| For the most part I am too grateful for the shows I did get to see growing up in New York to be sorry for those that I missed, but there are a couple of exceptions. I wish I could have seen the original production of "Picnic." The video of the original cast's appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show is so preferable to the glossy film version that it's hard to believe the same man directed both. (By the way, Ralph Meeker was a replacement Stanley in "Streetcar." I know a few posters mentioned replacement Stanleys as Brick in "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof," but I believe Meeker actually closed the original run of "Streetcar" and that performance probably led him to the role of Hal.) Anyway, getting back to "Picnic," the dance to "Moonglow" in the film is a much revered cinematic moment, but the same moment as depicted on the Sullivan appearance, a much less deliberate seduction in which Hal and Midge are surprised by how turned on they are by each other, is electrifying. And I wish I could have seen the original production of "South Pacific." Logan again! But SP will always be a favorite. That gorgeous score, the seamless way its dialogue spills into its songs, especially as performed by that cast...yes, I wish I could have seen it. |
