"Another case of the book to a Sondheim show being monkeyed with over time (and in my opinion made a little weaker) when the original version was perfectly fine (don't even get me started on the watering down of the book to FOLLIES over the years...).
I agree with you in almost every case I can think of except FOLLIES. I'm not talking about the big changes for the London production, which I abhor. But in my opinion, the elimination in some revivals of some of the more purple, more explicit, nastier and more melodramatic lines from the original -- Phyllis's line about her panties, Sally's line about her suicide attempt(s), etc. -- improves the show considerably, because as written, it's just a little too much severe negativity, angst, and bitterness too much of the time. |
