IMO, Karen Morrow is one of the most underrated Broadway divas. She was unfortunate to experience a series of flops in the commercial sense (they were all critically acclaimed) and as such never achieved the Merman/Lansbury/LuPone level of fame. Her voice is just phenomenal. The first example of her pipes is probably the closer from I Had A Ball, which is really tremendous. This is a live version from the Ed Sullivan Show. At 6:40, she starts on "It's one more swinger....I love it!" Between "love" and "it," she goes from gravel to vibrato at the flick of a switch. This is the stuff of legend! LISTEN. Go to 6:40, you will be left slackjawed. Bea Arthur-esque gravel and then Merman vibrato...ridiculous. This may be even MORE remarkable. In 1990, Karen played Carlotta Campione in a L.A. revival of Follies. Carlotta, of course, is the character who gets to sing "I'm Still Here," one of Sondheim's greatest songs and a triumphant tune that every aging Broadway diva wants to sing. Her performance of this surpasses almost everyone I've heard. She doesn't act it as well as Yvonne DeCarlo or Polly Bergen (Polly was the only good thing about the 2001 revival) but my GOD does she sing it. Every note is perfect. She is still going strong. Teaches at UCLA. Keep it up Karen!
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