A Little Night Music - 6.17.10- Page 2

[TimesSquared]

Posted: 6/19/10 at 2:44am

Dawn French lampoons Zeta-Jones brilliantly on French & Saunders. It's on Youtube.
Wonder if she went backstage after the show?

(And thanks PJ for the Prince of Whales.)

[xoffender45]

Posted: 6/20/10 at 12:45pm

She did go backstage. She came out of the stage door. I yelled out her name, and would have TOTALLY asked her to do her CZJ impression, which is one of my faves. But she didn't turn around. lol

[wdwfreak]

Posted: 6/20/10 at 12:57pm

I didn't to start a new thread, but I went to the show last night and the merchandise seller told me they are making a new program for Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch. I found that very exciting. Also, you can't buy it anymore at the theater, nor the magnet.

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 6/20/10 at 12:58pm

I saw the show yesterday afternoon and I am glad I did. Everyone impressed me and it was a pleasure to see Lansbury give a masterclass in acting. It was by far my favorite revival of the season (though I am an admitted Sondheim freak). I hope to catch it again with the new cast members.

[Scripps2]

Posted: 6/21/10 at 6:27am

As I lay in bed this morning, contemplating the Broadway Bares thread, The Miller's Tale from Canterbury Tales came into my head (medieval references about a young man having a noble****that crows at the break of day) and it occurred to me that in choosing The Miller (as opposed to the butcher, the baker or the candlestick maker) Sondheim might have been referencing Chaucer.

Although there is an argument why, in this Ibsenesque production, Petra could end the song with resignation to her place in society, this may explain why Petra should be exuberant.

Particularly when considering the Prince of Wales at the time was not great eye-candy:

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/21/10 at 10:17am

But the questions remains, why does Sondheim end the song on a dissonant note? That's why I always thought Petra wasn't happy about marrying the Miller's son, because the song ends slow and in a minor key.

[Wishing Only Wounds]

Posted: 6/21/10 at 10:21am

Gothampc, it could that Petra is simply pondering the Miller's son throughout the whole song and by the end becomes a realist; the minor key could indicate an awakening.

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 6/21/10 at 10:39am

I always thought this was what was going on in the Miller's son:

"Ooh, what if I marry the Miller's son, he's so attractive... but ugh, then he'll get old and cranky and fat, gross. Well, what if I marry a rich businessman instead? But ugh, I'll have to take care of the babies and get old, gross. Well, what if I marry the Prince of Wales, he's the most eligible bachelor around... ugh, then sex will end up just being a duty. So basically, whoever I marry, no matter how high born, it's going to stop being as fun and sexy as it is now. So I might as well just stick with the Miller's Son, he's as good as any, and I'll enjoy the moment!"

She's realizing that in the long run, the Miller's Son is no better or worse than anyone else, so she makes up her mind to marry him afterall.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/21/10 at 10:52am

Are we to understand that Petra becomes landed gentry when she marries the Miller's son?

Miller's son: pin my hat on a nice piece of property

businessman: five fat babies and lots of security

Prince of Wales: pearls and servants and dressing (and rather than go dancing, they will have dancing at their residence)

[Auggie27]

Posted: 6/21/10 at 7:44pm

The song is not remotely about bitterness. Petra is a romantic wrestling with a creeping pragmatism, yes, but she's embracing the joy of the amorous moment(s) she has, not voicing despair that she will eventually be a slave to monogamy. And I'd argue that the song is in a wonderfully appropriate place, arriving after so much angst. It's a bit of sexual sorbet before the final reprise of "Clowns" which has one of the most emotional builds in any duet. I love the way the 2nd act develops, and then circles back. Perfection.

And I got my tickets for Peters and STrich today with the new bargain. July 27. I love that they are doing two performances with 7 p.m. curtains. Makes good sense.

Updated On: 6/21/10 at 07:44 PM