Glynis Johns singing

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AnderWood
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Glynis Johns singing

Post by AnderWood »

I didn’t know that Composer Stephen Sondheim wrote the song “Send in the Clowns” and “Lady Penelope PeaSoup” was the first to sing it.



Some information on her— but not sure how current this is.

https://www.belmontvillage.com/stories/glynis-johns/

She is one of last living Batman villains.
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Ben Bentley
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Re: Glynis Johns singing

Post by Ben Bentley »

Holy crossovers, Lady Penelope Peasoup serenading the Clown Prince of Crime?!
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Jim Akin
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Re: Glynis Johns singing

Post by Jim Akin »

Stephen Sondheim (RIP) wrote Send in the Clowns specifically for Ms. Johns. She was cast as Desiree in A Little Night Music before the score was finished and, as he explained in interviews, Sondheim recognized her as an actress who could sing, rather than a singer who acts. He constructed the song in short phrases and with limited changes in pitch to suit her vocal abilities. Judy Collins and others may have greater singing chops, but in my mind the song doesn't make sense unless it's done with the sense of disdain seen in Ms. Johns's performance. She's hurt but also disgusted and angry. Sondheim said hers was the version of the song he always found most satisfying.

As is the case with most numbers from musicals, Send in the Clowns also makes more sense in the context of the show it was written for. The Tonight Show clip AnderWood shared was taped very soon after Ms. Johns's 1973 Broadway run as Desiree, but despite the attempt to recreate the stage set, it misrepresents the song as a soliloquy. This clip, recorded in 1982, gives a better sense of the song's place in the play and its function as dialog. Len Cariou, who also appears in the video, was Ms. Johns's original co-star in the play.

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