[John Riley]

Yes, this is powerfully sad but he managed to make that sadness profound.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AHCfZTRGiI

[Roger Slater]

Here's another one that's sad. And I'm guessing you all have seen it before. But if we're talking great performances, Sinead's cover of Prince certainly qualifies in my book. This would be great just for listening, but the emotion she conveys with her face is what makes it special. Nothing Compares 2 U

[Roger Slater]

Years ago I saw Jessica Lange on Broadway playing Blanche Dubois, and it was a great performance indeed. Spurred by this thread, I looked on YouTube and found that the entire play with Lange and Baldwin is online! It's a bad print, but still quite effective. Watch the last four or five minutes, and have a tissue handy. I think the most heartbreaking line ever written may be, "Whoever you are, I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." And though it suffers from overfamiliarity, Lange nails it.

This isn't the same staging I saw, but it looks great: Streetcar

[James Brancheau]

I always thought Jack Lemmon was a bit of an underrated actor. Outstanding, memorable performance in Glengarry Glen Ross. I don't have a link, but easy enough to look up if you're not familiar with the movie (which I recommend).

[Roger Slater]

Alec Baldwin was also great in Glengarry. (I believe that Glengarry Glen Ross had no speaking parts for women, and women were on screen for just moments).

[James Brancheau]

Yes, they are all white males. AND Kevin Spacey is in it. "Viewer discretion is advised."

[Roger Slater]

Jack Lemmon underrated? I don't think so. I think he's highly regarded. At least by me. The Apartment is one of my favorite movies. Shirley MacLean is also great in it, by the way. (And it's also a wonderful movie script-wise).

[James Brancheau]

I would hope that he's highly regarded. I'm certainly a big fan. What I meant by "a bit underrated" is that, in my experience, I just never hear his name come up when it comes to great actors/performances. He's just so natural I guess is the word that first comes to mind. I know of that movie, Roger, but I admit I haven't seen it yet. I'll punch it in to my movie machine and see if it comes up. (A friend directed me to this wonderful website- have been able to access nearly every movie I've searched for. Nearly in that Oppenheimer has been a no go so far. But I did get Asteroid City...)

[E. Shaun Russell]

Originally Posted by Roger Slater

Here's another one that's sad. And I'm guessing you all have seen it before. But if we're talking great performances, Sinead's cover of Prince certainly qualifies in my book. This would be great just for listening, but the emotion she conveys with her face is what makes it special. Nothing Compares 2 U

Sad to learn that she just died today. Such a talent.

[Jim Moonan]

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I have tried and tried, searched far and wide, googled and googled and googled, looking for a clip of Jonathan Groff's portrayal of King George III singing "You'll Be Back" from Hamilton that was filmed by Disney and the camera angles and close-ups give you a “front row seat” to what I consider a masterclass in stage acting.

For starters, the lyrics (written by Lin Manual Miranda) are poetry.
But it is Groff's remarkably subtle, outrageous portrayal of King George that is masterful. Watch his eyes. (He blinks just twice during the whole performance.) Watch his body language. His walk. His lips. His shoulders. His hands. I think it is as close to perfection as acting can get. Not to mention his great singing voice. And the costume! Remember, too, that King George eventually goes mad. You can feel it bubbling beneath the surface in this performance.

Disney filmed a live performance of Hamilton (available on Disney+. I think you could do a month free trial and then cancel. It would definitely be worth it just to see the film version with all its angles, closeup, etc. that give you a feeling like you are sitting on stage).

Unfortunately the only clips of it I can find are ones posted by singing coaches and acting coaches. (Disney, I suspect, has blocked the scene from being seen on YouTube).

Here is the best clip I could find of it. It plays the entire three-minute performance uninterrupted but in split screen. You can enlarge the video so that only Groff’s performance fills the screen. After the uninterrupted performance the acting coach then goes back and analyzes it and does a good job. Definitely worth watching his commentary so that you don’t miss any of the myriad of things Groff does to pull of this gem.


Btw, watching a filmed version of a live performance is a crazy-good way of seeing live theatre. During the pandemic the Metropolitan Opera began streaming live performances of operas and it has made me into an opera fan.


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