So excited for this Imelda sounds amazing on the cast recording and I can't wait to see her whole performance! I only wish Benanti was filmed in the role, I'm sure their Louise is fine, but Benanti redefined that role!
bwayboy, the Louise and Herbie are just that, fine. When I saw Imelda I was gobsmacked at how great she was. I went in with high expectations because her Lovett was brilliant and she only exceeded them. I was entirely let down by a merely ok supporting cast. I missed Laura Benanti and Boyd Gains incredibly because many touching and heartbreaking moments they all shared were gone. This production is directed at an almost breakneck speed minus the song's sluggish tempos and it also made me miss Arhtur's directing of the book scenes (lord help me).
I preferred Lara Pulver's Louise to Benanti, and also liked Peter Davison a lot as Herbie. He has a sort of Jack Klugman quality and you get the sense of why he is driven to stay around Staunton's Rose. I think it helps if Herbie is a bit more rumpled than someone like Boyd Gaines, although Gaines was quite excellent in the role. But of course, it's all about Staunton, who goes to scary, terrifying heights and makes unexpected and illuminating choices throughout. I think too, I preferred Jonathan Kent's staging here to any of the Laurents productions, which tended to veer into somewhat misogynistic territory.
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.
Really? I found them very flat and one note and I can't remember a single tear or laugh they got out of me. They never seemed to find moments, just steamrolled through scenes playing one thing at all times. Benanti and Gaines had nuances and humor. I really appreciated how in his last production, Laurents really seemed to focus on the book and the three leads all seemed to work together to make it feel like an ensemble show, no matter how powerful and strong Lupone was. Staunton is this production and it just seems nobody else is given a shot, ya know?
However, I may have been to distracted by seemingly everybody's atrocious American accents. Everybody seemed to a terrible Broolyn-ese or hee-haw southern. I know we Americans regularly do awful English accents on broadway, I just always seem to notice it more when I see shows in London.
I recall on one of these boards a report that someone involved stated that it would air on BBC and the following year on PBS (Great Performances?). Hardly authoritative (and I've seen no public announcement to that effect) - but in line with what I'd expect.