I'm So Glad I Came

ONE: I saw the Encores! production of FOLLIES Thursday night at City Center (apparently Steve and Hal were both in the house that night as well, albeit in closer seats than my second-to-last-row-humdinger). Brantley is spot on in his review. It was epic, magnificent, and gorgeous. Musically astounding, emotionally wretching, personally inspiring ... it didn't stop for the whole two-and-a-half-hours. And, throw in the dream team of Vicki Clark, Donna Murphy, and Casey Nicholaw, there's no turning back: we're in whole-hog, and happily rolling around in the mud.

It was something to it there and listen to these extraordinary voices sing these delicious songs and receive enormous amounts of applause. I was sure the entire show was going to stop a few times, notably after "In Buddy's Eyes," "Losing My Mind," "Could I Leave You?," and "The Story of Lucy and Jessie." No surprise here, those were the four solos by Ms Clark and Ms Murphy.

TWO: I met a certain actress last night, backstage at a certain broadway show and presented her with a certain baked good. It was brilliant. And she was just delightful, and beautiful, and so kind.

Let's Just Laugh to Ourselves

...so goes the line of dialogue in COMPANY, now playing at Broadway's Barrymore Theatre.

It's fine. It's a John Doyle show, and I had a really hard time with SWEENEY, and COMPANY too seems just out of place. These people interacting and living while carrying their instruments... musicians, don't freak out! I know you can speak and hold your trumpet at the same time, but you don't always carry your trumpet around with you, do you? Like, to a one-night-stand? Or your flute to a park?

Anyway, the best scenes were had when there were no annoying pieces of brass to get in the way. Angel Desai (as Marta) was far and away the greatest thing on that stage. Her "Another Hundred People" was full of intrigue, compassion, understanding, development, color, creativity, et al. She knew what she was singing about and made it very clear. And she was able to have fun doing it -- go figure!

Barbara Walsh did as fine a job as she could with Stritchy's tune, which, let's face it, no one is going to master in any way close to the best. At least she did something different and tried. Plus, wouldn't it be just great to drink like Joanne does? Goodness, that looked fun.

Mr Esparza did fine work as well. He has such a lovely character and quality to his voice, but it evoked, at least in my mind, so much TICK, TICK ... BOOM! that it was distracting. It's OK. I'll get over it. He deserves me getting over it. His "Marry Me a Little" was lovely, and after he got through that trying, stunted first half of "Being Alive," well... he sure sang it out, Louise.

Perhaps part of my dislike of the whole thing was the decision to not let the audience applaud -- not that we would have anyway, maybe, but still. Why couldn't we applaud for "Another Hundred People" or "The Ladies Who Lunch"? It's unfair to make us sit there without a release... maybe they should have served complimentary vodka stingers. Now that would have been a release.

And... does Fred Rose remind you of John Michael Higgins.










Also, Robert Cunningham looks (looks only) like a younger Joel Grey.