The Official Raúl E. Esparza "Spread the Love" Thread — Page 209

i totally agree. and i think having finally seen him live, i think that it has reassured me about why i love theatre so much. HE is the reason. I mean yes, him personally, but knowing that there are people out there who actually still care about the ART FORM...that was something that in the past has really kept me awake some nights...fearing that Broadway has turned into...as ttB would say, "a shameless commercial whore." and yes, i know that Broadway is commercial theatre, but i could never understand why commerical theatre and living breathing art couldn't coexist under one label. but he reminds me that it can...and unlike some shows that i think tried that and finacially failed and had to leave Broadway, I know that he'll fight for what he believes in till his dying day, and that as long as performers like Raúl Esparza exist, art on Broadway will still exist too.

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"The watcher watched is still the watcher."

I think that's a really beautiful way of putting it!

I like it too. I think it's amazing that he's had such a profound impact on all of our lives. So much so that we feel the need to talk about him all the time.

Sometimes, I feel like I'm required to prove that, because I crack the (not-so) occasional joke. Like... I have to validate/justify his meaning to me, or something. Such a complex fellow isn't difficult to discuss in depth, though.

Okay. Being that I just used "complex fellow" (one of Chandler Bing's better phrases) I think I'm going to go to sleep.

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Updated On: 10/11/05 at 12:11 AM

The end of the phrase went that Chandler was "a complex fellow who is unlikely to take a wife." Which... is why I cut it off where I did.

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Haha. Good move, Em. I think you were right to cut it off!

Wow, you guys have been busy. I thought I killed the thread.

"The watcher watched is still the watcher." Yeah, I love it. I don't know if Michael actually took that from somewhere, or if he made it up. He is very wise though, and does have a lot of Michaelisms.

And G, I think that as long as you know what you want to say to Raul, you will be fine. Approach him with the determination to really bless him with what you have to say. You know, not "what can I get out of telling him this?" but, how am I gonna say this in a way that is going to bless his life. Becuase I know that's what you want to do. And that way, it will be easier to not get caught up in gushing, but rather just sharing your heart with him.

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Oh Ang, I want to crawl under the covers too! It is now past 2:30 and I have a voice lesson at 10 am tomorrow! My first voice lesson in two weeks! It wouldn't be so bad, but I haven't practiced in a very long time. Right now, Raúl would laugh in my face and tell me I don't deserve to be on Braodway. Which is true. Must get better at that practicing thing. It's just so damn easy to put off. Especially with BWW....

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On my way out the door. Still not really ready for the midterm, but whatever. I'm sure the voice lessons will go beautifully, Chrys!

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I had to go to bed last night, but I guess I'd like to now try and put into words what is so special about him. I think it's going to be impossible...

I've only ever seen Raul in Chitty, and it was my first exposure to him, though I had, of course, heard about him, mainly from Emcee. Sitting in the back of the theatre, Row W, I knew there was something special about him, I knew he had a gorgeous voice. I was sad when he didn't come out of the stage door. These were the first seedlings of my realization of how great he is. I wanted to see the show again. The second time, sitting in Row J, was a cmpletely different story. This time, instead of focusing on the entire piece, the spectacle, I focused on him. What I realized is that he really *does* love his work. Staring at his eyes during "Me Ol Bamboo," I saw such...passion and fire within them. That's when I knew he truly was one of a kind. Now I've listened to him sing many types of music from lots of shows, and I've come to realize that he is quite possibly the most versatile performer I will ever see. Every character, every song he sings, reveals a different part of himself. It astounds me how he is able to sound so different in each song. It is one of my dearest wishes to see him, somehow, live in The Normal Heart. Somehow. It has become one of my favorite plays just from reading it, and it won't be complete without my favorite actor.
The end (though I could go on). I hope that wasn't really sappy.

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Wow, it seems like all the ladies are in for a rough day! I hope everyone does well with their test-taking, and paper-writing. May the gift of knowledge grace you all in your time of need.

I hope everyone can relax more tomorrow!

For once, I have nothing Raul related to say. How odd.

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Yeah, I was introduced to Raul in Taboo, and although I keep forgeting about him in that production because the entire production was life changing for me, when I go back into my memory's organized drawers, I do remember how amazing he was. That performance led me to Tick, tick boom and beyond. I hope one day I also get a chance to express my awe at what he does and his passion. I love passionate people. I think they are becoming less and less apparent. You know? Like we aren't allowed to love things anymore. I love that he has such an amazing work ethic and enthusiasm for his craft. That is what makes him so amazing with his characters. Even Potts, a very minimilized father figure, has become a true 3-d person with emotions and specific charactersitics, rather than just a stand in figure for a theme. Broadway should welcome him into its VIP club, because he truly does have it all. I actually take his acting methods and use them in my theatre history essays. We were discussing Dada, and I explained their art as "if you are afraid of it, you have to do it," which is somewhat how they are. I am not even an actor, but you can learn different techniques from him.
On a side note- I am a Public Relations minor and we are studying the history of PR, and PT Barnum is the leader of a certain model of PR, and when I came across the question of who was known to say "A sucker is born every minute" I kind of chuckled during my midterm because I thought of his performance of that song. Needless to say, I got that one right because of none other than Raul E. Esparza.
:)

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Do you have a day planned for this yet?

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