Rachel York gave a brilliant performance. Or it would have been if Leslie Ann Warren hadn't given the exact same performance in the movie.
The one improvement the stage production made on the movie was taking out the scene where James Garner hid in the bathroom and watched Julie Andrews get in the bath. He smiles smugly, knowing now Victor's a woman. It's a cheesy scene.
In the Broadway production, there was no moment where Michael Nouri learned positively Victor was a female. So when the two were out in the street and he says, "I don't care if you are a man" and kisses Victor, it was an enormous leap of faith. A huge change in the character and the story line. When Garner said the same line in the film, he knew she was a woman, and so had nothing to lose.
A moment that bothered me tremendously watching the tape of the Broadway production was the opening scene with Tony Roberts. In the movie, Robert Preston finishes his song and says, "Thank you. You're most kind. In fact you're every kind." A brilliantly funny line. Tony Roberts, on the tape/DVD, says, "Thank you. You're very kind. In fact you're every kind." Either he didn't get the joke, or he wasn't listening to himself. |
