PETULA CLARK - Entrance, "Surrender," "With One Look" (2nd US Tour)

[lostinthestars100]

Horrible. The worst nightmare of a musical production. Sure, sets are cheap, lighting is bad, staging laughable, BUT PC is the one making Norma a clown, anti-star. Her performance is horrible. The ending of With One Look is a joke. I would have walked out after Surrender. Sorry to say.

[waynebrasler]

Clark did not come into the show casually or unprepared. She's talked about this. She gave deep thought to how to take Norma best and portray all the complications and contradictions evident in the character, particularly the tragic elements. She was also was very concerned about capturing the music in all its richness and above all to make Norma a living, breathing person. Whatever worked or didn't work wasn't the result of her not taking the project with utmost commitment.

[MyTimeOutt]

The hate campaign going on here is utterly astounding. So, let's get the da-da movement back--why not have Wendy Ho in the part? She'd be perfect, and Dolly Parton could be her understudy! --It's a toss up who is being hated the most, Petula Clark or older men? Why such hatred? That saddens me, but I'll move on--till I get another brilliant casting absurdity!

[MyTimeOutt]

The hate campaign going on here is utterly astounding. So, let's get the da-da movement back--why not have Wendy Ho in the part? She'd be perfect, and Dolly Parton could be her understudy!

[ramona2400]

Petula Clarke suffered from cheap sets, bad lighting, tacky staging, worse orchestra and horrible direction. Ms Clarke did the best she could with the cheap traveling show they gave her. Somehow she reminds me of Debbie Reynolds - playing it almost for comic relief.

[ramona2400]

Diahann Carroll was the best Norma Desmond for me  in both singing and acting. However they all brought something unique to the role - The worst was Rita Moreno

[tigandmouse]

Dannnggg I can probably do that better than her. Stratch that, my cat can do better than her.

[DogAteMyWookie]

The set is awful... in London they had Marks... marks for each point of the song which lead them around to vital points in the set from the bust of her head, to the organ, to the stairs etc....

[rickyross3359]

well she was in the London production was ages with the Trevor Nunn production she is superb.

[HouseOnSunset]

@rickyross3359 In what alternate universe is she superb?

[DogAteMyWookie]

@HouseOnSunset To be honest I think her story fits better with the character as at the time she was bowing out of the lime light... and I think it was after this that she really found her footing. I think Pet and Elaine were the best Norma's of the london cast :)

[dogatemywookiee]

@HouseOnSunset The one where my mum took me to see every Norma on the west End, she beat Elaine Paige and Patti to second place... coming only to Betty Buckley whose acting blew the role apart.

Petula had the acting skills and the vocal ability to carry the role. She also had that cougar growl to close act one.

[hillevifan]

She is one of the last Norma's I've listened too, and I've surveyed all of the Petula hate comments on various videos, so I was a tad wary when I started to listen to this. But, in my humble opinion, her portrayal of Norma is wonderful! Sure, the vocal style is NOT Norma, but the acting is one of the most spot-on I've seen recorded. She really has a grasp of the character. There are many better, and there are many worse, so I found the hate comments unfounded really!

[Livingallalone]

Petula Clark IS wonderful. Saw the show at least 25 times with Miss Clark.

[emlodik]

@Livingallalone Shut your mouth, you stupid bitch.

[LovettSweeney]

I think this set would be good for a school production of this show.

[ramona2400]

If you wanna hear a bad NORMA DESMOND try RITA MORENO if you want to hear a sensational NORMA DESMOND try DIAHANN CARROLL - Petula Clark is not as bad as you say she was in a cheaper production than all the others and battled dearly with the producers including andrew lloyd webber - for the cheapness of the set etc, she was not the only Norma to fight with Webber 0 who is reported to be one evil BITCH

[emlodik]

@ramona2400 If that's so, how come Petula sucked in the London production as well?

[multisockmonkey]

Oh my ... very, very bad!

[annalee12345]

Surely you didn't post this just to get people to jeer at her? I was curious because all the intrepretations are very interesting (Clos, Page and Buckley, LuPone). Clark's voice is ok, but her interpretation is absurd. Overdramatic, flowery and lacks the subtlty of a actress who has been in silent films and can kill with a look. Close's interpretation is the most magnificent but she also has the weakest voice. LuPone, good voice but a very disaffected demeanour.

[HouseOnSunset]

Of course I did! Why else did you think I did it, to keep fifty year old gay men that don't get any entertained? :-P

[jcdenton08]

This is mind-blowingly horrific. I seriously hope none of these people ever worked again.

Extreme offensive to every sense. It's like a party in my ears and everybody is getting stabbed repeatedly in the eye.

[Lindow]

Come on guys, she certainly ain't no Betty Buckley but she isn't THAT bad! Besides it must have been quite a challenge conjuring up any emotion whatsoever on that ghastly set! The actors of the original production had half their work done for them by the set designer:-)!

[emlodik]

@Lindow

Shut the hell up, you stupid bitch. -_-

[ozzian2000]

THAT... SET... IS... AWESOME!!! Sorry for the sarcasm, but I am cracking up here. What were they thinking???

[Richardverdun]

Strange how the negative folks writing here sound like a convention of the Bitches of Eastwick. Dirt for dirt's sake!

[HouseOnSunset]

...And yet Petula still sucks. :-P

[Francodutchie]

hmmmmmm?????

[HouseOnSunset]

What, she sucks, pretty simple.

[rogueromulan]

I think Petula Clark's voice sounds nice than Betty Buckley's. She's not as powerful, but I'd like that she actually puts some emotion into her rather than just trying to belt every note. The acting is a whole different matter, but I prefer Petula over Betty.

[HouseOnSunset]

Wrong answer... *cocks grenade launcher*

[darkphoenix1312]

OMG

Shes totally out of her mind! Besides.. poor woman, with no scenography to interact... hahahahaha

[wotan10950]

My wife & I saw Glenn Close on Bway and Petula at West Point in this production. We are not gay (!), we are opera afficionados, and we liked Clark very much! OK, the set wasn't so great, but this was a tour, so they had a new stage most nights. When you consider that Clark was famous at the time of the Beatles, we were quite amazed that she could still sing so well. I don't understand all the complaining.

[HouseOnSunset]

No, but for someone who already dislikes Webber, their brain automatically presumes that something as far removed from RUG as Petula Clark and Susan Schulman would automatically make Webber's show better. Your "liking" is from a purely psychological level... Oh, and you have no taste.

[emlodik]

Chinese opera?

[squeakyz4787]

When did the 2nd US tour happen?

[HouseOnSunset]

1998-2000. Are people seriously that clueless about it?

[FantineJavert]

Okay...I can't help it. I am gonna comment. I think I just had a seizure. It's...her voice...or maybe the "acting"...

[HouseOnSunset]

Yes, what is it with 57 year old gay men who think this is master class in acting, singing, set design and staging?

[FantineJavert]

The "set" just gave me a really, really bad headache. And I'm not even gonna comment on the *cast*... *Gags*

[HouseOnSunset]

Lewis Cleale is such a cradle robber! His boyfriend looks barely twenty... He's more Norma than Norma!

[mickau4c]

I think her singing is great, but her acting is quiet awful..

[emlodik]

You're deaf? She sounds like a goat with with lung disease.

[mickau4c]

I like her voice..

[emlodik]

You like the sound of dying goats?

[emlodik]

Awful like Petula's singing? :-P

[mickau4c]

loooool

she's definitely better than Petti - old tumble dryer - LaPune

[emlodik]

As much as I detest LuPone in the role (and in general) I'll take her over Petula any day... But maybe Petula isn't as much of a psychotic bitch.

[mickau4c]

oh yes..

bitch

the right word for every interpretation of any role Petti played..

[emlodik]

Not true. Her Norma qualifies as "functionally retarded."

[mickau4c]

hmmh...

the functionally retareded, conceited neighborhood-bitch maybe..

[emlodik]

Ugh.... There's this video on youtube of an obnoxious Patti fanbitch burning Glenn's recording in effigy.

[mickau4c]

omg...

I never would do such things...

that's totally lunatic...

[mickau4c]

but the set is awful

[emlodik]

Nah, seriously, though, this whole affair is a theatrical abortion.

[RShah0]

"A theatrical abortion", rofl.

[drljrbear]

This is the worst casting ever!!Norma is not supposed to have made it in the talkies but she was supposed to have talent! That is how the role is cast. Lets look at the most famous Normas to prove a point:

Patti Lupone: Great singer, but lacked the acting chops to really pull it off.

Glen Cose: Acted her ass off, but her singing and some of those notes were not on pitch.

Norma must have a FLAW! She must be able to act and not sing, or able to sing and not act.

Petula Clark can do neither!!

[jdfi1980]

I thought all your tours in the US were a carbon copy of the broadway production? This is, erm interesting.

We had a show over here (circa 2002) with Faith Brown - the set was different from (but a lot closer) to the West End one than this is.

Petula sounds a lot better on the CD single that she did (circa 1996?).

But a great vid - glad someone was there to film and share.

[HouseOnSunset]

No! No! No! You can find my videos of the superb 1st US tour with Linda Balgord on my profile. It was forced to shut down after about six cities and after a few months this piece of crap opened in Pittsburgh.

Instead of a pair of boobs, as Yanks got a 70 year old gay icon rubbing down a semi-nude gay gay. :-{

[DenzelLockheart]

This is a pure abortion. Petula sounds like she is choking on something, and her acting is just plain awful. How she was even picked amazes me.

[HouseOnSunset]

....And you're not amazed by the bitchy 60 year old gays defending this rotting fetus?

[BarnabasFrid]

I think I just threw up in my mouth.

[HouseOnSunset]

We all did. Well, except the sad, misguided elderly (And I do mean ELDERLY) gay people who think this staging is any good and Petula was the best Norma sicne Gloria Swanson.

[DAMECOLIN]

awful! How did she get away with this. She plays it like a drag queen, her voice in very inconsistant. At best it looks like a high school production. Oh some people just do not suit a turban.

[HouseOnSunset]

I know! She played the role from 1995 to 2004! (with some breaks.) Her last time was a BBC concert staging, when Pet was 72! She was waaaaaay too old even in 1995! And as for her singing voice... WHAT singing voice? I can't believe so many sad, pathetic misguided people think she's the best... And that this staging is better than the Trevor Nunn version.

[DAMECOLIN]

Really! unbelievable, that the RUG let her plow on for so long, I had to watch it twice just convince myself it was real, but then this is the woman who played Maria Von Trapped when pushing 50.

[melbapatti]

Thanks for posting this. Contrary to your opinions, I find her singing actually quite strong and secure, with incredible delivery of the text. She has no wobble on the pitches, which usually happens to older singers, and I never get the feeling she is in vocal distress. I heard Miss Paige and Miss Buckley sing the role live, and I didn't know whether they, OR I, would make it through the performance. It's very sad that you can't hear anything good in this performance. It's there for sure.

[HouseOnSunset]

The set in the 2nd US tour wasn't as badly cut down until Pet started rehearsing and chewing the scenery.

No, face it, this SUCKS on every level. Acting, singing, set design, direction, Please, put in some contacts and clean your ears.

UGH... You prefer Petula over Elaine Paige and Betty Buckley? Must be some sort of brain disease...

[emlodik]

Mel, you're an idiot.

[lumiere85]

There are simply no words to describe this garbage. I've recently gotten Debrah Byrne's cd "New Ways to Dream". I'm not crazy about her As If We... but her With One Look is one of the best I've heard. Seen any vids of her or Diahann Carroll?

[HouseOnSunset]

Yes, I actually have a soundboard of the Australian show and I did a music video to Debra Byrne's "With One Look," it's on my other profile.

I have the Canadian Cast Recording with Diahann Carroll and I heard there's a making-of featuretee, but not actual video of the entire Canadian production. To be honest, Diahann was a MILLION times classier than Petula, but her singing/performance, didn't really knock my socks. Even Glenn Close sang the role better.

[standup22]

good god..............good...god. what is she DOING!! is the audience LAUGHING at her at some points?

[HouseOnSunset]

And you can believe some people think this is better than the Trevor Nunn production and that Petula is the BEST Norma?!?!

[standup22]

when the likes of Betty Buckley, Glenn Close and Elaine Paige have played Norma so well its not possible to even compare petulant clarke to them.

[HouseOnSunset]

There is also Linda Balgord, who did the 1st US Tour, she OWNS this abomination from the rafters!

And let us not forget the Goddess amongst Normas... Helen Schneider!

[standup22]

Balgord is verrry good your right. I havent really heard a lot of Schneider...purely for the fact that i cant understand her (i dont want that to seem at all rude)

[HouseOnSunset]

I have TONS of clips of Schneider on here... And I have her singing "The Perfect Year" in English if you'd like it.

[standup22]

oohh that'd be interesting, yes please! thanx

[HouseOnSunset]

Okay! Shoot me your email in my private messages... I'll send it to you soon, meanwhile enjoy the Helen Schneider clips! (And don't forget to comment, LOL!)

[halsatia]

oh God...did Lloyd Webber even approve of this? If I was him or Trevor Nunn I would personally kill Schulman...haha jk

[HouseOnSunset]

Just wait until I add more clips, it only gets worse!

[CDieman88]

Putting Petula aside for a sec, this is just the strangest thing I've ever seen. I'm pretty familiar with the usual Sunset set, and this couldn't be farther from it. Where's the house? Where's....everything? And what on earth is the floor made of? This must be a bad dream.

[emlodik]

No, this is the ultra cheap 2nd US tour, directed by that feminazi hack Susan H. Schulman.

[CDieman88]

ahh, i see.

[emlodik]

You will also find some less-than-sane people actually consider this any good... And consider Petula a good singer and actress in this show. SAD.

[ColdNickHot]

All I can do is this

*shudders*

[HouseOnSunset]

To MaskedLion:

...................See?

[MaskedLion]

Dude, I seriously resent your comment about blind and deaf Queens. For one thing, I am gay. Two. I ENJOY OTHER NORMA'S AS WELL! Perhaps, if you had paid attention to what I said. My first and FAVORITE is Helen Schneider, Followed close by Glenn.

[HouseOnSunset]

I am also gay and yet... PETULA SUCKS.

[chernjam]

All this video did was remind me why I liked the 2nd tour so much (and I saw the original 8 times)

Petula's voice was stronger than Glen's and I liked the direction so much more in this production. There's actual ACTING going on during "With One Look" rather than just Norma singing on stage in front of a beautiful mansion

[HouseOnSunset]

Better acting than Glenn? Better singing? How much glue are you sniffing?

[MaskedLion]

House, I understand that you dislike Petula, but just as much as you dislike her, there are people who love her. I myself like many different Norma's, I just dont want a war to break out over this again.

[HouseOnSunset]

I like Petula outside Sunset. But only deaf, blind and dumb queens can like her as Norma... Especially with THIS staging.

[MaskedLion]

Well since I am a Pagan and don't believe in Jesus.. I will say this, I saw Petula, both here and in the Concert in Cork , Ireland. I didnt mind her. I thought she did well. I liked every Norma I have seen, except for La Lupone. I love her as Mrs Lovett, but I myself didn't feel that her Norma was what I pictured, vocally or audibly.

First, Helen Schneider.

Second. Glenn Close.

Third, Petula.

[HouseOnSunset]

Fine, you just made Baby Mother Earth cry.

Petula was too old for the role... And she lost her voice ages ago. But she was surprisingly okay in the Cork concert...