#226
Posted: 7/17/10 at 1:12am
Just got back from seeing Night Music and thought I'd offer my thoughts. Please keep in mind that it is 12:53am as I write this. For what its worth, I had never seen the show before and new only a little about it. I have listened to the cast recording a few times but am not horribly familiar with it. Well, as far as what everyone was expecting, its pretty much right on track. Bernadette Peters can only be described as fantastic, breathtaking and giving quite a performance. Having never seen Catherine Zeta-Jones do the part, I can't imagine anyone but Bernadette doing it. She truly embraced the role and was nothing short of amazing. As far as Elaine Stritch goes, all I can say is she tried. Not being very familiar with the book at all (and having read basically this whole thread before seeing the show), there were moments where I was wondering if she was being the character and forgetting what she was going to say or just actually could not remember. From what I have read otherwise, she seemed to be able to get a lot more other nights than what she got tonight. But, to be totally honest, I have to say that I loved it. Knowing that you are watching a legend like Stritch perform basically makes up for any mishaps she brought to the stage. Still, I can understand other people's frustration since most are paying high prices to see a top quality show in which they expect the actors to know their lines. Liasons, however, was wonderfully disasterous. Quite a few lines were called out, the tempo went so slow that I could hear exact strings being plucked on instruments with seconds in between plucks, and I think she may have even forgotten almost an entire verse's words. She did get it eventually though...kind of. Every time she came onstage I was a little nervous though. She seemed to do things to allow her to remember (ex: drinking in between words of a sentence during the dinner scene) and if she did remember she seemed to get so excited that she totally dropped any character she had to just say the word she had forgotten. She also moved around in that chair a whole lot. I thought she was going to stand up and just walk away at some point. And now that I've rambled, I'm going to end by simply saying it was quite a show. Quite. A. Show.
Oh, and for those interested, Bernadette and Elaine both came out at the stagedoor. Elaine walked out and waved and then went and got in her car. I was standing next to a photographer who had been there for a few nights and she said that opening night Elaine said she was diabetic and had to eat and that she would sign tomorrow, but she didn't sign the next day either. So, don't look forward to getting to talk to her I guess. Bernadette came out and signed and photographed a bit VERY quickly. Her car was waiting right outside as well and once she signed all the playbills, she quickly drove off in the back seat. It was great getting to see them both!
Oh, and for those interested, Bernadette and Elaine both came out at the stagedoor. Elaine walked out and waved and then went and got in her car. I was standing next to a photographer who had been there for a few nights and she said that opening night Elaine said she was diabetic and had to eat and that she would sign tomorrow, but she didn't sign the next day either. So, don't look forward to getting to talk to her I guess. Bernadette came out and signed and photographed a bit VERY quickly. Her car was waiting right outside as well and once she signed all the playbills, she quickly drove off in the back seat. It was great getting to see them both!
.jpg?format=auto&width=365)
