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between_time_and_42(or whatever it was called...)
Anyway, I've seen only the latter half of it, and I hate to sound so grumpy (which is why I'm posting this here on not on tumblr, but I feel like we should acknowledge that in this performance:
Meryl Streep was the weak link here. That's just my personal opinion. Audra McDonald- oh my god, I want to worship the ground she walks on, anything she sings is pure perfection and she's high up there on "singers with whom I would trade vocal cords if I could." Christine Baranski- I had never heard of her, but her voice is lovely and the quiet melancholy in her delivery of "Does anyone still wear a hat?" was deeply moving. But Meryl Streep... I dunno, her voice is just too... feathery for my tastes. I first assumed she was sick because I thought her singing was so weak. She didn't even hit the "everybody DIES" note. It's weird, because I remember her singing being decent in Into the Woods, so maybe she was just having an off day. (Ironically, I actually like her singing best in the movie Florence Foster Jenkins, which is about a singer who was famous for being bad...) I do love this performance, though. It's amazing how well "The Ladies Who Lunch" can be translated to a drinking song over a Zoom happy hour.
As long as we're talking about (Broadway) musical performances that underwhelmed me, where I'm in the minority...
OKAY SO before I say anything critical: I fucking LOVE the diversity in this casting. Seymour is Asian and Audrey is Black and it WORKS because nothing about the way their roles were written says that only white people can play these roles. Their love story transcends race. And casting a trans actress in a well-known production, I love it!! That's how you do it!! I haven't heard any other performances by Mj Rodriguez but I really loved this one and would love to hear more from her. Her Audrey sang this song SO well and, aside from a little bit of flatness at the end of her first verse, I don't really have anything to critique.
HOWEVER... maybe I wouldn't have this opinion of George Salazar if I had heard other performances of his- maybe he's a better singer than I give him credit for! But as soon as he comes in with "suUDDENLY seEYMOUR," I just... No. The constant scooping up to the note grinds my gears. It's okay to do it in only a couple places, but he does it on nearly every line of the first chorus, and it makes it seem like he doesn't have the range to hit the notes head-on. Which is a shame, because I like his timbre and I think he has a great voice for Seymour, but he just overdoes it with the sliding. That's my opinion and it's okay to disagree with it.
Anyway, I've seen only the latter half of it, and I hate to sound so grumpy (which is why I'm posting this here on not on tumblr, but I feel like we should acknowledge that in this performance:
Meryl Streep was the weak link here. That's just my personal opinion. Audra McDonald- oh my god, I want to worship the ground she walks on, anything she sings is pure perfection and she's high up there on "singers with whom I would trade vocal cords if I could." Christine Baranski- I had never heard of her, but her voice is lovely and the quiet melancholy in her delivery of "Does anyone still wear a hat?" was deeply moving. But Meryl Streep... I dunno, her voice is just too... feathery for my tastes. I first assumed she was sick because I thought her singing was so weak. She didn't even hit the "everybody DIES" note. It's weird, because I remember her singing being decent in Into the Woods, so maybe she was just having an off day. (Ironically, I actually like her singing best in the movie Florence Foster Jenkins, which is about a singer who was famous for being bad...) I do love this performance, though. It's amazing how well "The Ladies Who Lunch" can be translated to a drinking song over a Zoom happy hour.
As long as we're talking about (Broadway) musical performances that underwhelmed me, where I'm in the minority...
OKAY SO before I say anything critical: I fucking LOVE the diversity in this casting. Seymour is Asian and Audrey is Black and it WORKS because nothing about the way their roles were written says that only white people can play these roles. Their love story transcends race. And casting a trans actress in a well-known production, I love it!! That's how you do it!! I haven't heard any other performances by Mj Rodriguez but I really loved this one and would love to hear more from her. Her Audrey sang this song SO well and, aside from a little bit of flatness at the end of her first verse, I don't really have anything to critique.
HOWEVER... maybe I wouldn't have this opinion of George Salazar if I had heard other performances of his- maybe he's a better singer than I give him credit for! But as soon as he comes in with "suUDDENLY seEYMOUR," I just... No. The constant scooping up to the note grinds my gears. It's okay to do it in only a couple places, but he does it on nearly every line of the first chorus, and it makes it seem like he doesn't have the range to hit the notes head-on. Which is a shame, because I like his timbre and I think he has a great voice for Seymour, but he just overdoes it with the sliding. That's my opinion and it's okay to disagree with it.
