MovieChat Forums > Live from Lincoln Center (1976) Discussion > Great Rendition

Great Rendition

posted 14 years ago by shulma2002
5 replies | jump to latest

I enjoyed this version so much that I watched it 3 times on PBS. I thought the acting was good except for Mr. Samonsky, who smirked through the entire performance, however his voice was great. Bloody Mary's make-up was a little too scary but her acting was fine. Miss O'Hara and Mr. Szot did fine renditions of their classical songs. The orchestration was lacking the exotic sounds which I remember from the film version. Mitzi Gaynor ruined the film version as did the over-use of color filters from Mr. Shamroy, and while a great singer and dancer, Miss Gaynor couldn't handle the dramatic scenes. This was a big improvement over the Glenn Close version which omitted the hit song, "Happy Talk". Kudos to PBS for bringing this delight to TV audiences. And yes, "Stranger In Paradise" was the hit song from "Kismet", which in my opinion was a terrible show; some would even call it racist.

[–] TerriMalloy 14 years ago

I thought Mr. Samonsky was the best thing about it.

[–] vermontfudge 14 years ago

Really????? Have to differ with you on that. I thought Mr. Samonsky's acting was the one part of this production I wasn't crazy about, I don't think you can "act" sexy, he was trying way too hard, I thought. He played the role for a long time after Matthew Morrison left, so his portrayal of Cable must have been what the director wanted, his singing was really great though, better than Matthew Morrison's, so that pretty much made up for his acting for me. And why was he breathing so hard into the microphone? That was weird, but he was in the part for ages, also must have been what the director wanted. But with that exception, a totally perfect production, I think.

[–] Urquharts 14 years ago

I am your basic Old Fart who (believe it or not) had never ever seen any production (play or film) of "South Pacific".

I was bored the night it was on, and had nothing else to do, so I watched it. Generally I don't watch old musicals, and generally just give them a pass.

So one might say that I came to the production with open eyes, totally unbiased by any preconceived expectations.

All I can say is: WOW.

As for Samonsky? What can I say?

Only this: When he was onstage, whether acting, singing, or just sitting in the background - I absolutely could not take my eyes off of him.

Does anyone know what this guy is going to be doing next? If it's another Broadway show, I just may need to book a plane ticket.

Urquharts

[–] vermontfudge 14 years ago

Pardon me for asking, but since these guys aren't that well known, and neither have a picture on IMDb, are you by any chance getting Paulo Szot who played the character with the kids mixed up with Andrew Samonsky who played the young guy who had the romance with Bloody Mary's daughter? Szot played Emile, got great reviews and won the Tony, here he is singing with Kelli O'Hara http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwWBj-lfizc&feature=related (eesh, the View) Samonsky replaced Matthew Morrison as Lt. Cable (Cable had the romance with the young girl) Samonsky's the first singer in this youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsmPEblr2y0&feature=related Good singer, not crazy about his acting, but I guess that was what the director wanted.

[–] Urquharts 14 years ago

vermontfudge wrote:

Pardon me for asking, but since these guys aren't that well known, and neither have a picture on IMDb, are you by any chance getting Paulo Szot who played the character with the kids mixed up with Andrew Samonsky who played the young guy who had the romance with Bloody Mary's daughter?

Er. . .no. I thought Andrew Samonsky was absolutely yummy.

Paulo Szot was magnificent, of course. What a voice! What an instrument!

But it was Mr. Samonsky that captured my heart. I absolutely could not take my eyes off of him. He did not have as much to do as Mr. Szot (it was the part he played, not the actor), but the few times he cut loose with his voice I thought: "Wow. And he can sing, too!"

I. . . er. . .had to watch the whole thing twice, just so that I could read off the cast names. I then I looked up Mr. Samonsky on the web to be sure. There are a couple of photos of him out there, and a YouTube or two.

No doubt. Mr. Samonsky really did it for me.

*Sigh*

Urquharts