Sondheim Birthday Concert on PBS tonight!- Page 3

[uncageg]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 12:50am

Oh, I think LuPone was just basking in the moments and loving it. I was getting a feeling that she was glad she was first so she could sit back and enjoy. I also noticed that her diction was really good that night!

I do think the song took on a new meaning for Peters after losing her husband. I have seen her perform it a few times after his death and it just rips my heart out every time.

[Dazeto12]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 2:09am

Was anyone else confused by the Sweeney performance? Since when is George Hearn the first Sweeney Todd? What? Does Great Performances continuity overrule actual theater continuity? And is it just me, or was Patti singing Mrs. Lovett with a Japanese accent towards the end of the performance?

[binau]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 2:13am

I interpreted the "You first" "Yes, I was" to mean out of the two of them, he played the role 'first' .

Updated On: 11/25/10 at 02:13 AM

[bluetuna]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 2:27am

Agreed, qolbinau.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 2:53am

Wow, this is a fantastic concert. I just got to Donna Murphy's performance and I'm blown away by the whole thing, it's pretty great.
I don't think Patti LuPone is trying to upstage anyone, she's enjoying the show in her own way, she's very expressive and physical and she is full of what look like genuine emotions throughout the whole thing, she's pretty aware of the brilliance of these performances. Her moment with Stritch after singing "Ladies Who Lunch" is one for the ages.
Audra McDonald's "Glamorous Life" was a tour de force, Marin Mazzie was heartbreaking in "Losing My Mind." Is it fair to say that Donna Murphy's "Could I Leave You?" is epic? I think so, it's just so...mindblowing in every way of the word, she just turns it into a breakdown of "Rose's Turn" magnitude, it's kind of crazy to see what an actress of her caliber does with a song like that, a Phyllis for the ages.

[A Director]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 3:03am

It was a great concert. The only person I didn't like was Patti LuPone. George and Michael outshone her in A Little Priest. She came across as vulgar with no humor. Her "Ladies Who Lunch' was just Patti being loud. There was nothing behind the words and I didn't enjoy seeing the effort it took her to sing the song. The other five women outshone her because there was something behind the words and the songs flowed out of them.

[binau]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 3:13am

Have you ever liked Patti LuPone? (I mean I'm trying to build some context, here.)

[Boq101]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 3:29am

Donna Murphy was amazing. I can't call it a revelation because I've always thought she was amazing but it did feel like that. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Marin was heartbreaking. Victoria Clark and Elaine Stritch felt perfect in their performances to me.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 7:34am

How absolutely f*cking adorable were Chip Zien and Joanna Gleason?

And suffice to say I will NEVER hear "The Glamorous Life" the same way again. Jesus Christ, Audra.

But it was so disappointing they cut so much in some areas for pledge breaks.

Oh, well... not like I wasn't going to get the DVD anyway.

[BroadwayBelle2]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 8:25am

LOVE LOVE LOVED this!

[steveshack]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 8:44am

I wrote on ATC that this was musical theatre crack. All that Follies stuff had me orgasming. And Audra. Good lord. And I loved Patti's rendition. Sure, Elaine would have electrified, as she always does, but I've seen her version. I liked how Patti followed the rhythm of the music while singing. And Bobby Steggert with Matt Cavanaugh. Can my gay heart please recover from that? Never!

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 9:18am

Chip Zien and Joanna Gleason were absolutely adorable!

And I thought Patti's "Ladies Who Lunch" was fantastic...I loved her interpretation, and I loved the little moment with Elaine Stritch afterwards.

[Edna Turnblad]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 9:33am

OK, general thoughts. Amazing. I did have to divide some of my time between this and decorating a Christmas tree because my family was all like "LET'S DECORATE THE TREEE!!!" Any way.
Chip and Joanna were glorious. It's a great song, and seeing them sing it together again was a wonderful experience.
Marin's "Losing My Mind" was great. I kept thinking "are they going to do it?" and the did! It's another of my favs.
I don't usually like Patti, at all. I think her acting is fine, and she is funny, but I usually don't like it when she sings. However, last night I was won over a little. Her Priest was great, and her Ladies Who Lunch was simply amazing.

Can someone tell me what Laura Benanti sang? I completely missed that one except when she ended and walked away.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 9:46am

While I loved hearing Patti's full voice on "Ladies," I did have some reservations about her interp and at what levels the ironies registered. I'm also pretty much never a fan of the orchestra or singer following through to a soaring final note. It seems so antithetical to the character's mental state. But that's only after one viewing. My opinion may modulate with after seeing it 1,000 more times.

Also, since we're criticizing just a little... while it's always nice to have more great (live) renditions of wonderful songs... this was just *so* FOLLIES-heavy. Now, I love FOLLIES. But whenever these concerts/tributes/et cetera are put together, PACIFIC OVERTURES is totally left out in the cold. How amazing would the concert have been with all the guys coming together for "Please, Hello" or "Someone in a Tree" (Sondheim's own personal pick for his best song! It was his birthday, for God's sake!) Or just a little snippet of ASSASSINS or ACW or PASSION or FORUM, even a medley in place of the one or two of the *six* FOLLIES songs or the "Reds" ballet?

Obviously, they're never going to please everyone all of the time, but since these kinds of concerts come so few and far between and since Sondheim's brilliance is pretty well-represented in every single one of his shows, for once, a truly all-inclusive concert would be spectacular.

Okay. I'm finished. It was still amazing.

[jasonf]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 9:48am

Laura Benanti sang "So Many People" from Saturday Night. Very simply, and very prettily.

[Edna Turnblad]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 9:58am

I did think it was weird that the took the time to talk about how different his scores from the 70s were from each other, but only sang songs from Follies and Sweeney. Really weird. I really want a Sondheim concert that features at least one song from each of his musicals, as well as a representation of his screen work.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 10:23am

I haven't seen it yet but was wondering if David Hyde Pierce's joke re: the Sweeney overture/HOT SPOT was in the broadcast.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 10:45am

It was in the NYC broadcast, Jordan.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 10:50am

Oh good. I have the blu ray waiting for me when I get back to NYC, and I'm happy it's in there. I remember laughing so hard I almost peed when that happened.

[phantomvegas2]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 11:16am

My favorite part was when the company came onstage and through the aisles to sing Sunday. I kept thinking of how Sondheim was feeling. Very very emotional. WONDERFUL concert!

[garyl]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 11:45am

anyone notice that this was not the original version of Glamorous Life/, but the movie version?. I never understood why Steve rewrote the song, except it does have a more lyrical, approachable feel to you that fits better with the movie audience... I guess. Like them both and Audra was fab

[bluetuna]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 11:50am

The original wouldn't work as well on its own as a solo (without considerable editing).

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 12:40pm

Yes, this was wonderful.

AND a reminder that you should definitely support PBS. The right-wingers are still working overtime to shut it down for good.

[Jon]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 12:50pm

Re: the Hearn/Cerveris "You First" - besides being the replacement Sweeney int he original, Hearn also performed the role opposite LuPone in a concert version, before she did the Doyle stging with Cerveris. So, he was LuPone's "first" Sweeney.

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 2:54pm

I thought it couldn't get any better then Patti LuPone singing The Ladies Who Lunch.
I thought it couldn't get any better then Marin Mazzie singing Losing My Mind
I thought it couldn't get any better then Audra McDonald singing The Glamorous Life
I thought it couldn't get any better then Bernadette Peters singing Not a Day Goes By
I thought it couldn't get any better then Donna Murphy singing How Could I Leave You

Then Elaine Strich performed.