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| re: What's the case for Penny in My Pocket? | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 10:46 pm EST 02/08/18 | |
| In reply to: re: What's the case for Penny in My Pocket? - ChipL955 10:39 pm EST 02/08/18 | |
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| 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. But - does the song really rescue a one-dimensional grouch? (That's assuming that the song will be made available for future productions, which it may not be.) I think if the actor (or director) has already made Vandergelder nothing but a cardboard villain, I doubt that the song would do much to change that. |
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| re: What's the case for Penny in My Pocket? | |
| Posted by: ChipL955 11:11 pm EST 02/08/18 | |
| In reply to: re: What's the case for Penny in My Pocket? - Chromolume 10:46 pm EST 02/08/18 | |
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| Does it really "rescue" him? Really, really rescue him? As in: this song will consistently, inevitably work to add dimension and likeability to Horace's character, even if in Act One he's been "nothing but a cardboard villain"? I don't know that there's any song in any musical that has a consistent surefire effect. But it can't hurt--except that it "just makes the night longer," as Chazwaza said, yes, sadly, two minutes and 51 seconds more stuck in the Shubert Theatre watching that production. |
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| re: What's the case for Penny in My Pocket? | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 12:19 am EST 02/09/18 | |
| In reply to: re: What's the case for Penny in My Pocket? - ChipL955 11:11 pm EST 02/08/18 | |
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| Does it really "rescue" him? Really, really rescue him? As in: this song will consistently, inevitably work to add dimension and likeability to Horace's character, even if in Act One he's been "nothing but a cardboard villain"? I don't know that there's any song in any musical that has a consistent surefire effect. Where did all that insane hyperbole come from? That has nothing to do with the question I posed in my post. |
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| re: What's the case for Penny in My Pocket? | |
| Posted by: ChipL955 04:39 am EST 02/09/18 | |
| In reply to: re: What's the case for Penny in My Pocket? - Chromolume 12:19 am EST 02/09/18 | |
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| I think it all depends on the performance. I always thought "A Little Priest" did wonders for the character of Sweeney Todd--it lightened him up, it showed us his intelligence and humor, it showed us why Mrs. Lovett might love him and it developed chemistry between them that made the end of the show more emotionally impactful. Then I saw the movie, and Johnny Depp's joyless performance of "A Little Priest" did none of those things. It made no sense to me whatsoever. They're playing a game, which implies fun, but Sweeney's not even smiling. So, to (try to) answer your question, I think the song "Penny in My Pocket" can give an actor a chance to give Horace some additional dimension, but the song won't do it for him automatically. Without the song, there are few other chances to accomplish that in the show. So it serves a useful purpose (on paper, at least) and makes a case for itself as part of the score. "Does the song really rescue him?" Whether talking about "Penny in My Pocket" or "A Little Priest," my answer is no--the performance does (or doesn't). |
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