I think the movie is far superior in almost every way. That said, though, I think the stage version's major weakness was its score ... outside of the pre-existing numbers, it's close to dreadful.
You cannot deny Julie Andrews' star presence in the stage version, even with already diminished voice she had at that point. And even though looking remarkably younger than her 60 years, she still looked like she was robbing the cradle paired with Michael Nouri.
Rachel York was directed to do a pale imitation of Lesley Ann Warren's Oscar-nominated performance and came off very crass -- though having rotten numbers like "Paris Makes Me Horny" doesn't help.
And poor Tony Roberts having to compete with Robert Preston's nearly perfect portrayal.
The sets are gorgeous and Rob Marshall's choreography terrific ... especially the Tango.
The best part of the stage version is the adaptation of the screenplay ... it is exactly right for a stage musical and the songs are at least in all the right places. If only they had kept "Le Jazz Hot" and "Crazy World" and let Jerry Herman do a whole new score!!
Still one of my favorite guilty pleasures, though.
Updated On: 6/18/09 at 01:28 PM