Glenn, Send in the Clowns

The best Desiree right here, honey!

What a thrilling baritone voice she has!

Here's the link to Carol Burnet's version:

The only contenders are the original, Glynis Johns, and Judi Dench. They are far and away better than any others.

Dench in the scene.

When I first saw this years ago I didn't know it was from the Muppets show. Wtf are those clowns doing?

Patti ALWAYS does TOO MUCH……

Glynis.

Listening to dear Judi is like hearing an Amazonian tree frog on a hot night attempting to convince the jungle it is female.

Oh, 1993.

That's rather sad, isn't it?

But does Glenn have an Oscar or had a rapist father-in-law?

Johns.

Mrs. Brady also had a go with this iconic song.

DL fave Ruthie Henshall goes for the sentimental take. Apparently Sondheim abhorred a weepy quality for this number. He favored an angry take.

Glynis went out there and she gave 'em angry.

[quote] The only contenders are the original, Glynis Johns, and Judi Dench.

I'm afraid both of those are tied for second place.

Frank live.

I prefer this presentation to G's, although there are certain visual and vocal similarities.

Let's just say, since I'm being kind, that G does still manage to come in second when the two of them are compared. That's something for the old scrap book for her, isn't it?

It's such a tough song for people to get right. I've seen it done right more often by actors who sing rather than singers who act. The biggest mistake is over singing it.

There was a lot of problems with the last Broadway revival, but this song was not one of them. Catherine Zeta Jones gave a very clear interpretation, and she simply radiated in the role. Peters was world weary and turned Send in the Clowns into Desiree’s graceful acceptance of defeat. The production was hurt by the set, costumes, and a humor-free take on Charlotte - but I thought Fredrik and both Desirees were about as good as it gets.

no love for Liz?

No Krusty?

None whatsoever, r20.

[quote] I honestly did not know she could sing this well.

Unobservant Op

Bitches, Sondheim rewrote his lyrics for moi.

R21, look at R17 on this thread:

Would kill to see Maya Rudolph do Patti LaBelle performing SITC.

Don't bother , they're here

Lani

Here's the master himself teaching the song.

R20 answer the question, "Why did MGM not try and make her into the new Judy Garland?"

Sorry, it was supposed to be: R20 answers the question, "Why did MGM not try and make her into the new Judy Garland?"

R24's post should've ended this thread already.

Sarah Vaughn

Peggy Lee. She doesn't jazz it as much as one might expect.

I like Carmen McRae's latterday take.

At parties they'd love it when I changed the words to Send in the Cocks, and one time I do it at the Oscars and - well, you know.

I like Grace Jones's campy disco cover.

Dame Dench. No peer.

Send in the Clowns would have been a good one for Shatner

Glenn Closh shinging “Shend in the Clownsh” ish shingularly schintillating!

....

[quote]Wtf are those clowns doing?

A big, red, floppy penis nose covers a multitude of sins.

Good god, nobody can top Judy.

Glenn has a nice voice, it's warm , but not much sweetness to it.

the song had sunch an unusual life on the singles charts...... few songs of that era created such a slow build/buzz. The Broadway show closed in Aug '74.

In 1975, Judy Collins recorded "Send In the Clowns" and included it in her album, Judith. The song was released as a single, which soon became a major pop hit. It remained on the Billboard Hot 100 for 11 weeks in 1975, reaching Number 36. Then, in 1977, the song again reached the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for 16 weeks and reached Number 19. At the Grammy Awards of 1976, the Judy Collins performance of the song was named "Song of the Year".

does any DLer know why the song regained chart play in 1977? just DJs knew their listeners were responding?

What was the highest chart position for "What I Did For Love"?

For acting it as well as singing it, we should spare a few minutes for Sally Ann Howes.

THERE OUGHT.

TO BE.

CLOWNS.

What the fuck is this song about?

R48 I've never seen the show, but isn't it about a marriage?

It's about a middle aged woman realizing that she can't have the man she thought she could get. "What a fool, I've been" etc.

In the Glynis Johns video, one of the commenters asserts that Prince and Sondheim told Johns not to move - reflective of the lyric "one who can't move," but I've always thought that Desiree was the one who's "tearing around" as a travelling player and that the man is the one who can't move (he's stuck in a marriage).

Mrs. Michael Douglas proffers a delivery that seems to misunderstand the moment. But she's so young, she wouldn't have the life experience.

CZJ actually did the song pretty well in the show. What the hell she was doing on the Tony Awards, I have no idea.

She was probably coked out of her mind.

When was that, R53? Was she trying to show she could belt?

I think some people who are used to belty numbers try to make "Send In the Clowns" one, which is a stupid choice.

Glenned in the Clowns is shit, though.

It's better than her "Losing My Mind."

Linda Lavin with Ron Liebman. from 38.00.

Linda In Wonderland? What an unispired title. I guess she vetoed "Alice..."

did Ron Leibman sing much ? summer stock, TV? whatever..?

CZj gave a bizarre performance on the Tonys that in no way resembled what she did on stage, which won her a Best Actress in a Musical award. Some thought it was because she tried to play to the multiple cameras, making her seem psychotic. At any rate, she had an exquisite ability to show Desirees’s pedigree as well as her crassness. It was a great performance.

I never cared much for Glenn as a performer.

She always seemed like an escaped mental patient on screen which is why her rabbit stew & 101 dalmatians roles worked for her.

I never liked this song either but Glenn's version is the best that I've ever heard. Thanks for posting it OP.

Judi & Barbra's takes are too self absorbed in their own voices to work for me.

Leave it to Babs to overwork a song to death. The song is perfect just as Glenn performed it.

If the "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing" tune is meant for everyone then this song is on the opposite side of the musical spectrum.

Many have tried to perform it well (over 900 singers have done it) but very few can make ALL of the lyrics work with the right emotions. Franks' version shows that it really wasn't meant for a guy's perspective (like the original play with Glynis).

R43's version is that of a teeny bopper/college girl take on the song. Someone who has no clue about being alone for the rest of her life. Why would you want any sweetness in a song with such lyrics? Too afraid of the stone cold truth that the lyrics represent perhaps?

Judy has a beautiful voice but some of those notes are just too piercing for listeners. I was cringing a couple of times there.

Glenn's version above comes across as a mid life crisis version of a 50 something female who is going to miss out on the rest of her life. I can find no flaw in anything she did there including the facial expressions. Well done Ms. Close (I didn't know she could sing either OP).

I agree she did a respectable job here but I hadn't realized until I heard it, this is her actual singing voice... kind of a raspy imitation of an accordian. I always thought that was a construct within the many, many affects of her indelible performance as Norma Desmond.

I prefer this version

I love Judi Dench but how can anybody call that singing worthy of song that is sold on the basis of price for admission? That's always the puzzle to me. I get that it's fun to see famous people but don't you also want to hear songs sung in proper voice?

Maggie Smith is EVITA!

Booking from October, 2022

Zeta-Jones' little known sister.

This is too rich.

[quote]Does any DLer know why the song regained chart play in 1977? just DJs knew their listeners were responding?

I think she re-recorded a slightly different version in 1977. Compare this version ...

... with this one.

R62 she sang like she was MAD at the song.

Send in the clowns,

Those daffy laffy clowns,

Send in those soulful and doleful,

Shmaltz-by-the-bowlful clowns.

Send in... the clowns. [sobs]

Glenn sings with a basso profundo and cuts off some her longer notes but the red dress is fab.

Do you think Glenn's red dress was a homage to Liz's red dress in the movie? Liz is actually not bad singing the song. She always had aspirations to be a singer and I think she makes it work in the context of the film. Its not a hard song to sing and, as someone above mentioned, designed for a non-singer.

The role of Desiree isn't really meant for a great singer, so someone like Dench is well cast in the role and she was great.

There was a BBC concert version that had Diana Rigg attached, but she dropped out and Betty Buckley filled in and, of course, oversang everything and had no sense of humor. Rigg would have been terrific in the role.

Terrible. Honestly.

Some of these are really overdone, oversung and overperformed.

I think Judy Collins version is the best, because she has a thin, higher pitched voice to start with ... she sings on key, holds the note, and has little vibrato ... as Sondheim intended for the song. Johns performed the song the best, and Dench probably does the next best job.

I would rather have seen Rigg's Avengers predecessor, Honor Blackman, who headlined A Little Night Music in the 1970s with Evelyn Laye as Mme Armfeldt. Rigg wasn't really a romantic lead.

My favorite: Glynis Johns live with Len Cariou.

have we had Julie andrews yet?

Glynis, live in 1987: "Clowns" preceded by "You Must Meet My Wife"

There's a ferocity to Glynis Johns' performance as seen above. She's a tigress, a diva. Compare it to Sally Ann Howes, who plays it like someone who is well versed in being a wife. The Johns interpretation makes more sense for someone who is attractive, sexy but goes her own way. Johns was also very funny. And the quaver of her voice also gave her a vulnerability and sensuality so that she never seemed like a hard rock, rather a gem.

I yearn for the revival that could have been with Natasha Richardson and Vanessa Redgrave. There's a recording out there of the workshop reading and they're both divine in the roles. Not only do you have a realistic mother/daughter pairing, but they could both sing well enough for the roles and were well cast physically. You can imagine Vanessa turning more than a few heads in her youth and Natasha brought a lot of charm and sex appeal to Desiree. She landed all the laughs in "You Must Meet My Wife."

DL fav Shirley Bassey...

[quote] When I first saw this years ago I didn't know it was from the Muppets show. Wtf are those clowns doing?

They're fucking, Rose.

I love Julie Andrews's version at r82 (no one ever hit the alliteration in "Don't you love fffffuss?/My fffffault I fffffear..." quite like she did), but that is the worst hairstyle she ever had.

Don't you love farts?

My fault, I fear.

R88. “Fffffuss”? It’s “farce”....my dear.

Sorry, but she talks the song rather than sings it. The spoken voice is beautifully velvety and she performs every line with impeccable mastery, but she is definitely NOT singer. As for Judi Dench, her horrible parrot voice and lack of singing ability make the performance something that must be suffered, rather than enjoyed.

R46 you're right, Sally Ann Howes does an AMAZING job at performing the song. She is simply spectacular and proof of what a singer/actress combo can achieve. She is inifnitely superior to Barbra Streisand in this take, because La Streisand's overly mannered Broadway renditions are both boring and pompously self-indulgent. Still, the one that surprises me is Faith Hill @R41 - she started off as a rather limited singer, but here she proves that hard work can allow mediocre singers to reach impressive heights. Her performance is very heartfelt and beautifully delivered.

As for Sarah Vaughan's, I am sorry to say that her unnecessary ad-libbing and ornamentation do reduce the song's emotional impact. Still, her voice was pure velvet and whenever she stuck to the melody, her performance was divine. Still, I've got to say that I very much prefer Shirley Bassey's straight-to-the-point, no-frills performance - that woman is a powerhouse and this song is perfect for her voice.

And sorry to those who have posted Judy Collins' and Julie Andrews' performances but, while their voices are lovely, they didn't have the depth and sturdiness needed to lend proper pathos to this song.

You haven't lived until you've heard Ethel Merman and Mary Martin sing an upbeat orchestration of it for their one-night-only benefit concert.

r90: Sorry. My fault, I fear.

Donna Murphy.

aka Aren't my Tits bliss?

Betty Lynn!

Barbara Dickson.

Why are so many fraus obsessed with covering this song????

[quote]This gives me chills. I honestly did not know she could sing this well.

Are you new to hearing, OP?

G *is* a clown! LOL!

Mr. Schuester

Isn't it rich, pussycat? Whoa whoa whoa....

Back in the 70s, a group named "The Buoys" did this as either a B-side or on their greatest hits album. It was great.

Bryan Ferry!