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| re: the "Not A Day Goes By" conundrum | |
| Posted by: BrianJ 02:29 pm EDT 08/25/22 | |
| In reply to: the "Not A Day Goes By" conundrum - Chazwaza 08:54 pm EDT 08/24/22 | |
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| I am another who prefers “Not a Day Goes By” to be Frank’s song. Like Chazawa, I feel that, whatever Furth’s and Sondheim’s original intentions, the song — one of Sondheim’s loveliest ballads — is wasted on Beth, who the audience isn’t invested in and who remains a marginal and barely sketched character, even at the show’s end. Not only does the song give some much needed sympathy for Frank at that point in Act I, but it also is critical for setting up the “revelation” of Mary’s being in love with him when the song is reprised in Act II. It’s such a moving moment on the OBC when Ann Morrison chimes in with “Not a single day”. And I feel that whole reprise is diminished, even ruined, when that poignant and veiled duet between Frank and Mary becomes a trio with Beth and Mary singing over each other. | |
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| re: the "Not A Day Goes By" conundrum | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 02:00 am EDT 08/27/22 | |
| In reply to: re: the "Not A Day Goes By" conundrum - BrianJ 02:29 pm EDT 08/25/22 | |
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| Can we really call it a revelation - wether in quotes or not - when it's something that Charley baldly (and awkwardly) says early in Act 1? And yes, that's in the original version of the show (which I've had the chance to investigate in the past day). | |
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| re: the "Not A Day Goes By" conundrum | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 02:58 pm EDT 08/25/22 | |
| In reply to: re: the "Not A Day Goes By" conundrum - BrianJ 02:29 pm EDT 08/25/22 | |
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| Yes! And again, the last thing this show needs is ANOTHER female character we like singing her heart out about how in love she is with this guy we mostly see as a misguided jerk (I think he's more complex and relatable than that, but many don't seem to agree)... I don't think that wins any favors with the audience, especially a modern audience who will be hyper aware of the play trying to "gaslight" or force us to see Frank the way the women do just because they tell us they love him or used to and wish it could have worked. It is more helpful to the show to have us get some vulnerability and reflection from Frank about the consequences of his choices or character. And I agree about the impact of the Mary reprise. |
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| re: the "Not A Day Goes By" conundrum | |
| Last Edit: Singapore/Fling 02:06 am EDT 08/27/22 | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 02:06 am EDT 08/27/22 | |
| In reply to: re: the "Not A Day Goes By" conundrum - Chazwaza 02:58 pm EDT 08/25/22 | |
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| But her version of the song acknowledges he is a jerk, which is part of the obstacle she is facing in deciding to walk away from him. And if you're concerned about how a modern audience receives the politic, taking a song away from Beth in order to give one to Frank (who we've already hear a lot from) is a much deeper disservice to a character who, yes, is otherwise thinly sketched. And again, if we want to see Frank receiving the consequences of how he has lived (which I don't know that we do, since he doesn't appear to learn anything from this moment, since we've already seen how he makes further bad choices), then perhaps the best thing he can do is listen. Let the actor play the impact of seeing her truth, rather than - to use a common trope of today - mainsplaining how much she has hurt him. In terms of the original text, this song comes directly after Frank rails that Beth can't do this to him and to his kids, so that really does cut against the idea that this song isn't carrying an agenda. An actor can attempt to play it as action neutral (I want to experience my feelings, rather than I want you to call off this divorce), but the (original) text doesn't really support that. |
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| re: the "Not A Day Goes By" conundrum | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 09:53 pm EDT 09/02/22 | |
| In reply to: re: the "Not A Day Goes By" conundrum - Singapore/Fling 02:06 am EDT 08/27/22 | |
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| The inherent problem remains that the show doesn't let us get to know Beth much or make us care particularly what she has to say... The show is not, at all, about her. It IS very much about Frank, and Charley and Mary. "Not A Day Goes By" is one of the most major songs in the show, and a very compelling emotional expression. I really do think it's wasted giving it to Beth especially that soon after meeting her, in addition to Frank needing a song/beat like the one he gets with it. So not do I not think it works to give it to Beth, as a stand alone idea, it also takes away from what Frank needs in the writing of the show. The point of the show also isn't to just convince us Frank is a jerk. We hear a lot from Frank because he is the lead and central character. How can we call it a disservice, or worry about it being a disservice, to a character that is thinly sketched? She's not thinly sketched because the writers forgot to flesh out their lead... she's thinly sketched because she's a small supporting character and the show isn't about her even if her role IN the life story of the lead character is key. |
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| re: the "Not A Day Goes By" conundrum | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 12:26 am EDT 08/28/22 | |
| In reply to: re: the "Not A Day Goes By" conundrum - Singapore/Fling 02:06 am EDT 08/27/22 | |
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| Also - as written, the song is a response to Frank's question, "do you still love me?" And, the answer that Beth comes out in song with is pure perfect Sondheim - an exploration of the confusion in the human condition, that goes so, so far beyond a simple yes or no (whereas if Frank sings the song, it's pretty much a "yes, I love you" all the way through). Dramatically, it's far more compelling and interesting and heartbreaking - in the same way that "Could I Leave You" or "Being Alive" leave us with that same rawness. | |
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| re: the "Not A Day Goes By" conundrum | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 09:55 pm EDT 09/02/22 | |
| In reply to: re: the "Not A Day Goes By" conundrum - Chromolume 12:26 am EDT 08/28/22 | |
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| Here you make a very compelling case for it as Beth's song... and I agree... except in the functionality of how it actually works in the show (with Beth singing it where she does and as such a thinly sketched character) or works against it in the material Frank does or doesn't get. | |
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| re: the "Not A Day Goes By" conundrum | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 03:18 pm EDT 08/25/22 | |
| In reply to: re: the "Not A Day Goes By" conundrum - Chazwaza 02:58 pm EDT 08/25/22 | |
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| I agree about the Mary reprise also. I do see why Beth certainly could be singing - and it does set up a bit of rivalry between the two women. BUT - as Sondheim was always after clarity, I would have challenged him that having Beth sing too away the clarity of the song being more pointedly about Mary's feelings for Frank. Ultimately, I would have just been happy without that extra "day" in Beth's solo version in Act I. (I commented on that already here somewhere...) |
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