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| In (further) praise of Harry Hadden-Paton. | |
| Last Edit: Delvino 08:10 pm EST 02/23/19 | |
| Posted by: Delvino 08:06 pm EST 02/23/19 | |
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| He's stunningly good opposite Benanti. Her vocals only make his seem that much better, and he's a fine singer (the whole company seems to rise to meet Benanti's exquisite handling of the score, and she is glorious). I disagree with the Times' Green; the show doesn't feel "lighter" without Ambrose only different. In many ways, Benanti feels even more like Haddon-Paton's peer, and the first act has a different poignancy -- Eliza is very much a grown woman -- which raises the stakes; opportunity will never knock -- or at least approach her door -- quite like this again. (I realize many posted similar thoughts about the more mature Eliza of Ambrose; it just seems more pronounced with Benanti, whose elegant bearing means even the costumes serve her differently; I believe her "Show Me" ensembles is different, as is her ball gown. Not sure.) But as Green notes, Harris is more persuasively his mum. At 91, she is indeed the best Mrs. Higgins I've seen. The production's a beauty, and I'm still on the fence about the now infamous ending. No real strong feelings. |
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| re: In (further) praise of Harry Hadden-Paton. | |
| Posted by: lowwriter 11:19 pm EST 02/23/19 | |
| In reply to: In (further) praise of Harry Hadden-Paton. - Delvino 08:06 pm EST 02/23/19 | |
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| I’ve seen the show four times now. I love this production. But the ending doesn’t work. It’s awkward and I think there must be a better way to indicate that Eliza will not stay with Higgins, though now he needs her more than ever. | |
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| re: In (further) praise of Harry Hadden-Paton. (spoilers) | |
| Posted by: mikem 01:17 pm EST 02/24/19 | |
| In reply to: re: In (further) praise of Harry Hadden-Paton. - lowwriter 11:19 pm EST 02/23/19 | |
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| (spoilers) I think the ending worked better with Ambrose. With her, I think there was a more of a sense that a romantic relationship with this bullying, belittling man would not be good for her, and her walking off stage was an effective way of communicating that the door to reconciliation was not even open a tiny bit. There was definitely an "I'm done here" sense about it, and I think also a sense that Ambrose's Eliza was stepping out into a new adventure -- by herself. Ambrose seemed to communicate more that she was making a leap into a new life, not just walking away from an old one. She was running TO something, not just running away from something. Now that Higgins is softer and Eliza is tougher, I don't think it works with Benanti at all. And I didn't think it worked as well with Kerstin Anderson, either. |
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| re: In (further) praise of Harry Hadden-Paton. (spoilers) | |
| Last Edit: Delvino 07:42 pm EST 02/24/19 | |
| Posted by: Delvino 07:40 pm EST 02/24/19 | |
| In reply to: re: In (further) praise of Harry Hadden-Paton. (spoilers) - mikem 01:17 pm EST 02/24/19 | |
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| With these two, a simpler ending would suffice. Eliza touches his face, as she does now. Higgins asks for his slippers. Eliza moves to his tables of phonetic equipment, silently contemplating a future as a speech teacher, set up in the text. He clears his throat. She ignores him. He finally fetches his own footwear, waits for her to take note. Instead she plays the recording of her own voice, spellbound, moved, inspired. He waits, the moment between then doesn’t arrive. And the lights fade as Liza listens to her achievement, and Henry just watches her, his presumption of control over. | |
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