Bernadette in Follies on Sunday.- Page 3

Posted: 8/17/11 at 3:13pm

You'll never hear ME trot out that justification, Phyl. I view everyone's opinion as invalid- always!!

[binau]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 4:15pm

RE: Mikem and it being unbelievable that Sally thinks Ben is going to marry her.

I thought it was delusional and very upsetting that Sally thought Ben was going to marry her, which is what I thought was the whole point. That is what is heartbreaking - you know that she is just setting herself up for disaster. It isn't the case that I feel "Oh, Ben is such an awful person for deceiving her", I much more strongly feel "Oh, Sally, why???"

Maybe this is an issue of this production then, but I like this.

RE: Bernadette's voice. Based on the latest comments I definitely feel that some people just don't like it. I love everything about it...I can see how it might not sound pleasant for some. Mazzie and LuPone's singing sounds so much clearer and effortless. But there is some kind of personality in her voice that I just love and it isn't IMO taking away from her character in "Buddy's Eyes" or "Losing My Mind".

[figaroindy]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 4:27pm

Interesting - well, I'll say it - I'm NOT from the city, only saw it once (last Wendesday evening) and would agree, Bernadette's voice was sub-par. It wasn't sinus infection, it was that her break in her voice between belt and head voice was like a giant canyon. She's never been good in the soprano range (this isn't even a particularly high role) and she's never negotiated the break well. She tends to sound like she's yodeling back and forth between the two voices.

That said - I liked her "Losing My Mind" (which mostly stayed in her lower range, so the yodel wasn't as noticeable). I did think she was the weaker of the leads. Jan Maxwell was outstanding.

Liking or not liking her sound isn't really justification for incorrect vocal production. I liked her in several things, but they were lower and better suited for her range (Desiree, for example isn't high AT all, which is why it was again, less noticeable that she had break problems). Act I of Follies sits high for the Sally character, and it showed off the unevenness of Bernadette's vocal scale pretty clearly.

[binau]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 4:38pm

The only thing I think Bernadette "might" have to apologise and ask for a pass - is "Too Many Mornings", in a similar way that e.g. Ripley (although to much worse effect - I think Bernadette just barely copes) could just not hit the notes at all at the end of "So Anyway" during the tour. But personally I don't think she has to be sorry for her vocal performance of the rest of the score....I think her voice is strong enough to handle the other songs even if the quality of her voice is not pleasant enough for some. (Although I saw the first preview and it's logical that after a long break she was at her best here)

Updated On: 8/17/11 at 04:38 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 4:56pm

Her soprano notes in 'Too Many Mornings' are beautiful. It is the chest/head transitions that can be unpleasant, though I don't really mind them.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 4:57pm

I was under the impression from the first hand account of a reliable poster that Bernadette was sick. That is where my lack of compassion comments come from. Im fine with criticism, but going off on a sick performer is ridiculous.

If Bernadette is not ill, then discuss away.

Im curious though why I dont recall any of this discussion during the DC run.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 5:06pm

Then you just missed it. There were plenty of less than enthusiastic comments about her vocals during the DC run.

[choitoy]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 5:09pm

@ Bettyboy:

There was plenty of discussion over her voice during the DC run (though I don't know if you want to reread almost 100 pages of comments).

She was known to be having issues with allergies/sinuses (and during the time I was there, 98 degree weather with 100% humidity).

I saw the show back to back (Tuesday night/Wednesday matinee on June 1/2), and she was stronger for the matinee than she was for the Tuesday show (where she had a lot more audible throat clearing and coughs). She did sound congested during some passages. And I never did get a good hearing of her transition between her chest voice and her head voice soprano, so the first time she did it in the show, it kinda surprised me as not being the most graceful of transitions (though it may also be from the aformentioned sinus/allergy issues).

I did think that she did a great acting job. It started off really understated, but it worked itself into delusion and finally heartbreak really well.

[Blactor]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 7:56pm

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

This was said ages ago by mysteriousgrowl...and BWAAAAAAAAAAAhahahahahahahahahahahahaha

[mikem]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 8:36pm

In terms of Sally saying that Ben is going to marry her, I want to make it clear that I think Bernadette's interpretation of Sally and her acting choices are completely legitimate choices and I have no issues with the quality of her acting -- I just would have preferred a different take on Sally.

Bernadette's Sally, to me, seems to be genuinely mentally ill from the get go. Not foolish or silly or a bit "off," but genuinely mentally ill. It feels like Bernadette has chosen the title of "Losing My Mind" as the cornerstone to her interpretation. Sally seems to be completely disconnected from what Ben or anyone else is saying to her. I think that's why the "Ben wants to marry me" line came across to me as so absurd -- it doesn't seem like she is misinterpreting or giving a hopeful spin to what we've seen. I think in other productions I have seen, it didn't seem so completely ridiculous that Ben might have some type of feelings for Sally or that they have or had some type of connection. Here, I felt that we have seen nothing that would indicate that Sally would have any reason to feel that way, and her believing such a ridiculous thing was not grounded in any kind of reality.

It was as if she said something like, "I think I'm the daughter of Dmitri Weissman," which would have seemed about equally out of left field.

(Just my opinion, of course. I know others may disagree.)

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 8:53pm

When Victoria Clark said to Victor Garber, "We're getting married, aren't we?" - the entire theater started bursting out in laughter. It came off as kind of ridiculous with her Sally.

Bernadette's Sally truly seems to believe that they are getting married, and since the audience knows she's off since the beginning, it's easier to accept that she believes she's going to marry Ben. It doesn't seem ridiculous.

Just my opinion!

[AC126748]

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

Ljay, I couldn't agree more re: Clark's interpretation of Sally.

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 9:49pm

I LOVE Victoria Clark. Her vocals were glorious, but the acting just wasn't there, for me. At times, it felt like she was merely reading lines. She didn't do much to portray Sally's instability, that's why it was so unbelievable when she thought Ben was going to marry her.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 9:51pm

Bettyboy, I applaud her for being a trooper and going on. The fact is I didn't know she was ill when I saw her Sat. night, and was simply reacting to the performance I was seeing, which, from all I could tell, was vocally very rough-going, and also a gutsy but to me not very successful interpretation of Sally. So, now I know it was rough going vocally because she was ill; that doesn't mean I think she should have stayed home.

It is what it is.

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 9:52pm

Agreed, agreed, agreed. The vocal performance was stunning. The acting was shallow, at best. Granted, a concert staging is not a full production, and the abbreviated rehearsal time could have something to do with it, but I never once believed that her Sally was out on the edge, so to speak. Even her entrance was way too chipper. "At times, it felt like she was merely reading lines" is a great way to describe it.

I think she COULD be a great Sally, but she wasn't at Encores.

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 9:59pm

I can't imagine that with all of Victoria Clark's immense talent, both singing and acting, that her performance wouldn't have been better with a full rehearsal period. I haven't seen many Encores! stagings, but, in some cases, aren't they given very little rehearsal time and are often literally reading lines? I know that more nuanced performances can come from such stagings, but Sally really is a complex character. And from what I've seen of Clark's Sally, I do agree with you, but would merely hope that she would be able to grow into the role enough to have it be up to her singing the role, as I think Bernadette has.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 8/17/11 at 10:09pm

Other than the extremely awkward, jarring transitions from her chest to head voice, I thought Peters sounded great at the first preview.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 8/18/11 at 3:08am

Bernadette Peters gives an outstanding performance in whatever show she is in. I'm not a huge fan, never have been. But I am consistently impressed with the quality of her work and the fact that she always gives 100%, even when she is under the weather, miscast or experiencing a personal trauma. (Didn't she keep concert dates right after the death of her husband?)

I saw the first preview of FOLLIES in DC, the last performance in DC (as well as a few in between) and the first preview in NYC. I think what Bernadette is doing with the character is fascinating. Her portrayal becomes richer each time I see it. And she has never given the same performance twice. Her Sally is so emotionally unstable, we don't know "what she will do next"...and that's the way it should be.

[FrauleinKost]

Posted: 8/18/11 at 9:32am

Miss Pennywise, I agree completely on everything (except I AM a huge fan, lol--and yes, she did keep concert dates right after her husband's death, I think she had one two weeks after or something, and she also filmed an episode of Will & Grace shortly after, too)

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/18/11 at 10:04am

I thought Victoria Clark's acting was superb. She laid bare Sally's delusions and manipulations. She made Sally into a protagonist and not just a victim.

[Producer2]

Posted: 8/18/11 at 10:49pm

She was terrific at the Saturday matinee.

[Kad]

Posted: 8/18/11 at 10:56pm

Bernadette's Sally seemed to believe from the get-go that rekindling something with Ben was possible. It was most likely the whole reason she came in the first place.

The book, in my opinion, doesn't really give any other explanation for Sally's behavior other than mental illness. This is a woman who will on a whim travel to the home of her sons unannounced just to argue with them.