Company Previews Thread — Page 32

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 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!

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.

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,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

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 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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

binau said: "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."

but that isnt the "debate." When I saw Kimberly Akimbo, Bonnie Milligan was hoarse and some of her big belts weren't through the roof like I know she can/does normally. Would I say "she cant sing the score" or would I say "Milligan struggled the night I saw her"

i don't doubt Lenk has had her off nights, and I know some of our most beloved voices are prone to rough patches. The accusation that Lenk "Cant Sing The Score" is not that. Its a suggestion (and it was in the major papers' reviews!) that she was hired despite her inability to objectively do the job. Its topsy turvy, upside down. I find it hard to believe that I happened to see the one random Friday matinee where she sounded perfect.