Adriane Lenox and Betty Garrett
Posted by: TimDunleavy 11:35 am EDT 06/21/24
In reply to: re: Beautifully produced Follies at Carnegie Hall! AGREE - NewtonUK 09:21 am EDT 06/21/24

I liked Ms. Lenox's version a lot more than you did. I thought she put a lot of emotion and showmanship into the song. And I thought the minor liberties she took were appropriate for a concert version of the show.

But listening to her inflections and adjustments to the melody, I was reminded of the story about Sondheim and Betty Garrett in the 2001 Roundabout production of Follies. Which I will now repeat, to the best of my recollection:

Sondheim attended a rehearsal, and Betty was holding the notes in "Broadway Baby" - "Geeeeeee / I'd like to beeeeeee / On some marqeeeeeee..."

Afterwards, Sondheim gave her one note: "Betty, you're holding the notes there. You should cut them off - it makes it more poignant."

He could have put her down and said "Sing the song the way I wrote it." But instead he approached it from an acting perspective to show WHY it worked better the way he wrote it, without demeaning her.

And he was right.
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