National Theatre: Follies — Page 3

Bernadette walked out on that stage overwhelmed with emotion because her character was about to meet the guy she has been pining over after 30 years, and she was transported back to another time in her life. She was overwhelmed with a combination of anxiousness, nostalgia and excitement, not sad/weepy. Do we really expect Sally - who is a crazy psycho bitch and waiting for this moment for 30 years - to have no visible affect in that moment? It was a completely different kind of emotion than the glum, energyless, catatonic sad/weepy she had at the end of the show when she realised "there is no Ben for me."

When you say Staunton's "musical abilities will carry her through" but Bernadette's singing was "not up to the demands of the score" - does this mean you are actually suggesting Staunton has the better voice? Maybe I'm deaf but I find this to be an absurd idea. Bernadette has an absolute powerhouse of a voice with a very wide range of timbre (from powerful belting to high soprano), pitch (very low to very high), volume (very quiet to very loud) and a really skilled ability to carefully manage these elements to convey a character, emotion and story. As she has aged, her vocal ability has admittedly declined over time and in particular does have some raspyness to her voice. However, in comparison Staunton is not even really a singer - she is an actor who sings. There is very little nuance to her singing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwFxf9lAzhA - just listen to Bernadette singing the last note of "In Buddy's Eyes" here. Can't wait to see Staunton try to pull that off.

I thought Bernadette's acting was effective and appropriate for Sally. The character IS sad and depressed, and I think it was wise that Bernadette and Schaeffer did not shy away from that. It would've been easy for Bernadette to play it bubbly and spunky, but she honored the sadness and delusions of the character. Once they changed her sexy dress for the transfer, she was even physically perfect for the role, remember Sally is described as a "little girl." Brantley and many of the critics gave her positive reviews, the lack of a Tony nomination was a disappointment.

I can't stand a tall Sally, Staunton is right for the role physically, but she does not look 49 whatsoever, Bernadette was able to pass for 49.

For me, Clark was good in the role, but not the definitive Sally. She sounded absolutely glorious singing it, but physically she was too tall and matronly for the role. It drives me crazy when a Sally is the same height as Phyllis.

I believe the definitive Sally was Dorothy Collins, from her gorgeous vocals, to her stunning portrayal of childlike hopefulness, to absurd delusions, to madly depressed in the finale. She was also the perfect looking Sally, and totally believable as the "little girl."

I didn't see Collins live either, but I have seen whatever footage is available, listened to soundboard recordings endless amounts of times, read "Everything Is Possible," etc. Also, posts by PalJoey have been very helpful in learning about the original production.



My preference for a short and childlike Sally comes straight from the script: "She is blonde, petite, sweet-faced and, at forty-nine, still remarkably like the girl she was thirty years ago."

Of course, that doesn't mean a taller woman could never play the role, it's just my personal preference for a character that I have loved for many years.

Updated On: 7/7/17 at 09:57 PM

Feldzieg said: "Do any Londoners here have a hunch how the "on sale to members" thing is expected to turn out? Currently you can only buy tickets for the extension period if your are an NT member which costs at least 80 pounds a year. Do you think they might open it up to the general public later or is interest so high that it probably sells out with members only? I wanna get tickets in December. Would prefer to avoid to shell out the additional 80 for the membership...



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You can add membership to your basket on the NT website and that will let you see the seat availability for performances not on general sale yet without purchasing anything. Personally I think you should be okay - when I got my tickets for October in the first release it wasn't exactly a mad rush. Heck, I even managed to get Angels in America tickets fairly stress-free when they were released, and I don't think Follies is going to be anywhere near as popular as that.

And if I'm not mistaken, I think tickets for Bryan Cranston in Network are going to go on sale at the same time - that will take up most of the attention.

Your Peters obsession makes me want to puke! The idea you are running down other performers when you can't see how past it she is. She's what 70 odd now and still sings and talks with that bizarre baby voice? Please. She doesn't inhabit roles anymore, she's just Bernadette Peters gurgling the songs.

dont get me wrong I loved her for years, but she was a disaster in Follies and you acting like she was definitive in the role is a bit embarrassing.



qolbinau said: "Bernadette walked out on that stage overwhelmed with emotion because her character was about to meet the guy she has been pining over after 30 years, and she was transported back to another time in her life. She was overwhelmed with a combination of anxiousness, nostalgia and excitement, not sad/weepy. Do we really expect Sally - who is a crazy psycho bitch and waiting for this moment for 30 years - to have no visible affect in that moment? It was a completely different kind of emotion than the glum, energyless, catatonic sad/weepy she had at the end of the show when she realised "there is no Ben for me."

When you say Staunton's "musical abilities will carry her through" but Bernadette's singing was "not up to the demands of the score" - does this mean you are actually suggesting Staunton has the better voice? Maybe I'm deaf but I find this to be an absurd idea. Bernadette has an absolute powerhouse of a voice with a very wide range of timbre (from powerful belting to high soprano), pitch (very low to very high), volume (very quiet to very loud) and a really skilled ability to carefully manage these elements to convey a character, emotion and story. As she has aged, her vocal ability has admittedly declined over time and in particular does have some raspyness to her voice. However, in comparison Staunton is not even really a singer - she is an actor who sings. There is very little nuance to her singing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwFxf9lAzhA - just listen to Bernadette singing the last note of "In Buddy's Eyes" here. Can't wait to see Staunton try to pull that off.






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Remember, Sondheim has always preferred actors who sing. Not singers who act.. He loves Imelda.

She will be fine.

As an aside, dig out the DVD of 'Taking Woodstock' , watch her and Henry Goodman, (two fine British actors) nail their cameos as the old couple. Screen acting at it's finest.

There's little doubt that Sondheim loves Peters. She may be the definitive Sondheim interpreter.

Tyne Daly recorded Gypsy when she was ill. Even though Peters is a better singer, Daly's voice is more naturally suited for Rose.

I understand why Peters's Sally is divisive. It was a highly eccentric, mannered performance. But everything Bernadette does is worth seeing.

Updated On: 7/8/17 at 07:25 AM

People can see what they want to see with both Peters and Staunton ... that is the beauty of confirmation bias. If you see Staunton as not quite up to singing the part, no doubt there will be moments that affirm you. If you see Peters as overwrought with emotion and crying too easily, she will not disappoint you either. I would guess that people who view them with no preconceived notion would find plenty to like in either performance.

brian1973 said: "Erm I think you are not correct there. Follies is playing in a larger theatre than Angels and currently all performances are sold out. In fact the site crashed multiple times when it went on sale, such was the demand.



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Oh im sorry - I don't know we had a psychic on the board that knows more about my experience of booking tickets than I do?! I remember checking on the evening of release day and there was still decent availability. All I'm saying to the poster is that they have a not impossible shot of getting tickets on general release.

I love Bernadette, so let's start there. But her Sally was either directed poorly or the director let her go with her choices, which were completely wrong for the character, IMO. If Sally is crazy and sad and depressed and delusional from word one, you have no show, period. Anyone who thinks otherwise clearly does not understand Follies or the way in which it's written. It's why everyone who was lucky enough to see Dorothy Collins knows there will never be a finer performance of Sally, acting-wise or singing-wise. She was heartbreaking BECAUSE you discovered her deal as the show went on, not at her entrance. That's what makes it work, discovering her issues as the play goes along. That's called, in the parlance of now, an arc - there was no arc to Bernadette - you got it all right from her entrance and it killed any chance for her. A good director would have stopped it. But the director of the revival is anything but. And yes, John McMartin was the best Ben there will ever be. In fact, the entire original company is the best there will ever be - many reasons for that, starting with brilliant casting but, more importantly, Mr. Prince and Mr. Bennett. The endless revisions to this show are all horrible - adding an intermission is reprehensible and horrible and I hope these Brits have the courage of their convictions and do it the way it's written - no revisions and no intermission.

Why they would announce the filming of a production that no one has seen one second of is another enigma for another day.

Why they would announce the filming of a production that no one has seen one second of is another enigma for another day.



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I don't think this is unusual for NT Live.