I thought Heck was the most interesting, human and sincere Cliff whom I've ever seen. For the first time, I cared about his fate as much as the supporting characters'. He succeeded in making it CLIFF'S story, which, in actuality, it is.
I thought Williams was adequate in the first act--she does not project "fun" naturally--but stunning in the second act. I found her raw, vulnerable, heartbreaking and, refreshingly, the first Sally to care about Cliff specifically rather than just what he represents or offers.
Emond seemed a bit lost when I saw her. And I do mean Emond, not Schneider. From a technical standpoint, her accent was all over the map. From a more interpretive standpoint, she did not seem invested in her relationship with Schultz or her business. She seemed too young and vibrant. She did not strike me as having weathered all that she describes having weathered.
Burstein is doing everything right but he, too, reads as too young and vibrant. It was heartbreaking to watch Ron Rifkin, Mary Louise Wilson, Dick Latessa, Carole Shelley, Larry Keith, Barbara Andres, Laurence Luckinbill, Alma Cuervo, and Hal Robinson because I got the sense that I was seeing a couple miss out on their last chance at happiness (which is, I believe, supposed to be a contrast to Sally and Cliff, whose lives are ahead of them and have more options as to what to do). With Emond and Burstein, I thought, "Eh, they'll be okay. They've got time to try again."
Aaron Krohn and Gayle Rankin were both fine but failed to make as significant of a contribution as Denis Ohare, Michelle Pawk, Michael Stuhlbarg, Victoria Clark, Peter Benson and Candy Buckley did.
And what can be said of Cumming? I find him as superlative as Joel Grey and am hard-pressed to think of a role that has been played so definitively (albeit with two very different interpretations) by two different actors. Madame Rose. Maybe Velma Kelly. But I digress. My point is that I found Cumming as charismatic and precise as he was in the 90s.
I wish all musicals were as well written as this one.
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