Little Night Music Benefit — Page 2

That was my assessment as well. I thought if anything, it might have been nervous laughter. All in all, her performance was beautiful and as I said before, tragic.

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THAT would have been sumpin'!

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All that AND Lansbury. Plotz.

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PalJoey - I hope once you have a bottle, a nap, a clean diaper and your sippy cup has been refilled, you won't be such a cranky boy.

LOL

What a handsome cast.

Would love to see a production of this live...

Those photos look wonderful. They all look so right for the roles.

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I've been high from that performance all day long.

One of my friends quipped, "You've been smoking Sondheim again."

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I'm not a director or a theatre professional in any way but I can see the flaws in A Directors' posts.

"There is no reason for Madame Armfeldt to die."

The show would be milk chocolate rather than plain if she didn't. Her death acts as a necessary emotional counterpoint to the other emotions raised in the other plotlines.

How could you have a musical where the summer night only has two smiles - it would not be enough for Frederika or the audience to watch out for.

"There are no lines about her being ill."

So people who are never ill live forever?

There is a line where she toasts "the only other reality - death". Again this line necessarily raises ALNM above being a romantic meringue.

"WHO ARE THEY? Are they neighbors, gods, people who wandered in from another show, ghosts, the chorus?"

Yes, No, No, Yes, Yes. The authors are teasing and challenging the audience. That is what I go to the theatre for. Amongst many, many other things. Sondheim supplies in bucketloads. My mind joins up the dots. Someone else's mind joins them up in different ways. Thank you Messrs Sondheim and Wheeler for placing your confidence in me and other audience members .

From what I've heard, Kendra Kassebaum was absolutely marvelous as Petra.

It is a shame she wastes her immense talent by going back to WICKED time and time again, especially in a role that doesn't utilize her terrific high belt.

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Updated On: 1/14/09 at 12:29 AM

Sara Ramirez does my favorite "Miller's Son."

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A good friend of mine went and called me as soon as he left the theater. he was elated. He sat behind Sondheim and was able to see all of his reations during the evening. He was so excited he said he didn't get to sleep until close to 2:00am because he just kept thinking about the evening. He had a chance to go to the party afterwards but didn't.

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It really was thrilling. It was just over much too soon! The day before we were there (for Pal Joey) and looked into upgrading our seats, as there was still orchestra available. But on Monday they sold out! I'm curious about how that happened.
I thought The Miller's Son was wonderful, and I know it was a concert reading, but in Boston the woman singing Petra threw herself all around the stage in that big puffy skirt, and I thought that worked well and made it more fun.
It was very exciting when Mr. Sondheim came out.
Later we tried to peek into the ballroom, just because we happened to be staying there at the Marquis. But the young folks with the clipboards couldn't even let us look in! Weren't they lucky to have those jobs?!

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