Broadway Legend Joined: 3/28/09
Double ditto.
Swing Joined: 12/26/10
Mid-show (well, intermission) Diana switch tonight. Ouch Alice's voice, I felt terrible for her. Pearl was fine. Very disjointed show though. "Didn't I See This Movie" was... interesting. "Didn't I Bring Some ear plugs? And if not, why didn't I?"
@threetwoone: what happened in "Didn't I See"? Is Pearl doing better with the lyrics?
Just curious...
Alice's voice was just cracking left, right and centre and she lost it at points throughout the act.
Pearl's performance was flawless in the sense she did nothing wrong (that I could see anyways). "The Break" was sung perfectly with every lyric able to be heard (I'm assuming that's where she would have made a mistake..?).
How many times has she gone on now?
I believe she has been going on more recently because Alice's voice seems to be shot...no surprise. Loved Alice's Diana on broadway. Haven't been able to see the tour yet..
so intrigued to see Pearl in the role...wonder how it changes the family dynamic....it adds yet another dimension..and more questions.
So diana goes in for ECT and comes out.... Asian?
I was at the same performance. Alice has been sick for the majority of the run in seattle. Before last nights performance, Pearl had been on 5 times throughout the entire tour.
i have seen the show twice on broadway, once in seattle and once again with the switching dianas. It was very interesting to see Pearl but i have to see she looked scared to death the entire 2nd act (which i don't blame her for) and she didn't really "act." it was kind of disappointing....
Also, i don't want to sound racist but it really doesn't make sense for her (since she is asian) to be the mother of the two (very white) children. it really distracted from the story.
I know Perry has been on as Gabe...Anyone see him?
broadwaybabe1234, you weren't in the front row by chance, were you?
And yes, she did look scared to death the entire second act! I thought that was her interpretation but maybe she was just genuinely shocked...
i was in row G center. friday night i saw it and i was in the back of the balcony. i kind of feel you need to be in the first 15-20 rows of the theater to get the real feel of the show. Farther back then that and it gets totally lost.
Pearl has such a beautiful voice and i was so excited for her to go on but that being said, i want Alice back. Even when her voice is not the best, her acting is amazing and really becomes the heart of the show.
Another side note about the touring cast, Asa Sommers and Emma Hunton are wonderful. i thought it wasn't going to be as good without J. Robert Spencer but Asa bring so much new to the role as well as some of the powerful moments Bobby had. Now i really didn't like Jenn Damiano on Broadway and Emma has a refreshing portrayal, that is funny and heart felt.
Just a side note, Alice is out again tonight and Pearl Sun preforms
How soon until they fly in Catherine or Jessica to cover Diana?...If Alice goes on vocal rest....hmmm Just a though. And I know Jessica is in Priscilla..but...who knows..Or Marin maybe. Her Diana. WOW. Just wow. Amazing.
Anyone know if Ripley is still resting?
I have tickets to the March 12 matinee and I hope she's in. I saw a Saturday evening performance last year in New York. She had been in for the matinee but Jessica (who was awesome) stepped in for the evening show. I really hope I don't miss Alice again.
Alice is back in the show as of tonight. when i asked her what happened she said that she "needed to take a few days off" and didn't say anything about being sick which was curious. i'm guessing her voice is overworked. Still, her acting is top-notch and she is giving wonderful preformances. I have tickets for the 13th so i'll see if her voice is in better shape than it was last sunday.
We saw the show last tuesday (March 1. The dance was kinda cheesey). Pearl was on, and I knew going in that there was a fairly good chance that Alice wouldn't be on, but I really wanted to see the show anyway.
It was interesting getting the Asian dynamic in the show, because in Asian cultures, they typically glorify the son and pay less attention to the daughters, and I think my sister (who didn't know anything about the show going in) really connected to that part with the new family dynamic going on with an asian mother. From where we were sitting (up in the balcony), it wasn't really much of an issue with the mother being asian, and the kids being white, because both kids had brunette hair, and can pass as being mixed race.
I thought Pearl gave a really good perfomance. She seemed a little unsure of either the lyrics or vocals in a few parts, but I think it kinda added to the character portrayal. I thought everyone else did a great job, though I still prefer Aaron's vocals over Curt's. I do like the guy who played Henry (can't remember his name right now) over Adam's on the cast album.
I'm still hoping to try to catch Alice as Diana, though. I already have (season) tickets next week to the other show that the 5th Avenue is doing in tandem ("Vanities"), but I'm thinking about switching those tickets for antoher night to try to see N2N again.
This is my very first post here, so my apologies if this is really obvious or adds nothing to the conversation, BUT....
Have you guys been following the comments section of this article?
http://blog.ctnews.com/meyers/2010/07/05/alice-ripley-in-%E2%80%98next-to-normal%E2%80%99-knowing-when-to-leave/
It's become an ongoing thread about AR's voice problems on the tour --- and Alice *herself* appears to have commented twice, including earlier this week.
Wow, this is becoming very interesting. :P I still stand by that her singing the score like she is because it's a character choice, but I've only seen her on Broadway, not on the tour. So I really don't know "how far gone" her voice actually is.
I think it's clear from people who have seen her early broadway and tour, and by her absences, that this is not a character choice.
Thank you for that read. She's ridiculously and deliciously out of her mind.
I saw her on the day before her final Broadway performance and her final performance and didn't notice any strain to her voice at all. In fact, I was incredibly surprised because I've heard from other people she didn't sound too great.
Will Alice ever learn? Responding to a blog or message board is never a good idea for a performer. It never ends well.
Her tone is certainly not a character choice. It has just been affected by singing so much. She kinda sounds like she is constantly covering which makes it sound distorted. Mind you I thought she sounded better then on Broadway when I saw the tour. And her performance is still great.
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