Just wow! Mazz Murray as Norma Sunset Boulevard / Video Footage

[morosco]

Posted: 7/12/21 at 1:33am

'With One Look' & 'As If We Never Said Goodbye'

I wasn't familiar with Mazz Murray. Now I'm a fan. WOW!

With One Look & As If We Never Said Goodbye

[A Director]

Posted: 7/12/21 at 4:52am

I don't like the show, but she gave me goosebumps.  Glenn who?

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 7/12/21 at 9:26am

The singing was off the charts. Stunning. It would have been nice for the bootlegger to have indulged us in a close up or two so I could see her face. I couldn’t see her acting. That matters too.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 7/12/21 at 9:33am

Her performance on The Shows Must Go On live concert last month was a highlight. 

Updated On: 7/17/21 at 09:33 AM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/12/21 at 9:48am

A Director said: "I don't like the show, but she gave me goosebumps. Glenn who?"

Glenn is a song interpreter, not a singer.  Huge difference.  That’s how she approached the role first-and-foremost.  Her singing came secondary. 

This argument follows the clueless comments of those who judge the singing of actresses playing Sally Bowles in productions of CABARET oblivious to the fact that it IS intentional as Sally is a third-rate singer working in a seedy Berlin nite-club.  Actresses deliberately sing the role “off.”

[BenjaminNicholas2]

Posted: 7/12/21 at 6:27pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "This argument follows the clueless comments of those who judge the singing of actresses playing Sally Bowles in productions of CABARET oblivious to the fact that it IS intentional as Sally is a third-rate singer working in a seedy Berlin nite-club. Actresses deliberately sing the role “off.”"

This reminds me of how stupid people sounded when watching Jane Horrocks in the West End Cabaret production.  She was brilliant and very, very unique.  Vocally, she could have easily belted the hell out of it, but she chose to create Sally as something different.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 7/12/21 at 7:20pm

Sunset is a rangy and difficult score to sing.  Cabaret not nearly so.
For me Norma, unlike Sally, demands great vocals.  I never heard of Mazz Murray before but what a great voice for Norma.

Yes, I know and respect that most people are over the moon in love with Glenn's Norma.  I'm not one of them.

Also there's that Sally makes her living singing and that the Richardson Sally, unlike the Liza Sally, was meant to be a limited one.  Norma does not make her living singing; she made her living not even talking.  Yet she is a dramatically scored almost operatic character.  I want to hear her voice soar.  

Updated On: 7/13/21 at 07:20 PM

[A Director]

Posted: 7/13/21 at 4:39am

Glenn is a song interpreter, not a singer. Huge difference. That’s how she approached the role first-and-foremost. Her singing came secondary.

BrodyFosse123 - There are hundreds of singers who can sing a song and interpret  it at the same time.

This argument follows the clueless comments of those who judge the singing of actresses playing Sally Bowles in productions of CABARET oblivious to the fact that it IS intentional as Sally is a third-rate singer working in a seedy Berlin nite-club. Actresses deliberately sing the role “off.”"

I guess Liza didn't get the memo. She was miscast.

 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/13/21 at 9:21am

I guess Liza didn't get the memo. She was miscast.

Indeed she was and Bob Fosse knew this would be straying from the original intentions of Sally Bowles.  His creative choice was to have Liza’s Sally THINK she’s a great singer so it’s all in her head.  Sadly, this wasn’t made clear and only the “Maybe This Time” number made this more evident as he staged it with her singing it in an empty Kit Kat Klub.  It’s the only number in the entire film where there’s no audience or the onstage girl orchestra.  Sally is all alone.

Up until Bob Fosse’s 1972 film adaption, all previous actresses who had played Sally Bowles sang it sloppy (in character).  The original 1966 Sally Bowles, Jill Haworth, was also criticized for her lackluster vocals so this third-rate singer concept has always been missed, especially after Liza Minnelli’s interpretation. 

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 7/14/21 at 5:50pm

BrodyFosse is right.  Before Liza there was not only Jill Haworth but also Judi Dench who played Sally as a cabaret personality, not a great vocalist. 

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 7/14/21 at 9:00pm

What a lovely interpretation by Mazz Murray!

[Owen22]

Posted: 7/17/21 at 4:26pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "I guess Liza didn't get the memo. She was miscast.

Indeed she was and Bob Fosse knew this would be straying from the original intentions of Sally Bowles. His creative choice was to have Liza’s Sally THINK she’s a great singer so it’s all in her head. Sadly, this wasn’t made clear and only the “Maybe This Time” numbermade this more evident as he staged it with her singing it inan empty Kit Kat Klub. It’s the only number in the entire film where there’s no audience or the onstage girl orchestra. Sally is all alone.

Up until Bob Fosse’s 1972 film adaption, all previous actresses who had played Sally Bowles sang it sloppy (in character). The original 1966 Sally Bowles, Jill Haworth, was also criticized for her lackluster vocals so this third-rate singer concept has always been missed, especially after Liza Minnelli’s interpretation."

Well...if it's always missed...maybe the concept doesn't work for a musical theatre adaptation of the original story...

[binau]

Posted: 7/18/21 at 3:54am

BrodyFosse123 said: "A Director said: "I don't like the show, but she gave me goosebumps. Glenn who?"

Glenn is a song interpreter, not a singer. Huge difference. That’s how she approached the role first-and-foremost. Her singing came secondary.

This argument follows the clueless comments of those who judge the singing of actresses playing Sally Bowles in productions of CABARET oblivious to the fact that it IS intentional as Sally is a third-rate singer working in a seedy Berlin nite-club. Actresses deliberately sing the role “off.”"

I would say though there are others (eg Betty Buckley) who seemed to managed both though? And if we think about some of the notable normas (e.g.  Elaine Paige, Betty Buckley, Patti LuPone, Glenn Close) only 1 really is very far from the rest vocally. 

That’s not to say that Glenn’s interpretation doesn’t work (I mean maybe an aging silent film star isn’t meant to sound like Betty Buckley haha). But in the context of the other performers and the fact that this is an ALW show with a difficult score I do think it’s hard to draw the parallels between Sunset and Cabaret. 

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 7/18/21 at 1:02pm

I’m really exhausted at the Glenn bashing. She’s clearly had the most success with the role on multiple levels. The revival in two countries would not have happened if she wasn’t delivering. She’s one of the finest living actresses working today. She also is able to sing. Both of her incarnations of Norma were different and yet effective. Again, she didn’t rest on her laurels and trot out the campier, kabuki 90s version. She took a huge risk.

I think every actress brings something different to Norma and while I might rank them based on my preferences I never bash them. Each actress gets the joy of interpretation. I saw Moreno sing the two big songs with an orchestra and you could hear a pin drop. She was that riveting. She acted with every muscle in her body.

There once was a time when YouTube, the internet, message boards and armchair theatre critics weren’t the norm. Many theatre actors in musicals weren’t vocalists but they delivered the material to the back of the house by styling the song in character. Most of them smoked like chimneys and weren’t trained vocalists. They were however performers who took their craft very seriously. And they created indelible moments in theatre and crafted memorable characters.

There are many crystalline voices that go no where. There’s no heart, no soul, all technique. Composers now write barn burners that shred voices, sell records and are hard to sing in public. Stars are no longer made on the stage and that makes me sad.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 7/18/21 at 1:11pm

Not a full-on characterization of Norma, but here's a video of Mazz Murray recording "With One Look" in the studio

 

 

 

[devonian.t]

Posted: 7/21/21 at 10:51am

She’s one of the finest living actresses working today

Bettyboy72, how does she rank among the dead actresses working today?