Today's Performance of The Drowsy Chaperone (Suttons last)- Page 2

[BillFinn]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 9:17pm

I saw her in August and I felt like she was just going through the motions. Didn't come out at the stage door. It was a matinee on a weekday, but still.

[Becoz_i_knew_you21]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 9:40pm

Yankee, who are you Riedel?

[blindchameleon]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 9:55pm

I saw the show in February and thought Sutton was great. I don't understand how not coming out to chat and sign autographs after giving an exhaustingly physical performance translates into her having an attitude. If she came out of the stage door and wasn't completely energetic, you'd be complaining, and if she spent her energy at the stage door and then got sick and missed performances, you'd be complaining. Also, if she's playing the part of a diva, how does that make her a diva? Sorry, I just get really tired of people complaining about performers not coming out of the stage door, or failing to be 100% charming when they do. It's not their job to come out to talk and take pictures with you. If they choose to come out, then it can be a fun experience. If they choose not to participate in that, then so be it.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 9:59pm

I saw it last night for either the 5th or 6th time. I thought Jonathon was amazing. No, he's not Bob, but he brought his own thing to it. I could tell towards the end that he was starting to lose his voice...he sang ok, but speaking was rough. The rest of the cast seemed even more "on" last night than I remembered them. With one exception...

I've gotta agree with those who said Sutton looked like she was just going through the motions. "Show Off" just didn't have that spark, and a couple of times she actually looked annoyed that she was having to do this again. Which made me sad...though for me it's always been Beth's show and she was red hot last night. Love her!!!!

Updated On: 4/15/07 at 09:59 PM

[deck925]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 10:04pm

I'm surpirsed at the amount of negative remarks concerning Sutton, it's dissapointing.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 10:08pm

I agree it's disappointing. I've seen Sutton on before. And my friend had never seen Drowsy before last night. Thankfully she fell in love with Beth Leavel too, and she now adores the show. I just wish Sutton had looked like she was a little more into it ~ it wasn't horrible, but it did come off as a "this is the next to last time I've got to do this" kind of performance. At least IMHO.

[broadwayman]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 10:12pm

thats weird... i saw the matinee on saturday and I thought Jonathan Crombie was BRILLIANT!! and Sutton was DEF top notch... i didnt get any of those vibes from her!! she sounded excellent and looked like she was having a lot of fun.. and you can ALWAYS catch her before the show when she goes in and she ALWAYS signs and takes pix then... and she was very friendly!

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 10:13pm

Woah, I've never seen the show. I am in no way saying that I think Sutton Foster has become a huge diva that doesn't work. I merely replied to the stories and found them disappointing. I've never seen Ms. Foster live, please don't hate me.

And, blindchameleon, I don't care about the stagedoor, I care about what's going on onstage. If she delivers on stage, she can exit on a helicopter for all I care.

[JsnWse]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 10:17pm

Well I saw the show back in July (with the entire original cast, no understudies!) when it was still fairly new, and everyone seemed to be doing a fabulous job..

I can't figure out the Sutton thing, but something you should all keep in mind - Her character is supposed to be very diva like, and very much so the way you all are describing. Something to think about...

[jordangirl]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 10:23pm

It was just a different vibe last night than I'd seen from her before. That's all. She sang fine and danced fine. For me, it was missing the usual spark she had.

And while I did go to the stage door, it was more for the others. Had Sutton come out, that would have been cool, but I wasn't like disappointed that she didn't. Nothing against her...I just wasn't expecting it.

Updated On: 4/15/07 at 10:23 PM

[NativeNewYorker]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 10:25pm

"thats weird... i saw the matinee on saturday and I thought Jonathan Crombie was BRILLIANT!!"

I thought so too. Quite a departure from the role many of us grew up loving him in, and he's proved himself to be very versatile. He wasn't as natural in the role as Bob, but that's to be expected.

Congratulations on a Broadway debut well done, Mr. Crombie!!!
Updated On: 4/15/07 at 10:25 PM

[willact4food]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 10:31pm

I saw Drowsy back in March, and was not too impressed with Sutton. She was fine. Nothing special, nothing terrible. She did receive entrance applause, however.

But this show belongs to Beth. She's the true star of this show. And it's such an honor to be able to meet her. She's an incredible person.

[deck925]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 10:43pm

I just don't understand it, I loved Sutton in Drowsy, and we saw her Wednesday, her performace was funny and energetic. She's been one of my favorite performers since I bought the OBC to Millie and she completely mesmerized me as Jo in LW, hmmmmmmmmm.

Updated On: 4/15/07 at 10:43 PM

[obsessedjb]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 10:53pm

I saw Drowsy back in March, and was not too impressed with Sutton. She was fine. Nothing special, nothing terrible. She did receive entrance applause, however.

But this show belongs to Beth. She's the true star of this show. And it's such an honor to be able to meet her. She's an incredible person.

I couldn't agree more!

[jordangirl]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 10:55pm

^^ AMEN!!! She is amazing!

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 11:00pm

i find it surprising that Sutton is so bored with Drowsy after being able to sustain great performances in Millie for over a year and a half.

[adrian55]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 11:03pm

I was there today for Sutton's last. I did NOT feel she was giving attitude at all. I have seen the show many, many, many times! She's tired some days like anyone else, but is always a pro. As for anything fun happening, at the end of "Act I" when she climbs the staircase after leaving her fiance, she proceded to faint, tumble down the stairs, and convulse. It was hysterical!!!!! And Jon Crombie added about 3 more to his drunk, "And another thing." It was a great show. At the very end, Sutton and Troy put their hands on either side of the plane and I watched Troy slowly move his hand onto Sutton's and give it a little squeeze. Very sweet.

And Aldolpho went up on a line a improved some bizzare line that made him and Beth break. It was great.

[blindchameleon]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 11:11pm

Theaterkid, that wasn't a response aimed at you, just a general comment. I didn't mean to offend you or anything.

And if Sutton appeared to be a diva tired of being on stage, doesn't that mean she was playing the role right?

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 11:16pm

I didn't realize it was her last performance!

My friend went to sing at Carnegie Hall and went to see this performance of Drowsy. I'll have to see what she says when she comes back on Tuesday.

[Joshua488]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 1:29am

I saw the show last week and I feel that Sutton was kind of "over it." It was a matinee and she seemed to be lacking energy. I figured it was just because it was a matinee, but now that I've heard other people saying that she's been "over it" for a while now makes me think differently...

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 3:47am

"i find it surprising that Sutton is so bored with Drowsy after being able to sustain great performances in Millie for over a year and a half."

Millie depended on Sutton. She was the show.

Drowsy is more of an ensemble piece, with the Man in the Chair being the big center of attention. Maybe she seemed tired with the show because she wasn't the main star...?

[Bwayfan4]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 4:21am

I have to agree with many of you....Sutton is good. I wasn't overly impressed, but she IS good. I went to the Saturday evening show, and I was a little disappointed that she didn't come out after the show...I was thinking she's want to celebrate her last few performances visiting with her fans, but I guess not. In any case, she wasn't the main reason I went to see the show, so it's no big deal...

Now Jonathan Crombie on the other hand...what a cutie. He still has those cute "Gilbert Blythe" boyish looks and his performance was great! I thoroughly enjoyed him as the man in the chair. (Luckily, his chair was about 15 feet in front of me, so I had a great view of him!) I hope that he decides to continue his career on Broadway!

All in all, I thought the show was a lot of fun. Was it me, or did it seem like this audience was laughing A LOT? The woman next to me was in tears, as was I every time Danny came out on stage...

[cate_w]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 6:36am

When I saw the show Wednesday, Sutton was great! I was expecting her to seem bored after what everyone was saying, but I thought it was the best Janet performance I had seen from her (I've seen her in the show 4 times and she was always amazing).

[Raspberry]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 6:24pm

Okay, I saw the show for the 11th time earlier this week, and you can add me to the apparently short list of people who still think that Sutton is doing a wonderful job. (And I've never even considered myself to be a Sutton Foster fan, necessarily.)

Someone said she seemed like a "real btch" during "Fancy Dress." Umm... what does that even mean???? She comes on as a star near the end of the number, acts tactfully haughty and disdainful as she clears the floor and has her picture taken, then delivers less than two dozen words (and that's counting her last name as three separate words!). How can you say she's acting inappropriately??

No, she doesn't completely exhaust every opportunity for a laugh or applause by giving a big, splashy, in-your-face Aldolpho-like performance. There would certainly be room for that in this show, but I think Janet better the way she does it. It would be all too easy to play it for some big, har-har-har laughs by doing one of those standard goofy prima donna-type characters (think Sara Ramirez in "Spamalot" or any of the Carlottas or Dorothy Brocks you’ve ever seen). I’ve always found Sutton’s performance to be very refined and more subtle than what one might expect from a typical "diva" character. In fact, that's one of the main reasons Ben Brantley praised her so much in his otherwise lackluster review last year. (Not that I'm basing my opinions on what the critics say.... I'm just throwing it out there as an example because people who agree with me seem to be hard to pin down, and Brantley is a good example in this case.)

In this show, Sutton is full of these fun, subtle moves... her knowing half smile during her solo in "Fancy Dress," a quick raise of the eyebrows after she drinks the glass of water, her sly sideways glance while she lifts her leg. Come to think of it, hers is probably one of the most elegantly meta performances I’ve seen on stage in a long time, especially when you watch her delicate audience interaction during, "Bride’s Lament" or the last part of "Show Off." I’m not really trying to tell anyone that they’re wrong, because this is all obviously just my opinion, but I do suggest that the fact that a performer isn’t positively leaping off the stage with uncontrollable enthusiasm doesn’t necessarily indicate that they aren’t doing an incredible job to the best of their ability. In fact, in this case, I think it is an indicator of a higher (and more entertaining, if you let it) form of art.

Of course, we all know that the negative opinions that are so popular on this board tend to be in the minority with theatregoers overall. I’ve seen Sutton get big laughs and applause every night I’ve gone, so it’s nice to know that the general audience (and I include my humble self in that group) is still charmed.

And now, a word of hope to the rest of you: many of us on this board apparently differ in our opinion of what constitutes 110% and how it can be given, but I’m sure the Janet Van de Graaff you seem to be envisioning will find her day. If this show runs long enough, there will probably be future Janets who will "go all out" in the way that I think other people are hoping for. When these fourth and fifth-string replacements start filtering in with their voices bubbling, their smiles beaming, and their jazz-hands shaking so fast it’s just a blur, you can all be happy knowing that finally someone is unquestionably "giving it their all" ...at least physically, if not intellectually.

Meanwhile, I will happily remember the 10 joyous times (I had an understudy once out of eleven) when a Tony winner---a real actress--was doing the role and was able to excite me more by tossing one quick smirk and a flicker of the brow my way than anyone else could by doing the most fabulous cartwheels and energetic belting in the world. The sun will come out soon (maybe tomorrow... maybe in a few months), and it will probably be blinding. Enjoy.

Also, since we’re talking about Jonathon too, I saw him three times and thought he was excellent.

[mint0621]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 9:45am

fabulous review, raspberry. and i'm on the "sutton was great til the end and didn't look tired onstage" list :)