Emma Stone as Sally Bolwes in Cabaret Review Thread — Page 3

Nicely said

Thanks neonlightsxo. I did eventually find something about the bar rail seating.

I'm happy to hear all these good reviews for Emma. I very much enjoyed Michelle Williams performance and am now looking forward to Emma's interpretation.

I guess I'm going to be the lone dissenter on this one.

I was extremely excited for Emma, and something about the casting just struck me as perfect, but... to me at least, it didn't seem like she had much of an idea of what she was doing from scene to scene. It appears like she either doesn't have a particular point of view on who Sally really is, and/or hasn't been guided with direction.

The first 45 minutes or so, she played her bafflingly as fun / sexy / confident / practical / charismatic, then shifted abruptly to "mess" mode, and in scenes where she wasn't the focus, she seemed like a wooden prop in the background. Oh, and she has an extremely small / weak / borderline-unpleasant singing voice that resulted in them turning her mic way up so she sounds too loud during dialogue scenes.

I think it's awesome that she's doing this, and it's only her 8th performance, so she could feasibly get it together over time. But what I saw from her yesterday was not particularly coherent and didn't give me any sense of who this Sally Bowles was. I LOVED her rendition of "Cabaret" (inarguably, the most pivotal moment in the show for the character/performance), but how great it was on its own made me all the more frustrated that we were given none of the emotional buildup required to make that song devastating (or at least impactful) in the way that it needs to be. I didn't feel like we knew or understood this character at all, making it just a great standalone moment.

Everyone seems to be very supportive so far and rooting for her, giving her an A for Effort. It seems her even attempting this is enough for people to swoon -- which I understand on some level -- but it's a little upsetting that people are so eager to want her to succeed that they'll overlook all her shortcomings, while being so quick to **** on poor Michelle Williams, who was giving an infinitely more interesting performance.

As for the rest of the show, it was like night and day from when I saw the production 6 months ago. Alan seemed to be sleepwalking and Linda came across as sapped of energy (and basically spoke the entirety of "So What?"). To be fair, the audience was cheering like they were at a Justin Bieber concert - which is a weird energy for "Cabaret" - and seemed to be responding as if the show was an adorable comedy, and giggling at anything even slightly uncomfortable or involving homosexual subtext. So, I understand the cast playing into that a little bit (as disappointing as it was), but there was virtually nothing that felt particularly disturbing, confrontational or unsettling this time except for the Act 1 Finale.

In regards to Linda Emond, I saw the show back in April, and I felt she was speak-singing far too much. I wanted her to break my heart, and she never did. I was ready, and it never came. In hindsight, her performance may have been the biggest let down for me.

And for what it's worth: I adored Michelle. I too got the impression that she was playing Sally as being a total phony with the accent, cigarettes, the whole shebang. I thought it was a bold choice, and I adored it. Wish I could have seen her twice.

"I have no personal opinion of her from her movie work that makes me 'want her to succeed.'"

Same here. I thought she was cute in movies, but never thought of her as in impressive actress. When Emma was first rumored to play Sally a couple years ago, I thought she was entirely wrong for it. When Michelle was cast, I was very relieved and thought she was an ideal choice...then I ended up not loving her. Emma has won me over entirely.

I disagree about the lack of emotional buildup as well. I actually felt that way much more with Michelle. To me Michelle came across as sort of subdued/sad from the beginning of the show. I felt like she'd already given up on being famous, which made her arc less impactful.

And I still think the show is in fantastic shape, but there is probably nothing that would make me not like it. The first Emcee I saw was Jon Secada, and I still managed to fall in love with Cabaret. :)

I saw her on Saturday and loved her... I laughed and cried and loved the show in general.

"I would argue that Sally Bowles is not supposed to be a great singer."

Uh, yeah. This is not news.

Natasha and Michelle were not great singers either, but found a certain beauty and sadness in their imperfect vocals. Emma has a weak, quiet voice that's frequently just unpleasant and often barely resonates even with them clearly cranking up her mic.

Also, those who said I was mischaracterizing her defenders as just wanting her to succeed and giving her an A for effort, please note the praise for her having "stayed on pitch."

"often barely resonates even with them clearly cranking up her mic. "

Maybe it was just because I sat closer this time, but this was a problem I had with Michelle.

(And before you say I am sh**ting on one in favor of the other, I enjoyed both performances immensely.)

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Just curious. At what point do NY audiences find themselves more accepting of the movie, or God forbid, TV actress making their Broadway debut? Particularly the more well-known ones. I thought NY theatergoers balked at the idea of the Hollywood actress moving in and doing theater. Just asking because there seems to be a lot of love for this actress who is not a stage actress. Or did she start in theater?

Is it only really considered tolerable if it's a long-running musical where more famous people are being shuttled in and out, and the originals are long gone?

Thanks, Brian. Makes sense.

I know that many actors/actresses you see in TV and movies often track their origins back to theater. But they go where the work is, as they say. Even if their true love is theater. And certainly the money can be better.

I think I was indeed talking more about the actors you refer to as "stunt casting." So thanks for the insight.

By the way, which performers are known to NOT have translated well onto the stage? Any that you can think of?

Julia Roberts had absolutely no stage presence whatsoever in THREE DAYS OF RAIN. Nor did she know what to do with her hands. It was truly uncomfortable watching her as well as listening to her slipping in and out of that strange accent she was using in the second act. Yet she is so wonderful on film which makes her transition to stage acting all the more baffling. While someone like Geraldine Page could conquer both mediums comfortably, Roberts had no clue. However Bradley Cooper and Paul Rudd were just fine.

Brantley raves about Emma.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/05/arts/emma-stone-takes-over-in-cabaret.html?_r=1