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| Author | Topic: Follies on Broadway |
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 AMH
Registered User
Registered:
11/7/2011
From:
North Carolina | posted: 11/16/2011 at 12:46:23 PM ET
Those who have seen the show, what do you think of Bernadette's interpretation of Sally? I saw it a couple weeks ago and absolutely loved it! (I'm seeing it again next month.)
After reading around on some other message boards, it seems a lot of people do not like Bernadette's certifiable Sally. Although I have never seen any past performances of Follies (and am a little biased), I thought Bernadette's portrayal was very believable. I didn't think she over-acted the part at all.
|  Jennifer
Registered User
Registered:
7/12/2010
From:
CA | posted: 11/16/2011 at 3:10:58 PM ET
I've seen the show twice. I didn't think she over acted the part either.
I really liked her interpretation of Sally and I'm anxiously waiting for my cd to arrive.
|  Jean
Registered User
Registered:
6/7/2003 | posted: 11/16/2011 at 4:26:38 PM ET
I'm not at all eloquent (and I am, frankly, too much of a Bernadette fan) to be able to put into words what I think about Bernadette's performance, so I'll et Brantley (NY Times) say it:
"Ms. Peters, who in Washington looked entirely too sexy to be Sally, now has the eloquently crestfallen aspect of a woman who’s almost given up on life but sees the glimmer of a last chance. The new wig and dress help to play down her natural radiance, but it’s the fractured quality in her singing voice (most affectingly deployed in the torchy “Losing My Mind”) and line readings that puts across the character as someone for whom resentment is sliding into madness."
And, to answer the question, one may or may not think Bernadette is "right" for the part, or plays it to their satisfaction, but I would say that this may be the most subtle and "interior" performance I think I've ever seen her give. (I did not see the production on Broadway, I did see the Kennedy Center production, several times.)
| AMH
Registered User
Registered:
11/7/2011
From:
North Carolina | posted: 11/16/2011 at 9:37:39 PM ET
I agree. Bernadette is so great in comedic roles, but it's nice to see her (successfully) take on such an emotional and profound character like Sally. I didn't get to see her previous Broadway performances, so seeing her in Follies was a real treat!
| Anonymous
Anonymous Poster
From Internet Network:
71.179.248.x | posted: 12/12/2011 at 4:49:06 PM ET
I just saw the show on December 10th. It was very disappointing. The first half hour with couple after couple exchanging insipid dialogue was too slow and I was beginning to feel, "Let's get on with it." Ms Peters was miscast in the leading role. Her voice was too high pitched and operatic in quality. I missed a lot of the words because I simply could not understand her diction. While there were some good scenes that belied real talent such as the Broadway Baby scene and the scene featuring the song Could I Leave You, the whole lacked continuity, making it a kind of stew that you weren't quite sure what the ingredients were. Finally the dichotomy between the soppy, regretful scenes followed by the comical vaudeville acts made it seem almost ludicrous. I found myself wishing it were over. In short, it was mediocre. The balcony was two-thirds empty on a Saturday night. Now, I know why. Save your money. Don't go!
BEP
Washington, D.C.
| Jennifer
Registered User
Registered:
7/12/2010
From:
CA | posted: 12/12/2011 at 9:03:00 PM ET
BEP
Washington, D.C.
That's your opinion and your entitled to it. I've seen the show twice and loved every minute of it. I think FOLLIES is something that people either LOVE or don't like.
| AMH
Registered User
Registered:
11/7/2011
From:
North Carolina | posted: 12/12/2011 at 10:52:29 PM ET
I completely agree with you, Jennifer. Unfortunately, FOLLIES doesn't appeal to everyone. But it's still a beautiful show, and I could see it over and over again.
To say that Bernadette is miscast in the role of Sally--as is the anonymous poster's opinion--I feel is untrue. Sally is a devastating character and, in my opinion, Bernadette displays this perfectly. She gives a heartbreaking and believable performance each night, as noted by the many glowing reviews she has received. Plus, her interpretation of Sally meets with Sondheim's approval. What more could you want? 
FOLLIES doesn't have a cheerful storyline; it's a profound show. But, alas, this is not enjoyable to everyone.
| ripley123
Registered User
Registered:
11/8/2011 | posted: 12/13/2011 at 9:33:31 AM ET
What's ludicrous is saying that Bernadette's voice is operatic. I am going to tell all my friends who are professional opera singers and coaches that I read that just so i can watch them pee their pants. Bernadette Peters would be the first one to say that her voice is not operatic, let alone TOO operatic for anything.
BP is not technically perfect as singer or a dancer, and she has said that herself. Her strength is in her acting and vulnerability. So, nobody should be shocked when she's not blowing the roof off the place with a power ballad. That's not why you go see Bernadette. Kind of like you don't go to Tiffany's and get annoyed because you can't find Louboutin shoes.
| AMH
Registered User
Registered:
11/7/2011
From:
North Carolina | posted: 12/13/2011 at 12:20:44 PM ET
Kind of like you don't go to Tiffany's and get annoyed because you can't find Louboutin shoes.
LOL! I like that example.
Yes, it is quite ridiculous to suggest that Bernadette's voice is too operatic. I would love to know what your friends say about that comment.
| PATTY
Registered User
Registered:
3/1/2003
From:
tonawanda,n.y. | posted: 12/13/2011 at 3:36:12 PM ET
I saw the performance Friday night and think the character of "Sally" is a rather weak and needy person.Perhaps we are used to seeing Bernadette in more strong and fiesty roles! There were stronger characters in the show...Phyllis,Corlatta, Hattie, etc.,who had wonderful performances. I don't think Bernadette was miscast,.. as this is how "Sally" is...fragile and vulnerable. "Losing My Mind" is not a show-stopping number ..but she sang it beautifully. And as a former dancer, I thought she was just perfect and adorable...I'd like to see more of it. Tap is not easy as one gets older;( I recently did a tap number sitting in a chair where the weight is on your butt not your legs!!)Thanks for directions to the stage door! Not much of a crowd there as it was difficult to find;which was good as Bernadette wasn't rushed when greeting people. All in all, I enjoyed the show and " in my eyes", Bernadette is totally wonderful whatever she is in! I just sent for the cast recording!
To the loveliest lady of song!
You will keep on giving me joy forever...
| Jennifer
Registered User
Registered:
7/12/2010
From:
CA | posted: 12/13/2011 at 4:33:13 PM ET
I see Sally as being depressed and lonely. I think she is looking for happiness and a time when she was truly happy.
I think she was happy when she was first married to Buddy and their children were young. But, Buddy is gone a lot and leaves her alone and cheats on her
and her kids move away. She's lonely.
When Ben sings TOO MANY MORNINGS to her she thinks "he feels the same way I do".
| ripley123
Registered User
Registered:
11/8/2011 | posted: 12/13/2011 at 5:01:52 PM ET
quote:
Yes, it is quite ridiculous to suggest that Bernadette's voice is too operatic. I would love to know what your friends say about that comment.
One said, "Have they ever heard opera?" and the other one said, "No, they have her mixed up with Rosalind Elias."
| AMH
Registered User
Registered:
11/7/2011
From:
North Carolina | posted: 12/13/2011 at 5:58:33 PM ET
Sally is not much of a likeable character; she is very weak and needy, just as Patty said. These are traits that most of us don't like to see in a leading lady. However, these qualities do make for an interesting role, one in which Bernadette portrays perfectly.
"No, they have her mixed up with Rosalind Elias."
LOL! Thanks for the update, ripley!
| Jennifer
Registered User
Registered:
7/12/2010
From:
CA | posted: 12/13/2011 at 6:59:29 PM ET
I just see Sally differently. When I listen to TOO MANY MORNINGS I think why is he toying with her and saying these things to her if he doesn't really feel that way.
If fact she is questioning her feelings:
"was it ever real?
Did I ever love you this much?
Did we ever feel
so happy then?"
and Ben say
"it was always real...
"And I have always loved you this much..."
"we can always feel this happy..."
If TOO MANY MORNINGS is all in her head then yes she is insane.
| ripley123
Registered User
Registered:
11/8/2011 | posted: 12/13/2011 at 7:50:59 PM ET
It is freaking hard to play a deluded person, I know from experience (no, I am not Alice Ripley), and BP is knocking it out of the park. She is basically burying her own strength and character and turning up the dial on all her vulnerability. One of her strengths has been, traditionally, her vulnerability, and it has been palatable because there's this sort of tough, self-aware kid- or vice versa, she is so obviously not tough but she's trying to be, and there's the vulnerability. Kind of, as feminine and fluffy and cuddly as she is, there's this glint of tomboy happening too - a different balance in all her work but it is there. Here...Sally isn't tough, she knows she's not tough, she's not trying to be tough, nobody thinks she's tough, and really, the best trick she has up her sleeve is from her young self threatening suicide. She's just pathetic and wants from everybody else and she brings nothing to the table. And I think, having seen her perform live so much, that what is going on here is not her voice being weak, but she is trying to give you the pic of a loser who never really had a realistic shot at being more than a working class wife and mom, and hasn't even kept up what she had. She is freaking surrounded by people who kept fighting, many still performing in some capacity. Of COURSE she can't out-sing them! She's already on shaky ground being able to out-dance them there in the front line 
| Jennifer
Registered User
Registered:
7/12/2010
From:
CA | posted: 12/13/2011 at 8:40:19 PM ET
BP is doing an excellent job on this. I LOVE everything about FOLLIES and listen to it daily.
Young Sally doesn't threaten suicide. She actually attempts it.
BEN
"She said she'd kill herself. I didn't know she meant it."
It's just difficult for me to see why he would toy with her so horribly. He know she tried to commit suicide because of him once a long time ago.
He should of acted like he didn't remember her and called her Sandy all night long and been a complete jerk to her. Not lead her on.
I LOVE her voice in LOSING MY MIND.
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