| re: Another Peters "Dolly" fan. | |
| Posted by: jmill 12:08 pm EDT 07/04/18 | |
| In reply to: Another Peters "Dolly" fan. - Delvino 07:34 pm EDT 07/03/18 | |
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| I have a similar admiration for Bernadette's Dolly. I posted some comments in a thread about a week ago, but not until a couple days after the thread started, so I'll repeat some of them here. I was responding in the previous thread to a poster who, I believe, accurately nailed it by stating that with Bette in the lead, Dolly BECAME Midler; with Donna, Murphy BECAME Dolly. DOLLY has always been a show in which the stars can bring their persona to the role. Over the years, I've been fortunate enough to see Channing (in the revivals), Martin (on tour in Cleveland), Bailey, Merman, and now Midler do that, all of them quite wonderfully. Murphy took a different approach, in which she developed a well thought out, beautifully crafted performance, just as would be expected from Ms. Murphy, in which she became Dolly Gallagher Levi, and I thought she was truly magnificent. As is always the case with her, she managed to surprise me with some of her takes as Dolly. The poster suggested that Bernadette's Dolly was "lost somewhere in the middle." While I think there is merit in describing Peters' approach as somewhere in between that taken by Bette and Donna, I don't think she was lost doing it. I've seen Bernadette twice: first time was in April, and I felt that the show took a little longer to take off than it did with its previous stars, and that the comedy didn't play quite as well. Peters was excellent at the pathos, culminating in a terrific "Before the Parade Passes By," the title number was still glorious, but the Bernadette mannerisms and traits we've seen so often before didn't completely gel in her Dolly. I returned to see Peters one more time two weeks ago, and both Bernadette and the show were sizzling. This time, the comedy all landed, with Bernadette clearly bringing her own comic take to multiple scenes with great effectiveness.The show played with its full comic force, split second comic timing, and moments of genuine farce. Her bit with the dumplings had Garber working hard not to lose character and break out laughing himself. The entire evening was filled with laughter mixing with tears. Bernadette was now providing a full fledged performance and has developed her own Dolly, based on her persona. Her chemistry with Garber was excellent, and he has some characteristics (warmth, plus a touch of a suave, dashing presence) which we don't normally associate with Horace and his bluster. Of course, the exasperation was still there, but the underlying traits that occasionally show through made it more understandable why Dolly would be attracted to his Horace, and it all worked. And, yes, I agree with Delvino's description of the Peters-Garber pairing as being "a little hotter" than what we've come to expect of Dolly and Horace. But the warmth is a key component too, and, as a result, the closing scene has rarely seemed as moving or as laced with poignancy as it was in my most recent visit. I can't say whether the performances have grown considerably since April or if I just caught a bit of an off night back then. Whatever the case, the Peters Dolly was right up there, equaling the joy I felt when I saw Midler (once) and Murphy (twice) earlier in the run. The rest of the cast remains superb - I always love Baldwin, Creel, as noted, is a terrific Cornelius (his vocal powers just ignite "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" and "It Only Takes a Moment," and his speech in the latter number is beautifully touching), while Charlie Stemp almost steals the show with his goofy, adorable Barnaby, thanks to his mix of innocence, priceless facial expressions, and brilliantly acrobatic dancing. I have tickets to see Midler a second time after she returns and am looking forward to that. I'm even considering going to Murphy's closing performance, as, if I really had to choose, I'd probably ever so slightly rank her as my favorite of this exceptional trio of Dolly stars. Whichever Dolly you might see - and, fortunately, chances remain to see all of them, this is, as Delvino says, an "unmissable" production. I am thrilled that Dolly has been 'back where she belongs' for over a year, and that I have had the good fortune to see these three remarkable leading ladies descend the Harmonia Gardens staircase in the famous red dress, bringing their great theatrical skills and brilliance to this iconic role. |
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