How the hell does LuPone sing this well in her 60s? Jun 10
2012, 03:27:46 PM
Loved Henrik's Oscar Wilde parody!
Bette Midler still sounds pretty good, but she obviously (to my ear) retrained her voice sometime around the time she did GYPSY on TV. She doesn't sing with the same abandon she did 40 years ago, but she also doesn't pass out during concerts.
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PASSION - wow. Jun 9
2012, 09:18:06 PM
^^^Beautifully put and I couldn't agree more, perfectlymarvelous! Please consider this post the equivalent of a "Like" button.
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John Davidson in THE FANTASTICKS Jun 9
2012, 09:15:46 PM
Seriously, would someone be so kind as to explain the "opening monologue" that the Old Actor now has? When was that added to the show and what is the gist of what is said?
I'm very curious. I've never seen a production where Henry and Mortimer appear before the rape scene.
(When I did the show in high school, we performed in a lecture hall with no wings or trap doors. So to make our entrance a surprise, the Mortimer and I had to spend the first 45-minutes in a closed coffin-lik
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Does A 'Tony' Really Make a Differents? Jun 9
2012, 09:04:07 PM
^^^Which makes sense. The most dedicated theatergoers already know the shows that are revived and probably already have opinions about them. Winning a Tony for a revival probably isn't going to change anyone's mind. If you like PORGY AND BESS, you've already seen it or are planning to go; whether it wins "Best Revival" isn't likely to change your mind if you don't like the show.
But with a new musical, winning "Best" may bring it to the attention of people who don't know it and prompt t
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John Davidson in THE FANTASTICKS Jun 9
2012, 05:42:25 PM
^^^They used to have the poster up at the Sullivan Street Playhouse.
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John Davidson in THE FANTASTICKS Jun 9
2012, 03:58:36 PM
t's not downtown. It's the Snapple Theatre in Times Square.
Henry is only an "eleven line non-singing role" if you call his rather substantial opening monolouge "one line".
Thanks, Jon. Obviously, I haven't been in New York for awhile.
And it's been even longer since I saw THE FANTASTICKS. When did Henry get an opening monologue? He certainly didn't have one when I played the part in high school.
(BTW, Davidson always had a large fan base among ol
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PASSION - wow. Jun 9
2012, 03:54:16 PM
^^^But surely we have to admit that After Eight calling other posters condescending, pretentious, arrogant and/or presumptuous is pretty funny!
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Farewell Follies! Jun 9
2012, 03:47:27 PM
Well, then, I'll just have to pile on after Roxy and Dolly and Joey. The likes of the original production will never come again, but this revival comes satisfyingly close.
Alexis Smith was a movie star playing Phyllis as a movie star, and she was utterly unforgettable in the part. And yet Jan Maxwell is an actress who plays Phyllis as a human being, however regal, and never misses a beat.
As has been noted elsewhere, Danny Burstein is a revelation as Buddy and makes the charact
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John Davidson in THE FANTASTICKS Jun 8
2012, 10:27:08 PM
Is this just stunt casting? I think Davidson still has a following among little old ladies. Do the producers think the blue hairs will follow him downtown?
(Just for the record, I grew up on Davidson LPs. Nothing I say here is an attempt to trash him.)
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PASSION - wow. Jun 8
2012, 10:22:26 PM
^^^No, I thought they had overreached and piled too many "concepts" on top of one another. (And my opinion was confirmed by opening, when Prince had stripped away much of the excess baggage.)
The show still didn't work, IMO, but it wasn't condescending to its audience and I certainly wasn't offended by it. And of course, there was that breathtaking score!
I'm just allowing that there is a thin line between love and hate, and hell hath no fury like a Sondheim fan scorned, as
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PASSION - wow. Jun 8
2012, 07:28:13 PM
Eric, I'll admit to getting angry at work that seems lazy, where the creators have simply neglected to make thoughtful choices.
But He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named notwithstanding, Sondheim and Lapine's work has stood the test of time. They know what they are doing. Anyone is entitled to dislike their work (as I've said, I'm really not a fan of much of SUNDAY), but it isn't lazy and it isn't thoughtless.
That being said, I do remember my chagrin at the first preview of MERRILY. It wa
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Anyone seeing FOLLIES in LA tonight? Jun 8
2012, 07:17:32 PM
Trust me: you can hear Elaine Paige in the Dorothy Chandler lobby.
I hope you have a wonderful evening, HorseTears. And if I helped to steer you wrong, I apologize in advance.
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Guardian answers all your questions about the Tonys for UK readers Jun 8
2012, 05:40:59 PM
I agree. If only the article were half so clever as its author thinks it is.
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John Davidson in THE FANTASTICKS Jun 8
2012, 05:40:10 PM
No attack from this quarter, just surprise that he wants to do an 11-line/non-singing part off-Broadway. He's been touring successfully (just did a return engagement at the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies); maybe he just wants to come in off the road.
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PASSION - wow. Jun 8
2012, 05:36:37 PM
Hated the sensibility that thought anyone would like it. Hated the implied insult to the audience by its belief that anyone would be entertained by it.
Oh, if only I could be so insulted every month!
How interesting that those of us who love the show seem to have no problem understanding why others do not. Yet those who dislike the show demand that all of us share their disdain.
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Anyone seeing FOLLIES in LA tonight? Jun 8
2012, 05:16:08 PM
I've heard nothing but complaints about the orchestra underneath the mezzanine overhang. A friend sat in Row X last week and said he couldn't understand a single word until intermission, when the patron next to him went to the sound man and complained.
I've seen it twice from the mezzanine (first row, house left, and third row, center-right) and loved both locations. Every word, every note was crystal clear--even the illusion of "natural" sound for most of the evening. I can't recommend
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Anyone seeing FOLLIES in LA tonight? Jun 7
2012, 08:25:36 PM
She (Elaine Page) also held the second to last line ("and I'm heeeerrrreeeeeee") which made her phrasing for the last line really weird. At least she sings it well on the cast album.
She's still doing it, but last night she managed to catch up and sing the very last "here" precisely when the orchestra got to the note. It made all the difference in the world and actually, I believe, got her a bigger hand.
More importantly, she long ago dropped the "angry" interpretation t
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Anyone seeing FOLLIES in LA tonight? Jun 7
2012, 08:19:21 PM
Always like Conchata Ferrell. She's a great actress. Did she say that Jon & Ashton would be seeing the show in the next 3 days?
I'm so sorry. I thought that was an obvious joke. No, Miss Ferrell didn't even know that Holland Taylor had attended the night before. I just thought it was funny, as if the cast of TWO-AND-A-HALF MEN were attending, one at a time and sitting with posters from this board.
I apologize for any confusion my sense of humor may have caused.
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Anyone seeing FOLLIES in LA tonight? Jun 7
2012, 06:42:25 PM
Was there last evening (Tuesday). Audience response was rapturous. Sat behind a cheering and sobbing Holland Taylor...
I know this will sound like a joke, but I swear it isn't: saw the show again last night (Wednesday) and sat behind Conchata Ferrell in the center mezzanine. Had a brief chat with her before the show and she was lovely. I assume Jon Cryer or Ashton Kutcher will be there (and sitting in front of a BWW poster) tonight (Thursday).
For me, the show pr
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How best to approach a new musical: cold or Jun 6
2012, 01:46:29 PM
The original poster joined in 2008 apparently and has a Follies marquee avatar, so I am gonna assume that experiencing a musical for the first time in a theatre won't be too alienating an experience...
Maybe so, but if he has to ask, I think my advice is still relevant. 
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