Pearl Sun as Diana today!- Page 3

[steven22]

Posted: 3/4/11 at 7:00pm

Saw her on broadway 6 times. Saw Marin 3 times. Loved both of them for completely different reasons. Alice is DIANA. Period. That fact alone is a great reason to see her perform. Wish I could see her on tour.

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 3/4/11 at 9:38pm

I think Alice is absurdly talented. I've seen her in N2N and many other pre-N2N shows a bunch of times and she's one of my favorites. However, I predict that her commenting on that blog is not going to end well for her.

[Kevn520]

Posted: 3/5/11 at 12:31am

My question is, if she can't sing the role properly anymore, isn't she potentially damaging prospects for future tours? If people walk away not enjoying it, wouldn't that make them less likely to see it the next time it rolls into town?

It might be a stupid question, but I was just curious.

[dwwst12]

Posted: 3/8/11 at 6:28pm

Yeah, I think there's a lot of questions.

I wonder how the producers feel. They're probably stuck between a rock on a hard place. If she sits, people feel cheated. If she sings and people are wondering how she won a Tony, they also feel cheated.

Maybe they'll just try to limp through with her performing like 50% of the time? Because it doesn't sound like she's getting better. The actual reviewers in Seattle have picked up on her vocal problems now -- it's not just online forums and comments anymore.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 3/8/11 at 6:41pm

I wonder with her missing so many performances if they'd bring in a second Diana u/s??

[broadwaybabe1234]

Posted: 3/8/11 at 7:26pm

She has literally been in half of the seattle performances. After Pearl had to go on halfway through Sunday, She was out Tuseday, Wednesday, both Saturday shows and both Sunday shows.

i saw the show friday and it was awesome. Her voice sounded so much better than the week before and the audience was really supportive. But then the next day she wasn't on... so im not sure what is going on.

i'll be honest. i've now seen Pearl in a whole show and i can't say it was my favorite. So much of the Heart of the show is with Alice. i can't imagine how Pearl must feel going into the role. Also, is Pearl wearing Alice's costumes? because they do not look like they fit her right....

Side note, Curt (who plays Gabe) has been out of the show for a couple days. Apparently after the sat mat he was running out the stage door calling the hospital because of his voice...On the bright side his understudy Perry is awesome and does a great job in the show.

[steven22]

Posted: 3/8/11 at 7:34pm

I'd imagine they would hire a brand new Diana 2nd cover if this continues. Jessica Phillips is in Priscilla. Sarah Uriarte Berry has a family. Catherine Porter has a family. Kathy Voytko (never even performed the role as an understudy) just had a baby. Good luck finding, rehearsing, and preparing a new Diana if they decide to.

[Patti4President]

Posted: 3/8/11 at 7:48pm

broadwaybabe1234 - At no point did Curt leave the stage door calling the hospital because of his voice. His voice is fine. What performer do you know that would A. call a hospital if his voice was going B. make this call while walking out the stage door in front of fans.

Curt injured himself in an earlier performance and received chiropractic care while in Seattle.

Let not make this a bigger deal than it is.

[shrekster224]

Posted: 3/8/11 at 9:32pm

I wish there was audio somewhere of both Pearl and Perry. Do you mind reviewing the shows you saw a little bit? Especially what Perry and Pearl did.

[silentk]

Posted: 3/9/11 at 10:31am

Alice was on for the Saturday mat. Someone said she wasn't but she was.

I saw the Saturday night show where Perry and Pearl were on and I was not impressed. I'm not going to post on a public forum every little thing I disliked but it wasn't great.

They both have talent but they just didn't seem comfortable in the roles. I hope Pearl improves especially because she sang the role beautifully.

Everyone else around me thought Pearl and Perry were great so this is just my opinion but I was not overly impressed.
Updated On: 3/13/11 at 10:31 AM

[threetwoone]

Posted: 3/13/11 at 12:39am

Saw the show in Seattle tonight. No Pearl and Alice sounded glorious compared to two weeks ago.

When and why did Michael McElroy join the tour? He was on this afternoon as the Doctors and was iffy with his lines. It must have been his first or second show with the tour. Did something happen with Jeremy and Michael had to be flown out to join temporarily?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/28/11 at 4:46am

Providence matinee: THREE understudies:
Pearl Sun for Diana
Perry for Gabe
Caitlin for Natalie

I was disappointed, not because there WERE understudies, but because I really wanted my companinion, that had never seen the show, to experience Alice. (And since I was not terribly fond of Marin, I wanted an Alice dose, too.) I also really wanted to see Emma Hunton as Natalie.

My take:
Pearl: sings AMAZINGLY, but she took weird pauses and sang a lot of the score with her own personal fermatas. Her acting? Not bad by any means, but I felt like she was simply instructed to copy Alice -- from every hand movement to the way Alice walks. She also was very jerky in many of her physical choices, none of them were organic, but forced. Lastly, for the first 1/2 of Act 1, it seemed like she was playing musical COMEDY and TRYING for laughs. I liked her more in Act II. (which my friend thought dragged a little)

As far as the "asian dynamic", what rubbish. She's an American mom, that happens to be Asian. It's not like she's first generation with ties to the old country.

Perry: while he doesn't possess the "all american" boy wonder physical aspect of Gabe, he was quite good. His voice is nice, but at times was not powerful enough.

Caitlin: Very nice, indeed. Very nice to not have a rail thin actress play a role, and just look like a normal kid. No chemistry whatsoever with Henry -- they seemed like good friends. (This may be more with the actor playing Henry, however.)

Overall: I still enjoyed the production and was moved to tears several times. The sound was not balanced well at the begining of the show, but sorted itself out. Also, the lighting was inconsistent -- many scenes where only one actor was lit, or when one actor actually blocked the light from the other.

Asa Somers as Dan was good, but a little bland. Lastly the gentleman playing the doctors (again, no program right now) was EXCELLENT. I'd love to hear him sing more!

[EdenIsMyHero]

Posted: 3/28/11 at 4:45pm

I saw the evening show in Providence last night, which was the same cast as the matinee with the exception of Emma being back. As a whole, I really enjoyed the tour cast. The show is in very good hands. The audience was also really into it and was immediately on their feet at the end, which was great to see for a touring house.

As soon as I heard that Perry was cast, I was hoping he would be on when I saw it- loved him in the Spring Awakening tour. I thought he was a fantastic Gabe! His Gabe was so lovable, and a “bad influence” on Diana without being menacing. Even though he doesn't fit the stereotypical "golden boy" image looks wise, I thought his acting more than made up for that. And he's never sounded better.

I really enjoyed Pearl. She has an absolutely lovely voice (although it is more suited to the softer numbers like "I Miss the Mountains," which was especially great), and I felt she made the character her own. A highlight of the show for me was during “There’s a World,” when she was just bawling and Perry started wiping her tears away. Absolutely killed me.

Emma was far and away my favorite Natalie. She was so fantastically snarky and bitter (she was hilarious during "Better Than Before"), but so vulnerable underneath, and how much she cried at the end broke my heart.

Asa Somers didn't move me as much as other Dans have, but he was perfectly fine. Michael McElroy was great as the doctors. Preston was a cute Henry (he did this little awkward dance after he said the word "dance" when he invites her, adorable). Great performance.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 3/28/11 at 4:57pm

Have you guys been following the comments section of this article?

Oh Alice, when will you learn?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 3/28/11 at 11:39pm

When and why did Michael McElroy join the tour? He was on this afternoon as the Doctors and was iffy with his lines. It must have been his first or second show with the tour. Did something happen with Jeremy and Michael had to be flown out to join temporarily?

His wife just had a baby.

[Lefou]

Posted: 4/21/11 at 3:41pm

I posted two videos (I Miss the Mountains and So Anyway) on that forbidden site of Pearl. Go take a look...more to come! They should be easy to find

[shomeika]

Posted: 4/21/11 at 4:00pm

she has a pretty voice..very clean....would love to "see" her acting. Thanks for sharing.

[binau]

Posted: 4/21/11 at 6:57pm

She sounds really great. Thanks for that! Can't wait to see her.

[provocation]

Posted: 4/21/11 at 8:19pm

Lefou, you are amazing. Thank you!

[Annas_Priest]

Posted: 4/21/11 at 10:05pm

If anyone wants an audio recording of Peal then they should defiantly not private message me..

[sbflyfan]

Posted: 4/21/11 at 11:34pm

Actually, the person who recorded that Pearl Sun audio shared it a few DISCREET places... and requested that people NOT post it on Youtube, or draw attention to it other places online (or claim it to be their own recording).

So, in reality, LeFou's NOT so "amazing" for posting it here!

Updated On: 4/21/11 at 11:34 PM

[PurpleFanta]

Posted: 4/21/11 at 11:47pm

She sounds really amazing, especially in So Anyway. I'd happily see her take on Diana.

Sidenote: I hate when people clap after So Anyway, it's not a clap moment.
Updated On: 4/22/11 at 11:47 PM

[beagle]

Posted: 4/22/11 at 4:44pm

I saw both Pearl and Alice last week in St. Louis, and I have to say I preferred Pearl, especially vocally. Alice Ripley is Alice Ripley and she has such a presence onstage as Diana that it was definitely worth seeing her, but her obvious vocal problems were a distraction at times. Pearl's take on the role was more subdued, but equally effective, I think. I was initially disappointed when I got to the theatre the first time I saw the show and saw the notice that Pearl was on, but my disappointment quickly faded as I saw her performance. Later that week when I saw the show again with Alice as Diana, I enjoyed it as well, but it was obvious to me and the two friends I was with (who are both trained singers) that she needs to take a break and rest her voice, and my friends found it difficult to really get into the show because they were so concerned about her voice.

Here's my review on my blog:

http://snoopmk.wordpress.com/2011/04/17/perfectly-imperfect/

As for how often Alice has been off, from what I've been reading it seems like she's missed several performances here, but I think she was on the majority of the performances. I do think she should probably take a break, for the sake of her voice. She a great performer and I'm glad that I got to see her, but I think she should probably rest for a while to save her voice.
Updated On: 4/22/11 at 04:44 PM

[provocation]

Posted: 4/23/11 at 1:23pm

My bad, sbflyfan. I hadn't a clue. I've just been dying to hear Pearl since I was very disappointed my Alice's vocals during the L.A. run.

Would you anyone be willing to share Pearl with me? I'd love to hear how she sings everything else. Please and thank you!