"you can get away with anything"

[C is for Company]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 12:40am

are there any lucky people here who have ventured over to nice old england to be able to take part in experiencing their theater and have seen woman in white and could tell me what on earth is so funny during "you can get away with anything" that made them record it over because of the laughter. thanks in advance and for dealing with a long run-on sentence that i found difficult to condense

[jo]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 4:16am

"You Can Get Away With Anything" is the showstopper number of the deceptively charming but actually villainous Italian, Count Fosco, in the show.

Count Fosco is a huge man ( the actor has to wear a fat suit for this role) with a continental manner full of roguish charm who comes to the Limmeridge estate to assist his friend, Sir Percival Glyde, in securing the wealth and estate of heiress Laura Fairlie. He and Percival had initial success ( including committing Laura to a mental institution) but were eventually foiled by Laura's sister, Marian. Count Fosco has a tendresse for Marian and when she visits him in his lodgings ( from where he was planning to depart soon), he thought he had been able to seduce her ( the seduction scene is worth quite a few laughs itself)...but she had actually been able to turn the tables on him.

He shrugs that off as one of his rare failures with women..and then sings "You Can Get Away With Anything" together with his pet, a white mouse, who scampers up and down his arm and back of the neck. It is hilarious onstage and brings the house down every time.

Sorry for the long preliminary explanation - but that properly sets the scene in which "You Can..." is sung in the show.

Michael Crawford gave the initial Fosco impersonation and had drawn the laughter that you hear on the London OCR...but he was replaced by Michael Ball when the former had protracted health problems. Some critics were very impressed with Michael Ball's seemingly more menacing interpretation of the role and better command of the operatic singing requirements.

I'm sure that portion of the show will be one of the highlights of the Broadway production.

[blaxx]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 4:25am

And was Michael Ball ever good in this song...he was, like Mary Poppins sings in perfect British accent "Prractically Perrrfect".

Listening to Michael Ball's recordings (where he sings "jewels" like "My Heart Will Go On" ...what the...) I never even expected he could sing that way. His voice certainly was as big as the obese Count Fosco.

Hopefully he will make it to Broadway.

[Lori]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 8:23am

Actually, just a small correction...it's a white rat (Missy with two understudies) and she's quite large.

The scene gives plenty of room for ad-libbing as well, since the rat does not always perform on cue or as expected. The first time I saw it (with Michael Ball as Fosco), the rat ran up his arm, around his neck and then down the back of his jacket where she got wedged between the costume and the fat suit. Michael struggled a bit trying to reach her and then...never missing a note (Fosco is singing an operatic aria at this point) turned his back to the audience and hauled her out by her tail (as she proceeded to pee on him). It was hilarious, even the conductor was laughing out loud.

Updated On: 7/23/05 at 08:23 AM

Posted: 7/23/05 at 8:48am

It's a great showstopper; very much in the tradition of the bits shakespeare used to do with dogs. When I saw it with Crawford in London, the part was rather uninteresting save this one final number of his, which had the audience in his hand.

I'd love to see Michael Ball in the part; I'd definitely see it in the states if he comes over.

[CDuffy5062]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 9:03am

I was lucky enough to see Maria and Michael Ball in WIW in London, and Michael Ball was absolutely perfect in the part; not only was his voice wonderful, he had the audience in absolute hysterics during this song. If he comes to NY with this production, his performance is definitely worth going back to see.

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 10:21am

i really hate this song. damn chris i did it again! i keep forgetting who u are and replying lol.

[kec]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 2:59pm

One more tiny correction ... The song is sung prior to Marion's entrance, as Fosco is preparing to leave for the Continent. Missy makes her appearance when Fosco "steals" an encore, just before is announced. The song is sung again after Marion leaves.

Blaxx, I agree with you. Although I have heard Michael sing a bit of opera prior to this role (the Pappageno duet with Lesley Garrett), Michael floored me with his singing in this song, and with his overall performance.

[jo]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 8:05pm

You're absolutely right, Kec

That's why I need to see it again, hopefully with Michael B, on Broadway


Jo

[jasonf]

Posted: 7/23/05 at 11:20pm

I would love if more shows got recorded the way WIW is. The sound is great, and the energy comes through of a live performance without the sounds of the audience. The ONLY time I could tell it was live even was that there's a slight echo at the end of "Evermore Without You" -- and I only caught that because I've listened to the song so many times.

[jo]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 2:35am

Is that possible to do with most Broadway or West End theatres - recording live performances technically good enough for comparable studio-recorded cast recordings. The London PALACE theatre was extensively reonvated before WOMAN IN WHITE opened, so perhaps excellent technical recording equipment and acoustics might have been part of the renovations.

[kec]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 3:45am

Jo, I think I remember hearing/reading somewhere that there is a recording studio in the Palace theatre -- probably put in during those renovations.

And yes, Jo, we all need to see Michael Ball as Fosco again..

[Forester]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 3:52am

It should be possible. Look at all the live recording we have from different bands and they sound crystal clear. I would also assume that it would cost a whole lot cheaper to do it. I would probably record it over a period of one week and then pick the best one and slice it together. Very easy to do. I have friends who made the best of Phish shows from 94 to 96. You can't tell that a lot of those songs were done at different shows.