Thank you for posting that clip. As much as the Cullums meander in their points, I'll take their assessment of Madeline Kahn and the situation over others who were there. I've never been a great fan of this show, except for its stunning design and Kevin Kline's performance. Everyone else seemed like they were trying too hard...too effortful for me. Kline, as outrageous as he was, brought great comic truth to his role. And it's always fun to see someone that handsome mock himself and be so darn funny.
In that great bio of Madeline Kahn, the author William Madison makes the point repeatedly about her self-doubt and her disbelief that she was funny or sexy. She almost seemed to resent those qualities in herself and yearned to be taken more seriously as an actress and singer. I saw her in Twentieth Century but remember little about her performance. I expect she resisted playing the slap-stick and parody Prince might have demanded, yet never found a way into the character to satisfy her own needs. For my money, Kristin Chenoweth in the recent revival, fell into a terrible trap of overkill that was very annoying. |
