NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ
NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ
NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ#1
Posted: 2/16/10 at 11:18pm
I feel privileged to have seen Jayne Paterson's first performance as Desiree Armfeldt this evening. You could say that I'm a fan--I saw her perform in place of both Natascia Diaz and Gay Marshall in Jacques Brel...--but nothing could have prepared me for this evening. Paterson is everything you could possibly want in a Desiree: stunningly beautiful, with a crisp, clear voice; wonderful in the book scenes; able to convince that she is both world-weary and girlish. She has a better command of the score than Catherine Zeta Jones, who tended to oversell the songs when I saw her in December. Her "Send in the Clowns," for example, was the perfect hybrid of naturalism and style. She sang it as written, without holding on to notes too long, but still manages to bring lyricism to the text. She was greeted with hearty cheers and bravas after the number, and at the curtain call.
I'm still no lover of the production, and a large part of the ensemble still feels out of place. Erin Davie isn't even trying to sell Charlotte's zingers anymore; they all land with a thud. Aaron Lazar, however, has finally found a nice balance as Carl-Magnus; where he was once too milquetoast, he is now appropriately commanding. I'm still baffled as to why Hunter Ryan Herdlicka, who has a gorgeous voice, feels the need to scream and caterwaul. And Angela is Angela; to quote Miss Jean Brodie: "for those who like that sort of thing, it is the sort of thing they like." The ravishing score still sounds like elevator music here.
But the stage justly belonged to Desiree Armfeldt tonight. I'd highly recommend that anyone who can get to the Kerr by Sunday do so.
NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ#2
Posted: 2/16/10 at 11:21pmI am going for the third time Thursday, and I couldn't be more excited to see Jayne.
NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ#2
Posted: 2/16/10 at 11:22pm
I am going Sunday. Can't believe it will be my fourth time already.
Does Jayne wear a blonde wig?
NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ#3
Posted: 2/16/10 at 11:23pmNope. She wears a gorgeous auburn wig and looks stunning.
NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ#4
Posted: 2/16/10 at 11:24pmDamn. I was hoping she'd be blonde. I don't like her regular wig in the show.
NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ#5
Posted: 2/16/10 at 11:26pm
I too assumed she'd be blonde, but the dark wig complimented her skin color very nicely. Agreed about her regular wig.
Forgot to mention that Erin Stewart did a very nice job in Jayne's regular track.
NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ#6
Posted: 2/16/10 at 11:28pm
Well I'm glad to hear it looks nice! I definitely assumed they were going to give her the Waddingham look.
How full was the audience?
NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ#8
Posted: 2/16/10 at 11:31pmSurprisingly full. I'm guessing a lot of people decided not to cancel their tickets (or they knew beforehand that Catherine was going to be out). There were a few scattered empty seats (most notably two right in the center of the front row), but the orchestra, mezz, and even balcony were all pretty packed.
NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ#9
Posted: 2/16/10 at 11:33pm^ That's good to hear. I guess TDF and the discounts are helping.
NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ#10
Posted: 2/16/10 at 11:37pmYup. I bought through TDF (was rear mezz, but able to move closer at intermission) and nearly everyone in my section had TDF seats. It was nice to see that many people came for the show and not necessarily to "see the star".
NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ#11
Posted: 2/17/10 at 12:12am
You're the second person I've heard of who saw it tonight. Both of you saw CZJ and say that Jayne is much better.
I saw her play the dance teacher in Billy Elliott and thought then that it was unbelievably nuanced for an understudy performance.
NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ#12
Posted: 2/17/10 at 12:16am
Her Mrs. Wilkinson was miles better than Haydn Gwynne's, who was sleep-walking through the show both times I saw her. Thank god she lost the Tony.
I'm seeing Patterson on Sunday and am quite looking forward to it.
Updated On: 2/17/10 at 12:16 AM
NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ#13
Posted: 2/17/10 at 1:41am
Jayne sounded great indeed!
"Erin Davie isn't even trying to sell Charlotte's zingers anymore; they all land with a thud."
No. Every night she gets big laughs--including tonite. At least be fair about that.
NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ#14
Posted: 2/17/10 at 2:17amCharlotte's zingers all failed to elicit more than a few scattered chuckles at the evening performance I was at about a month ago. I've seen many productions of Night Music and Charlotte's ACT II lines (during the table-now floor-scene) have always caused raucous laughter. Not in this production the night I saw it.
NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ#15
Posted: 2/17/10 at 7:20am
I have to agree with Jerby. I've seen the production 3 times so far, and Davie has gotten big laughs each time. As of late January, the show is SO MUCH stronger than when it started. The audience eats it right up now. Roaring laughter, cheering, clapping for funny lines, standing ovation.
And I think Jerby would know if Davie is getting laughs, considering he hears the show every night.
Updated On: 2/17/10 at 07:20 AM
NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ#16
Posted: 2/17/10 at 7:55amI'm not a fan of Davie's Charlotte at all. However, both times I've seen the show, she was getting plenty of laughs and the audience seemed to enjoy her.
NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ#17
Posted: 2/17/10 at 8:41am
No. Every night she gets big laughs--including tonite. At least be fair about that.
When I said that her lines land with a thud, I wasn't speaking of the audience reaction as a whole. I was simply referring to my own perception of them. Although I'd hardly classify the laughs she receive last night as "big"--except maybe her zinger about Desiree's age.
I'm a great fan of Davie, but just not as Charlotte. She simply doesn't have the temperament.
NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ#18
Posted: 2/17/10 at 10:01amI also think that getting the laugh with Charlotte's lines is only half the battle. They're meant to be more than just punch lines.
NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ#19
Posted: 2/17/10 at 10:45am
There's something more inherently funny about Charlotte's lines when they are being delivered at a very formal dinner party as she is getting more and more tipsy. Something about changing that scene to casual drinks on the floor has destroyed a lot in that scene in my opinion.
NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ#20
Posted: 2/17/10 at 12:59pm
It hasn't destroyed a lot.
It's destroyed everything.
NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ#21
Posted: 2/17/10 at 1:16pm
You know, "Pal" Joey, maybe they should never revive shows like this or WSS ever again because it's clear they'll never live up to these famed original productions you speak about. Those of us born after 1973 should never see a production of A Little Night Music because no Desiree will ever be as good as Glynis Johns, no Madame Armfeldt ever as good as Hermione Gingold. I guess we should just let the show live on in your memory, since it apparently doesn't deserve to be seen again.
You were fortunate enough to see the original productions of Follies and Night Music. You worked with Robbins on the revival of WSS. Awesome. What about the rest of us? Are we to be stuck with memories of the dreadful original productions of Shrek and The Little Mermaid, simply because we were born in the wrong decade?
NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ#22
Posted: 2/17/10 at 11:32pmI wish I was in town to be able to catch Jayne while she is performing the role. I did a production of Cabaret with her a few summers ago and found her to be immensely talented (and a very easy person to work with, when all was said and done).
NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ#23
Posted: 2/18/10 at 12:22am
I saw the show for the second time tonight and I will echo others in saying that Jayne Paterson is much, much better than CZJ. I liked CZJ when I saw her, but Jayne truly commands the stage and has much better chemistry with Alexander Hanson imo. The book scenes between Desiree and Fredrik in particular were much stronger with Jayne Paterson than they were with CZJ...they went a lot more quickly and were much snappier.
The show also gels much better than when I first saw it at the end of December...Erin Davie has improved tremendously and her Charlotte is much funnier and she seems to have gotten a firmer grasp on the character. Ramona Mallory is still weak unfortunately, which is disappointing as she has a lovely voice.
I'd definitely recommend that those who can get to see the show before Sunday do, it feels like a totally different show than when I saw it in December. Also I got a standing room ticket at about 6:15 tonight and was able to sit down in an empty seat in the orchestra at intermission. Aside from a few scattered empty seats in the orchestra, the house seemed to be surprisingly full, though a lot of the patrons seemed unaware that CZJ was going to be out (which makes no sense to me since there have been announcements everywhere for weeks, including signs posted on every door of the theater).
Updated On: 2/18/10 at 12:22 AM
NIGHT MUSIC, sans CZJ#24
Posted: 2/18/10 at 1:13amI remember seeing Jayne years back as Fantine in Mis, and was completely awestruck at how good she was. Glad to hear she's striking gold here as well. =)
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