1995 Company Revival — Page 2

I was there
U were Where?
I was there
at the Roundabout
first rehearsal in the Theatre,
Boyd was acting but his voice was coming from Somewhere else
CLOW!
Look at the Cast and standby Cast.
The Best!
and Debra Monk was Terrific and a Pinter Play Was Next Door.
Too Many Producers and Bad blood To Move.
Damn!!

Larry Kert makes me feel nothing. He's a zero on the London recording.

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The "London Cast" was an unusual, failed experiment for Columbia records.

They had Larry Kert go into a studio and record all of Bobby's songs and lines, then they spliced them--literally!--into the New York cast album.

Nowadays they would do it electronically, the way Natalie Cole sang with her father, and it would be seamless.

That's why the "London Cast" album sounds so lifeless. But trust me, Larry Kert was heartrending as Bobby.

I also saw him do a cabaret act shortly before he died too young, and in the national tour of La Cage with Harvey Evans. It was amazing to see that show with two out proud gay men, as AIDS was taking away so many friends.

What a talent.

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I loved Debra Monk in Ladies Who Lunch. It's sucha joy to lisen to her perform that song. What was up with Boyd's voice? Like I don't know what was happening so can someone explain to me? I heard him on She Loves Me and loved him. And on the cd to Company he sounds very much the same so can someone tell me? Also I loved Another Hundred People/ Lachanze is incredible.

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I saw Boyd in both "She Loves Me" and it "Company." It really was like it was a different person. He sounded SO GOOD in "She Loves Me," but in "Company" it was almost like his voice would almost cut out on him from time to time. It's not like he sounded raspy or anything, it was just like swiss cheese. The voice would be good, then questionable for a few notes, then good. Kind of scary to witness.

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Boyd Gaines was the only thing that brought the SHE LOVES ME revival above the level of an average regional theatre production. He carried that show. Even Howard McGillin was just OK in what should be a show-stealing role (at least it was when Jack Cassidy did it).

Elaine Stritch was fine as Joanne in COMPANY. Her "legendary" status really came from the tv special about the making of the OCR of COMPANY, it was quite the tv event in its time. Stritch came off warm and lovable and stuff. I saw her in COMPANY twice and she was always excellent. She did not deserve a Tony for the performance(in part because the part was too small for the lead actress category) and lost to Helen Gallagher who was extraordinary in NO NO NANNETTE. Stritch was excellent in COMPANY. Jane Russell who replaced her was better.......and Vivian Blaine who joined the Broadway cast(the original Miss Adelaide from GUYS AND DOLLS) was the best Joanne I ever saw.

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"Have you SEEN the special?"

Elaine: (like a frog croak) WRONG!!

SS: Elaine, your voice is tired

Elaine: (like a frog croak) WRONG!!

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SS had the nerve to correct Pam Meyers on a wrong note. What about the 400 that Stritch missed? He knew not to correct her, because she would have decked him.

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Stritch's alcoholic-fueled psychotic meltdown at the end of the COMPANY documentary is positively riveting to witness. It was, if anything, the exact opposite of "warm and lovable."

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