The Official Raúl E. Esparza "Spread the Love" Thread — Page 410

He signed for a TON of people on Friday night. Maybe he had his fill. And I know that when Gretch and I left some of the cast was still in Chip's dressing room. Also, it was New Years Eve. He might have had plans.

I have some great pictures on my camera. I don't know when I will be able to get them on the computer, though. I thought I brought my digital card reader to Gretchen's dorm, but I didn't.

I was surprised at how little they ad-libed in the show. I think it had a lot to do with Gillian Lynn being in the audience. They probably couldn't goof off too much. I do remember a few things, though.

During "Bombie Samba" the entire ensemble sang "Oh, baby! Oh, Baby" in the middle. It was really funny. They kept laughing and screaming. You could tell they were having a blast.

When Caractacus and Truly save the kids and they are trying to find a way out, Raul said "All we have to do is find a secret passage way to Adrian's house." Because Adrian Noble is the director.

And then I'm not sure if a lot of people caught this, but at the very end when the toy maker rips up the "Suppression of Children Act" he was actually ripping up the call sheet.

The ushers weren't allowed to stop anyone from taking pictures. And Gretch and I had front row center so we got some good ones. :)

I'm sorry you guys didn't get to see Raul.

Oh, can I see them too? I was in the dress circle so I wouldn't have taken pictures even if I had thought to. And the call sheet? That's kinda bittersweet.

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I was back in row T, so I couldn't see details like the call sheet.

When Raul got up on the cake during the Samba, I was hoping he'd start doing the Samba, too, but alas no.

Had forgotten about Erin's pregnancy for a bit during the show and wondered why her dress was fitting oddly. :-S

Did he ever wear that George Washington wig before when he's in the car at the beach reading the paper? Funny.

Yeah, the cast overqualified bit was funny. I think in my last post, I may have made it sound like he said he was overqualified to give the closing remarks. I meant he said they were all overqualified.

I cried pretty much off and on all through the last 10 or 15 mins. It was so sad. Especially when they got in the car for the last time and he and Erin had a great hug.
When Raul and the kids beat up the Vulgarians and were reunited with Grandpa Potts, Erin and the kids went over to hug him and you could see them all saying sad goodbye things to each other.
I thought Raul was going to lose it in the closing remarks. But I was back further. Maybe it seemed less so from up close. I think he even acknowledged it.
I think Raul was hugging the kids and everyone much harder through the whole thing. *sniff*

*sigh*

I don't want it to be over. I realized that this morning.

I definitely agree with Lioness's "fey and swishy" observation. I kept laughing at his weird little twirls and everything.

I glad to see Erin back and I love that she was so obviously pregnant (6 and a half months!) and made jokes about it instead of trying to hide it. When they were getting ready to go on the picnic, she ad libbed "I already ate some on the way here" and it threw off Raúl so much that he giggled through his "I have a car coat" line. He and Philip Bosco were cracking up during their conversation after You Two; they usually laugh, but you could barely understand them at some points. Ellen was back singing with the kids as back-up and she came out during the curtain call too.

I honestly didn't think I would cry, but when I saw the kids crying during Teamwork, I started as well. And Raúl's speech at the end was great. I'm glad he was the one that got to say something.

Oh, I made ang and zippyjen stay for entirely too long, but I entertained them while we waited. And since Raúl didn't stagedoor, we felt that a latenight Raúl marathon was necessary. I had a great time

g, I noticed he was holding something different for the "Suppression of Children Act" and the other cast members were smiling about it, but I couldn't make out what it was. I thought it was something like that, though.

I got a few pictures of the curtain call, but not too many. Before I went to catch my bus this morning, I went up to 42nd street and took a few last pictures of the front of the theater. I never do anything that touristy, but I didn't care, because I'm going to miss it.

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Jeffery is in Hitch? I just saw that today for the first time on the bus ride home! What part is he in?

My entertainment involved song and dance numbers from Disney movies.

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He's in the fashion event part. He's some foreign guy -- he's in the movie for like 10 seconds.

I handled it so immaturely.

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Oh and he did a bit of sign language. When he's trying to start up Chitty and Truly's giving him a hard time, he tells her he could start up....m-y....o-w-n....c-a-r.....in sign language. I know it was accurate and he wasn't just waving his hand, as I know how to sign letters. I used to know enough words and phrases to carry on a simple conversation, but it's been too long since I used it.

Lioness that's my favorite moment! or one that I got very excited about. I asked him about it once (well, twice) and he said that his brother in law is deaf so that he knows how to fingerspell and a few signs but not much beyond that. The second time, he said that it comes from a bit Vaudeville actors used to do.

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Well, he could know sign language because of his brother-in-law, but then realized he could use it in the show because of the vaudeville thing. I remembered Alix had mentioned the signing here the other day, so I wasn't surprised, but it did make me laugh.

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To DC at all or the Kennedy Center?

A Pirate's Life for Me. That's cute.

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Oh enjoy DC g, I love it there! Make sure you visit the WW2 memorial at night, it's my fav part in the city...though unfortunately b/c it's winter, they closed the fountain down, that really makes it magical...but the other memorials are great too! And go to the roof of the Kennedy Center, it's pretty to look down from.

Seeing Wicked at KC? I saw it last week, looved it. Where are you sitting?

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Enjoy DC, g! I was there last in August. I like to have dinner or drinks in Georgetown with friends at restaurants on the water's edge, with a view of the Kennedy Ctr.
I was at the Kennedy Ctr to see something a couple of years ago and it is a nice view from the roof.

And the sign language thing, I knew he knew it from you all mentioning it before, but I just mentioned knowing what he spelled was accurate because I would imagine a good 98-99% of the audience wouldn't know if he was spelling or just waving his hand in imitation or nonsense. Sometimes I'm as clear as a brick.