I go to the theatre to be stimulated, moved and challenged. Sometimes I get all three and occasionally I get my mind jolted as well. Particular thanks to Messrs Chekhov, Ibsen and Sondheim.
He was an admirable Ben Stone in the European premiere of Follies in Manchester in 1985.
FOLLIES- National Theatre Live Dec 22
2017, 02:08:04 PM
With respect to the performances of the actors playing Solange and Hattie, they were deliberately directed not to make star turns of their songs. Ditto Carlotta and other characters with stand-alone songs.
I think that tells us all we need to know about who had the better education.
Who saw Alfred Molina in Red? Dec 2
2017, 02:48:23 AM
I saw this at the Donmar and thought it the best thing I saw that year. I'd say being close to the actors is better although the closer you are the more risk you have of needing to use some paper towels after it's over.
Well, that was astonishing - I've never seen so many American gay men in the National Theatre!
And, beyond any shadow of a doubt, it was the best production of Follies I've seen. The book they used seemed to be an augmented version of the 1971 original. All the great dialogue was there; there were no wtf moments when something you expect to hear doesn't happen. And I saw and understood in a way I've never seen before just how well integrated the whole piec
I saw the European premier in Manchester in 1985 with my late parents, which used James Goldman's original script. We found it such an astounding experience that my father came out of the matinee and immediately booked for us all to see the show again that evening.
A couple of years later, we also saw the 1987 London production, which, sepia-tinted and watered-down and despite its lavish production values and starry cast, felt underwhelming in comparison.
GeorgeandDot said: "Jenna Russel's Mary over in London was very fleshed out and definitely the highlight of the production for me. I'm disappointed that she didn't transfer over the pond with this."
Jenna Russell is currently paying off her mortgage, boosting her pension fund and wasting her talents with a lead role in EastEnders.
Still, she's making a better job of it than Maria Friedman did with her role in EastEnders.
This is presumably the same Mark Sendroff who recorded Kander and Ebb's Ten Percent (cut from Chicago) on Ben Bagley's 1985 Contemporary Broadway album:
henrikegerman said: "Point taken. But isn't "Ah But Underneath" also clearly about a divided self?"
The Story of Lucy and Jessie is a song of sharp contrasts between who Phyllis was and who she is now. Ah But Underneath is much more nuanced; it's about how someone doesn't necessarily reveal who they are in the first instance. In the 1987 London Follies, Phyllis wasn't so much a divided self as she was someone putting on a front to cover
henrikegerman said: ""As Phyllis, Dee is brilliantly sardonic in her withering put-downs but when it came to the climactic The Story of Lucy and Jessie, where she dances alongside Strallen, I realised that this is a song about a divided self." Billington in the Guardian
If this somehow a new realization? If not that,exactly what did Billington formerly think the song was about?"
Billington starts his review speaking of the original 1987 London pr
I'm beginning to get excited now. It looks so 1970s in a way that other productions have balked at and the derelict theatre looks alarmingly authentic.
Reservation: Sally does seem to be talking to her younger self in one of the photographs.
Thanks for sharing jewishboy - I read all your review and I'm grateful for every word.
The fact that Bolero d'Amour is there also provides encouragement - doesn't this get cut from the later rewrites? It certainly wasn't in the 1987 London production.
