Jan Maxwell/Follies

[ilsalund8]

Posted: 12/16/11 at 12:24pm

I saw Follies last night, and after reading her universal raves, I was expecting to love Jan Maxwell. I was severely disappointed. Am I really the only one who finds her performance to be completely over the top? Her screaming in Could I Leave You? is ridiculous. And the way she balls her dress up and shakes as she sings the last note of that number is just bizarre. I'm wondering if she has always been like this, or if this is a new development, as I can't imagine the performance that I saw garnering the praise that has been lavished upon her.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 12/16/11 at 12:26pm

Okay.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/16/11 at 12:31pm

K.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 12/16/11 at 12:41pm

Am I really the only one who ...

Generally, the answer to this question is "Yes."

In this case, the answer to this question is "Yes."

Next question?

[E.Davis]

Posted: 12/16/11 at 12:54pm

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I think you are alone or almost alone on this one.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 12/16/11 at 1:08pm

Oh, Audra. Are you really that threatened by Jan?? The Tonys are still 6 months away!

[Hanna from Hamburg]

Posted: 12/16/11 at 1:18pm

You probably are uncomfortable with an organic reaction being exhibited on stage. Most individuals who have bottled up their feelings for that many years and finally allow them to escape would appear to be over the top. Phyllis was led to believe that she wasn't good enough and changed herself only to find out that she STILL wasn't enough. In retrospect, she realizes that she was FABULOUS and is hanging onto what little bit of control that she can.

I was shocked (personally) at how REAL her reaction was in portraying her emotions in "Could I Leave You?" and felt it was one of the more effective performances I've experienced in my MANY years to going to live theatre.

[E.Davis]

Posted: 12/16/11 at 1:19pm

^HAHAHAHA.

[theeatah]

Posted: 12/16/11 at 4:36pm

You're not alone in finding Maxwell's performance of Could I Leave You? too much. There's been plenty of unfavourable comparisons with Alexis Smith's restrained original version.

However, I haven't encountered anyone who thought Maxwell's entire performance was over the top.

I have my own issues with her characterisation, but the charge of overacting isn't one of them.

[BroadwayFan12]

Posted: 12/16/11 at 4:51pm

I actually see where the OP is coming from, but I think the anger works because there are many layers behind it. She knows the full depth of Phyllis' pain. Here's hoping Jan Maxwell will finally have a Tony in her bag.

[beaemma]

Posted: 12/16/11 at 7:08pm

Alexis Smith's approach was contemplative, as if she were thinking over the pros and cons in her mind. I don't even remember whether John McMartin was on stage while she sang it. With Jan Maxwell, the song is confrontational, and Ron Raines reacts visibly. She's been trying for thirty years and has been getting nothing in return. When he talks about having nothing in his life and never having experienced love, she just snaps. It works for me, but there are people I respect who prefer the contemplative approach.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 12/17/11 at 2:09am

I think Jan Maxwell is magical.

[Emmaloucbway]

Posted: 12/17/11 at 11:11pm

She is magical.

Maxwell deserves a tony to put in her bag! I loved her in Follies!

[AMH]

Posted: 12/18/11 at 12:00am

Jan Maxwell is really fantastic in FOLLIES. Her "Could I Leave You?" is angry, but she makes it work well in the show. If she does win the Tony, it'll have been well deserved.

[AndersonTours]

Posted: 12/18/11 at 12:38am

I agree with the original poster. I have seen the show three times now (two days ago, most recently) and the change in her performance is drastic. She is MUCH angrier than she used to be and truly steals focus in almost every scene she is in. Lots of extraneous movement and noises. I am not kidding. Lucy & Jessie is now filled with all these vocal asides that are just, well, weird.
I DID like her, now I just think it's too manic. To me, what's lacking is class. It is trailer park Phyllis, not classy Alexis Smith Phyllis. If you're into that, you'll love her. Not I. I like class. Whatever happened to it?

[jayinchelsea]

Posted: 12/18/11 at 12:46am

I have to agree with Anderson Tours. Could I Leave You should have much more restrained anger and contemplation. I've also seen the show three times now, and yes, the singing of this song gets angrier and more over the top each time. However, the rest of her performance works very well (although the poor choreography of Lucy and Jessie robs her of the knockout it was with the great Alexis Smith, and the true triumph of Caroline O"Connor in the recent Chicago production).

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/18/11 at 12:52am

I've been following this production since DC. While her "Could I Leave You?" has gotten angrier, her overall performance has NOT drastically changed. Not sure what AndersonTours is talking about.

[fgreene1938]

Posted: 12/18/11 at 1:55am

I haven't seen the show but I've heard the NCR several times, which I think is wonderful. What struck me most on first hearing and remains my chief reaction is how strongly Jan Maxwell resonates in the role of Phyllis. I was not familiar with her previous work and had no expectations, but I thought she was terrific in her two big solos and all of her line readings were spot on. She made Phyllis come across as strong, resilient, world-weary, determined and yet vulnerable (not to mention VERY funny). She also made her seem like someone I'd want to get to know. All of this with only two solos in a long ensemble piece. I now want to seek out anything I can find on Maxwell because she was so good. If she wins a a Tony for the show, it wouldn't surprise me based on the cast recording.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 12/18/11 at 3:41am

I truly believe that Jan Maxwell deserved a Tony for LEND ME A TENOR, which was not a musical. She played Maria, a woman whose world-renowned husband constantly cheats on her, which makes her very angry, so she leaves him. But she loves him, too, so she comes back. (Hmmmm.)

She was HILARIOUS!

[singtopher]

Posted: 12/18/11 at 9:42am

Hear Hear, Miss Pennywise.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/18/11 at 10:39am

Maxwell should have had a few Tonys by now. In addition to her work in Follies and Tenor, she was about the only thing worth watching in Chitty, and completely ran off with that show. And though I unfortunately didn't see it, by all accounts, she was brilliant in The Royal Family.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 12/18/11 at 7:33pm

I just saw the show Tuesday the 13th. She was fabulous. I saw or heard nothing wrong with her performance.

The show as a whole is amazing.