Everyone, I know, this morning, darlings, is talking about MERYL, and her Secret Celebrity Crush on Will Ferrell. Nothing wrong with that; he has a kind of sexy ruggedness that some would find appealing, though he does nothing for me, unlike, say, the also mentioned Ryan Gosling, who is one of the most delectable of Hollywood's Taste Treats!!!!!!!!!!!
No, that is not the rumor I am talking about.
Apparently some MERYL detractor, or Disgruntled Theater Queen, has perpetrated the rumor that, not all of MERYL's vocals on "Last Midnight," from "Into The Woods," are done by she. That some are done by...Donna Murphy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Donna Murphy??????? Listen, when the Delacorte did "Into The Woods," several Summers back, the toast of that production was Jessie Mueller, as Cinderella! Donna was praised for her singing, but her overall performance as the Witch was not received favorably.
It all reminds me of the Rosalind Russell/Lisa Kirk debacle that ensued, back in 1962, when "Gypsy" was realized. If any of you out there have heard the vocally limited Roz on the Original Cast Album of "Wonderful Town," then you can hear she could not possibly handle the vocal demands of "Gypsy." So, of course, Lisa HAD to step in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MERYL, lest it is forgotten, is DIVINE, and can do ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!!
Aside from that, she started out doing musicals in school, and has done them intermittently--"Happy End" on Broadway, "Alice In Concert," at the Public, not to mention her triumphant turn in "Mama Mia!," where she took "The Winner Takes It All" to an artistic level that has never been equaled, before or since!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, whoever cooked up this scurrilous rumor, consider yourself face slapped across your bitch face! There will be no questioning or criticizing the Divinity that is MERYL on here! Just watching her do the number in the film is enough to tell you she did all herself!!!!!!!! Because MERYL is a professional ALL the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And, to repeat, can do ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go back to junior high, you rumormonger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Interesting!
ReplyDeleteI'd heard the whispers that Meryl's (and all the others') vocals had been sweetened during post-production. To which my reply was, "No sh*t, Sherlock- just figured that one out, didja?" EVERY film musical made in the modern era is "sweetened" in post: even those that feature singer-actors (as opposed to actors forced to sing).
That's just the way things roll in these days of high tech: it gets used because it is there, regardless of genuine need. Everyone, including Barbra at this point, is at minimum auto-tuned to some degree, so its near-certain Meryl did not blithely belt out some of those sustained notes in "Last Midnight" without a tiny bit of post-polishing. Doesn't make her any less talented or her performance any less "real"- just means you can't escape post-production tampering. (Those who defy this end up with bizarre stunts like the Les Miserables experiment- no thanks.)
Now, as to the rumor Donna Murphy dubbed some of Meryl's vocals?
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
No.
I *love* Donna Murphy, she has a fantastic voice for Broadway and single-handedly redeemed Sondheim's "Passion" with her iconic performance as Fosca. But her style is instantly identifiable, and would be very very difficult to mix/match with Meryl's. And as you say, her performance as the Witch in that ill-conceived Central park production was mediocre at best: vastly different interpretation from what they wanted for the film.
Meryl very effectively combined the styles of Bernadette Peters and Julia McKenzie, infused with her own instincts, to create the film's Witch. Her somewhat shaky (but emotionally searing) vocals in "Mama Mia" were not her limit: of course she has evolved further over the past few years to where her singing skill is better as the Witch.
"Into The Woods" is a challenge for ANY performer, and the digital movie theater screen with megawatt multichannel sound is unforgiving. Humans are not perfect, and they aren't compatible with sterile digital audio technology. So it is no insult to Meryl to say she was polished slightly in post to more closely meet those exacting standards. As happens to every actor in every musical since 1988.
But "polished" does not mean "faked" or "dubbed by an entirely different performer"- Donna Murphy my ass. With all due respect to Ms. Murphy, who is a wonder in her own right (and thrillingly mysterious in her recurring role on ABC's soon to be canceled "Resurrection").
ReplyDeleteI agree Donna's voice is too distinct to blend with Meryl's. I heard nothing of her in the song.
"Into The Woods" is a challenge for most actors, but be assured I am up to it. Years before, when Nancy Dussault took over for Bernadette Peters, I was in some restaurant near the Martin Beck with a friend, when he recognized Nancy, and said how I could do the Witch's Rap. Nancy specifically asked me to do it, and I did! Her jaw dropped! She said she wished she could take the night off!