A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC'S reopening tonight...(review updates here)- Page 6

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/14/10 at 9:14am

She's 85.

And yes! I love that "Everyday a Little Death" is back to a more traditional tempo. Thank you, Rob Bowman.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 7/14/10 at 9:15am

And as I mentioned earlier -- Lansbury had similar problems her first week or so in the role. These ladies get a 'free pass' because they have earned it. Lansbury obviously worked out whatever issues she had with the material and I have no doubt Stritch will too.

At any rate - I'm seeing it tonight and again in about three weeks --- I can't wait to see how these ladies both grow and evolve into these roles. Updated On: 7/14/10 at 09:15 AM

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/14/10 at 9:19am

Lanbury was still having some problems once the show opened. The thing is, Lansbury covers much better than Stritch. Lansbury just makes stuff up, while Stritch clearly panics. Anyway, Angela was spot on from January until the end. I am sure Stritch will get it.
Updated On: 7/14/10 at 09:19 AM

[wickedfan11]

Posted: 7/14/10 at 10:36am

Did Bernadette and Elaine come out the stage door?

[americanboy99]

Posted: 7/14/10 at 11:06am

I hope Brantley re-reviews soon.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 7/14/10 at 11:11am

So, I think we have all come to the conclusion that Elaine will get better with time. Thanks.

[wdwfreak]

Posted: 7/14/10 at 11:27am

According to pictures from Playbill.com, Bernadette and Elaine came out the stagedoor. Bernadette signed, not sure if Elaine did as there was one picture of her coming out of the door.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/14/10 at 11:30am

And as I mentioned earlier -- Lansbury had similar problems her first week or so in the role. These ladies get a 'free pass' because they have earned it. Lansbury obviously worked out whatever issues she had with the material and I have no doubt Stritch will too.

As ljay said, the difference is that Lansbury covered it a lot better than Stritch did. When Stritch forgot a line, she started snapping her fingers and repeating the word "and" until she remembered the line. Lansbury would make things up as she went along.

And I'm apparently the only one who still dislikes Erin Davie as Charlotte. It boggles my mind that this role won a Tony in the original production (and from what I've read, Patricia Elliot nearly stole the show), and Davie barely even registers.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 7/14/10 at 11:53am

To that end Adam, Maureen Moore also walked away with the City Opera production, but it could certainly be argued that its also not completely appropriate for the character of Charlotte to steal the show.

A friend involved with the show said that apparently, last night Stritch hit the stage and had what I guess what would be described as a panic attack or major stage fright (she's been a little scared about actually taking on a major role in a book musical since its been a while since she's done so). He said she basically resigned herself to just get through it - and dropped a lot of the character work they had been working on in rehearsals - perhaps including her dialect (for those questioning that).

I imagine her performance could be pretty markedly different by the weekend once she fully has her bearings. I'll certainly report back on tonight. Updated On: 7/14/10 at 11:53 AM

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/14/10 at 11:58am

That may be true, but she has some of the best lines in the show. It would seem hard not to get tons of laughs with gems like, "What will I do? I know...nothing", but Davie manages to do just that.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/14/10 at 12:02pm

Did Bernadette and Elaine come out the stage door?

Based on the photos that Playbill.com posted, it looks like they both came out the stage door.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 7/14/10 at 12:05pm

Patricia Elliott brought a shocking combination of emotional depth, brittle humor and aching pain to the role--and that was only what she did in "Every Day a Little Death"!

The bittersweet notes of regretfulness and rue she played in that song set a tone for the show and set up the darker colors of Desiree's "Send in the Clowns" and Frederik's monologue "Forgive me" speech.

By the time her Charlotte had come round to the final scene, she had undergone as much of a transformation as had the Egermans and Desiree.

And not in a scene-stealing way--if anything, the complexity and shadings and colors she was able to convey deepened the show overall.

She would make a helluva Madame Armfeldt now.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 7/14/10 at 12:06pm

Does Leigh Ann Larkin still use 16 different accents? Does it still seem as if she's in a completely different show?

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 7/14/10 at 12:07pm

I think most of it is Nunn's directorial choices about the character - i.e. going for a more subtle Chekovian kind of humour for the character. I know a lot of posters here have wished for her performance to be more grandstanding, but I've seen productions of NIGHT MUSIC where Charlotte's delivery borders on camp-drag queen one liners, which the boys in the audience always love but that make me wince.

Last I saw Davie I thought she had really blossomed and found a strong balance between what her director wants and what the role demands.

[americanboy99]

Posted: 7/14/10 at 12:08pm

Quite unrelated-

But I have a DVD copy of the Lincoln Center/ NY City Opera production from 1990, and Maureen Moore absolutely walks away with the show as Charlotte. A stunning performance.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 7/14/10 at 12:11pm

I've never seen NIGHT MUSIC, not even the film, although I do own the OBC and the NBC recordings. I've loved Bernadette ever since I was a child when she would turn up on "The Carol Burnett Show". I'm seriously thinking of seeing this now that she's in it when I head up to NYC in the next couple of weeks.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 7/14/10 at 12:18pm

Maureen Moore did a wonderful job of playing Diana Rigg playing Charlotte.

[Broadwayboy2631]

Posted: 7/14/10 at 12:22pm

I just listened to the recording on "that site". Bernadette is absolutely brilliant. She fu*king gets it. Elaine is interesting, but I miss Angie. I can't wait to see them live. Elaine will be fine when she has a few performances under her belt. I imagine that she'll be wonderful in the book scenes. "Liasons" just doesn't seem like her song.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 7/14/10 at 12:25pm

Maureen Moore was hilarious but I think her performance bordered on charicature, though it may have seemed moreso because so many of the performances in the City Opera broadcast are awfully wooden.

[Rudy2]

Posted: 7/14/10 at 12:40pm

No one has mentioned it yet, but Elaine also maintained her commitment to Food for Thought on Monday the 12th, the night before opening in this show, by showing up at the Acorn Theater and putting on an *outstanding* performance as Amanda Wingfield in Williams' "The Pretty Trap," an early version of "The Glass Menagerie."

Of everyone who performed that night - including the wonderful Len Cariou and my idol, Marian Seldes, who is not in as good a shape as she deserves, which saddens me - Stritch was the only person who did not *seem to be reading* from her script. She got all the right laughs and also came through with a powerfully dramatic performance at the same time.

She came on stage fumbling with her pairs of glasses, trying to find her reading glasses - they had been left backstage by accident. She also looked for her orange juice - on account of her diabetes, of course.

It is a roughwen, informal environment, so it did not matter that the fourth wall was broken.

As she was looking for her glasses, to the audience: "Tennessee Williams has nothing to do with this!"

Later, as they sat down...

Jake Robards, smiling: "Do you have the right ones (glasses) now?"

Stritch: :::death stare:::

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 7/14/10 at 12:45pm

I think Erin Davie is very funny. Not the scene-stealer adamgreer seems to think Charlotte needs to be, but still very funny. It's Acting 101 that you never play for laughs. Erin doesn't. Her jokes land perfectly well. People laugh. Just because her predecessors "stole the show" doesn't mean Erin needs to do the same. She has formed a really lovely characterization and I, personally, enjoy her performance a lot. My friend who has never seen a production of the show, let alone this one, walked away remembering her and remarking about how funny she was.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 7/14/10 at 12:50pm

There were parts of Erin Davie's performance that I didn't like, but I thought she was a good Charlotte and could have been an amazing one with a different director.

[bubba7753]

Posted: 7/14/10 at 1:09pm

talk about a musical directors nightmare. definitely have to be on your toes.must be anything can happen day.


who is the musical director for this show

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/14/10 at 1:11pm

who is the musical director for this show

As of last night, it's Rob Bowman, who just happens to be Stritch's personal music director.

[GYPSY1527]

Posted: 7/14/10 at 1:14pm

Saw the show last night from the balcony and moved down to the boxes for the 2nd act. Much better view by the way! Bernadette's performance was smart and nuanced. It's so hard not to compare to the previous performer but she was smart about the acting decisions she made. She was sincere and vulnerable but not overall dramatic. I also loved (as someone else commented) how committed she was to the role, using the cigarette in "You Must Meet My Wife". She was wonderful and pretty much perfect!

Someone mentioned about Erin Davie. I am still not satisfied with her performance. I saw her at the first preview and cannot believe that nothing has changed about her interpretation over the past 8 months. The only aspect of her performance I liked was her singing. Even her phrasing during "Everyday" is completely off target.