Posted: 7/1/15 at 5:52pm
Posted: 7/1/15 at 7:13pm
"Donna does have a tendency to sing flat. "
Been my biggest beef with Donna - but it happens to the best of them. I was clutching my pearls with a Rebecca Luker Mary Poppins performance that was shockingly flat. (Was just appalled that she couldn't hear & correct that!) Where is pitch correction when you need it?
Posted: 7/1/15 at 10:12pm
Testing. For some reason, a lot of the threads aren't showing the last post.
Posted: 7/2/15 at 4:54am
And had you done that you would have been running out shrieking from a Tony Award winning revival with some great performances. 
As some have noted, using a sound byte here and there really doesn't always do justice.
Seeing the clips (from morning shows and the Tonys) wouldn't exactly have me thinking that Kelly was any different (or any better) than several Annas I've seen. You don't get the whole picture from a few clips.
And I will admit to being guilty of doing that. Having seen numerous clips of Kelly, I was surprised to see her take the Tony over Kristin, who I did see. And the latter was phenomenal in a role that was made for her.
Again though, you can't see things out of context like that and make a truly valid judgement.
As for Donna Murphy, had she been that bad (which she wasn't), I doubt they would have cast her.
But then again, the most recent King, I understand, is one who a good percentage of audience members have found almost unintelligible in his lines….so you never know. And that I would find very disconcerting, no matter how good an actor he is.
Posted: 7/3/15 at 1:46am
Agreed. By the way...why did Carrie Underwood sing this song on American Idol? Was this song turned into a pop song at some time or something?
Posted: 7/3/15 at 2:05am
Donna Murphy's singing sounded more like belting at the end of "Hello Young Lovers" in the 1996 revival and she was indeed a tad under the pitch both at the performance I saw and in that cast's recording.
Kelli O'Hara takes a legit soprano approach to singing Anna's songs, and I love how "Hello Young Lovers" fits her voice.
Both women did a good job acting the roles but I personally prefer bel canto singing over women carrying the chest voice as high as they can.
Posted: 7/3/15 at 2:13am
Posted: 7/3/15 at 2:32am
True. Donny Murphy likely sings some notes not a full 1/2 step flat from the center of the pitch but perhaps at most a quarter tone under.
I think some folks would complain about Gertrude Lawrence's flat/almost going off key singing were she portraying Anna right now. But most of the audience will likely overlook it assuming today's audience was acutely aware of her career and her record as a performer as the 1951 audience was.
Posted: 7/3/15 at 10:53am
That was quite a performance by Donna right out there on the street. As in the clip I saw, she does slow down the tempo and spends more time with the lyrics.
I heard Kelli sing "Hello, Young Lovers" at the City Center gala last November. She said that it was only the second time she had performed the song in public and really hadn't been that familiar with it until she got the role as Anna.
I guess she's familiar with it now.
I feel fortunate to have been in New York and to have seen both performances live.
Updated On: 7/3/15 at 10:53 AM
Posted: 7/3/15 at 11:33am
"But then again, the most recent King, I understand, is one who a good percentage of audience members have found almost unintelligible in his lines….so you never know. And that I would find very disconcerting, no matter how good an actor he is."
During intermission, I heard people talking about how they expected it to be a lot worse from what they read, but not only did they say they understood about 90% of what he said, (only A Puzzlement had issues since it's sort of rapid fire), but they were pretty amazed by his command and presence on stage. I have to say I agreed with it. He really has a stage presence and is not only a "good" actor but a pretty incredible one.
