The Story of Lucy X and Jessie Y Question- Page 4

[Musical Master]

Posted: 8/18/14 at 11:49am

Alexis Smith's performance of that song and the concept in Bennett's original choreography sure made a memorable night in 1971.

[lovebwy]

Posted: 8/18/14 at 5:14pm

I envy anyone who got to see Alexis Smith in Follies. Though I did enjoy the 2011 version.

I'd spoken to a few people who've seen both productions. Most said (some emphatically) that the original version was better. But one older gentleman I sat next to at the 2011 version said "I'll tell you a secret. This one is better". He told me he'd come to see it dozens of times at that point because he loved the moment when Loveland started.

Some people complained about the pacing, with one person saying "glacial". But, really, isn't that the fault of the book and not the actors/director?

[Musical Master]

Posted: 8/18/14 at 5:21pm

I'm glad that some footage of the original production of FOLLIES exist, that way, I would have never seen Smith selling it through the rafters.

[Musical Master]

Posted: 8/18/14 at 5:21pm

Double post, whoops! Updated On: 8/18/14 at 05:21 PM

[lovebwy]

Posted: 8/18/14 at 5:42pm

YES! We are lucky to have so much footage from Follies.

I once just mentioned the footage indirectly and got suspended from ATC. Can you imagine?

[Musical Master]

Posted: 8/18/14 at 5:53pm

^ATC's rules are strange anyway.

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 8/18/14 at 6:07pm

"Some people complained about the pacing, with one person saying "glacial". But, really, isn't that the fault of the book and not the actors/director?"

Not necessarily so. Slow pacing can be the fault of the book, but it is frequently the fault of the actors and director allowing too much air between lines and the conductor letting tempos sag. The thrilling production of Follies that Gary Griffin directed at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre ran between ten and fifteen minutes shorter than the concurrently running Broadway production, and both used the exact same book.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 8/18/14 at 6:10pm

"Some people complained about the pacing, with one person saying "glacial". But, really, isn't that the fault of the book and not the actors/director?"

In some cases it is the script itself, but in most cases pacing lies squarely in the hands of the director and cast. I've seen shows where three hours fly by because the energy and pacing on stage are perfect. Then there have been one act pieces that came in under 90 minutes but every one of those minutes felt like five because of the way the show was directed and/or acted. You can even see it between multiple productions of shows. I've done several productions of some of the classic pieces. For instance, Gypsy. I've worked on that show in three different professional productions and the run times were different for each production, from two hours and forty five minutes for one, to just barey under three hours for another (which was always scary for the producers of that one, because it was a union orchestra and after three hours they were on overtime).

[theeatah]

Posted: 8/18/14 at 6:37pm

"Jessie wants to be what Lucy WAS. "

The tense change there has always confused me. I wonder if it refers to a pre "aspirational" Lucy, i.e. one who's "juicy" but has no interest in being "dressy".

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 8/18/14 at 9:33pm

^^^Maybe, but I don't think it's that complicated.

Lucy is an earlier incarnation of Jessie. So when Jessie is the subject of the sentence (as in the line you cite), then Lucy existed only in the past. Hence, "was", because it's from Jessie's p.o.v.

Is the lyric entirely consistent in this regard? I don't know, but it won't surprise me if it is not.