| My Review— Everybody loves a winner So nobody loved me --Sally Bowles If people don’t go see this show because of some negative reviews, they will be missing a "perfectly marvelous time" <g>-- and a heck of a performance by it’s leading lady.  I’m not a professional critic, so I guess my opinion isn’t as informed, however, having spent years in (torturous <oy>) classical opera training, four years in a dance company and nearly a decade doing musical theater, as well as other stage work, I think I would have noticed the disaster they described if I saw it. Was I biased? Probably. I wanted Teri to do well. I was hoping she would. So, I decided to break down what I saw to see if it was only my bias that made me enjoy her performance. Dance Critics claimed that she couldn’t keep up with the Kit Kat girls, even going as far to say that it was barely adequate. Well, I have a tendency to watch how other dancers move, so I paid attention. First off, there was no awkwardness at all. I’ve come to expect that of actors who have to dance, and this was not the case with Teri. Not only did she have a cat-like grace to her movements when it was warranted, she also had a lot of power behind her movements in the more forceful numbers (Mein Herr, comes to mind). Her extensions were every bit as high, and held every bit as long. Her body positioning was excellent, as were her weight transfers... in fact her grand plee in second, almost prompted a fainting spell from the gentleman at our table <EG>. Not only was she able to handle Rob Marshall’s complicated choreography, but she handled it while singing lead vocals. Acting Critics said that her subtle "made for tv" acting didn’t translate well to the theater. That’s a valid comment. Teri often relies on her face and eyes to convey emotion, and that wont play well in the larger houses. I saw the show twice, one night right after the other due to some enthusiastic friends ::::coughyouknowwhoyouarecough::::::, and there was a tremendous difference between sitting in the first three rows of tables versus further back in the main room. Having said that, this problem is mainly contained in the first act. By the second act, Teri’s "Sally" is spiraling downward, and that is clearly evident from her body language. There is a definite difference in characterization between Natasha Richardson’s "Sally" and Teri’s. Natasha’s character comes across much older, much less vulnerable, much harder in the first act, and much less likeable (in my opinion). Teri’s "Sally" pulled me in because she was sort of a flighty, manic yet appealing young woman caught up in the party and the allure of drugs and gin soaked dreams, and the deep desire to be wanted, even if it’s only sexually. Her early songs still have a hopeful, even playful quality to them. Her line to Cliff "sometimes you are so naive" ends up sounding wildly ironic. I have no idea how much of the portrayal was up to Teri, and how much of it was the director’s. She’s not a big enough star to step all over Sam Mendes (the director) on her first time out, so I’m guessing that if the director disagreed with the vision, he would have said something. Also, Natasha’s "Sally" seems to come to a realization about her situation in the last number (Cabaret). Teri’s "Sally" starts the downward shift immediately after her fight with Cliff, which makes that last number rather haunting, and it’s disturbing enough to be a good complement to the wildly disturbing finale. The accent bothered me the first night, and not so much the second. I spoke to a friend who said the accent was dead on, so I think I might have been disturbed by it because I was expecting Teri’s normal voice. At any rate, it was consistent. It didn’t fluctuate, or disappear. The Singing Critics said she didn’t have the vocal power for this part, and she didn’t have proper breath control. I didn’t see the show opening night, so it is possible that her nervous energy made it difficult for her to follow the phrasing, or somehow stopped her from taking deep enough breaths to sustain the notes. But having said that, I didn’t see that either night I went. The majority of her numbers are belt songs, but when she does have to transition into head voice, she does it well without any awkward jumps. The energetic dance numbers did not impede her ability to sustain notes. I didn’t notice any tendencies for her to go flat, and the sound was very rich, not breathy at all. If the critics didn’t like her phrasing, then unless she screwed it up, they really need to talk to the Musical Director. These things are set during rehearsals so that the emphasis makes sense. And with the phrasing comes breathing points. Critics also said that she had difficulty measuring up vocally to the more thoroughly trained company that supports her. There are some incredible supporting cast voices. That is absolutely true. But the biggest difference I saw was the approach to the songs. Teri approached the songs as a jazz singer (heck, a cabaret singer even <g>). The supporting cast members clearly have classical backgrounds. It’s a very different style, so when Teri’s energy levels are down, she can get drowned out by the Kit Kat girls. The thing I really can’t figure out is that Critics said she couldn’t match up to Natasha Richardson’s vocal performance. This seems really odd because when Natasha Richardson started doing the role, she got smacked because she doesn’t have a very good belt voice. I have since bought the CD, and I have to agree. A strong acting performance gets Natasha through the songs, not vocal quality, so for the critics to bash Teri on that point is strange. Overall, I loved the show. The biggest problem for Teri is a problem the whole company faced—energy levels. The first time I went was on a Wednesday night, and the audience (except for us, of course <eg>) was pretty dead. They weren’t responding to the bawdy humor, and that was a drag on the whole company. It’s hard to keep pushing when you aren’t getting a reaction. The second night, the audience was laughing at the jokes, and enthusiastically played along with the Emcee. That response translated into heightened performances, particularly by Teri and the man who played the Emcee, but the whole cast got a boost from it. Go see the show, and judge for yourselves. Don’t let someone else tell you that you shouldn’t enjoy it because at some point in history the critics felt they saw a better performance of it. Teri far exceeded my expectations, and gets more confidence with every number. Lois Lane who? As blasphemous as that sounds, I never once saw Lois Lane-- so if her goal is to establish some range, this will do that. She’s going to continue to take hits. She has had only a few short months of training, and yet she was placed in the leading role. Out of the millions of up and coming actresses, is there one better to play the part? Sure. There is always someone better, quicker, more talented, more beautiful, etc waiting in the wings. That’s life. Theater may be about art, but it’s also a business, and if she’s good in the part, it’s a smart business move. And she’s good. Very good. But hey, that’s just my opinion. Patricia |