Will RAUL ESPARZA Ever Return to Broadway?- Page 3

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/14/16 at 1:31pm

Probably also at me. And my response has nothing to do with Raul specifically, it's just to ask why, in any context, one person's (singular?) experience of someone should negate someone else's? People are complicated; why should an actor be exempt from that? Look, you can dig back through a decade-plus of my verbal vomit on this thing and find piles of posts in which I, during my fangirl days, monologue with stars in my eyes. I don't think those accounts, by me or anyone else, are invalid, they're just different. But as I've gotten older, the big takeaway has been that yes, we can worship what these people pull off on stage, but at the end of the day, they are just people. Pants one leg at a time and all that. I remember standing with my mother waiting to meet up with a favorite actor who has, in my adulthood, become a friend; she saw us wave across the room, and she looked at me and said, "he's not like, a celebrity to you at all, is he?" I think being starstruck is a fascinating thing, and watching the process of your mind dismantling that is even more so. But I digress to make the point that views change, but the real point of this is why can't we regard them as flawed human beings blah blah blah.

I was going to answer the SVU cliffhanger question and then I realized that my memory is foggy. I do remember that the whole Barba death threat thing was definitely not as big a deal as the previews made it seem. The previews were all GRAVE DANGER and then it was sort of downplayed? I'm not particularly worried they're going to kill him off. But I AM curious to see where everything's going to go with the new showrunner at the helm. 

Seconding the La Mancha wish, I have thought that for years.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 7/14/16 at 6:05pm

"I think its cool and expected that people come on to document how wonderful he is. However, this does not negate other people's experience of the person."

Bettyboy, so why should these nameless "other people's" experiences somehow negate all the other positive experiences? I mean, if you're not going to name names, I won't either, but how are your rumors of Raul being difficult to work with any more valid than others' rumors of him being pleasant and professional?

As to why he's doing TV instead of theatre- they all are. Michael Cerveris, Audra McDonald, Sutton Foster, Brian d'Arcy James, Christian Borle, Kristin Chenoweth, Laura Benanti, Megan Hilty. Most longtime Broadway leads have had to to TV for money and name recognition, because these days, they're not going to be cast as leads in Broadway musicals unless they have outside name recognition. The shows can't get backers and they can't sell tickets unless "That guy from that show we watch!" is in it, no matter how many Tony nominations he's racked up. I think Cerveris did an interview where he mentioned that specifically with regards to his decision to do some crappy vampire movie. If that's what it takes to get real Broadway actors in Broadway musicals these days, so be it; audiences have no one to blame but themselves.

Updated On: 7/14/16 at 06:05 PM

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 7/14/16 at 6:07pm

double post

Updated On: 7/14/16 at 06:07 PM

[Hest882]

Posted: 7/14/16 at 11:09pm

Eh, I don't care what artists do behind the scenes unless we're talking about actions that are truly heinous, like, say puppy torturing. Sure, I'd *prefer* it if they were kind and generous and thoughtful, but I'm really not looking for a BFF.

That said, Raul Esparza is one of a very small number of Broadway actors I'd center a NY trip around, so I, for one, hope he's able to bank that TV money and parlay the wider recognition into a stage revival.

[broadwayguy91]

Posted: 7/14/16 at 11:28pm

The fact the someone mentioned reading a Harry Potter book in this thread makes me wonder if he could play grown up Harry Potter when/if Cursed Child lands in NYC and if they hire a whole new cast for the Broadway run.