You're a Queer One, Julie Jordan & If Loved You part 2

[MikeyG0901]

This is such a treasure. What natural and genuine performers - it's amazing how they inhabited the characters so well without the unbearably overwrought "look at me, I'm acting" style that's plagued Broadway in recent years. The staging is as simple as it gets, and yet this is incredibly powerful.

[ilovethebroadway]

Conceited is never playable on stage. Playing the truth of the character is what makes the scene.

[ohjawillkommen]

@ilovethebroadway Exactly. Billy is a carousel barker, and that's what he's good at. He's practiced putting on a brash exterior appearance many times. Raitt seems leaden because that's what happens when a facade meets genuine emotion- there's an element of uncertainty there, and the practiced "confidence" doesn't help much. Billy's facade is being slowly peeled back- he doesn't look entirely at ease, but he is saying how he really feels.

[mxylpx]

What a great actress she was!

[warblerab]

bravo! classic!

[pachydermo]

look at Jan clayton whenever John Raitt is singing. It makes the scene, This is acting! Raitt's acting is leaden in comparison. Butt ahhh, that voice. he could sing anything and you just swoon.

[MBonEB]

Sorry, but I can't agree about John Raitt being relatively leaden. I think both are extremely in character. And their expressions when they each finish singing their part of "If I Loved You" -- it is as if they have had feeling they never experienced before ripped out of them. Mr. Raitt practically looks as if he had just gotten punched by his emotion.

[ohjawillkommen]

@pachydermo Leaden? I think the character is just that way. Rodgers and Hammerstein approved of his characterization, and the author of "Liliom", Ferenc Molnar, gave his approval to everything that R. and H., as well as the cast, did with the material. If you read "Liliom", Billy's character in the original play is a huge reason why the material practically begged to be made into a musical. In the original play, he was definitely not "conceited", as some describe the character as.

[fleurt1]

Wow! I love John Raitt!

[BaritoneCan1]

Billy is indeed a complex character, as many opera characters are - Don Jose, the Duke of Mantua...etc. Few opera lovers would dis the tenors, however, provided they sang well, especially the great arias. It's different with a musical; the character must be developed, but he still has to sing well. In other words a fine balance has to be struck.

[achselhaar]

This scene and the first act of La Boheme are miraculous depictions of falling in love. Supreme art looks easy but isn't, or we'd see a lot more of it. Raitt and Clayton destroy any other version on Youtube.

[MorteReine]

My favorite musical. So brilliant.

[AtLastOnTheGround]

I just got the part of Billy (my high school is doing this show) and I hope I can sing these songs half as good as Raitt does! But is it just me, or does he seem too nice to be Billy and not conceited enough?

[LUJANENSE]

this is the hardest role i can think of to play- if you play him as just mean and conceited, you'll get the part wrong- he's much more complex than that- he's a guy who deep down want's to be good. and THAT has to show if you really want to make an impact on the final scene when he comes back and tells julie he's always loved her. I just saw the current production on London's west end and it was the worst represenation of the guy. (and of Juie)

[AtLastOnTheGround]

Yeah I understand he's a multidimensional character -- He's not a bad guy, he really does have good intentions. He acts extremely conceited when in fact he has a low self confidence and very little belief in himself.

[LUJANENSE]

thing is: it's hard to get empathy from the audience if you play a mean conceited guy only- at some points, and especially through his wording- you can get the audience to "want to like him". you do that- and you're flying.

i got a love/ hate thing going on with this musical- because if it's done right- it's perfect, but if i'm not feeling billy- it's just 2 hours and 45 minutes of abuse and patheticness- All the best and I hope you continue your research- (he's from brooklyn btw isn't he?!)

[Just1Hitch]

"he's from brooklyn btw isn't he?!"

No, Santa Ana, California.

[gopflash]

you are a saint for posting this. absolutely wonderful. pure gold from the golden age.

[lakme]

Thanks for posting this!

[InklingStudio]

This is great . They are both fantastic . What a wonderful example of how to play a scene , seamlessly moving from dialogue into singing and back again. It only makes me wish they had filmed the entire original cast version of Carousel.

Thanks for posting this treasure.

[greenstboy]

Definitely a candidate for best song ever!

[maida1982a]

i have heard this 100 times or more- and i cry very time.

[samcandy64]

Yes thank you - this is wonderful.

[Chriswren9]

Thank you so much for posting!