| Stritch | |
| Last Edit: PlayWiz 05:36 pm EST 12/21/18 | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 05:29 pm EST 12/21/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Bway replacements who outshine the originals - Ned3301 03:36 pm EST 12/21/18 | |
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| Stritch wasn't calling any more particular attention to herself other than the fact that she was giving a wonderful performance in "A Delicate Balance". Yes, maybe it's perhaps that she was well-known for hitting the bottle in real life, but she stayed in character. In "Show Boat", I rather resented Hal Prince's decision to take away one of the most beautiful duets, "Why Do I Love You" from such excellent legit singers as Rebecca Luker and Mark Jacoby and give it to Ms. Stritch to sing to a baby. Plus apparently Prince didn't bring a possibly more fun Cap'n Andy, Robert Morse, to NY because apparently Stritch either didn't like him or thought he was stealing the show. John McMartin was very good, though, and she was otherwise a fine Parthy. But I thought Morse had a bit of clout from having starred in "How to Succeed" and having been a Tony winner, having appeared on tv and movies and being more of a name than Stritch! Also, in Stritch's one-woman show, since she was the subject and star, she could be allowed some amount of self-serving or self-aggrandizement, especially since she was pretty much giving a performance that would be probably equal any in the Golden Age of musical comedy. I felt bad when I saw her in "A Little Night Music" because she was having a lot of difficulty with her lyrics during "Liaisons", and she had been given the option of using some sort of ear monitor. She had apparently refused, and probably added an extra minute or two to the song, and a lot of discomfort to the audience wondering how she'd get through it. I get that she wanted to carry on and do it like the pro she was, but her unwillingness to think of her audience's ease and some age-related vanity on her own part, was probably the wrong decision when all is said and done. A really excellent performer in general though, and while we've heard some terrible stories about her over the years, to speak just a bit in her favor, she was very nice and friendly to me when I met her at a record signing of the LP of the Lincoln Center "Follies" years ago. I actually thought Barbara Cook might be the friendlier one that day, but no, it was Stritch! To add to the Stritch lore, someone I knew years ago who had been in the original cast of "Company" had told me that she "does not suffer fools gladly", and that Prince had signed her to the show with the understanding that if she started drinking again while in the show she'd be fired. |
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