It's "Transformation Tunesday" here at BroadwayBox! We're going to explore the exciting transformations your favorite Broadway tunes have morphed into over the years with thanks to innovative Broadway revivals.
Transformation Tune: "The Ladies Who Lunch" from Company, by Stephen Sondheim
1970 - Original Broadway Production
The very definition of the song sung by the incomparable Elaine Stritch. Looking right into our souls thanks to that camera lens, Elaine's delivery is masterful.
Dressed in her signature white button down, she performs every Stephen Sondheim lyric with such conviction. Please note, we still have whiplash from the camera zoom on her signature line. How grateful we are for Thirteen capturing this iconic moment in musical theatre history. The swing in her voice - we need to watch this about twenty more times.
1995 - Broadway Revival
The toast begins at 19:23 by Ms. Debra Monk. Bedazzled in black sequins, Debra looks like a million bucks. She's a Joanne who's brash and sarcastic as ever lending her big Broadway belt to the song. Debra's Joanne holds back nothing and does not care who hears her opinions courtesy of the zing of these brilliant Sondheim lyrics. By the end of the performance, Joanne's desperation is apparent. Good on you Ms. Monk - this is wonderful.
2006 - Broadway Revival
Ms. Barbara Walsh's Joanne is class class class. She puts her own spin on the tune like a top shelf dry martini. The violin accompanying her is the perfect overture for how she makes this lyric explode by the time she gets to her vodka stinger. By the end of the number, she is enraged and you'll get goosebumps when the piano drops out.
2011 - New York Philharmonic
Where do we even begin with the magic of Patti LuPone. The 2020 revival which includes Ms. Lupone as Joanne, though beginning previews, had not officially opened on Broadway. Instead, we are going to react solely to her blissfully divine Joanne as part of the New York Philharmonic Company.
Confidence. Smarts. Line Delivery. Patti delivers this song with a marvelous combination of the Broadway brass we love in her voice, the articulation of every point she is describing in the lyrics with such conviction - we can go on and on. Her belt is ::chef's kiss::
Extra Credit!
When three newcomers named Christine, Audra and Meryl made Good Morning America.
