Ahhh Broadway, one of the few places where being trained is a downfall... I don't know if it's necessarily the training that's the downfall, but how people are able to feel and connect with emotion in the song. I think Audra has an unbelievably beautiful voice, but I have a difficult time really connecting with her performance. I've been guilty of saying she sounds "too pretty" or "too much like Audra," and I don't think that's really conveying my reaction to her performance. she sings all of her roles beautifully, but, to me, there's a certain element of distance between her and the audience. when I saw her in 110 in the Shade, I thought she had a wonderful presence and she sang the score beautifully, but I didn't always
feel it.
now, someone like Victoria Clark, who is also trained and also has a beautiful voice, is someone I connect to emotionally. I listen to her sing and I feel with her and her character. Her performance in Follies this past February blew me away. I find that she can sound a little more raw than Audra, which makes her more human and easier to connect with. Audra has that intangible goddess thing going on for me, or like she's in a glass case and isn't able to break out.
anyway, I love listening to Audra's Beggar Woman, but Vicki is definitely my favorite Beggar Woman ever of all time.
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
