Anthony Rapp book signing at UF- Page 2

[Katt]

Posted: 1/26/06 at 12:50am

You'll probably need it for all that headdesking you are going to be doing when you get back from your encounter with the fangirls.

[Fantabulous428]

Posted: 1/26/06 at 12:50am

Will you share it?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 1/26/06 at 12:51am

Surely.

[surefinewhatever]

Posted: 1/26/06 at 12:51am

lol. . . maybe i exaggerated a little bit. I said that because there was some pushing and the crowd was really big, which reminded me of the wicked stage door. Considering there are like 40,000 students at UF, the turnout to the book signing was pretty big. I guess a better comparison would have been the Wicked stage door on a quiet night (which is still pretty crowded right?)

Updated On: 1/26/06 at 12:51 AM

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 1/26/06 at 1:21am

I disagree I think it was worse than that. I was there too and I was so shocked. I knew Rent had a big fan base but I didn't think the event had been advertised that much and I haven't met that many people at UF that are into musical theater, plus whenever I went to see Rent here in Gainesville (4 out of 6 times) the theatre was usually pretty empty. I was just so excited that there were so many people.
Anthony Rapp is the humblest, most down to earth, nicest guy ever. He is also an amazing speaker. He read the most touching excerpts from his book that had a lot of people in the verge of tears. I loved the way he talked about Daphne in the excerpts he read, it seems like they were very connected and it was just very touching. I liked that it was very professional but also he made it so casual, he knows how to connect to young people. I also thought it was really cute was when he had water after reading the book and then said on the mic "parched, parched, parched," then the girl behind me screamed "Moooo" and he did the best Idina Menzel imitation and said "Moo with me" in Idina's voice, it was sooo funny and sooo cute. His rendition of Seasons of Love a capella was beautiful, he has such a powerful voice, and hit some really high notes. Some people asked really dumb questions which I was a bit upset about, but he was so nice and charismatic. I truly respect him so much. There was also a guy dressed up as Mark which was interesting. Someone asked him about working with Norbert Leo Butz, which was one of the few interesting questions, and he gave a really interesting answer. I was so glad he went to UF, some of the people from the School of Theater and Dance got a private conference with him and they told me he is adopting a child with his partner so I am extremely excited for him and really wish him the best. And if you read this post, thanks for visiting UF Anthony, it was a great experience.

Updated On: 1/26/06 at 01:21 AM

[surefinewhatever]

Posted: 1/26/06 at 1:34am

ray-

The Norbert Leo Butz question was one of my favorite questions too. And his "nice scarf" comment to the guy dressed like Mark was hilarious.

I agree with what you said about Anthony being such a down to earth person. He was so friendly to everyone during the Q&A, even when there were some pretty ridiculous questions. Even at the book signing, he took the time to take picture sand even asked people how to spell people's names correctly so he could get it right and personalize it, rather than just scribbling his signature.

I'm not a theatre major, so I didn't get to go to the master class he taught. I hope you enjoyed it! What did he talk about?

I didn't know he and his partner were trying to adopt, but that's so great for them! Goodluck Anthony, and thanks again so much for coming to UF!

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 1/26/06 at 1:50am

"I didn't know he and his partner were trying to adopt, but that's so great for them!"

Hee, ray spoiled the ending. Anthony mentions it in the epilogue to his book.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 1/26/06 at 2:09am

Oh, well, oops, I guess cat's out of the bag. I just found the news really exciting because as a gay man myself Rapp has been someone I truly respect and admire just for being so upfront and genuine about who he is even during the Rent movie premieres, he'd take his partner and take pictures with him which is very uncommon for a lead actor in a film.
Surefinewhatever, I loved the Norbert question too and also when they asked him what he thought of other Marks, he gave a very nice response. He was just so funny and so humble, and an excellent speaker, very spontaneous. I just wish people didn't ask so many unnecessary and questions that have been asked in almost every interview post-Rent film I have read with Rapp. Someone actually asked how it felt to speak the words that they used to sing, WTF! Someone also asked about the cut of Halloween and Goodbye Love which was a good question and Anthony actually expressed his reluctant to accept this at first but ultimately he understood why the cuts had to be done; he did say that Halloween was filmed knowing that it was likely to be cut because it is a soliloquy. He said something I thought was interesting about the cutting of Goodbye Love which was that the fight between Mark and Roger was filmed in the loft; however, except for Rent, all the times Mark and Roger interact at their place is through conversation not through song, so it didn't make sense to have them singing on the loft so late in the film.
Great experience but I wished I could have waited to get my Rent OBCR signed but my friend was driving and she had to go so that's sad.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 1/26/06 at 3:08am

It's too bad about the lame questions. I guess when you're not a really dedicated fan of Rent, you don't realize that your question was already answered on every morning talk show this fall.

I'm still reluctant to accept the Halloween and Goodbye Love cuts and I've seen it 4 times.

[EugLoven]

Posted: 1/26/06 at 4:04am

Thanks for sharing your experience. I cannot wait to meet him Feb.16 at his San Francisco engagement! He's such a remarkable man and I am so thrilled to hear about he and his boyfriend's plans to adopt. There couldn't be better news!

[Fantabulous428]

Posted: 1/26/06 at 8:46am

Although you kind of spoiled the ending, that's so exciting. I'm sure Anthony and Rodney will be great parents.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 1/26/06 at 9:55am

re: Goodbye Love, that's an interesting explanation, and one that I hadn't heard yet. But I suppose they're all intertwined.

Nice post. He's an amazing guy, with an incredible ability to connect to young people on a really deep level, and a fabulous sense of humor.

[Katt]

Posted: 1/26/06 at 11:19am

What was the answer to the Norbert question?

And for the record, I still don't accept the cutting of Goodbye Love, even after seeing the movie five times.
Updated On: 1/26/06 at 11:19 AM

[surefinewhatever]

Posted: 1/26/06 at 11:58am

The question the person asked Anthony was "What was it like to work with Norbert?"

He replied with something about how sometimes it was weird because of Norbert's approach. He said that because of Adam's lack of acting experience prior to RENT, Adam was always so consistent and with him all the time, which was something he relied on from Adam. However, with Norbert, it was different, because he was an experienced actor, with his own techniques, and sometimes he felt that Norbert wasn't always "with him" on stage. His said something like, "sometimes, there would be times were it was like 'hey, norbert, look, i'm over here, where are you?' kind of moments. He just preferred Adam's consistency on stage.

Anthony did talk about the Halloween/Goodbye Love issue a little bit. He mentioned that the status of whether Halloween was in the movie had always been iffy, because it was a siloquoy (is that how you spell it) and probably wouldn't translate well. About Goodbye Love, he said that was the most emotional scene to film, but during editing, they decided that it was too emotionally intense, especially after Without You and I'll Cover you, and that there needed to be a break from that intensity. He didn't say whether he personally approved of the cut or was disappointed with it, just that he had accepted it.

[Mandi Moo]

Posted: 1/26/06 at 12:06pm

Aww! I'm happy that ray "spoiled" the ending of the book, because that makes me really happy.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 1/26/06 at 12:07pm

It's so weird that some people still think the explanation is bullsh*t, and that the actors are spitting back what they're told to for PR. But yeah, as I heard it, he was initially kind of disappointed, but came to accept why it was done.

Adam's always been consistent, almost to a fault -- it's kind of amazing HOW consistent he is, actually. You can track his performance of a character down to the raising of an eyebrow, and it will always be exactly. the. same.

ETA -- I'm pretty sure the ending was spoiled somewhere else before. It's in the epilogue, I think, where Anthony talks about the film and what he's up to lately.

Updated On: 1/26/06 at 12:07 PM

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 1/26/06 at 12:16pm

Aw, you guys, don't get on ray's case! I was just kidding! surefinewhatever had mentioned she had yet to read the book, so I just pointed out that she would have read it herself eventually. Spoiling the ending is like telling people Beth dies in Little Women.

[Katt]

Posted: 1/26/06 at 12:20pm

Um, thanks.
<---Hasn't read Little Women yet.

[Mandi Moo]

Posted: 1/26/06 at 12:20pm

I'm just kidding too. I'm glad I know. If I didn't, and I found out the first time while reading the book, I would have had a spazzing "Ohmigosh soooo awesome!!11!!" attack...and no one wants to see that, right?

ETA: I haven't read Little Women yet either Katt. Whoops.
Updated On: 1/26/06 at 12:20 PM

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 1/26/06 at 12:23pm

"Um, thanks.
<---Hasn't read Little Women yet."

And apparently, you don't watch Friends either. That's where I got it from

[Katt]

Posted: 1/26/06 at 12:24pm

I do but I can't remember all the episodes, lol

[surefinewhatever]

Posted: 1/26/06 at 12:24pm

orangeskittles-

that's where I learned that from too! I miss FRIENDS . .. .

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 1/26/06 at 12:29pm

You've gotta put the book in the freezer.

[LariTheLoud]

Posted: 1/26/06 at 1:52pm

Awe, adoption! It's a cute ending to the book. Which my mother is reading at the moment... Sigh, I'll never get it back. XD

That sounds extremely exciting. UF is just way too far for me. Here's to hoping for Pittsburgh...

[Broadwayluva]

Posted: 1/26/06 at 2:28pm

I'm really looking forward to the book reading/signing for February in Miami, I don't live there, but I'll be there for vacation, timing is everything!

How early should people get there? And Anthony doesn't mind taking pictures?
Updated On: 1/26/06 at 02:28 PM