On the whole, a very good performance! I like that she started quieter than usual and built nicely to the end. She drop a few words here and there but nothing that made a huge difference.
This is a terribly difficult role and this piece is as tough as it gets. There's no hiding. On this piece, I believe she serves Norma, and gives it her own lift. Brava!
Her take on the role was vastly different from how Glenn Close approached. I saw closed in both the original Broadway production and the revival. She was absolutely brilliant. To attempt to compare them is very difficult for me to do since the Productions were so strikingly different as to the way the director approached them. The Kennedy Center production chose to play up any comic moment that was in the show or could even be perceived as one. The Broadway production allowed for the comedic moments but it did nothing to play them up and went with a much more straightforward approach to the material
I had the PLEASURE of seeing this live. WOW! Stephanie J. Block is a revelation. Her choices are unique and dynamic. I was so worried about her characther's well being throughout the performance. She seemed like she was having a nervous breakdown. It was remarkable!
I thought Stephanie was absolutely incredible. Sunset is my favorite show and I have been dreaming about her in this role since I saw her in The Boy From Oz. I thought the production had some very questionable choices but that was at the hands of the director not stephanie. Overall it was definitely worth the drive from Detroit to DC and I'm glad I was able to capture the show on audio
I love SJB. She was my Elphaba on Broadway. I think she does a superb job with this song. Wish I had seen this in person. Are there any videos of this show out there?
I love SJB, but I really do not like how she sounds on this score. Some of these belters trying to sing a score that sits lower in the range doesn't always translate well.
I thought she was incredible. This was my dream casting of the role (I'm beyond obsessed with this show). It was worth the drive from Detroit to DC to see it.
@@chrisjacobs7417I have to agree with you. I thought the way she played this song, almost as an inner monologue that the character was afraid the people around her would hear, was brilliant. That doesn’t come through without the visual, of course - but I was very lucky, as you were, to see her live.
Disagree, then she’d just be accused of “shouting her way” through the performance. You have to see the video, acting choices are spot on and really moving.
@@MT-em1fz I was sitting front row the closing night of the production. I agree with you completely. Even the video does not do her justice. She got a standing ovation at the end of that number and it was well deserved
She does a good job. There’s some pretty poor versions of this song on this channel. I’ll never understand why some people think Glenn Close is the best Norma. For me, it’s BETTY BUCKLEY. I hope that the movie will be made sometime soon - but PLEASE not with Glenn.
My favorite Norma is Linda Balgord. Paula Scrofano (first regional production) a close second. I saw Glenn Close in both Broadway productions and I think she's absolutely incredible. Norma is past her prime so Glenn's struggle with the score was forgivable because it wasn't egregious.
I have never been more disappointed than seeing Stephanie as Norma. It was this awful caricature of a woman and she made some absolutely terrible choices. She also put on this weird voice while singing all these songs. I don't know if she was trying to sound grander or more old Hollywood, but it sounded terrible and made everything into a joke.
@@chrisjacobs7417 You can vehemently disagree all you want as can the critics. Stephanie let me down big time. She was my dream Norma, but about halfway through "Surrender" she became a nightmare.
@@crazyguy98456978 she was my dream Norma as well. I've been waiting for this since I saw her in The Boy From Oz. There was some horrible directing choices but Stephanie was amazing
I guess you had to be there. She was absolutely electrifying. There were some questionable choices made by the director, but all four of the leads were absolutely incredible.
Ugh - can she just sing it instead of back phrasing? Only a few women can do this role justice and the ones on Broadway and London in the original productions set an extremely high bar... everything else is just a a watered down copy. Elaine Paige remains the gold standard as Norma.
@@kevinwilson3609 Carroll recieved mostly positive reviews for the Toronto production. I didn't see any of the Vancouver reviews (I didn't live in the area), but I don't imagine they would have drastically different given the show hadn't changed
