Jen Paz & Eric Kunze reprise roles in Miss Saigon- Page 3

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 10:21am

eatlasagna, in James Blackman's (the guy about the new season) defense, he is funny, it's his shtick and this is the first time the season was announced.

The show uses the FCLO sets all the time, and this is their best set. I love the wings and the pink Cadillac. All and all a great show.

PROUD SUBSCRIBER 9 YEARS!

[BWNUT]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 12:52pm

eatlasagna comes off like one of those arrogant theatre snobs who look down on regular folks who cannot afford those overpriced B'way tickets.

"... i hate going to regional shows and having to sit through what feels like 30 minutes of the manager talking about the season and how we should all subscribe... geez it's so reptitive... "

Suggestion: DON'T go to regional shows and stick to overhyped and overpriced B'way shows. These are nonprofit groups that depend on subscriptions for survival. Or go out and have a drink in the lobby during the spiel. BTW, I thought James Blackman was funny

"and i hate how people gasp that they are doing a show like Oklahoma for the millionth freaking time!"

Geez. Just maybe some people have a life(unlike you)and have not been able to see Oklahoma till then, or it's their favorite musical and just excited to be seeing it all over again. Note to extraterrestials: Humans gasp when excited.

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 4:43pm

oh i thought the guy was funny and i laughed... probably one of the better people i've had to sit through at regional theaters... his comments about fiddler on the roof was hilarious... but when a show has a start time of 2pm and it's already 2:15pm and some guy has been talking for that full time, a part me just wants it to stop already... take about 5 minutes to talk about what you want to talk about... that's fine with me... absolutely no offense to the guy.... i was just annoyed having to sit through it for 15 minutes and then AGAIN right before the entre'act started...

and what??? am i not allowed to be critical of my favorite show... i know damn well these people haven't seen the show before and it's their first time seeing it... and by the fact that the theater gave the show a standing ovation (i gave it one as well and it was well deserved)... i've seen about three regional productions of miss saigon and a high school one... and i've never hated the productin.... i just think the directors just don't get the show half the time... and that's what bugs me... and if i were a theater snob then i would refuse to see any regional show.... i drove my ass two hours to see it because i support all theater.... i don't have to be some profesesional actor/singer/critic in order to have my opinions validated... like i said... this is my favorite show so i'm always going to be critical of it no matter what incarnation... i'm sure everyone has a show out there they will scrutinize because they love it so much and if it's done wrong the get upset... but in the end they still love it becuase it's a great show... this production did some things that i loved that are better than the original broadway production that i thought were ingenius...

am i theater snob??? i think sometimes i can be but i'd like to think that i'm not... i think we're all like that... we're all snobby about that ONE thing in life that we think we know better than everyone else or want to believe we're an expert in... whether it be a favorite food dish, restaurant, tv show, sports team or whatever... mine just happens to be MISS SAIGON... not theater in general... but just this show...

AND as for my comment about OKLAHOMA... you can love the show all you want... i certainly don't hate it... but it just saddens me that alot of theater companies don't want to do new shows... like they do the same things over and over again... like here in san diego.... as much as i LOVE Into the Woods... i would rather much see ANOTHER production done... there are so many shows that i've never seen that i hate it when the same shows get done time and time again.... so it was more disappointment more than anything (that and I wanted the show to start already so anything at that point annoyed me in general

that is all... everyone enjoy your day

[observer2]

Posted: 5/25/08 at 2:14am

ah...so you're NOT a professional critic/actor/singer.

the only way you're finding validation for your comments is putting your criticisms on boards like this because it's safe due to the anonymity and absence of required professional credentials.

smart, easy way to broadcast your amateurish observations. 'wish i could consider agreeing with even just one of them but i'd take the pros' opinions over yours anytime.
Updated On: 5/25/08 at 02:14 AM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/25/08 at 2:59am

ah...so you're NOT a professional critic/actor/singer.

No one could even pass 5th grade English with those ellipses.

[observer2]

Posted: 5/25/08 at 4:21am

"No one could even pass 5th grade English with those ellipses."

moot point--i passed 5th grade english.

and what a typical underhanded attack from one amateur know-it-all defending another!

by the way, the same comments i put up prior to this one apply to you, too.

pretty sad that you thrive on the attention you get from people on here for being such a b---h.




Updated On: 5/25/08 at 04:21 AM

[broadwaytourist]

Posted: 5/25/08 at 12:29pm

Observer - Lizzie has a real issue with formal grammar. If you don't adhere to the rules of the road, she'll certainly have something to say about it. Plus, she's wrong about 5th grade and ellipses. Having just graduated my fifth grade son, I know that his language arts teacher was thrilled with the use of elipses even if not exactly correct. Most schools are going for thinking over strict compliance in these modern days. The kids eventually pick up rules, but if thinking is squelched early on, it may never recover. Now just to pi__ Lizzie off -- I have to throw in the dashes!
Updated On: 5/25/08 at 12:29 PM

[dramaguru]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 12:09am

Wow. I can't believe that after all this time, the show still has something of a cult following.

Well, here are my two cents, and yes, I'm a pro who knows the show inside out.

I agree with just about everything eastoflasagna said.

My main issue with some of the recent incarnations of the show, however, is the direction. For one thing, turning what should have been an innocent Kim into a geisha girl (seductively brushing her hair on the stair after having done the deed with the GI, in one of the tours) was a repugnant thing. And the video helicopter thing - ugh. Shame.

Eric was my favorite Chris ever - one of the sweetest men in all the world. And he could not possibly be married (that's not wishful thinking).

And get over the ellipses thing (I'm an academic these days). No one's writing a conference-level essay here. It's an internet message board. Try not to get personal. Debate is good. Embrace it.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 12:12am

eastoflasagna

Oops!

Updated On: 6/10/08 at 12:12 AM

[dramaguru]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 12:27am

Oops - I meant the other pasta lover.

[Neverandy]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 1:45am

NDR
A specific negotiation would have to be done in order for an Equity performer to be allowed to tour in a non-union production while maintaining equity status. It would be a guest artist type of situation and would be extremely rare.
When a union performer chooses to perform in a non-union production without getting clearance from the union, they turn their back on 40,000 members who stand in solidarity in order to maintain fair working conditions and appropriate pay and benefits. They also turn their back on a century of struggle by thousands upon thousands of people who came before them.
Sorry to get on a soapbox, but this stuff is important. Being in a union is not only about your job an livelihood, but about everyone elses. When one member breaks ranks (especially in such a high profile way)I believe it should be next to impossible to re-join. I fully support the disciplinary action taken against members who violate these incredibly important bi-laws of The Equity rulebook.

[Tom1071]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 1:15pm

I say this as a member of AEA:

I personally don't believe that Jen Paz did anything wrong. Technically, she wasn't scabbing. She formally withdrew from the union to take that job on the non-equity tour. As a previous poster stated, it was solely for the purpose of making a living. As an asian actress at that particular time she was probably having difficulty finding work. It wasn't like there was an abundance of productions of King and I, Flower Drum Song or South Pacific being produced...at least not long term gigs that someone could honestly make bank on. Equity isn't going to step in a give you any support when you can't pay your rent. To say that she turned her back on Equity sounds as though she intentionally meant to undermine it's validity and simply is not the case.

Anyway, it clearly has been resolved and Equity is happy to receive her 2.25% working dues and $59 semi-annual membership dues.
Updated On: 6/10/08 at 01:15 PM

[BWNUT]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 4:03pm

eatlasagna, if you have issues with a particular person/organization, try sending him/them a private personal message. As it is, your public comments sounded condescending and denigrating to this particular group of subscribers and theatergoers.

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 5:04pm

i'm an elipses freak... i don't know why... i always have to type them... yes i know it's annoying... but hey... whatever... it beats typing LiKe ThIs LikE MOsT PeOPle tend to do.... or in all caps... when i wrote formal essays and papers in grad school i didn't write like this... this is just casual posting...

and my sincere apologies for sounding condescending or degrading.. that is NEVER my intention... i'm just too passionate about this show... sorry

[Neverandy]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 5:06pm

Yes it has been resolved. But the union would completely lose any of its bargaining power, credibility, and legitimacy, if the actions of Artists such as Paz and others is looked upon as acceptable.
Sure, being out of work sucks, but the Union doesn't exist to "Pay your rent" it is there to protect you. She chose to leave and paid a heavy price to get back in. When a high profile actor breaks ranks to work on a high profile non-union tour, it absolutely invalidates Equity's validity.
Tom- as an Equity actor, you have to remember that it is the solidarity of thousands of performers who came before you who fought to get you things like mandatory rest periods, bonded contracts, health insurance, vacation pay, fair pay, properly run auditions, free tax preparation, and myriads of other rights and benefits that are too numerous to mention here. If all of us in the union (curently 40,000 strong) were to decide that we will settle for less than what is guaranteed by the equity contract, how many of those benefits that I just mentioned do you think would be thrown out the window? When you decide to take your equity card you are making statement that you are not only concerned with your own career and working conditions, but also that you are concerned with all your fellow members. It is that support that she turned her back on.
Also, let me be clear-It is absolutely appropriate for anyone to leave the union. However, If you do something as egregious as what Jen Paz did, you shouldn't expect to be able to just re-join when you decide that it is advantageous to you and you alone.

[Colle]

Posted: 6/11/08 at 9:57am

Jen's case it a good example of why I don't really like the union. They have too much control over the actors careers, the actors should have more freedom of choice and options of what roles to take and what productions. Real issues of safety and fair pay should be dicussed, but it would be better without the union IMO. Overall, I think unions, in general not just equity, have done more harm than good.

[dramaguru]

Posted: 6/12/08 at 12:38pm

Wait, what was egregious about what Jen did? She FORMALLY LEFT THE UNION. Wanna know what's egregious? Before I got into the union, I worked with union actors who DIDN'T leave the union, but took roles in non-union shows anyway. THAT'S egregious.

Jen was likely one of the many Asian actors who was tapped for Miss Saigon, then ignored by the rest of the theatre world as inappropriate for other roles solely because of her race, and is reduced to accepting every Kim job offered her just to continue in her chosen career. I know what that feels like. We might all be amazingly talented, but the bottom line is that we're beholden to how people perceive us when they look at us, rather than how we really are and what we can do, and this is especially true in the theatre the majority of the time.

Jen didn't violate anything by formally leaving the union. Don't judge her as if she did. Don't lump her in with those that do.

And by the way, I absolutely agree that the union is important for all of the reasons stated. For anyone who isn't in a union, I can't even tell you how enormous the difference is with regard to working conditions, as well as the liberties that management takes with the actors time and health. Like night and day.

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 6/12/08 at 3:59pm

i know it's a little off topic... but yeah it's really hard for asian actors to get work in theater (it's honestly one of the stupid reasons i didn't pursue it... if a white person struggles to succeed... muliply that by a million for any asian or minority for that matter)... it's horrible that all she can do is KIM... as brilliant as she is in the role she does need to survive...

and one final rant... is it me but is the KING AND I supposed to have asians in the cast?? why do so many community theater groups and profesional regional productions always cast a white (or looks white) actor in the role of the King... always bugged me... oh well