Kyle Riabko in Spring Awakening

[Sebastianswain]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 12:09pm

I know almost nothing about Kyle Riabko but am quite ashamed at it being days after his first show and not a thing being uploaded onto the forbidden site and, furthermore, there being no details on BroadwayWorld.com about his performance! Start giving details, LOL. Is there any word about Alexandra or how these two are onstage together? Is there anything?

[adamgreer]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 12:11pm

Check The Guilty Ones site. There were some reviews there.

Basically, he has been directed to play it a lot differently than Groff. People are gaga over his voice, mixed on his acting. Mind you, this is coming from the show's diehard fans, so take it with a grain of salt.

I hope to catch him in the role later this summer.

[Sebastianswain]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 12:13pm

Updated On: 5/26/08 at 12:13 PM

[obsessedjb]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 12:18pm

I saw his second performance and while I wouldn't call myself a die-hard fan I agree with them. His acting does need some work but he has the singing part down. He and Alexandra have great chemistry.

Updated On: 5/26/08 at 12:18 PM

[Sebastianswain]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 12:27pm

Wow, posting became a bit hectic then, LOL. Please ignore my blank post on this thread; it used to say ignore my triple post of this topic, then I got a few responses and figured I should go with the flow, but, now, I'm rambling! So please continue to comment on this topic!

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 12:29pm

How is Alexandra?

[antiandrewx]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 12:35pm

^ I've seen her a few times and she is so fantastic. A brilliant actress.

[oohshizz146]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 12:39pm

I've heard such different reviews.
I've heard hes either INCREDIBLE or HORRIBLE.
Not sure who to listen to...

[Sebastianswain]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 12:51pm

Adamgreer, do you have any details as to how he's been directed to play Melchior differently? I find that really intriguing... I'll check The Guilty Ones as you suggested!

[adamgreer]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 1:07pm

According to the article I linked below, the hayloft scene is played very differently because he and Socha look so much younger.

"And they play the concluding scene of Act One, in which their characters lose their virginity to each other in a hayloft, as a sexual assault by Melchior which turns consensual: a darker choice than the smoother scene of seduction between the original stars Groff and Lea Michele, 21.

"Yea," Riabko chuckled self-mockingly. "They made me do things differently from Jonathan just because of how I look. If I were to try to be sexy in that scene, I think it would be too One Tree Hill."

He also acknowledges his acting has a ways to go:

"I know that I'm wrong on so many things, and there's so much room for improvement. It's great to know there's this upward climb. That's just something that really helps me to wake up in the morning."

If nothing else, he certainly seems ready and willing to work at the acting.
The Prairies' instant star

[Sebastianswain]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 1:27pm

Thanks!

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 1:29pm

The important question is,
How's his butt cheek?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 1:42pm

And they play the concluding scene of Act One, in which their characters lose their virginity to each other in a hayloft, as a sexual assault by Melchior which turns consensual: a darker choice than the smoother scene of seduction...

Good. As it should be.

Updated On: 5/26/08 at 01:42 PM

[timote316]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 2:23pm

Good. As it should be.

My thoughts exactly.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 3:02pm

Wow. If that's true, I definitely want to revisit the show. It's how the scene should play out. Interesting...

~Steven

[yankees1253]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 3:12pm

i have been hearing and reading the same reviews on kyle but planning on seeing next month as well as alexandra onstage.

so i will put my reviews up then.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 3:45pm

"Good as it should be"
"It's how the scewne should play out"

Please explain those comments further.

In the original play it is actually a rape.
It was changed to consensual sex for the musical.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 3:59pm

I second the question about the buttcheeks, as I've been gaga for Riabko since he first hit the music scene. I hate this show but sadly now have a reason to return.

In the play it was a rape. In the musical it was made consensual. So now it is a rape that turns consensual? This is absurd, people. How this won all that acclaim is BEYOND me.

[jake6970]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 3:59pm

I like the scene better when it's played black and white. Not full out rape, but definitely with some pressure on Melchior's part. The act is confusing, there's no clear cut answer even to Melchior and Wendla as to what they have just done.

[jake6970]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 4:00pm

iluvtheatretrash- the show did not win all its acclaim because of the sex scene, please.

[yankees1253]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 4:00pm

i agree with you curtainpulldrowner all the way about those comments. if i go next month i will review it.
i saw the musical then read the play the sex scene is what you have typed. for it i think the rape would have been better to teach young people and old not to let anyone push it on you and stand up for what you believe in. the whole funeral scene is different too.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 4:05pm

I'm not saying it did, Jake. The show is mind-numbingly confusing and bizarre. Choreography that closely resembles a seizure, a consensual rape, a circle jerk to shock the masses, lyrics like "my junk is you" and the only remotely decent acting coming from Stephen Spinella...

This show is a mess.

[jake6970]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 4:08pm

Well you said you didn't know how it was so praised right after you complained about the sex scene and how it baffled you, I can only assume. And IMO it's the furthest thing you can get from a mess, and is actually one of the most beautiful shows on Broadway right now.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 4:12pm

Ah, yes, let's put it up there with SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, SOUTH PACIFIC, A CATERED AFFAIR. Yes, yes, yes. Or let's even put it up there with our recent beauties: THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA, CAROLINE, OR CHANGE. Let's even go further back! It's just as beautiful as CAROUSEL and SHOW BOAT.

The show is a triumph of the messiest degree. It's a teenage soap opera with some pretty music. Awarding that Best Choreography? What a laugh! The only awards it deserved were for its superb lighting and Gallagher's incredibly layered performance.

But I'll bow out now and leave you to your terrible taste in musical theater, show up, sit through 3 hours of teenage torture just for Riabko and wondered why he's where he is when he should be making more albums and performing nightly in my bedroom.

[jake6970]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 4:14pm

Layered performance? I thought the only decent performance was given by Spinella...