Okay, I saw the show for the 11th time earlier this week, and you can add me to the apparently short list of people who still think that Sutton is doing a wonderful job. (And I've never even considered myself to be a Sutton Foster fan, necessarily.)
Someone said she seemed like a "real btch" during "Fancy Dress." Umm... what does that even mean???? She comes on as a star near the end of the number, acts tactfully haughty and disdainful as she clears the floor and has her picture taken, then delivers less than two dozen words (and that's counting her last name as three separate words!). How can you say she's acting inappropriately??
No, she doesn't completely exhaust every opportunity for a laugh or applause by giving a big, splashy, in-your-face Aldolpho-like performance. There would certainly be room for that in this show, but I think Janet better the way she does it. It would be all too easy to play it for some big, har-har-har laughs by doing one of those standard goofy prima donna-type characters (think Sara Ramirez in "Spamalot" or any of the Carlottas or Dorothy Brocks you’ve ever seen). I’ve always found Sutton’s performance to be very refined and more subtle than what one might expect from a typical "diva" character. In fact, that's one of the main reasons Ben Brantley praised her so much in his otherwise lackluster review last year. (Not that I'm basing my opinions on what the critics say.... I'm just throwing it out there as an example because people who agree with me seem to be hard to pin down, and Brantley is a good example in this case.)
In this show, Sutton is full of these fun, subtle moves... her knowing half smile during her solo in "Fancy Dress," a quick raise of the eyebrows after she drinks the glass of water, her sly sideways glance while she lifts her leg. Come to think of it, hers is probably one of the most elegantly meta performances I’ve seen on stage in a long time, especially when you watch her delicate audience interaction during, "Bride’s Lament" or the last part of "Show Off." I’m not really trying to tell anyone that they’re wrong, because this is all obviously just my opinion, but I do suggest that the fact that a performer isn’t positively leaping off the stage with uncontrollable enthusiasm doesn’t necessarily indicate that they aren’t doing an incredible job to the best of their ability. In fact, in this case, I think it is an indicator of a higher (and more entertaining, if you let it) form of art.
Of course, we all know that the negative opinions that are so popular on this board tend to be in the minority with theatregoers overall. I’ve seen Sutton get big laughs and applause every night I’ve gone, so it’s nice to know that the general audience (and I include my humble self in that group) is still charmed.
And now, a word of hope to the rest of you: many of us on this board apparently differ in our opinion of what constitutes 110% and how it can be given, but I’m sure the Janet Van de Graaff you seem to be envisioning will find her day. If this show runs long enough, there will probably be future Janets who will "go all out" in the way that I think other people are hoping for. When these fourth and fifth-string replacements start filtering in with their voices bubbling, their smiles beaming, and their jazz-hands shaking so fast it’s just a blur, you can all be happy knowing that finally someone is unquestionably "giving it their all" ...at least physically, if not intellectually.
Meanwhile, I will happily remember the 10 joyous times (I had an understudy once out of eleven) when a Tony winner---a real
actress--was doing the role and was able to excite me more by tossing one quick smirk and a flicker of the brow my way than anyone else could by doing the most fabulous cartwheels and energetic belting in the world. The sun will come out soon (maybe tomorrow... maybe in a few months), and it will probably be blinding. Enjoy.
Also, since we’re talking about Jonathon too, I saw him three times and thought he was excellent.
"I just want a story and a few good songs that will take me away. I just want to be entertained. I mean, isn't that the point?"
