Lucy and Jesse

[Glebb]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 9:41pm

Lee Remick or Blythe Danner?

Edit by me to fix the title.

Updated On: 3/16/05 at 09:41 PM

[Broadwayboobs]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 9:44pm

that's a tough one Glebb.....I saw Blythe Danner do it twice...so I'd have to go with her...but I did love Lee Remick.

[kjklo]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 9:51pm

With no recording or video of Blythe Danner, it really limits the number of people who can compare them. I wish I could say I could, but I can't.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 9:53pm

No contest: Alexis Smith.

The other are just play-acting.

And correction: LUCY's a lassie you pat on the head; Jessie is classy, but virtually dead.

[Glebb]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 9:54pm

Thanks PJ. You did see that one. :)

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 9:56pm

Yes, I saw the original Follies. Five times.

But NO--I never saw the ZIEGFELD Follies.

[NYadgal]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 9:57pm

You were too busy playing Little League, right PalJoey?

[GovernorSlaton]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 9:58pm

The recorded Phyllis's, in order of performance (on disc):

Alexis Smith
















Dee Hoty
Lee Remick


Updated On: 3/16/05 at 09:58 PM

[Glebb]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 10:01pm

Sadly there is nothing left for me to do but turn in my showqueen card.
Way too many mistakes.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 10:05pm

I gave up Little League to worship Stephen Sondheim. I memorized this one and performed it every Saturday afternoon in left field.

Here's a little story that should make you cry,
About two unhappy dames.
Let us call them Lucy "X" and Jessie "Y"
(Which are not their real names).

Now Lucy has the purity
Along with the unsurety
That comes with being only twenty-one.
Jessie has maturity
And plenty of security.
Whatever you can do with them she's done!

Given their advantages,
You may ask why
The two ladies have such grief.
This is my belief...
In brief:

Lucy is juicy
But terribly drab.
Jessie is dressy
But cold as a slab.
Lucy wants to be dressy.
Jessie wants to be juicy.
Lucy wants to be Jessie
And Jessie Lucy.

You see,
Jessie is racy
But hard as a rock.
Lucy is lacy
But dull as a smock.
Jessie wants to be lacy,
Lucy wants to be Jessie.
That's the sorrowful précis.
(It's very messy.)

Poor sad souls,
Itching to be switching roles.
Lucy wants to do what Jessie does,
Jessie wants to be what Lucy was.

Lucy's a lassie
You pat on the head.
Jessie is classy
But virtually dead.
Lucy wants to be classy.
Jessie wants to be Lassie.
If Lucy and Jessie could only combine,
I could tell you someone
Who would finally feel just fine!

[GovernorSlaton]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 10:09pm

'Cause getting it together is the whole....TRICK! YEAH!

What did you substitute for the bright red dress? That song cannot be performed without the bright red dress.

[Mary_Ethel]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 10:09pm

I think EVERYONE was outdone by Diana Rigg performing "Ah, But Underneath" in the same spot in the London production.


A Note of Trivia: "The Story of Lucy and Jessie" replaced a number called "Uptown Downtown." In that number, the dancers were going to dance in opposite directions at the same time--to demonstrate the confusion Phyllis was going through while she performed--but it proved a little too hard for Michael Bennett to choreograph properly.

[GovernorSlaton]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 10:12pm

I actually prefer Ah, But Underneath to both Lucy and Jessie and Uptown Downtown.

"If his idea of ecstasy's to see what he expects to see: Well, ignorance is bliss, but think of what he'll miss..."

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 10:26pm

First of all, Glebb, your showqueen card is PLATINUM and it never expires. After all, I could never have put that red dress on and done the choreography. You could have--and you would have looked fabulous. Those who can, do. The rest of us (like me) memorize lyrics.

And yes, Guv and M-E, Ah, but Underneath has brilliant lyrics, but what Sondheim song doesn't? Lucy/Jessie had the post-modern pastiche quality that Losing My Mind, Buddy's Blues and Live/Laugh/Love had, all of which contributed to making the end of that show a total mind-f*ck. They were Sondheimian versions of the kinds of songs performers like that did in shows like that, yet they summed up the core psychological problem of each character with devastatingly incisive irony. Ah, but Underneath misses out on those multiple levels and operates on a single level. Underneath that song, there isn't much.

Plus, Alexis Smith was so incredible looking slinking around in that red dress, and the lyrics were a tongue-twister.

[Mary_Ethel]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 10:27pm

Yep, Gov.

For the life of me, I COULD NEVER FIGURE OUT why the Roundabout Revivial went back to "Lucy and Jessie" AFTER "Ah, But Underneath" was such a SENSATION in London.

Anyone have any insight on that?

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 10:30pm

See my post above.

[Glebb]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 10:38pm

Thanks for your vote of confidence PJ! :)
Your post was very interesting and helped me with Putting It Together. Mom loved Alexis and she loved Follies.

[Mattio98]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 10:41pm

Might I just say how much I love the Follies in Concert DVD?

[Glebb]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 10:43pm

You may Mattio. I feel the same.

[Mattio98]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 10:44pm

And just as good as the concert is the rehearsal footage shown at the beginning.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 10:47pm

My favorite number from that concert was Who's That Woman, Mattio

[Mattio98]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 10:50pm

I LOVED that number but I could never even begin to pick a favorite.

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 10:53pm

i'd refer those interested in this thread to the thread FOLLIES AT PAPER MILL on the main board. Much similar discussion.

For me, i'd like to see/hear Dee Hoty add "Lucy/Jessie" to her Phyllis repertoire (because she did "Underneath" for Paper Mill).

And just another bit of trivia---it took a while out of town for "Losing My Mind" to leave Phyllis' song list and join Sally's. Now how 'bout THEM apples? can you imagine?!?!?

[wildcat]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 11:12pm

It is perfectly acceptable for baby show queens to perform on a sports field sans costume as long as it is the original choreography. Spiked shoes only add to the challenge. I was once sent off a football field because it was thought that my FLAWLESS rendition of "Turkey Lurkey Time" was upsetting the other team. Actually, it was MY team gunning for me after the match as I recall...

[Mattio98]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 11:13pm

Nothing better than a little Sondheim or "Promises,Promises" in the outfield.