Yes, Musical Master, I'm sorry I'd told you that there was a full video of Live, Laugh, Love. I thought there was, but apparently I was wrong. Yes, the quality has seen better days, as this is probably the 5th copy of a VHS copy of the home movies. There does exist an extremely good quality version, in the possession of Deester2 (David Fletcher on Youtube). I had contacted him, but he never answered. We've got to be grateful that Pal Joey also had a copy which he was so generous to give to me.
A million thanks! This is the show that cemented my love of musical theater back in my school days, the first show I ever saw multiple times. The "ghostliness," for want of a better word, of some of the scenes--rather than highlighting the video's imperfections--instead enhances the ghostly atmosphere and the surreality of the main characters' experiences. I love it. Thanks again so much for this even better version, 1971FolliesFan.
I see the 'movie' is gone, but the clips of the various performances and scenes are still up. I stumbled across the footage and it's fascinating - especially given all the discussion I've seen about the original production.
It's all bits and pieces, which of course is somewhat frustrating, and certainly doesn't give me anything close to the experience of seeing the entire show in a theater. But it was more than I was ever expecting to see.
The first thing that struck me, oddly enough, is the obvious realization that - for all its flights of fancy in the "Loveland" portion of the show - it's set in the present day for audiences seeing it in 1971. But the "feel" of the show is so different from, say, something like Company - Sondheim's previous show that was still running at the time.. The characters are much older, reminiscing and caught in the past. Audiences who saw it would have recognized the styles of the pastiche songs in a way that an audience of today would only understand intellectually. For the performers, those songs sound more natural.
Michael Bennett's choreography, or what I saw of it, is less flashy than I was expecting. But the "Who's That Woman" arrangement, with the younger dancers a few steps up so the audience can see them at the beginning, is such a simple but brilliant solution. "The Story of Lucy and Jessie," and Alexis Smith, look terrific. And I'm finally glad to get a look at "Loveland," though I would have liked to see the transition.
I liked many of the performances in the 2011 revival, from what I've heard and seen on video. But even from these clips, I can see what devotees of the original are talking about.
bear88 said: The first thing that struck me, oddly enough, is obvious realization that - for all its flights of fancy in the "Loveland" portion of the show - it's set in the present day for audiences seeing it in 1971. But the "feel" of the show is so different from, say, something like Company - Sondheim's previous show that was still running at the time.. The characters are much older, reminiscing and caught in the past. Audiences who saw it would have recognized the styles of the pastiche songs in a way that an audience of today would only understand intellectually.For the performers, thosesongs sound more natural.
Very astute of you.!..i saw the original production in 1971, and yes the pastiche songs hit a nerve for even me, and i was quite young back then, but was very aware of the type of songs Sondheim was giving us in Loveland and why...it did help to fully understand each character and why they sang their pastiche number...