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| This mysterious, disappearing Julie Jordan. | |
| Last Edit: Delvino 11:21 am EDT 04/05/18 | |
| Posted by: Delvino 11:20 am EDT 04/05/18 | |
| In reply to: My Recent 10-Shows-in-6-Days NYC Theatre Experience (briefly?, with maybe some Spoilers here and there?) ... - flaguy 09:30 am EDT 04/05/18 | |
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| That's my issue, and I saw it last Sunday afternoon. I've never seen a leading lady, so accomplished in every other NYC appearance, so poorly handled, so seemingly tentative in her performance of a starring role. Mueller -- never tentative, from "On a Clear Day... forward -- literally seems to be hiding from the audience, eyes cast down, her face and emotion withheld from us. Why? This staging and Mueller's work within it make Julie a shadowy character, unwilling to take the center stage at any turn. This doesn't help Mendez, in my opinion; she is so the opposite, so pronounced and vivid, she feels the star, and the Snows threaten to take over the middle of the first act. For the first time, ever, I felt the first act had focus issues, Julie is so sidelined in O'Brian's manipulation. The Snows are counterpoint, they complement; here they elbow the leads out of the way. I don't blame the charming Mendez, but subplot stories should be shaped to add texture and balance, not compete, and in this "Carousel" we get a Billy who is untethered to the love of his life. If anything, we feel Billy's love for Louise with twice the intensity. That's the director's fault, and no one else's. |
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| re: This mysterious, disappearing Julie Jordan. | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 04:57 pm EDT 04/06/18 | |
| In reply to: This mysterious, disappearing Julie Jordan. - Delvino 11:20 am EDT 04/05/18 | |
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| I have not yet seen CAROUSEL, but I have always felt that Julie Jordan is one of the most challenging roles in musical theater. The character has a very complex personality. The actress who portrays her has to communicate that "quiet, deep" quality to which Carrie refers, yet obviously if Julie is too quiet, too deep, too inward, she's not going to register as a presence onstage. To me, proof of the role's difficulty is that, in my opinion, Shirley Jones's performance in the film is quite poor in comparison to her excellent performances as Laurey and Marian in the films of OKLAHOMA! and THE MUSIC MAN, for example. | |
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| re: This mysterious, disappearing Julie Jordan. | |
| Posted by: Delvino 09:01 pm EDT 04/06/18 | |
| In reply to: re: This mysterious, disappearing Julie Jordan. - Michael_Portantiere 04:57 pm EDT 04/06/18 | |
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| You've made me want to revisit Jones' work in the film. I've often felt that her Marian is under-appreciated. It's a very cool, slowly "thawing" performance, and the love story in the "MM" movie feels real and moving. I buy her and Preston completely. Julie doesn't have the scenes Marian gets, ironically. I can't figure out exactly what's happening in this "Carousel" around Julie and Mueller, beyond my OP. |
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| re: This mysterious, disappearing Julie Jordan. | |
| Posted by: Shutterbug 12:00 pm EDT 04/05/18 | |
| In reply to: This mysterious, disappearing Julie Jordan. - Delvino 11:20 am EDT 04/05/18 | |
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| 100% agree, Delvino. This is a directorial issue. Mueller is a gifted performer who knows how to hold a stage - and an audience. From On a Clear Day to Beautiful and, more recently Waitress - she has given us fully committed and very present performances. I revisited Beautiful recently, and while Chilena Kennedy is very good as Carole King, I definitely missed Mueller's heartbreaking and ultimately empowered performance. The moment during Natural Woman, when King begins to come into her own and finds her voice as a performer - in Mueller's hands was stunning. It literally took my breath away. Kennedy is in excellent voice but doesn't have that extra something that made Mueller's performance so special. But I digress. Back to Caousel. I enjoyed it quite a bit for the gorgeous, gorgeous score and the lovely singing. Renee Fleming's You'll Never Walk Alone is magnificent. This production, however, has some issues. |
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| re: This mysterious, disappearing Julie Jordan. | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 10:47 pm EDT 04/06/18 | |
| In reply to: re: This mysterious, disappearing Julie Jordan. - Shutterbug 12:00 pm EDT 04/05/18 | |
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| "Mueller is a gifted performer who knows how to hold a stage - and an audience. From On a Clear Day to Beautiful and, more recently Waitress - she has given us fully committed and very present performances." Yes, and also her wonderful performance as Carrie in the New York Philharmonic presentation of CAROUSEL, which happily was televised. |
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