Julia McKenzie as the Witch singing Last Midnight

[Musicaldudepeter]

Posted: 5/17/14 at 7:55am

Finally, some footage of Julia McKenzie playing the Witch in the 1990 London production of ITW... This is her singing Last Midnight at the Evening Standard Awards at the time.

Thoughts?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SizvaAanJM&list=UU1FUZ1spxyuggDKWIdZ3ekw


Updated On: 5/17/14 at 07:55 AM

[ukpuppetboy]

Posted: 5/17/14 at 8:44am

Wow what an awesome find. There's been regrettably little promo footage from the OLC and Julia McKenzie especially and I've always wished I'd had the chance to see that production - especially as she remains the definitive Mrs Lovett to me ever since that amazing National Theatre run. She's in fine voice here and looks like it was quite the performance. Thanks for the post.

[BobbyBubbi]

Posted: 5/17/14 at 9:06am

Wow. Loving this as well. I have always loved the OLC recording. I knew the London production was different visually, very neat to see it. Julia has such a strong voice. Wish we could see her "lament" too!

[Musicaldudepeter]

Posted: 5/17/14 at 9:18am

She's definitely one of the finest Witches... she was perfection as Lovett too.

[devonian.t]

Posted: 5/17/14 at 3:23pm

Look at my avatar and figure how pleased I am to see this!!!

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 1:29am

I saw that this had been post and immediately thought of devonian.t's avatar. I love her little hat!

Her full performance must have been spectacular.

[brettarnett]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 1:45am

First of all, I always forget how incredibly strong her voice is. Second of all, I love those fingers, but that hat looks like something from a costume shop.

Speaking of Julia, she got to play some of the best roles for women: April in Company, Lily in On the Twentieth Century, Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, Sally in Follies, the Witch in Into the Woods and Lovett in Sweeney Todd.

Updated On: 5/18/14 at 01:45 AM

[Buddy's blues]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 3:28am

Having first seen Ms McKenzie in Company back in 1971, I have always been impressed by the quality of her performances. Her performance as the witch is right up there with all her other stage work - a truly great actress who has taken my breath away on many occasions. I'm so grateful that a lot of her stuff is appearing little by little on internet. It gives me the chance to relive those sublime moments and it gives others the opportunity to see what an amazing talent she really is.

[GlitterandBeGay2]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 4:10am

Miss Marple can sing!!

[keithp]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 6:39am

her Lily Garland in On The Twentieth Century rates as one of the very best performances I have ever seen.

[devonian.t]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 7:36am

"Like" that message!

Also- that moment when all the doors fell off their hinges- it was such a coup in the theatre the first time I saw it. Updated On: 5/18/14 at 07:36 AM

[Musicaldudepeter]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 7:36am

Her Adelaide and Mrs. Lovett are to me her finest performances. She was also an incredible Sally and Witch.

[missthemountains]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 8:34am

Her costume is unbelievably horrid. What were they thinking with that hat?

[MikeInTheDistrict]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 11:51am

I kind of like that hat. I see a touch of Schiaparelli in there. (Schiaparelli was one of the most influential fashion designers of the 20th century and often considered "Chanel's rival.")


Schiaparelli Hats Updated On: 5/18/14 at 11:51 AM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 11:59am

What was the significance of the doors falling? It seems random out of context.

[Musicaldudepeter]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 12:20pm

Maybe there was more to the excerpt but not shown on the video clip... All I know is that that production of ITW was set in a room... that was the design concept, so doors... room... probably makes some sort of sense.

[ajh]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 2:10pm

So great to see this. I saw the London ITW 3 times and it was a terrific production, very different from the Broadway versions. The set was a big semicircle of traditional "nursery" style wallpaper with a massive cuckoo clock in the middle of it, and the characters came and went through the various doors. When the curtain went up on Act 2 the audience always gasped as the set had been radically adjusted during intermission: the wallpaper had been distressed and was peeling in patches so that you could see through to previous wallpapers and the enormous clock had been trashed, hanging off the wall, with all the springs sticking out at funny angles and the cuckoo stabbed through the heart. It was funny but very disturbing, and that moment at the end of Last Midnight when all the doors we'd been looking at all night were suddenly blasted off their hinges felt apocalyptic, very powerful. Julia McKenzie was brilliant, as was Imelda Staunton as the Bakers Wife. The aftermath of her death was more devastating than in any of other 6 stagings of ITW that I've seen.

[ajh]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 2:10pm

So great to see this. I saw the London ITW 3 times and it was a terrific production, very different from the Broadway versions. The set was a big semicircle of traditional "nursery" style wallpaper with a massive cuckoo clock in the middle of it, and the characters came and went through the various doors. When the curtain went up on Act 2 the audience always gasped as the set had been radically adjusted during intermission: the wallpaper had been distressed and was peeling in patches so that you could see through to previous wallpapers and the enormous clock had been trashed, hanging off the wall, with all the springs sticking out at funny angles and the cuckoo stabbed through the heart. It was funny but very disturbing, and that moment at the end of Last Midnight when all the doors we'd been looking at all night were suddenly blasted off their hinges felt apocalyptic, very powerful. Julia McKenzie was brilliant, as was Imelda Staunton as the Bakers Wife. The aftermath of her death was more devastating than in any of other 6 stagings of ITW that I've seen.

[ajh]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 2:10pm

So great to see this. I saw the London ITW 3 times and it was a terrific production, very different from the Broadway versions. The set was a big semicircle of traditional "nursery" style wallpaper with a massive cuckoo clock in the middle of it, and the characters came and went through the various doors. When the curtain went up on Act 2 the audience always gasped as the set had been radically adjusted during intermission: the wallpaper had been distressed and was peeling in patches so that you could see through to previous wallpapers and the enormous clock had been trashed, hanging off the wall, with all the springs sticking out at funny angles and the cuckoo stabbed through the heart. It was funny but very disturbing, and that moment at the end of Last Midnight when all the doors we'd been looking at all night were suddenly blasted off their hinges felt apocalyptic, very powerful. Julia McKenzie was brilliant, as was Imelda Staunton as the Bakers Wife. The aftermath of her death was more devastating than in any of other 6 stagings of ITW that I've seen.

[ajh]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 2:14pm

Sorry everyone. Didn't intend to post that last rambling 3 times! My iPad is playing up

[Scripps2]

Posted: 5/19/14 at 5:36pm

A lot of thought went into the design of the London production. Even the detail of the wallpaper in the baker's house in the opening scene was an appropriation of The National Trust's oak leaf logo, apparently implying a safe, comfy-cosy disconnection from reality.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 5/19/14 at 6:28pm

Great link! Previously I'd only seen the opening and Hello Little Girl TV performances https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgGJWd9JQJw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeKF1eYuC78

[Musicaldudepeter]

Posted: 5/19/14 at 6:53pm

Some of the casting choices are odd. Apparently (for anyone who saw it - I did not) Imelda Staunton was sublime as the Baker's Wife; but judging on this clip alone of McKenzie, I would've given her the Olivier award over Staunton -- the two were nommed for the best actress in a musical prize in 1991.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/19/14 at 7:08pm

Are there any photos of Julia's witch before her transformation?

[Musicaldudepeter]

Posted: 5/19/14 at 7:24pm

None online as far as I know... but there's a souvenir program available of the show which has the pics of her at start of show - also can be seen in the liner notes/booklet of the recording. Her ugly witch was very traditional witch i.e. pointed hat, big nose, etc. I don't think it was as 'old lady-ish' as Bernadette's, whose first witch was more of a bag lady. Julia's ugly witch (as you can hear on the recording) was more forceful, articulate and knowing... she had a superiority about her

Updated On: 5/19/14 at 07:24 PM