Your Favorite Carlotta Campion

[Musicaldudepeter]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 2:32pm

I just saw clips of the original Carlotta from the OBC of Follies - Yvonne DeCarlo and she was sensational - in spite of the fact that she forgot a ****load of words in this clip lol - she belted the roof off the place with I'm Still Here.

How have other Carlottas fared? - Polly Bergen who got a Tony nod for her portrayal in 2001... Elaine Paige in the 2011 production... Dolores Gray in the original London version....

Who was your favorite?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 3:29pm

Tina Turner (the production in my mind)

Ann Miller was pretty good in the Papermill production.


Link

Updated On: 2/15/12 at 03:29 PM

[Mrs Mangel]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 3:35pm

Above all of them for me, de Carlo stands out (despite the forgotten lyrics). She brings a mix of kind of pathetic determination to it. But they all have things to recommend them- Stritch is probably the angriest.

[philcrosby]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 3:58pm

DeCarlo probably lived the song the most. I saw Eartha Kitt play it in London, and she lived those lyrics too!

[Huss417]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 4:19pm

I really liked Dolores Gray when I saw her in the London production.

Least Favorite was Christine Baranski. And I love Baranski just not when she sings.

Updated On: 2/15/12 at 04:19 PM

[newintown]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 4:23pm

William Shatner.

You do know that he performs "I'm Still Here" as well as Carlotta's part of "Who's That Woman" every night, don't you?

[BroadwayFan12]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 4:27pm

Elaine Paige.

[AC126748]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 4:37pm

Donna McKechnie at Barrington Stage Company.

[theeatah]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 4:42pm

I'll let these chorus boys and girls sing my answer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISVcuHjZdHw&t=01m00s

(I also love Eartha Kitt).

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 4:48pm

Based solely on her performance of the song, Dolores Gray. I think she's the one who really grasped Carlotta's anger best.

Updated On: 2/15/12 at 04:48 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 4:56pm

Nancy Walker (audio only--but still the best)

http://youtu.be/l3CwCpwrV8M


Julie Wilson

http://youtu.be/sd3UtltqLgA


Dolores Gray

http://youtu.be/QPA0UhnKQkk


Karen Morrow (Low-quality video)

http://youtu.be/XoJP_bV5Lso


Randy Roberts (yes, Randy is a drag queen, but hers is a flawless interpretation)

http://youtu.be/NkBhNdPB9T0


Jim Bailey (another drag queen, but Jim does the song as Judy Garland)

http://youtu.be/9MPBkApOQgA

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 5:05pm

Thanks for the links, joey. I look forward to hearing all of them.

For me, the song belongs to de Carlo, but I'm sure I'm biased because that who I first heard.

And who says Carlotta has to be angry? I think there are plenty of angry characters in FOLLIES. Carlotta has more interesting emotions to play. For one, I like a Carlotta who is proud of her tenacity and survival, but who also recognizes that a life in show business has to be a little ridiculous. Leave the "angry" to Phyllis, et al.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 5:09pm

I think angry Carlottas are really going against the spirit of the character.

[AC126748]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 5:11pm

Of the Carlottas I've seen/heard, the only one who seemed to play the character completely angry from start to finish was Bergen. I couldn't stand her performance but a lot of people loved her. I don't think the overall tone of Paige's Carlotta was anger, though it does come across in her "I'm Still Here."

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 5:17pm

When I saw Paige, I didn't find her angry, but it was early in the DC run and before she started inconstantly shouting the ending.

Christine Baranski did an angry "I'm Still Here" at Encores. I thought her entire performance from the beginning of the show to the end was just dreadful.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 5:24pm

To my ear, Paige seems much less angry on the OBC recording than in the Kennedy Center clip. I hope that trend continues to California.

With all the bitterness and anger of the central quartet, and the irony that therefore attaches to their younger selves, I feel very strongly that the show needs a few breaks from the angst. "Broadway Baby" is one such break; "I'm Still Here" is an even bigger one, at least potentially.

I can understand why actresses who play Carlotta may want to compete with all the "seriousness" going on around them, but the character isn't less "serious", she just has a very different attitude about the past. She wears it as a medal rather than an anchor.

Updated On: 2/15/12 at 05:24 PM

[Dollypop]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 6:17pm

I, too, saw Eartha Kitt in London and she was more than remarkable in the role.

[Owen22]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 7:50pm

Updated On: 2/15/12 at 07:50 PM

[Owen22]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 7:52pm

I think it might be Hollis Resnik from the recent Chicago Shake's production. Starting conversationally at a table with Weismann (she touches his hand on "I met a big financier...") she eventually rises and moves center. Delighted by its irony, she infused the song with such an 'ain't I just lucky to be here" spirit, with such downright joy, I might be disappointed now seeing anyone else's interpretation (especially if they go the angry route).

Baranski's was the worst.

[justoldbill]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 8:20pm

Yvonne de Carlo. A Carlotta who's had as much fun with her life as she has with the song. When did "I'm Still Here" become angry? Miss de Carlo's rendition was warm, boozy, rueful and just a little bit reflective, like the character. After all, it's not her life that's being torn down, just the building.

Updated On: 2/15/12 at 08:20 PM

[handsome]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 8:34pm

i totally agree about Nancy Walker!

[justoldbill]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 8:40pm

No arguments about Miss Walker's rendition of the song- I was in that audience that night and the Shubert was rocking! But she was never Carlotta Campion (the nature of this thread).

[ComingUpRoses2]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 8:53pm

De Carlo gets points for being the first one to sing it (and boy she sings it like a champ!)

Delores Gray's version is beyond delightful and fun and she sings the hell out of it.

I saw Elaine Paige in D.C. and she was good. not great, but good. She nailed the last 30 seconds of the song, but that was about it. She seemed either bored, sedated, or way too angry for the rest of it.

Polly Bergen sang it surprisingly well, but it was too angry for me.

Christine Baranski was the worst. Oh, God! She started out just fine, but once she got to the end...yeesh! I don't even know the notes she was singing. Must have been out of her range, I guess.

I really don't think it should be an angry song. What's so horrible about the act that you've survived and you're still here? Even the song title denotes some sort of joy and accomplishment. I agree that this song and Broadway Baby are two of the happiest and more joyful moments of the show.

[BroadwayFan12]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 9:04pm

Paige's performance started out rocky, but improved by leaps and bounds over the course of her run.

[justoldbill]

Posted: 2/15/12 at 9:05pm

Miss de Carlo did "Can That Boy Fox-Trot!" to a fare-thee-well, too.