee Daniels from the part she is already cast in. She'd be great.

Actually, a Bobbi who's black would add a nice layer to the part.

Someone once told me it cost $200K to do a show at NYMF.

That seems astronomical, especially since it's been years since they had a hit.

I love Losing My Mind but it hardly made it into the great American songbook. It was never covered by people like Sinatra, Ella or Streisand. Purely by NY cabaret Broadway types. Well and Steve Lawrence on Carol Burnett. It is no Send in the Clowns though I concede it is miles better. But nobody can sing it but Dorothy Collins. And she's dead.

No not a Sondheimite.

Like someone said, I was expecting Hitler singing Losing my mind and Could I leave you but I have heard much worse version but I do agree with the WTF reaction to the overacting

Was that just one long sentence, R534? What even *was* that mess? Please learn how to write in proper English.

Streisand covered "Losing My Mind" on her last album, no?

Did she? I stand corrected. But boy it took her a long time.

Why would people as rich as Ben and Phyllis have a SPINET piano in addition to a grand which she wants in the divorce settlement?

Tony Bennett recorded "Losing My Mind" for his 1972 album, SUMMER OF '42.

[quote]Why would people as rich as Ben and Phyllis have a SPINET piano in addition to a grand which she wants in the divorce settlement?

They got it for a song from Mame Dennis.

[quote]But nobody can sing it but Dorothy Collins. And she's dead.

Which is a good thing, since Lenk's rendition of her signature song would've killed her.

"Top ten musicals of the past ten years"

There are none. Musical theatre has become the black hole of entertainment.

"Someone once told me it cost $200K to do a show at NYMF."

That is true, and I know writers who have lost their shirts. The writers' job is to WRITE. You want to champion and foster the American musical? Be a producer and PRODUCE. Anything else is a disgrace.

Was it always the case at NYMF?

Did the TOS crew or Next to Normal put up that much money in the beginning?

Seems crazy to put up $200K for TOS at NYMF when their Broadway run probably cost only a little more.

Losing My Mind is a torch song. Not many people can do justice to a torch song these days. All those belty singers can't find the nuance in the song.

R533, there was Liza Minnelli and the Pet Shop Boys.

[quote]Losing My Mind is one of the greatest musical theater songs ever.

Naaaah.

[quote]Someone posted an article here about a year or so ago. Poor Shani and her husband were in their 80s and living in a tiny apartment in Los Angeles, having a terrible time making ends meet. I couldn't find it, but I found a later article (from 2017), and her husband is dead now. But she seems a bit more upbeat, and there's no mention of money woes. Maybe she got a good insurance payout on her hubby.

Met her and Mark Lester at the CHILLER show a couple of years ago and have the "Oliver" DVD signed. She was lovely.

I remembering watching Shani Wallis’s heaving bazooms in OLIVER.

Will Victor Garber ever do another musical?

[quote]Will Victor Garber ever do another musical?

He was doing "Hello, Dolly!" opposite Bernadette in 2018. It hasn't been all that long.

Will Saroyan ever write a great play?

R539, So did Al Martino, just before FOLLLIES opened on Broadway. I bought the 45.

Try to ignore Bernadette's jealous boobies who wanted to heave when she sang this song.

Too bad he didn't wear his Rocky Horror drag.

The ONLY person who should sing this song!

[quote]It was an incredibly weird performance. She kept trying to be a vamp the entire time like Carlotta suddenly got both Sally and Phyllis' big songs.

That's the thing. Even if a coy and coquettishly sexy interpretation of "Losing My Mind" can be justified (and I don't think it can), the fact that Lenk also decided to play "Could I Leave You?" the same way just made her look like a very limited, bad actress, which she definitely is not.

[quote]It felt like an uncomfortable rehearsal and I hope this isn't what she'll be doing with Bobbie in Company. She seems inherently miscast in the role.

Right. I'm not exactly sure what type of character a female Bobby -- or Bobbie -- is supposed to be, but whatever it is, I agree with you that Lenk does not seem to fit the part.

[quote]Well, Could I Leave You has a patter section in the middle. And frankly, Lucy & Jessie has more to offer musically. So I wonder why they chose that for a show that was centered on Sondheim's music, not his lyrics. Even lyrically, there are better songs.

Agreed completely. Seeing how the concert suffered from one weird decision after another, I'm guessing the people to blame are Lonny Price and Alex Gemignani.

I mean, this new production of Company is ridiculous from the get go with a 70 year old actress playing a character who is supposed to be 45. Joanne is supposed to be a TAD older than the other couples who are all mostly 30somethings; she's not supposed to be old enough to be their mother.

And, frankly this re-interpretation is just stupid. The show was conceived and written to be a very specific thing; a 35 year old single man coming to terms with being single and his fear of commitment circa 1970. A 35 year old woman coming to terms with that is a completely different thing.

but it's WOKE, don't you know?

Does the new COMPANY explore female Bobbie's bisexuality? Is there lesbian representation?

Making the character a woman weakens the piece.

Making the character a woman comes off as a desperate attempt to be called "fresh" but fails because it brings nothing new to the show and actually dismantles the writing. Bobby, when you break down his character to the essence, is a man. I know that we're living in an age where blurring the gender lines is the new thing for rich white people to use as a way to brag about how hip they are, but a man approaches love and sex and relationships in a very very different way than women do. Age also matters here. A man who is self-destructively immature is very different from a woman who is self-destructively immature. A man in his thirties can experiment with love and life and relationships whereas a woman in her thirties has to worry about the strings that come attached to that. A male Bobby can be childishly fickle about love in a way that a female Bobby can't.

Whatever, people have been shitting on Sondheim's work for decades, it's nothing new. Just ask the star of the film adaption of Into The Woods, James Corden.

It's fine if people want to shit on my work.

Blind Item about LIFE GOES ON. Nice to know that Patti has another career in obedience school training if Lenk tanks and COMPANY flops.

"Actually, a Bobbi who's black would add a nice layer to the part."

Why not? They've fucked it up enough.

Why must the character always be black to be diverse?

Because racism against African-Americans is the great unresolved sin woven into the fabric of American history.

But, R566, there is the NBA to resolve that.

My (mostly white) college did "Company" with a black male Bobby in the '70s.

There weirdest rendition of "Losing My Mind" is probably Brian Stokes Mitchell's.

There=The

It's crummy to attack someone because of advanced age. Everyone who lives long enough will become a mess.

And to do it to Sondheim, who has given great pleasure to so many, and who forced intellectuals to update positively their view of musicals, is especially galling.

Judas priest, have a heart, will you?

r561: Sondheim allows it. Has he ever stopped a production a la Albee because of how it was interpreted?

Sondheim has a young husband. There's no excuse to wear soiled clothing.

[quote]she's not supposed to be old enough to be their mother.

But is she tall enough?

[quote]And, frankly this re-interpretation is just stupid. The show was conceived and written to be a very specific thing; a 35 year old single man coming to terms with being single and his fear of commitment circa 1970. A 35 year old woman coming to terms with that is a completely different thing.

Thank you. I've expressed that same opinion elsewhere, in almost exactly the same words. Are you me? :-) Anyway, I thought the COMPANY reinterpretation sounded like a big mistake from the get-go in London, but then it went over well there for the most part, well enough to transfer to Broadway. And the few people I know who've seen it said things like "you wouldn't think it would work, but it does." So we'll have to say if Broadway critics and audiences feel the same, or -- not.

[quote] I know that we're living in an age where blurring the gender lines is the new thing for rich white people to use as a way to brag about how hip they are, but a man approaches love and sex and relationships in a very very different way than women do.

Of course, but also, COMPANY was originally written to take place in 1970, when I would say most people viewed the gender gap as far wider than many people do today. And yes, I've heard that the action of the the new COMPANY has been sloppily updated to the present, but still, all those lines and songs were written about the situation of a 35-year-old male bachelor in 1970, not an unmarried woman in 2020.

[quote][R561]: Sondheim allows it. Has he ever stopped a production a la Albee because of how it was interpreted?

I believe there was a production of COMPANY with a gay male Bobby some years ago, directed by Billy Porter? If I recall correctly, Sondheim didn't stop it, but he didn't allow it to go further. I can't remember where it was done, and I can't immediately find anything about it online.

R564, that beloved Donmar production had Adrian Lester as Bobby. And they left in the line where he gets asked if he had any black friends.

I think making Bobby female is an attempt to give some personal attribute to a character written as a cypher. But a black Bobby does it better.

Although having a hispanic Bobby in the last Bway production added nothing.

The fact that 374 threads have gone by and perhaps none of them hasn't included multiple discussion of Follies is truly worthy of a gay sociology study. And as I have before, I challenge you all to keep it out of of #375 just to see if it's possible.

I understand that La Lenk's performance seemingly made it irresistible, but we can be strong.

Whew, now that that's out of the way: there was a simplicity that Dotty Collins and Babs Cook brought to 'Losing My Mind' that no one else seems to realize is the key to the song. The less you do, the stronger it is. Any decent director or music director should be able to keep an actor's indulgences at bay, for everyone's benefit.

I was dubious about the gender swap in Company, but it worked beautifully. Withhold judgement until you see it. Otherwise, you're just like a right wing Christian bigot who pickets a movie before he's even seen it because he's heard it's blasphemous. There is no need to rush to judgment. Find out the facts before criticizing.

[quote]I think making Bobby female is an attempt to give some personal attribute to a character written as a cypher. But a black Bobby does it better.

If the character was intentionally written as a cypher, and I think it was, isn't it a mistake to give him (or her) any kind of specific personal attributes? I think the only attributes Bobby needs to possess is that he's exceptionally charming and good looking.

[quote]I was dubious about the gender swap in Company, but it worked beautifully. Withhold judgement until you see it. Otherwise, you're just like a right wing Christian bigot who pickets a movie before he's even seen it because he's heard it's blasphemous. There is no need to rush to judgment. Find out the facts before criticizing.

578, absolutely, but if you know a show well, I think it's only natural to be concerned and to discuss what sounds like bad casting, an weird production concept, or anything else you've read or heard about the show that seems like a bad idea. (Another example is cutting songs from WEST SIDE STORY.) I don't see anything wrong with that as long as, if you end up liking the show when you see it, you gladly admit that you were wrong.

"If the character was intentionally written as a cypher, and I think it was, isn't it a mistake to give him (or her) any kind of specific personal attributes?"

No. Even if it was intended to make Bobby a nonentity, it has been a problem with the script from the original produciton on. It is a bad choice, and any modern producer can either try to do something to make the script work that is again the original intent or just leave it on the shelf.

And it is always better to produce something than leave it on the shelf.

(Does anyone want another non-satisfying production of a musical that has had so many unsatisfying revivals? Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.)

[quote]No. Even if it was intended to make Bobby a nonentity, it has been a problem with the script from the original production on. It is a bad choice.

I'm aware that some people feel that way, but I hope you're aware that not ALL people feel that way. Some of us think it's fine for Bobby to be a cipher because he was purposely written as a sort of an Everyman. And the reason the show works as written is because, in a very real way, it's not about Bobby -- it's about his married friends and his girlfriends, and how they react to him. He functions as a sort of a sounding board for all those characters, and also as a sort of stand-in for anyone who is afraid of marriage or deep emotional commitment to another person.

There have indeed been some unsatisfying, high-profile productions of COMPANY as written, but also a few very good ones.

[Quote] Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

I thought the same about FOLLIES revivals until I saw the NT production. I never expected a bunch of Brits would make it work.

[quote]that beloved Donmar production had Adrian Lester as Bobby. And they left in the line where he gets asked if he had any black friends.

I saw that production and didn't remember that line being in there. And it was stupid if it was because one of the husbands was played by a black man (which was interesting because he had a white wife and it showed that Bobby had a diversity of friends, not just a bunch of white people).

But that production lived in a time warp. The show started out with Bobby listening to his answering machine and different messages from the other people. If they were leaving the time in the early 1970s, would Bobby have had an answering machine? Certainly not the one they showed on stage which was a combination phone/answering machine and rather compact.

[quote]I never expected a bunch of Brits would make it work.

Follies is not hard to do if you cast it appropriately. The weakest link in the Brit production was Imedla Stauton who really isn't a Sally. Imelda just wasn't able to act Sally's fragility, which is needed to understand why she wants to go live with Ben.

And as others have pointed out, the Brit production had a lackluster Loveland transition and some of the costumes were not well thought out. I have a suspicion those decisions were more about not having enough money rather than lacking artistic vision, because the permanent set was very well done and the ghost costumes were very nice.

[quote]But that production lived in a time warp. The show started out with Bobby listening to his answering machine and different messages from the other people. If they were leaving the time in the early 1970s, would Bobby have had an answering machine? Certainly not the one they showed on stage which was a combination phone/answering machine and rather compact.

John Doyle's Broadway production of COMPANY also fudged the period, and though I understand why some directors do that, I really think it's best just to keep the show obviously set around 1970.

I'm the one who made the comment about his shirt. My point which I obviously wasn't at all clear about was that the greatest most talented of us with extreme age no matter what we've accomplished or how attractive we might have been end up physically in the same place. Which is both funny and horribly heartbreaking. And I consider Sondheim one of the greatest talents of my youth and to me he was also a dish. I also read that the always meticulously groomed Gore Vidal could be seen with food on his shirt at the end. God I hope I'm dead before it starts happening to me.

The 2017 Barrington/Berkshires production of Company with Aaron Tveit was excellent. Sondheim attended a performance and liked it.

Having a 35-year old woman as Bobbi in "Company" leaves out something major not in the writing: should she get married and have a baby before her clock runs out. That's very much in a lot of women's minds by then. I guess it can be played in subtext, but women would be talking to their friends, as Bobby(i) talks to all his married friends, about wanting to have a baby while she can.

[quote]I also read that the always meticulously groomed Gore Vidal could be seen with food on his shirt at the end. God I hope I'm dead before it starts happening to me.

I started finding food stains on my shirt before I turned 30. It just seems to be a little something I do. But I do change my shirt as soon as I notice it.

I didn't take the food on the shirt as an attack on old people. Sondheim's been a bit of a slob forever...

[quote]Having a 35-year old woman as Bobbi in "Company" leaves out something major not in the writing: should she get married and have a baby before her clock runs out.

Which is a very excellent point and why I am against a female Bobby. The male Bobby's motive throughout the show is loneliness. He has all these friends, he can have a lot of sex, but there's still an intimacy that's missing. There are many women who have tried to fill that intimacy issue by having babies. It's a completely different dynamic between men and women and would need to be addressed with a female Bobby.

The baby issue comes up with one of the couples (is it the marijuana scene?). This was pointed out better in the mid-90s Adrian Lester Company because they had children's toys on the stage which the wife had to move. It showed how children change a couple's lifestyle.

FIRST MIDNIGHT!

Another freaking thread is running out....

A female Bobby makes a ton of sense to me. All those couples pressuring the character to get married is far more relevant and plausible if the character is a woman. This can be done so easily because the character is so lacking in definition. Sweeney or George wouldn’t be done without far more effort.

[quote]Another freaking thread is running out....

Oh, wow! I was not paywalled this time. Maybe Muriel has come to her senses?

Should I start another thread? It's such a thankless task....

Any chance we'll go past 600?

I dim the lights

I think of 374

Spend sleepless nights

to post on 374

new thread, bitches....

Stick a fork in P4P, cause....

We're done...

Sort of a SPOILER? Bobbie's biological clock ticking is a subtext of the gender-swap Company, and it is made somewhat more specific in the way that Tick Tock was staged. It made the issue of should she or shouldn't she get married more meaningful and with some emotional weight in a way that having a male Bobby simply did not. Who really cares if a 30's good looking white male can't decide if he wants to get married? There is nothing at stake, whereas with a woman, there is. I hope all those who are criticizing the gender swap of Company who have a chance to see it do see it. If it is half as good as the London version, it is very good, indeed. (I did not like Patti in it, though, partly because I had already seen the NPH version with her so there was no surprise, and also because I really wish Joanne would be cast as someone who is more UES and less fishwife. )