Follies | 'Losing My Mind' performed by Imelda Staunton | National Theatre Live
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- čas přidán 17. 08. 2021
- Imelda Staunton performs former showgirl Sally's classic 'Losing My Mind' from Follies by Stephen Sondheim.
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Tracie Bennett, Janie Dee and Imelda Staunton play the magnificent Follies in this dazzling production. Featuring a cast of 37 and an orchestra of 21, Stephen Sondheim’s legendary musical was directed by Dominic Cooke and filmed live on stage at the National Theatre in 2017.
New York, 1971. There’s a party on the stage of the Weismann Theatre. Tomorrow the iconic building will be demolished. Thirty years after their final performance, the Follies girls gather to have a few drinks, sing a few songs and lie about themselves.
Follies includes such classic songs as Broadway Baby, I’m Still Here and Losing My Mind.
Winner of Academy, Tony, Grammy and Olivier awards, Sondheim’s previous work includes A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd and Sunday in the Park with George.
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That raspy part when she sang the last note was just perfect! Imelda Staunton made a lot of brave, and in my opinion, well placed decisions when she sang this!
Seeing this wonderful performance as a now 60-year-old woman reminds me of my 15-year-old heartbroken self playing this record and singing along at the top of my lungs. So much joy, longing, and heartbreak in the intervening years. I still have hope for more joy!
My goodness.
Are you over the 15yo heartbreak yet? Serious question.
@@Quinefan LOL, yes. If I think about it I can still find the scar but it seems a very small one now.
@@elizamccroskey1708 good x
my 15 year old heartbreak was only a year or two ago now… i remember singing this song too, it’s so strange how it’s that same experience hit completely different people and i’m repeating what you did so many years ago
I remember going to watch this for the first time streamed in the cinema a few weeks after my first heartbreak. I sobbed so much it hurt. Still cry when I watch this clip
Wow, I knew Imelda was a gifted actress, but I didn't know she could sing. Just beautiful.
If Harry Potter was a musical movie, I can definitely see Umbridge annoyed Harry with her songs while teaching something extremely wicked 😂
She’s been in musicals for a long while… she was in the original London cast of Into The Woods, for instance
In the early 90s she was in a sitcom called Up The Garden Path and she sang the theme tune (which was a cover of Ain’t Misbehavin’).
She was a great Mama Rose in Gypsy too. I think you can find the show on youtube.
For me, this will always be the biggest gut punch of a song in musical theater.
This earlier entry to the Sondheim canon became his greatest ballad. This was an "old" song that was completely original.
The intensity, the tenderness, the range, the power... this performance has me in shambles it's so good.
Moment of appreciation for the orchestra
Remarkable performance! Imelda Staunton truly disappears into every character she plays.
She is a chameleon!
@@NationalTheatre She touches my heart and my soul with everything she says or does or plays. She is my personal queen!❤😘🥺
the “just” in the line “just being kind” are a guy wrenching blow to my heart every time. the grief and rage and pain all at once-incredible.
When she grabs the glass. The emotion.
Class, class act.
I legitimately thought she was going to throw and shatter the glass. She had me in the palm of her hand.
I'm a huge fan. Her performance as Rose in Gypsy was phenomenal- those who only know her from her work in the Harry Potter films will be in for a shock.
So true. Gypsy was incredible.
She was incredible in Gypsy!
I first encountered her in the film “Vera Drake” and have followed her career since then. Just and amazing actress
are very right. I am one of those who originally knew her from Harry Potter, as Umbridge. I loved her playing even in that (that is actually something a HP fan should never say - Umbridge is SO hated many thinkk you should not even love the actress...) so I searched her other works soon. And damn I was impressed. I'm a musical, opera and a classical music lover in general so it was a wonderful surprise. She's spectacular, seriously. She is way too underrated, the world doesn't seem to know anything about her real talents.
The Singing Detective dancing around to Dem Bones
When I was 19, I fell in love with someone who lived a few hours away. He told me he didnt want a long distance relationship but that he would leave anyone he was with to be with me if I moved closer. He made me feel so incredibly important to him and loved. Howrver, he ended up meeting someone and things changed. He seemed distant, he wouldnt talk to me as often, and when he did talk his humor seemed sting rather than feeling lighthearted and sarcastic. This song so accurately represents what I was going through after that.
That has to be the best and most meaningful performance of this song ever. I'm in tears. Memories flooding back at 75.
I shouldn’t be surprised by her talents, but this is so beautifully performed.
It is such a beautiful performance 😍
Magnificent. The build up to the rage and fury, fading to empty loss. Wonderful.
Absolutely and anyone who has had their heart truly broken lives every word.
I've heard this song--one of Mr Sondheim's best--sung by many gifted artists, but this was the first time I felt it. Ms Staunton captures the true meaning in that title magnificently, forcing us to understand without question. Her noticeable anger is a searing addition to the usual stunned plaintiveness. Brava.
Her version of this song cuts to the soul of her character. Beautiful and chilling at the same time. What an incredible actress and singer!
Brilliant actress, didn't know she had such a good singing voice as well.
She's a queen of the stage!
You’ll have to see her in Gypsy! A beautiful voice
Check out Sweeney Todd (with Michael Ball) and Gypsy !
She was absolutely brilliant in Gypsy. She now owns Rose's Turn! 👍
Then I'd advise you (if you haven't already in the intervening time) to check out the original London cast recording of Into the Woods, where she plays the Baker's Wife.
there's a reason this woman is a legend
Perfection! This is hands down the best performance of “Losing My Mind” I have ever seen. The slow buildup from melancholy to frustrated anger is the key to making this classic Sondheim piece work.
Imelda Staunton I simply wonderful. I love her in “Gypsy” as well.
Such a lovely comment, thank you
Oh, God! I can’t help but “think about you”, every time this song plays, I doesn’t matter how much time has passed, I still “think about you”, my love. And yes, I’m definitely loosing my mind.
I’m glad and sorry that it’s not just me ❤
I never knew Imelda Staunton could sing...I have goosebumps!
See if you can find her production of Gypsy. She was the best Mama Rose ever!!!!!
@@FreeSpirit-iv3rh you beat me to it! I saw her in London in Gypsy - she was incredible
@@ddjr6673 I’m sooooo jealous. I saw the production televised and even from that I was blown away!
find her "Roses Turn" from Gypsy. You will be stunned.
And in Sweeney Todd too.
whoever did the orchestrations for this is Mort Lindsey brilliant. The instrumentation of this was given a very bluesy/smoke-filled room very much the one that Judy Garland had in A Star is Born with the Man the Got Away. Ms. Staunton takes this very difficult number and weaves a spell a musical enchanted majestically tragic that builds and build as she ponders/realized and gets angry with reality that you cannot but help to get caught up in her performance.
Orchestration by Broadway Legend Jonathan Tunick
@@karl-johanankarblom1091 he’s a genius. So much genius surrounded Sondheim. Birds of a feather I suppose. Fabulous
I’m
I had NO idea Dolores Umbridge could sing the STUFF out of a song!! Making Sondheim proud, Professor!❤❤❤
She can’t but Imelda Staunton can
Almost too personal… what an amazing performance.
It makes me slightly uncomfortable in the good way.
@@yelanates indeed. This is the first person who has had me believing that they're truly losing their mind, not just using a figure of speech. She's not okay, and it's brilliant.
Glen Close singing this made me tear up, Imelda made me weep. So powerful.
This one got me. I knew she was one of the greatest actors of our time…but I didn’t expect her to rip my heart out like this.
Staunton's rendition is right up there.among of the finest of the many wonderful leading ladies who've.left their mark on this song. Somehow her anger and strength, so often unfound in this piece, make it yet tearier
I had the great privilege of seeing this at the National and it was incredible. A great cast, great music and performances that shine brighter than imagined.
Best rendition ever.
I never heard of her before. This performance was so believable. I really believed she loved this guy and yet was angry too. Excellent!
I remember seeing her as the short, silent, smoking showgirl in the National Theatre's version of _Guys and Dolls_ (her husband Jim Carter played Big Jule). She was hilarious without a word, and I was thrilled that she took over the role of Miss Adelaide when Julia McKenzie left the show. What a wonderful performer.
This gave me shivers. Brava, Imelda!
every note - every word - every movement is pure perfection! If you don't get chills and don't tear up and don't feel for others or relate to someone in your life - someone who has haunted you.. who has shaped your being..., then this song is not for you..
This could be one of my favorite songs of all time!
Imelda Staunton has this way of cutting to the emotional core of every song she performs, she always draws such a deep emotional response from me every time I see her perform
Incredible. This is musical theatre at its best. Ms. Staunton is a pro, and this is a masterclass.
Sondheim is one of the Theatre's greatest writers. His lines just happen to rhyme and come with beautiful music. No wonder actors love to perform his work. No wonder he won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama. (Along with his 8 Tonys, 8 grammies, an Oscar, 15 Drama Desk awards, 5 Olivier awards, an Edgar award, A US Presidential Medal of Freedom, etc. and he has theaters named after him in both NYC and London ). He was also famous for being a very sweet person who would personally answer letters from strangers- sometimes even giving them free stuff. Since his death thousands of people have gone public about the letters of support and encouragement he would send to aspiring theatre people- some times even children just doing school plays. He would actually show up at High School productions to help out and lend support. A natural born teacher.
She is amazing. Poignant, heartfelt, almost too real. Great stuff.
This is simply out of this world.....
Wow that is some of the best jobs acting I have seen in a long time, and she did very little. It was all in the facial expression, voice, and mannerisms. So incredible. She is an inspiration to me
She's got 14 Olivier nominations (and four wins) for a reason.
Imelda is an amazing actor. And singer. My mind is blown everytime I see her.
This performance is going to stay with me for a very long time.. Thank you Thank you Imelda Staunton.👏👏👏👏
I just cannot thank you enough for putting this on web. Me, who has never been in UK but whos heart is there, this was a glimpse of home.
Amazing performance. Thank you thank you
Thank you for granting the world this performance!
So glad you enjoyed it ♥️
She’s freakin brilliant!!!!
This is a fascinating contrast, more in setting as in approach, to the version I saw as Follies came through Boston on its way to Broadway (and prior to Michael Bennett's involvement IIRC). In the Boston version, Dorothy Collins, in a brilliant silver Jean Harlow dress, was centered in an arch under bright lights in true vamp, torch song mode. It was striking! Seeing how different actors approach familiar songs always fascinates me. (Wish I could see all the versions of King George in Hamilton.) This version, very different from the one fixed in my memory was well done and very interesting.
The best Sally Plummer by far...and I've played this role many many times. She is truly a singing actor and a director's delight.
I had the privilege to see this live and it was a stunning performance, however thank you for uploading this. Such a nuanced performer. So great to get a little closer. Thanks National! 💙
I had no clue she could sing!!! What a fantastic performance!
Shes sung before in sondheim musicals - she was mrs lovett in a production of Sweeney Todd
Oh my! She’s literally about to lose her mind!!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 great performance!
Wow! Imelda serves perfection! Brava!
wonderful actress. been a fan of hers for years.
This woman is amazing. Fabulous. And I saw Dorothy Collins in the original production.
Goosebumps! Absolutely brilliant x
Goosebumps. Tears. Amazing! 🥹
In a theatrical setting, best performance I've ever seen. But on record, singing this song, Dame Shirley Bassey owns it. But, as I said, in theatre yes, Imelda, awesome 😊😊😊
OMG she is brillant
Wow! Fantastic. I remember I was a teenager when I saw the original production. I remember Dorothy Collins, whom I didn't know from a hole in the wall (my mom, whom I was with did, of course), standing on an empty stage in a beautiful, shimmery dress. She had a beautiful voice and she just let her voice and the song do all the work, and it was wonderful. But this interpretation is astounding. Bravo (a?).
She'd be the perfect Madame Morrible in the screen version of WICKED!!
THIS❤️🔥
Absolutely!
She slays this. I would love to hear her do Send in the Clowns also.
Incredible. Moving.
She will have order!
Imelda that was a brilliant performance of that song thank you
what abeautiful performance
This is the best version I've heard. The acting and singing are superlative
We need this on DVD! Please!!!!!!!
Wow! So powerful! Extraordinary.
Wow! I didn’t know she could sing. I am used to seeing her only in period pieces. 😂👍👏Fabulous
My favorite version of this song.
This is so heartfelt and tender, Imelda touches my heart.🥺❤
WOW. Chills. She’s incredible :)
Right?! I have goosebumps
Not just a perfect Queen but a perfect voice!
That performance is a bona fide acting and singing lesson. The full range of emotions and nuances is demonstrated brilliantly.
What a spectacular performance. Brava!
Great performance. I’ve seen her in films - Harry Potter of course but I would likely have never known that she was so broadly talented if I had not seen this video. Thanks for posting it.
This performance. My golly gawdddd.
Wow. Just wow
Chills.
An incredible performance. Thanks for posting NT.
Best version of that song, from a non singer actress. The emotional journey of her is so on point!!! Bravo!!!
But she’s a singer
She looks great! And she is so talented 😍
Stunning performance!
Amazing performance! I was lucky enough to see her in Guys & Dolls many years ago at the National. I was working as a press intern for a season there! Would love a streaming option, when its out of movie theaters!
I am absolutely in love with this song and her version, I just think it’s done so well
Las Vegas NV. We are all looking forward to this performance in HD.
Fabulous.
Nothing like her. She just gets it.
I rember seeing her in Guys and Dolls at the National in 1990 s and she had class then and still does
She gave an incredible performance in Guys and Dolls!
From Mrs Micawber over Umbridge to her Muisical appearences I appreciate Imelda for her brilliant acting, always disappearing into her character and making us believe. Pity that many hate Umbridge that much they can't see Imelda shining anymore. Great performance and uploading, thank you.
Stunning ❤
Who knew the Queen could sing so well?
A brilliant actor, singer nailing that beautiful, haunting song as only she can! BRAVA!
Incredible. I'm always completely fixated when watching her perform. It really feels like she is living the character.
Imelda Staunton is my actor favorite
what a talent!!!!
Amaaaaaaaaaazing!
what an amazing performance,
Great actress! ❤️
Maravilloso. Increíble. Sin palabras!!!
NOW I LOVE THIS WOMAN (as much as I despise her in the Umbridge role) EVEN MORE!! 😱😱
Remarkable performance. remarkable.