#1
Posted: 2/22/05 at 9:54pm
Thursday, February 17, 2005 8:00 PM
Little Women
Virginia Theatre
We got to the theatre to discover that Sutton Foster was out and that Julie Foldesi would play Jo. I never get too upset about understudies going on because so many of them are terrific. Julie Foldesi was a bit of a disappointment, however. She has nowhere near the vocal prowess of Sutton Foster and struggled to hit some of the higher notes. This diminished the emotional impact of Jo’s songs, especially Astonishing. I did enjoy both Jenny Powers as Meg and Megan McGinnis as Beth, and Maureen McGovern deserves the many accolades she has received for her portrayal of Marmee. She brings a wonderful quality to all of her songs—mature yet vulnerable. The book, as others have noted, has some problems (Does Jo begin writing her novel in New York during the "prologue" or after she has returned home to help care for Beth?), and at times I felt like I was watching a boring Civil War movie—something other than Gone With The Wind—on Saturday afternoon TV. The music is pleasant enough but not at all memorable for the most part. "Pleasant" might be a good word for the entire production—it’s a nice enough experience, but it would be hard to describe it more enthusiastically than that.
There were many empty seats in the orchestra. I am not sure that Little Women will be able to stay open until Tony time.
Little Women
Virginia Theatre
We got to the theatre to discover that Sutton Foster was out and that Julie Foldesi would play Jo. I never get too upset about understudies going on because so many of them are terrific. Julie Foldesi was a bit of a disappointment, however. She has nowhere near the vocal prowess of Sutton Foster and struggled to hit some of the higher notes. This diminished the emotional impact of Jo’s songs, especially Astonishing. I did enjoy both Jenny Powers as Meg and Megan McGinnis as Beth, and Maureen McGovern deserves the many accolades she has received for her portrayal of Marmee. She brings a wonderful quality to all of her songs—mature yet vulnerable. The book, as others have noted, has some problems (Does Jo begin writing her novel in New York during the "prologue" or after she has returned home to help care for Beth?), and at times I felt like I was watching a boring Civil War movie—something other than Gone With The Wind—on Saturday afternoon TV. The music is pleasant enough but not at all memorable for the most part. "Pleasant" might be a good word for the entire production—it’s a nice enough experience, but it would be hard to describe it more enthusiastically than that.
There were many empty seats in the orchestra. I am not sure that Little Women will be able to stay open until Tony time.
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Updated On: 2/22/05 at 09:54 PM
When I saw it on Feb. 19 (evening) she was in and in fine form. Also, the theatre seemed to be packed. As for Sutton's attendance, she was sick for a while during previews, but that isn't her fault. I haven't heard of her being out too much since then.
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