It is certainly true that Elaine Stritch did not have her role down in the first week or two of performances. According to reports on the internet, she has been much, much better lately. Stritch performed two Sondheim songs at the White House (and forgot the word to one of them) on Monday, July 19. So last week must have been particularly stressful for her, and may partly explain the very different performances we saw at the end of the week.

I agree that the show is now too long, because Lansbury spoke and sang more quickly than Stritch. For the first time, I wanted someone to cut "The Miller's Son," which is sung just before 11 PM. But, you can not cut that song because of its importance to the story. Please give the musical, and Stritch specifically, another chance. More important, thanks for being so open minded about this