| re: In Defense of Bebe('s Ovation) | |
| Last Edit: Chromolume 09:57 am EDT 08/06/24 | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 09:53 am EDT 08/06/24 | |
| In reply to: re: In Defense of Bebe('s Ovation) - AlanScott 01:06 am EDT 08/06/24 | |
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| Audience response in general is a tricky thing. And there are ways of trying to avoid applause, but they don't always work. In the case of "What Would You Do," the cadence of the vocal melody may be enough of a "clue" that the song is over, even if the music goes on to an unresolved orchestral ending that is designed NOT to invite applause. Opera, of course, is notorious for this kind of problem - and there are a number of big arias that often get artificial endings tacked on for the sake of applause, because the conductor realizes applause is going to happen anyway. (Or in some instances the singer may rally for that stop in the music as well.) I used to work for a director at a youth theatre who was far better directing plays than musicals, though we did a lot of musicals together. When we first started working together, she tried very hard to kill applause almost all the time (I think I remember her even telling me she really didn't like stopping after any songs for applause. Again, she was better at plays, lol) - but the fact is, audiences WANT to applaud, especially after big numbers. It's part oa a release for them, and I think it's a good thing. At least in the case of traditional musicals, which is mostly what we were doing. Over time, I saw her give in to that. It made a lot of difference. (I also remember the time she staged the end of "Iowa Stubborn" so that the chorus was headed offstage by the time they were singing the last "got to give Iowa a try!" - and I said no, they really have to have their final moment in the song, then there's a playoff in the orchestra that gets them offstage. She really didn't get the language of how musicals work, lol.) Anyway, I digress. One of the finest, most moving renditions of "What Would You Do" was in a Boston production of Cabaret in 2018, with a colleague I've done MANY shows with, playing Schneider. I mention our work together because what moved me more than almost anything else is that, even though I knew her so well, she really completely disappeared into the role IMO. She wasn't, in that show, my friend and colleague playing Schneider, she WAS Schneider. And I remember being in tears during the song because it just seemed so real. I don't remember if we applauded after or not. But I was totally caught up in the moment. But - the director (also a wonderful colleague of mine) had more up her sleeve - there was no curtain call!! The last image of the show was the cast all lined up onstage, clearly being sent off to the camps...and then nothing. (The sometimes visible onstage orchestra also vanished for "even the orchestra is beautiful," another moving coup de theatre.) We applauded for a while, waiting for that curtain call, until we finally realized it wasn't going to happen. We were left with the grim reality of the story, not that traditional fun moment when the actors become themselves again. A bold, daring choice, but ultimately a masterful one. Sometimes you really can afford to throw the audience off their guard, in a way that truly pays off. |
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