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Post by Stasia on Sept 7, 2017 13:02:42 GMT
Saw this last week and stand with those who left slightly underwhelmed. Yes, I felt the greatness of the show itself, I awed Imelda and adored both Janie Dee and her younger Strallen version, I even shed a couple of tears listening to Josephine Barstow's One Last Kiss... But still I was not emotionally involved with Sallie's story, and I blame Alex young for that.
I am really sorry to say that and I know that a lot of people like her but for me she was miscast. She walked so ungracefully with no stature, seemed very heavy and couldn't take a decent pose and she looked so unlike Follies girl for me that I couldn't even imagine her being a dancer or being attractive in Ben's eyes. Especially as there was young gracious Phyllis around, and she was just as perfect as I thought the character should be.
Oh, and I haven't noticed any exceptional magic and momentum that couldn't have been broken by inserting the interval. There is almost no pace for the first half of the show so why not add it?
To sum it up, I appreciate the greatness of the show and I am happy I had a chance to see it but this is not something I would recommend to to others or will talk much about (except for "omg I had an evening with Imelda on stage and she made me loose my mind about her - again).
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Post by littlesally on Sept 7, 2017 13:39:29 GMT
I'd love to see the justification for Frank's comment: "Overall it is undercast, poorly sung, badly directed, staged and lit", and westendwendy's subsequent complete agreement. Because I really, really, don't get it. It makes me think of the commenters on YouTube who are really negative about the singing in Sam Mendes' superlative production of Company from 1996 at the Donmar Warehouse. That was beautifully acted AND sung, and I found the same with Follies at the NT. The RAH concert semi-staged version had next to no acting, and was a disappointment for me from that point of view, despite the big name cast which had been persuaded to appear. Anyway, I would like to echo the sentiment above - well done to all the cast and crew of this production of Follies on the positive reviews. You deserve them. It is like a reverse Emperor's New Clothes. Which, by the way, PQ sang brilliantly at his Divas at the Donmar. |
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Post by horton on Sept 7, 2017 14:04:19 GMT
Littlesally, if you think the Donmar Company was well sung, it's no wonder you believe water springs out of a rock!
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Follies
Sept 7, 2017 14:38:54 GMT
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Post by littlesally on Sept 7, 2017 14:38:54 GMT
Littlesally, if you think the Donmar Company was well sung, it's no wonder you believe water springs out of a rock! Donmar Company? Not sure what your point is? |
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Post by loureviews on Sept 7, 2017 14:55:23 GMT
Littlesally, if you think the Donmar Company was well sung, it's no wonder you believe water springs out of a rock! That was me, not littlesally. Sally was talking about Philip Quast's Diva concert some years ago at the Donmar. |
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Post by crabtree on Sept 7, 2017 15:10:54 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2017 15:16:41 GMT
Any list that puts Liza's classic at the bottom isn't worth my spit. Philistines. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2017 15:18:28 GMT
Not on the previous list, and i thought it was actually rather good! Twiggy sings Follies!
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Post by alece10 on Sept 7, 2017 15:48:24 GMT
I'd love to see the justification for Frank's comment: "Overall it is undercast, poorly sung, badly directed, staged and lit", and westendwendy's subsequent complete agreement. Because I really, really, don't get it. It makes me think of the commenters on YouTube who are really negative about the singing in Sam Mendes' superlative production of Company from 1996 at the Donmar Warehouse. That was beautifully acted AND sung, and I found the same with Follies at the NT. The RAH concert semi-staged version had next to no acting, and was a disappointment for me from that point of view, despite the big name cast which had been persuaded to appear. Anyway, I would like to echo the sentiment above - well done to all the cast and crew of this production of Follies on the positive reviews. You deserve them. It is like a reverse Emperor's New Clothes. Which, by the way, PQ sang brilliantly at his Divas at the Donmar. Oh I loved that Donmar concert. A real mix of musical numbers. Must dig out my cd of it. |
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Post by littlesally on Sept 7, 2017 16:32:13 GMT
Alec, there were very few duds in the Divas seasons. Patti, Betty, Audra, Barbra Cook and Janie Dee! All excellent. Your favourite?
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Post by crabtree on Sept 7, 2017 16:40:59 GMT
Thank you for posting the Twiggy clip. I had never seen that, and certainly enjoyed it more than the Liza car crash. What was Twiggy wearing though. I do love the vibrato in her voice. Twiggy sings Sondheim - who knew?
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Follies
Sept 7, 2017 16:43:57 GMT
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Post by alece10 on Sept 7, 2017 16:43:57 GMT
Alec, there were very few duds in the Divas seasons. Patti, Betty, Audra, Barbra Cook and Janie Dee! All excellent. Your favourite? I really liked the Patti one as 1st time I'd seen her and the Phillip Quast one. The Michael Ball one was a bit odd and he seemed to be on a bit of a downer with his song choices. |
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Follies
Sept 7, 2017 16:44:14 GMT
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Post by alece10 on Sept 7, 2017 16:44:14 GMT
Alec, there were very few duds in the Divas seasons. Patti, Betty, Audra, Barbra Cook and Janie Dee! All excellent. Your favourite? I really liked the Patti one as 1st time I'd seen her and the Phillip Quast one. The Michael Ball one was a bit odd and he seemed to be on a bit of a downer with his song choices. |
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Post by theatreian on Sept 7, 2017 16:46:14 GMT
One of my favourite Sondheim sequences was in the Hey Mr Producer concert. Included Broadway Baby, Send In the Clowns, Losing my Mind and Being Alive. Cast included Bernadette Peters, Judi Dench, Michael Ball......
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Post by westendwendy on Sept 7, 2017 16:46:15 GMT
Saw this last week and stand with those who left slightly underwhelmed. Yes, I felt the greatness of the show itself, I awed Imelda and adored both Janie Dee and her younger Strallen version, I even shed a couple of tears listening to Josephine Barstow's One Last Kiss... But still I was not emotionally involved with Sallie's story, and I blame Alex young for that. I am really sorry to say that and I know that a lot of people like her but for me she was miscast. She walked so ungracefully with no stature, seemed very heavy and couldn't take a decent pose and she looked so unlike Follies girl for me that I couldn't even imagine her being a dancer or being attractive in Ben's eyes. Especially as there was young gracious Phyllis around, and she was just as perfect as I thought the character should be. Oh, and I haven't noticed any exceptional magic and momentum that couldn't have been broken by inserting the interval. There is almost no pace for the first half of the show so why not add it? To sum it up, I appreciate the greatness of the show and I am happy I had a chance to see it but this is not something I would recommend to to others or will talk much about (except for "omg I had an evening with Imelda on stage and she made me loose my mind about her - again). Nastia. I completely agree with you. Alex is an amazing performer and I agree she is miscast in this. I realised actually that for a while I didn't think she was even young Sally! You're right! This is one example of many reasons why the show doesn't gel for me. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2017 16:47:45 GMT
Alec, there were very few duds in the Divas seasons. Patti, Betty, Audra, Barbra Cook and Janie Dee! All excellent. Your favourite? I always assumed that Maria Friedman's Donmar concerts were part of the Divas seasons but a quick check on Google tells me they weren't. She was brilliant. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2017 16:57:05 GMT
Thank you for posting the Twiggy clip. I had never seen that, and certainly enjoyed it more than the Liza car crash. What was Twiggy wearing though. I do love the vibrato in her voice. Twiggy sings Sondheim - who knew? She doesn't have the strongest voice, but for this song, her style really suits it. |
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Post by gra on Sept 7, 2017 18:42:03 GMT
Saw this last week and stand with those who left slightly underwhelmed. Yes, I felt the greatness of the show itself, I awed Imelda and adored both Janie Dee and her younger Strallen version, I even shed a couple of tears listening to Josephine Barstow's One Last Kiss... But still I was not emotionally involved with Sallie's story, and I blame Alex young for that. I am really sorry to say that and I know that a lot of people like her but for me she was miscast. She walked so ungracefully with no stature, seemed very heavy and couldn't take a decent pose and she looked so unlike Follies girl for me that I couldn't even imagine her being a dancer or being attractive in Ben's eyes. Especially as there was young gracious Phyllis around, and she was just as perfect as I thought the character should be. Oh, and I haven't noticed any exceptional magic and momentum that couldn't have been broken by inserting the interval. There is almost no pace for the first half of the show so why not add it? Re the interval. 'Follies' was written by Sondheim. Sondheim wanted his show to be performed in one act. The National Theatre is respecting the composer's intentions. |
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Post by loureviews on Sept 7, 2017 19:01:25 GMT
Alec, there were very few duds in the Divas seasons. Patti, Betty, Audra, Barbra Cook and Janie Dee! All excellent. Your favourite? Gosh how many years ago are we talking about? Hate to think! |
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Post by horton on Sept 7, 2017 19:25:22 GMT
Apologies for the confusion littlesally.
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Post by Stasia on Sept 7, 2017 19:42:23 GMT
Re the interval. 'Follies' was written by Sondheim. Sondheim wanted his show to be performed in one act. The National Theatre is respecting the composer's intentions. Yep, I know about what Sondheim wanted. But that doesn't mean I can want different things in life. What I was talking about were not Sondheim's wishes but theatrevoard people's comments on "not ruining the pace and tension". And I basically said that I haven't felt neither pace nor tension for the better half of the show and for me personally including the interval wouldn't change a lot. |
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Post by westendwendy on Sept 7, 2017 21:34:23 GMT
I've seen the show wifh an interval and without. It's better with.
Plus knowing the majority of people who go the theatre - they need a toilet break! Not to mention a drink mid way so they can enjoy the evening.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2017 22:20:20 GMT
For me it works so much better without the interval.
But then i dont need a drink to be able to enjoy a show.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2017 22:52:02 GMT
Funnily enough, being sat in the top corner of the stalls and being able to see most people, what was interesting is the song after Tracie's big number (something about a Kiss i think?), once that aong ended, alot of audience members were really adjusting at that point. It was like a wave, you just saw loads of people adjust in their seats at once. But other than that, no one got up to go to the toilet and most were 50+ women I'd say. I can't really see a point in the show where the interval would work either.
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Post by sf on Sept 7, 2017 23:24:46 GMT
Re the interval. 'Follies' was written by Sondheim. Sondheim wanted his show to be performed in one act. The National Theatre is respecting the composer's intentions. 'Follies' was written by Sondheim and James Goldman. As author of the book, and therefore architect of the show's narrative arc, the choice to perform it in one act would have been as much Goldman's as anybody else's. |
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