forced to glitter, forced to be gay

I listened to Take Me or Leave Me because when that appeared on Tumblr last night I thought it was preposterous that they would do that as their encore, omg the entire notion is just fucking hilarious (although I feel like Reineke programs always have a hot mess encore because the last time I saw Betsy with the TSO, Love Will Keep Us Together was the encore and all the old subscribers in the audience couldn’t decide whether to clap on 1 and 3 or 2 and 4 lmao what a mess)

and then this morning when more things started to circulate I listened to Suddenly Seymour just because I needed some Betsy belting joyously in my life

and after those two songs I knew that Darren was going to be decidedly mediocre in this concert (which I mean, I already suspected he was going to be, but a part of me was hoping that he would surprise me)

(really it’s a damn shame that Jeremy Jordan had to pull out because I think firstly his song choices would have been a HELL of a lot more interesting than Darren’s, not to mention the fact that he and Betsy would have had better duets, and secondly, I’ve seen a lot of Broadway pops concerts with the TSO, and next to Betsy, Jeremy is the performer who has thrilled me the most. he can really hold his own against a 90-piece orchestra, which is NOT EASY.)

so then I started listening to a few more things, mostly the other duets (Before and After You/One Second and a Million Miles, Falling Slowly) so that I can prepare myself for being underwhelmed by Darren before I actually see this concert so I can temper my reaction accordingly

and then it occurred to me that so many Darren fans are going to complacently see this concert, be it in DC or in NYC or in TO, and come away with a brand new appreciation for an absolute powerhouse, because Betsy sounds even better than she normally does when put up against Darren (I mean I fully maintain that she’s one of the best singing actors working in commercial theatre in her playable age range right now, but that point of view is nothing new from me). and so idk. it’s nice that people are gonna get their socks knocked off and she’s gonna have a bunch of new fans 

(y’all I may not be the youngest person in Roy Thomson Hall for a change when I see this concert!!! that just occurred to me bc Darren was so popular with tweens)

when Reineke et al. restructured the program when Jeremy pulled out, I don’t understand why the Bridges pieces weren’t pulled as well, because Darren just drags that entire thing down (and for 7 minutes at the end of the act, no less. yikes). Betsy is fine--in that no one can touch Kelli in this role kind of way, but Betsy still sounds good. and that’s about as negative as you’ll ever hear me be about BWo.

and Falling Slowly is just boring. it does nothing for either of them, really? and I don’t find the arrangement to be particularly interesting.

anyway then I decided to spoil myself a little bit for Betsy’s numbers.

I listened to Let it Go and like...I’m not fond of Frozen but Betsy could make me like anything. and if she’s Elsa on Broadway (and I can’t imagine that she wouldn’t be up for it, esp. given her connections to that creative team) I am gonna be Frozen trash just like I was Mermz trash. all aboard the hot mess express.

I listened to Getting Married Today (because it’s patter and patter is really all in the delivery so I’m confident that I’m not really “spoiling” myself in that regard because she’ll give a unique performance the night I see it, I’m sure) and dang between Merrily and Last 5 and Company I’m pretty sure I could happily watch Betsy sing songs about marital strife forever. I’m really excited to see this number in person because I’m used to her having such a broad sense of comedy that it will be so interesting to see her go darker with her humour, I feel like that’s an interesting side of her that I want to see more of

and then I listened to Unusual Way because I knew it wasn’t very showy vocally.and ugh what an unexpected choice from her and I love it! she’s gonna mess me up with this one live with her acting.

didn’t listen to any of Darren’s solos because f that noise

so now I’m left with Maybe This Time, A Summer in Ohio, and Meadowlark to be surprised by next month, thanks Betsy