Company Previews Thread- Page 32

[ashley0139]

Posted: 12/9/21 at 8:04pm

KitKatBoy24 said: "It’s not about if she “belts” or not. It’s about the expression of the music/song with her voice as the medium. Her voice simply sounds and feels weak in such an otherwise powerful moment. She could Mix the voice there in a different manner, or even a more legit option. Something with growth and dynamics. We don’t need a screlty/pop belt. Vocally there is nothing dramatic or expressive happening during the climax. We just need something more than what she’s capable of doing. I think it could be achieved in a lower key for her. She’d be able to give us more of the natural colors of her voice that make her so fascinating to listen to.


Everything else is just SO good that it makes it stick out in a negative way. I’ve tried to let it go, but it’s staying with me. It was very disappointing in the moment."

There are MANY people complaining she's not a traditional belter. I completely disagree with your assessment, but that is fine. People will have different opinions. Her performances is staying with me in the best way. I haven't stopped thinking about it.

Updated On: 12/9/21 at 08:04 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/9/21 at 8:06pm

I don’t think this debate will ever end. You either like her singing in this or you don’t. I think she’s a knockout in the role. 

[binau]

Posted: 12/11/21 at 5:51am

"Her performances is staying with me in the best way. I haven't stopped thinking about it."

Same, I have this stirring/missing feeling when I think about it. Funny how there seems to be a group of us here that think it's the 'best thing evarrr' and others who hate it. Can't think of the last time there was a performance so divisive here.

 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 12/11/21 at 6:02am

binau said: "Can't think of the last time there was a performance so divisive here."

These conversations about Lenk bring me back to these boards in 2012 when Elena Roger was in the Evita revival. I was in the camp that loved her, but I remember there being very strong opinions that swayed between love and hate with absolutely no one falling in the middle!

 

[BJR]

Posted: 12/11/21 at 7:13am

They actually remind me of discussions of the last COMPANY revival. it was extremely polarizing. As much as folks now think Raul was wonderful, that was not the concensus at the time. They didn't take issue with his vocals, but then, that's usually in a production of FOLLIES that we do that.

[Georgeanddot2]

Posted: 12/11/21 at 8:06am

The way Katrina quietly breaks down into tears during the "wish" in Being Alive was sublime.  Her solos come across as quiet epiphanies that contrast the frantic loud energy of the rest of the show.  It's almost like Bobby finds it peaceful to be alone sometimes with her thoughts.  The shadowy lighting that makes the stage feel cavernous adds wonderfully to this as well.

Katrina can also very much so sing this role and doesn't seem to be struggling to hit notes at all.  She's just got a lighter voice and she mixes instead of belts.

[JasonC3]

Posted: 12/11/21 at 8:21am

I get the Lenk's voice may not work for some, but I think her interpretation of the song here is powerful.

Perhaps one of Lenk's lasting contributions will be reclaiming "Being Alive" from what in recent years and various performances was consistently "Belting Alive."

The song is powerful enough to handle many interpretations that do not require "letting it rip" throughout.
 

[carnzee]

Posted: 12/11/21 at 8:32am

binau said: " Can't think of the last time there was a performance so divisive here.

Just for fun I'm trying to think. Elena Roger, as mentioned above may have been even more divisive. Also Imelda in the filmed Gypsy, and maybe Imelda in Follies. Certainly Lenk is up there. But watch this board when Beanie plays Fanny. I could see her being more controversial than Lenk. 

 

[Georgeanddot2]

Posted: 12/11/21 at 8:42am

The difference between Bobbie and Fanny is the quality of the writing.  Bobbie doesn't necessarily need a big voice to sell those songs.  It just needs a really strong actor.  The Funny Girl songs are not particularly deep and do require a big voice to sell the songs and make the show work.

I am genuinely concerned about Beanie's abilities.  People come to Funny Girl to hear someone SANG those songs because the show is.... not particularly great as a whole.

[fosterfan2]

Posted: 12/11/21 at 11:01am

Georgeanddot2,you and I are on the same page regarding Beanie and Katrina,and their characters. Fanny definitely does need a belter. As other posters have pointed out,due to shows like Wicked, American Idol,and America's Got Talent,everyone expects women to belt and screlt. As Eddie Shapiro pointed out in his book Nothing Like a Dame,Ben Brantley had once written about "the American Idolization" of Broadway.

Another divisive singer is Idina Menzel. People either love or hate her voice.

Updated On: 12/12/21 at 11:01 AM

[BernadetteBenanti]

Posted: 12/11/21 at 11:13am

Hey folks, figured I post this here in case anyone is interested, it’s a bit last minute (mods feel free to remove if not allowed):

 

I have 2 Orchestra tickets for today’s 12/11 matinee at 2pm that I’m no longer able to use and don’t want them to go to waste. They were $130 each but I’m willing to sell them for $60 each (OBO). I have the tickets in PDF format so can easily email to you, can take venmo or cash app.

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/11/21 at 11:47am

Another divisive performance I remember was Bernadette in Follies, not quite as divisive as this, but there were so many debates with the Follies addicts on here. I was gutted when she didn’t get the Tony nomination. 

When everything settles, when we have a cast recording, and the show continues its run, my gut tells me more people will realize how special Katrina’s performance is. Some may even change their tune from their original reactions. It could be similar to Bernadette in another role: Rose. She struggled during previews, had vocal issues, but over the course of the run she found she truly found her footing in the role. Arthur Laurent’s recognized this as well, see Binau’s signature. 
I don’t think Lenk is struggling at all, but I think the reception is going to lean more towards positive eventually, rather than the divisiveness we're seeing now.  

[Kad]

Posted: 12/11/21 at 11:56am

I have never seen a "Being Alive" as compelling and coherently acted as Lenk's. She treats the lyrics as the roadmap to discovery that they are intended to be, and takes us on that journey with her.

We have so many big-voiced versions of the song, from other productions or concerts. It was truly refreshing to see an entirely different take, and one that, for me, seemed revelatory to my understanding of the song.

Is there someone with the huge voice and the acting chops to do the same, while giving the belting that many desire? Possibly. But it's hard not to imagine the subtlety, the precision of the acting beats being lost under the noise.

[Rudy2]

Posted: 12/11/21 at 1:11pm

Kad said: "I have never seen a "Being Alive" as compelling and coherently acted as Lenk's. She treats the lyrics as the roadmap to discovery that they are intended to be, and takes us on that journey with her.

We have so many big-voiced versions of the song, from other productions or concerts. It was truly refreshing to see an entirely different take, and one that, for me, seemed revelatory to my understanding of the song.

Is there someone with the huge voice and the acting chops to do the same, while giving the belting that many desire? Possibly. But it's hard not to imagine the subtlety, the precision of the acting beats being lost under the noise."

I agree completely. I also agree that not every female performer needs to be a belter, or that a belter is better! Sometimes it’s a hindrance when a performer coasts on a dazzling voice; they forget to embody a character.

To this day I remember Norm Lewis singing “Being Alive” in Sondheim on Sondheim. He sounded superb vocally, but his performance had, I found, zero connection to the words and meaning of the song. It was an opportunity to show off he had a voice and he used it. It left me unmoved. I realize the show was a revue, but I don’t think that should make any difference to whether or not the singer inhabits a song and imbues it with the meaning that is appropriate, rather than using it as a performance vector. I will simply never forget how absolutely perfect his singing was and wondering why I wasn’t riveted; I was a less sophisticated theatergoer then, and took some time to realize all this.

I suspect I will be very moved by Lenk.

Updated On: 12/11/21 at 01:11 PM

[JasonC3]

Posted: 12/11/21 at 2:59pm

Barbara Cook speaks so eloquently about connecting (as I believe Lenk does) to what a song is about and making it personal here in this Kennedy Center masterclass video. 

The final effort of the first young singer she coaches made be less forceful or less technically correct, but it is far more authentic, human, and ultimately, expressive.

Updated On: 12/11/21 at 02:59 PM

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 12/11/21 at 8:44pm

Another incredibly polarizing performance that comes to mind, while not a musical, was Michelle Williams in Blackbird. I (and many others) thought she was giving a career best, top tier performance. Just as many thought she was unintentionally funny and ridiculous.

[sng]

Posted: 12/11/21 at 9:13pm

aw was watching the opening night video and spotted Christine Baranski without Colbert. Seems like he ditched their "date" lol

[RippedMan]

Posted: 12/12/21 at 4:12am

For me it's just the placement. It comes after LuPone slays "Ladies Who Lunch" with her very Broadway belt.  And then we get this quiet, smaller "Being Alive." And it didn't quite feel like the ending we're use to in a musical. So, I'm not saying it's bad, but it wasn't for me. To me, I think we can have both. If it worked for you, awesome, it just didn't work for me. I get her appeal in book scenes, and like i've said, she just gives off a cool, downtown chic vibe. But I don't want to see the actor bracing to sing the notes, and that's how it came off to me. But I will happily return to this production. 

[Skip23]

Posted: 12/12/21 at 4:14am

COMPANY only seems to work when there’s a “concept” making you care about about the plight of Bobbie/Bobbie. For this one, I hardly noticed her. Reminded me of Kristen Stewart in Spencer movie. All quirks and distractions. But no There, There. Why are these people friends?  I DONT CARE ABOUT ANY OF THEM. 

[binau]

Posted: 12/12/21 at 11:09am

Can you speak more about what kind of ‘concepts’ have been used to do that?

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 12/12/21 at 11:16am

Sad to be with those highly critical of this production and the otherwise marvelous Lenk's performance.  The best Bobbys I have seen are observers trying to make sense of things, they wear their alienation well.  Lenk doesn't seem to be trying.  Does she even want to try to understand life, relationships, marriage?  Her Bobbie is defined by a static befuddlement in Elliott's Through the Looking Glass vision. She has many moments of excessive cynicism and unpleasantness which unbalance this already joyfully sardonic musical.  

The sourest is Side by Side, which Elliot has directed as a madhouse number with a subtext that no one in this group of friends genuinely enjoys being with anyone.   WTF?

There is no reason to believe that Bobbie loves her friends; much less that her friends love her.  Some of Jennifer Simard's Sarah;s many winning moments suggest she doesn't really like Bobbie at all, which is far too believable given the circumstances.  Lenk's songs are ugly til Being Alive, where she does a creditable job adding 'em up, but far too little far too late.     

All this is made all the worse by all the good that there is in this production.  The rest of the cast is perfection.  The set is bold and fun.  Elliott boosts the physical comedy to fine effect. Lupone is brilliant and shows great faith in her drunk half-baked efforts to shock Lenk out of inertia.  Matt Doyle is genius.  I disagree with those who find Not Getting Married and Conte's Another Hundred in People (it may be an unpopular opinion, but I loved it!) dont' sit well in male voices.  Whether Bobby's songs sit well in a woman's voice in general... the jury is out, but they don't sit well in Lenk's. 
 

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 12/12/21 at 11:17am

Kad said: "I have never seen a "Being Alive" as compelling and coherently acted as Lenk's. She treats the lyrics as the roadmap to discovery that they are intended to be, and takes us on that journey with her.

We have so many big-voiced versions of the song, from other productions or concerts. It was truly refreshing to see an entirely different take, and one that, for me, seemed revelatory to my understanding of the song.

Is there someone with the huge voice and the acting chops to do the same, while giving the belting that many desire? Possibly. But it's hard not to imagine the subtlety, the precision of the acting beats being lost under the noise."

I agree that her performance of the song was perfect, but i feel like there are two different debates happening here, maybe 3. First, is Lenk's portrayal of Bobbi believable/enjoyable/good?   Second, is she acting/singing the songs properly, with the right emotion/vocals? and Three, is she singing well, ie is she able to hit the notes and making pleasant sounds with her mouth and lungs?

I understand the first debate, as it seems to me to be totally subjective. I think the character itself is unknowably vague and underwritten, and she does the best she can with it, but i understand the theory that her aloof/sultry demeanor renders her miscast.

The second debate, again, is a subjective one, though I find it hard to understand how someone could have seen her do Barcelona or Being Alive and think she wasnt simply nailing each one. But ok.

Its the third debate that eludes me. She sounds great. She glides up/down Being Alive. She closes out Marry Me A Little beautifully. I don't understand how people here think she is struggling with the score based on the performance i saw. We can debate whether Elena Roger was doing good work in 2012 or not, but she would certainly concede that her vocals were rough and she struggled with many of the higher notes. Lenk has no such issue.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 12/12/21 at 11:25am

I agree, Zion24, that third debate is ridiculous. She is a good singer who sings the songs technically well. That shouldn’t be up for debate at all. These “can’t sing” complaints are bizarre to me.

[binau]

Posted: 12/12/21 at 11:27am

I agree that I don’t think she struggled when I saw her but does she vary night to night? Ie are we actually all comparing the same performance? Hopefully the cast recording if it happens will help settle. 

[Georgeanddot2]

Posted: 12/12/21 at 11:46am

I wonder if they're re-designing the window card. It wasn't available at the theater and the one online includes actors who are no longer with the show and completely different costumes.