I have made clear that my own personal Broadway diva is Victoria Clark. I'm a great fan of Clark's intelligence and cunning--her watchfulness. Good acting--which is rare in a musical, even a Broadway musical--involves a magic trick. You have to have full control over your eyes; the eyes have to telegraph a message. I am actually in the place and in the time that the words of this musical are referring to. I am not in New York City, in a theater, in 2026. Whether she is speaking or not, Clark has "Olivia Colman" eyes. She is a brilliant performer.
All that said, Heather Headley is also on my Mount Rushmore. Headley's slightly mannered performances feel "extreme"--they remind me of the work of Liza Minnelli. Either you love Headley or you do not. I think she gets away with intense melodrama because she conveys a sense of utter conviction.
Here--for Miscast--she is performing a colleague's big number, "Endless Night." On one level, she is singing about Covid. But, on another level, it's evident to me that she is singing about a dead friend. That friend is Jason Raize--Broadway's first Simba in "The Lion King." After Headley lost touch with Raize, Raize died via suicide.
The tears at the end of Headley's performance. It's very clear to me that these are tears for Jason Raize.
I'm not Seth Rudetsky, but I have to point out something arresting at the end of Headley's song. When she sustains one syllable--"rise"--you expect a "clean" finish. But she turns the word into a kind of growl--at the end. So startling.
Hats off to Heather Headley.
Comments
Post a Comment