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| re: A few FOLLIES thoughts | |
| Posted by: peter3053 05:29 pm EDT 04/09/21 | |
| In reply to: A few FOLLIES thoughts - EvFoDr 01:08 pm EDT 04/09/21 | |
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| The slow "Broadway Baby" began in "Side by Side by Sondheim" circa 1975 in London. It suited the rhythm of Act One of that compilation show, and built to a big finish, the lighting accompanying it to fullness. Outside of that context, speaking personally, I dislike the slow version intensely, like you filled with joy when it's sung up to tempo and in the right spirit. The point of it in "Follies" was vibrancy - the three songs that came at that point showed the lasting liveliness of the Follies / musical tradition, and the pleasure was in the pace and verve of the elderly performers, and the contrast between their age and the energy they poured into the songs. |
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| re: A few FOLLIES thoughts | |
| Posted by: duckylittledictum 09:39 am EDT 04/10/21 | |
| In reply to: re: A few FOLLIES thoughts - peter3053 05:29 pm EDT 04/09/21 | |
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| Yes! And I know for a fact that Sondheim loved Julia McKenzie's take on the song. The surprise tempo was one of the things that made it special in Side by Side. As for Stritch, her performance of the song stopped the show in a way I've rarely experienced. No complaints here that it was contrary to the original intention. |
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| re: A few FOLLIES thoughts | |
| Posted by: Billhaven 10:22 am EDT 04/10/21 | |
| In reply to: re: A few FOLLIES thoughts - duckylittledictum 09:39 am EDT 04/10/21 | |
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| It marked the return of Stritch to NYC after years in the UK. I loved the surprise of her slowed down version. It suited her hard, cynical persona. Of course, although she never seemed young, she once was a convent girl from Detroit who came to the city with all those "Broadway Baby" dreams. | |
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| re: A few FOLLIES thoughts | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 08:44 pm EDT 04/11/21 | |
| In reply to: re: A few FOLLIES thoughts - Billhaven 10:22 am EDT 04/10/21 | |
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| The distortion of the text in the slower tempo is something I've always struggled with. Sondheim never even once wrote the word "OH!" in the lyric, but in doing it slowly, that then becomes the most frequent word in the song. I've never liked it. | |
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