| re: What's the case for Penny in My Pocket? | |
| Posted by: ChipL955 10:39 pm EST 02/08/18 | |
| In reply to: What's the case for Penny in My Pocket? - Chazwaza 03:53 pm EST 02/08/18 | |
|
|
|
| I think there's a strong case for "Penny in My Pocket," all found in the second verse of the song. We learn a lot about Horace's character from Jerry Herman's excellent lyric: - When impoverished, he's inventive ("With my only shirttail, I shined a rich man's shoe") - He's charitable ("I gave the nickel to a blind man") - He's hard-working ("I bought myself a wagon and started hauling ice") - He's business-savvy ("I cut the ice to ice cubes and got a higher price; I crushed the cubes to ices for still a higher fee") - He's polite ("En route to work next morning, I helped a lady cross") - He's sentimental ("But proudly I confess that in my pocket is that penny") Yes, he's also benefitted from luck and coincidence, but he's earned his half-million mostly from his own strength of character. This song softens Horace--he's not just a curmudgeon--and reveals that his apparent disdain for Ambrose, Cornelius and Barnaby is actually high expectations. And I think it helps us root for Dolly to find happiness with him. Does the audience grasp all of this? I don't know, but a friend of mine with whom I watched the Tonys, who had never heard the song before, completely got it, and could recite Horace's good qualities as soon as the number was over. Does the song belong in the show when not in the capable hands and lungs of a David Hyde Pierce or a Victor Garber? I think there's an even stronger case there. I've seen plenty of community theater productions of Dolly, and most of the Horaces are one-dimensional gruff, bumbling old grouches. (The last one I saw we nicknamed Horrid Vandergelder.) The poorer actor needs "Penny in My Pocket" even more than the better actor. Dolly works best when we all want to see her end up with him. In my opinion. |
|
| reply | |
|
|
|
| Previous: | re: What's the case for Penny in My Pocket? - garyd 03:35 pm EST 02/09/18 |
| Next: | re: What's the case for Penny in My Pocket? - Ned3301 07:39 am EST 02/10/18 |
| Thread: |
|
Time to render: 0.013168 seconds.