Bernadette in Follies on Sunday.

[tinysinger87]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 2:44am

Did anyone else see Follies this week? Bernadette sounded AWFUL, I'm wondering if she was sick....

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 2:46am

Someone on ATC said her voice was in better shape tonight than in DC.

http://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/d.php?id=2001927

It seems that her vocals can be hit or miss.
Updated On: 8/17/11 at 02:46 AM

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 2:46am

My friend saw it last night (Tuesday) and said she sounded very sick, struggling with her voice throughout.

[tinysinger87]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 2:50am

It was pretty bad. A constant battle between chest and head voice, no mix at all. She flipped into head voice A LOT, places that were awkward. She was overcompensating with her acting, not pretty.

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 2:53am

Ok. Did this really need a new thread though?

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 2:55am

Well, at least she's a trouper, and went on. Many Broadway actresses half her age would have called out.

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 2:57am

My friend also said that the entire cast seemed to have problems hearing the orchestra tonight and they were often a beat or two behind.

[binau]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 3:16am

I feel like from reading that ATC thread and the general complaints about her voice, that there is a bit of confusion about whether Bernadette is in poor voice or whether her voice has just aged and has some difficulties with the score. Not to suggest that she isn't and doesn't have vocal issues, but did anyone who saw it this week see the first preview? Is there really a significant deterioration? It isn't 1984 :P.

Updated On: 8/17/11 at 03:16 AM

[bjh2114]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 6:36am

I was there last night and she sounded awful. I was honestly more offended by her acting choices than her voice though. I sincerely think she is the weakest part about the show. Everyone else was fine (Jan Maxwell, Jayne Houdyshell, and Terri White were the standouts).

[madbrian]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 8:25am

Two of my kids saw the matinee this past Saturday, and they said she sounded bad, the only weak link in the show. Honestly though, I never thought her voice was a good fit for Sally's songs, which are incredibly difficult. Recalling the 1980s concert, Barbara Cook struggled mightily with the songs, and that's a non-trivial statement.

[FrauleinKost]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 9:26am

It's a combo of her voice aging and allergies/sinus issues, I think. No, her voice isn't 100% where it used to be but she sounds damn amazing; I LOVE her voice. Now and always.

Having said there, of all the times I saw it in DC (6 times, about once a week throughout the run), there was one performance where her voice sounded strained and she was clearly having difficulty with the higher notes (didn't effect my enjoyment of the performance though, I still thought she was marvelous). I saw her at the stage door after and her assistant had a big bag of tissues and various medicines, so, I can only assume it was somehow sinus related. Isn't she known for having bronchial issues?

(that last part sounded reeeeally stalkery)

I may just be PMSing, but sometimes I find this kind of criticism to be annoying and sad. It's like everyone needs to be able to perfectly belt a high G otherwise they don't belong on a Broadway stage. She sounds just fine--more than fine!--especially for her age. What matters more is the emotion, the acting. I couldn't care less if she's having trouble switching from chest to head, as long as she's delivering a great performance.

Let's just cut Bernadette AND Jan and replace then with Idina and Kristen; that should make people happy.

(and I'm not just referring to what has been written on this thread, but other threads, other msg boards, etc)

[massofmen]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 9:41am

don't be so flippant. no one is saying put kristin and idina up there.

If she wasn't "bernadette" people would be booing her off the stage. Its the same when a athlete is passed his prime. Bernadette's acting choices are awful, her singing is worse and she looks lost on stage. its like she is lost in the 80's style of acting and never got out of it.

put Beth Leavel up there. She would kill it. KILL it. probably win the tony award. right now bernadette is doing a disservice to her "legendary" status in my opinion because most people on this board never saw her in anything but this or MAYBE gypsy.

[uncageg]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 9:45am

I was there last night and noticed the changes but it didn't bother me. I thought she sounded fine and gave a fine performance.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 9:53am

I saw it again on Tuesday having seen it in DC. This time I had much better seats (although the box seats in DC were great, 10th row center orch was GREAT seats).

I dont think her voice was any stronger or weaker this time. I agree that the songs are just a difficult fit for her voice. She's never had a seamless break and here she uses her head voice more than ever. And I also agree with Madbrian that even Cook had trouble with these songs, and it makes me adore Dorothy Collins even more.

I'm not sure how to put my finger on it, but I just really dislike Sally in this production. Her willingness to believe that Ben actually is going to leave with her was just so unbelievable this time. I bought it from others I've seen, McKechnie and Ivey...but Bernadette's Sally felt fake to me. It makes me realize that it's a very tough part to play.

I'm a fan of Bernadette, just not her Sally.

Burstein and Maxwell were, again, sublime, and I enjoyed Raines more this time, although I dont think his breakdown at the end was very powerful. I enjoyed Paige's number more this time, but she seemed uninterested the rest of the time, throwing her lines away. Houdyshelle was fun and was acting even in the background. She's having a great time, but I did much prefer Lavin's vocal. Hattie should be a showstopping singer, imo.

White was still a big standout. She even flubbed a line and made it funny. So loving her and I really hope she gets a tony nom.

I'm also in love with Lora Lee Gayer as young Sally. She is as good an actress as she is a singer. Truly talented. And as a singer, I also adored, again, Leah Horowitz' young Heidi. I think "One Last Kiss" is a very important moment in the show and she and Elias were wonderful vocally, with Horowitz being so delicate. Her last note made me cry. I love her slow exit during the next scene.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 10:03am

Saw it Sat. night and she was having trouble.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 10:08am

What is "the 80s style of acting"?

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 10:20am

My guess is that it includes a lot of shoulder pads and hairspray.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 10:25am

I don't see why it matters. It's all in the passed.

[TonyVincent]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 11:00am

Was there last night as well (we should have had a meet-up at intermission!). I agree that Bernadette was the weakest part of the show. You could tell she felt sick, snuck in coughs/throat clears during songs, and overacted a bit more than normal. I found her to be the weakest part of the show, and a bit less believable than the last weekend in DC.

It's a fabulous show and an able production, but I would change Bernadette and Rob if I could. Marin Mazzie would be my choice, not sure about Ben.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 11:22am

I saw FOLLIES on Sunday, August 7 and on Saturday, August 13 matinee and thought Bernadette was outstanding. True, her voice isn't like it was on the MACK & MABEL cast recording, but it is still incredible and beautiful. The woman does not deserve such a negative thread like this and I am truly shocked at what people are saying about her performance.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 11:38am

I've only seen the video clips of the DC production, but I have to say her "In Buddy's Eyes" is, to my mind stunning; one of her best vocal performances.

I'm looking forward to seeing this in NY.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 11:54am

Seems to me that Bernadette, a musical theater legend, justly, and acclaimed singer, also justly, seems to be getting a lot more leeway for her singing (which I found to be problematic, at least last weekend) than Jan, a great dramatic actress with musical comedy experience, who is not known at all as a dancer, for her dancing (which I found to be acceptable if far from brilliant). Especially since Sally is a very vocally demanding role and Phyllis, although she has one big dance number, certainly doesn't need to come off as Gwen Verdon in it to, as Jan did by sheer presence and acting and singing the hell out of it, make it work,

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 12:08pm

I have been praised Bernadette and I've been critical of her, but her Sally is gorgeous.

It's a beautifully sung and acted performance, not as flawless as she was in Sunday in the Park but not as self-indulgent as she was in Night Music.

She's my 3rd favorite Sally, after Dorothy Collins and Victoria Clark.

[mikem]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 12:21pm

I was also at Saturday's matinee and am surprised that people thought that Bernadette was bad vocally at that performance. Does her voice sound exactly like it did in 1985? No. But I still think her singing was wonderful. She wasn't doing any of the coughing/throat clearing that it sounds like she has done at other performances, and I didn't notice any straining.

(SPOILERS for the plot of Follies below)

That being said, I found her Sally to be completely looney tunes and if I knew her Sally in real life, I would try to avoid her as much as possible. I agree that it is completely unbelievable that Sally would think that Ben wants to marry her in this production, while I have not felt that way in other productions. I don't know if it's because her Sally just seems so completely out of touch with what anyone around her is feeling or that Raines and Peters seem to have no chemistry or that Raines is playing Ben as having no actual interest in Sally whatsoever, but when Bernadette says that Ben wants to marry her, it seems so absurd and so out of nowhere that people were chuckling in that "She did not just say that!" kind of way.

[dreaming]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 12:52pm

Mikem-I am interested in your take on Bernadette's interpretation of Sally. I was thinking that maybe she was playing this as a fantasy in Sally's head and that Sally is delusional. (And maybe she's fulfilling her own self-prophesy with "Losing My Mind".) If this is what she's doing, it's vastly different (doesn't mean it's wrong-I actually think it's rather interesting to have much of this taking place in Sally's head).