Bernadette and Elaine in Night Music- Page 2

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/29/10 at 9:04pm

We saw Katherine McNamara

[ABB2357]

Posted: 10/1/10 at 6:08pm

I've seen both McNamara and Keaton Whittaker, and would give a slight edge to Whittaker due to her stronger physical resemblance to Bernadette. They make a more convincing mother/daughter pair, but both girls were very, very good and more than held their own with Elaine too.

The production itself is problematic, but for me any reservations were swept away by Bernadette and Elaine. Elaine's "Liaisons" was the most moving I've heard - she knows she is nearing the end of her life and laments the more formal, civilized world she used to know. Her reflections tie in nicely with her superb delivery of the wooden ring speech; you think you're in for another saucy bon mot about a count and she turns it into a searing expression of pain and regret.

As for "Send in the Clowns," there are no words. Bernadette's ability to connect to her material is unparalleled and she remains criminally underrated as a legitimate actress. In fact, I hesitate to call what she does acting. She is so emotionally open and receptive to the song, she allows it to take her where it wants to go within the confines of the character, and it works beautifully. A true master class in theatrical performance.

As Elaine says in "Liaisons":

Where is style?
Where is skill?
Where is forethought?
Where's discretion of the heart?
Where's passion in the art?
Where's craft?

Right there on stage at the Walter Kerr.

[beaemma]

Posted: 10/2/10 at 4:16pm

I agree that "Liasons" and the wooden ring speech should be thought of together, but more for contrast than similarity. The song expresses nostagia and pride for Madame Armfeldt's past accomplishments and regret about the way things have changed. The wooden ring speech expresses her doubt as to whether she made the right choices in life and regret that she never found true love, perhaps even rejected it when it was within her grasp. Looking at the two passages together shows the evolution of the character as she moves toward death. After all, she starts out issuing cynical proclamations about what the girl needs to do to have a successful and satisfying life and ends up asking the same child to explain to her the meaning of it all. This transition, some would say decline, in the character unifies what can otherwise be a rather fragmented role. It was in this progression, or arc, that I thought Angela Lansbury excelled.

Posted: 10/2/10 at 4:38pm

Has Trevor Nunn ever fetched coffee for Arthur Laurents? THAT is what qualifies someone to direct on Broadway!

[gcal]

Posted: 10/2/10 at 5:35pm

I had never seen a production of Night Music before this one at the beginning of September. I had several versions of the cd-- but could never get "into" it. In retrospect, I think it's because I didn't have the context of the original staging and lushness to supplement my listening experience. So I was excited to see this revival to finally get the whole experience.

I was moved by Liasons, Send in the Clowns, and Every Day a Little Death. I was bored by everything else. Didn't get the beginning. Knew that Weekend in the Country should be a showstopper, and it felt interminable.

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 10/2/10 at 6:00pm

I've also seen (and very much enjoyed) both girls. I found Whitacre (sp) to be a slightly stronger singer and McNamara had slightly better comic timimg.
As I've posted before, I loved both pairs of Armfeldts, but would give the edge to the current one. I felt Stritch suited the part much better than Lansbury, and she (and the rest of the cast, actually) was much funnier. I didn't detect all that much sadness in Liaisons, and the audience found her so funny in the second act that I was waiting for her to do jazz hands.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 10/2/10 at 8:12pm

Any word yet about it being recorded for DVD release?

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/2/10 at 8:46pm

Didn't get the beginning.

I'm not trying to sound condescending, but what didn't you get about the beginning? The Liebesleider's sing a bit of a "vocal overture" and then the lovers waltz with each other- they switch partners (the wrong partners). When it comes time for the final waltz, they are all finally with the right partner.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 10/2/10 at 10:03pm

PalJoey, this is my favorite Sondheim and I am FINALLY seeing the revival tomorrow. Really didn't want CZJ to ruin it for me, so I stayed away.

I am so excited to hear the score, watch Bernadette's mastery of lyrical interpretation and judge the director. Love your posts. Looking forward to posting my thoughts and chatting with you...

[ABB2357]

Posted: 10/3/10 at 1:57pm

iluvtheatertrash, be sure to post your thoughts here after the show! Also - Best. Avatar. Ever.

[gcal]

Posted: 10/3/10 at 9:36pm

Ljay, I saw the show once, you have seen it several times. I didn't know who anyone was or what was going on during the opening. I didn't understand it. Simple as that.

[jv92]

Posted: 10/3/10 at 9:43pm

ROM, PalJoey can say whatever the **** he wants- not just because it's his opinion, but because he has earned it. His knowledge and experience with and of this show, and of much of Sondheim's work, far surpasses all of ours.
I'm glad you enjoyed Bernadette and Stritch PJ. I loved them, much more than I loved Zeta-Jones and Lansbury, which is saying a lot, since I did like Zeta-Jones and Lansbury very much (Well, Lansbury ALWAYS, but Zeta-Jones the first time. The second time she looked lost).
I think Nunn's direction is a bit bland, a bit slow paced, yes, yes, I'll agree. But I liked some of his choices very much. We'll just have to agree to disagree there.

[DRSisLove]

Posted: 10/3/10 at 10:28pm

Saw the show today, nothing basically nothing about it, and just wanting to see Elaine Stritch live.

I absolutely loved it and thought everything about it was perfect. Usually, I find Sondheim shows to not be my thing, but I really enjoyed what I saw today. Every single person in that cast was incredible. Bernadette was brilliant, and Elaine was hysterical, and emotional, when needed.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/4/10 at 12:31am

DRS's reaction is what the theater was created for--and what BroadwayWorld is about--much more so than any of our facile cynicism and odious comparisons.

You go because something draws you--an actress's reputation, a piece of advertising, the story or subject matter, a need to connect--you go and you lose yourself for two hours or so, and you come out feeling you saw something "perfect." It doesn't matter if it was or it wasn't. It's that unparalleled satisfaction of having seen something perfect.

The shows I fell in love with were FAR from "perfect"...but that didn't keep me from experiencing them that way.

Hold on to that feeling--that ability to experience the perfection in things. It will give you a lifetime of happiness and happy theater-going.

[wonderwaiter]

Posted: 10/4/10 at 1:56am

Threads like this make me chuckle. We had BWW create a Student Board so that people asking questions about their homework would have a place to go where they could be out of the way, marginalized and completely ignored. Meanwhile threads like this happen organically and flourish on the Main Board. These are EXACTLY the types of discussions that students of musical theater should be participating in, and the personal experiences being related here are STAGGERING. This is oral history at its best, and what all of the "Student Board" threads should be aspiring to.

This is the very best of what BWW *should be*.

[Scripps2]

Posted: 10/4/10 at 1:41pm

I live in the constant hope that the next Sondheim production I see will be the definitive version (of the particular show), tempered by the realistic expectation it probably won't.

I love to read PJ's posts about the original productions.

Posted: 10/4/10 at 1:58pm

It is interesting to go back and read contemporary reviews of classic (or "definitive") productions. Not one of them was universally beloved.

In 20 years, when Jaden Smith and Mary Kate Olsen star in Night Music, you kids will be telling everyone how brilliant this show was back when Bernadette Peters was in it.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/4/10 at 2:25pm

I live in the constant hope that the next Sondheim production I see will be the definitive version (of the particular show), tempered by the realistic expectation it probably won't.

That's probably the second most insightful thing ever said about loving Sondheim, the first being Frank Rich's opening sentence to his NY Times review of the original production of Merrily We Roll Along:

As we all should probably have learned by now, to be a Stephen Sondheim fan is to have one's heart broken at regular intervals.

[ABB2357]

Posted: 10/4/10 at 3:11pm

I think the original productions will remain "definitive" as far as Sondheim is concerned. Not that you won't have the occasional revelation like Doyle's SWEENEY TODD, but it's such a departure that they don't really compare. There's room enough for both.

I say this because Sondheim's work continues to evolve over time. It's deep and fluid enough to withstand multiple interpretations, and the man himself seems to encourage this evolution. It's a smart way to keep his legacy alive as he grows older, and also bring younger audiences into the debate. If Doyle's SWEENEY had been my first, I'd almost certainly have gone back to view the original. The originals, however, will remain the go-to reference for future productions because they were, respectfully, the first.

That said, while I might enjoy Hal Prince's NIGHT MUSIC production more than Trevor Nunn's (I wasn't alive to see it), I think what Bernadette and Elaine are doing is extraordinary. It'll be interesting to see how their work alters people's perception of the show over time.

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 1:28pm

My mother used to talk about having seen Helen Hayes play Victoria Regina on Broadway when she was in her 20's.
Apparently, it left quite an impression and became a part of Broadway Theater legend. I think that people will talk about having seen Peters and Stritch in Night Music the same way in years to come. It's why I think anyone at all who loves theater should do what they can to go see them, even if they're not big fans of Sondheim, the show, or the Nunn revival. And I hope they'll extend, at least through the end of the year so that the holiday tourists will have their chance. Anyone hear anything about an extension?

[Rentfan931]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 4:08pm

Telecharge now lists casting after November 21 is TBD, so maybe they extended two more weeks?