I had no interest in seeing ALNM with Zeta-Jones and, while I love Lansbury, she was not enough to get me there. Interestingly, the prospect of seeing Peters and Stritch (particularly in the same production!) did get me to drive down to see it on a sweltering Saturday. I saw The Grand Manner at the matinee, and loved it--a funny, elegant play with superb performances by all four of the actors, and then an evening performance. The gods were smiling--Stritch only seemed to reach for one line, and I was seated in the orchestra near where Peters did "Send in the Clowns." I thought it was lovely, and I liked Stritch's take on Madame Armfeldt (I had seen Gingold in the movie, where her role was so reduced, and Margaret Hamilton in the National Tour, but from a seat up with the gods in the Shubert in Chicago). I drove the four hours home to Ithaca that night in what felt like a fever-dream.
I think Peters and Lansbury would have been exquisite, but I loved the juxtaposition of Peters and Stritch (and I have always been a fan of both). |
