although very little of Beth's stuff was changed from the version I remember, somehow in this particular production, the theme of her ambition struck me in the face, whereas in other productions I've felt she came across as nice first and not so much ambitious as "hey, not living on ramen would be nice." I don't know if that was the production, or me.
Hmm. I didn't get that from Beth, who I thought was broadly quite sympathetic. I would agree that Gussie is problematic, and was one of the few characters who I didn't really feel was three-dimensional.
On the other hand, the song is *less* interesting and nuanced, because it was all on one emotional note.
Okay, I can see that. I thought it worked well, and I didn't *quite* find it so one-note: there's a steady emotional crescendo throughout, IMO. But I agree that in this version he clearly starts off angry at Frank -- indeed, it's quite clear that he's *been* angry at Frank for quite some time -- and is gradually losing his remaining self-control about it, rather than it being that sublimated at the start...
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Hmm. I didn't get that from Beth, who I thought was broadly quite sympathetic. I would agree that Gussie is problematic, and was one of the few characters who I didn't really feel was three-dimensional.
Okay, I can see that. I thought it worked well, and I didn't *quite* find it so one-note: there's a steady emotional crescendo throughout, IMO. But I agree that in this version he clearly starts off angry at Frank -- indeed, it's quite clear that he's *been* angry at Frank for quite some time -- and is gradually losing his remaining self-control about it, rather than it being that sublimated at the start...