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Sutton Foster and Lea Michele

 Like all of the rest of "Chess," "Someone Else's Story" is a generic, badly written song. It's so generic, it can be lifted from one character and given to another--and the transplant just makes people shrug.


The idea is that, when we're viewing a neighbor's actions, we find it easy to give advice. But, when we try to offer counsel to ourselves, we can't see clearly.

Long ago, in someone else's story,
A girl with my name who looked a lot like me...
Came to know a man and made a promise--
He only had to say, and that's where she would be.

I hate this writing so much. "He only had to say, and that's where she would be"--? Is this English?

The speaker no longer feels able to keep her promise, but the thought of walking away is terrifying.

It's all very well to say, You fool...
It's now or never...
[But, by walking away...] I could be choosing no choices whatsoever...

If you're performing this song, you can either "act" the words or just sing the notes. It's instructive to watch Sutton Foster before watching Lea Michele. Sutton Foster is able to convey fear and self-disgust. She understands that the climax of the song is the command "Go now." She sings those words as a directive--she is speaking to herself. By contrast, Lea Michele's "Go now" is lost in a soupy mess. The words have no weight. Because, as the NYPost has observed, LM is giving a "vacuous performance," there is no emotion in the words that come out of her mouth.

It's a treat to have this occasion to really, really appreciate the artistry of Sutton Foster.


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