The Official Raúl E. Esparza "Spread the Love" Thread — Page 426

I just realized that!

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Wow. You're right, only two months. March seems so far away, though! I'm really excited about Company! I know I'll love it! :)

I need to decide how long to stay in Cincinnati. Hmm. I guess a full weekend would be fun. I could just rush a few times. Does anyone know how big the theatre is? I wonder if there is a bad seat in the house.

gboogie, my aunt and uncle have season tickets to the Playhouse in the Park in Cincinnati and they've said that it's a small theatre, so there aren't really any bad seats.

Random thought for the day: I'd like to see Raul actually play Hamlet sometime. He sounded slightly disappointed about having to give that role up for Evita, even if it was obviously the best career choice.

I ordered my tickets! Row N, seats 1 and 167 (for my friend and I), which are pretty much the worst seats ever, but who cares? I'm just excited to see Raul! The date is April 2nd, the matinee, with a "meet the artists" thing, which I still know nothing about... *hint hint anybody know?*

I think it is a talkback. I asked the box office about it when I called and they said you can ask them questions. I wonder if Raul will do it. I don't think he did any talkbacks at Chitty.

I wonder if you are allowed to record the talkbacks...

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Em, Jeffrey was in DC and you didn't tell me? Then I would have been able to see for myself that he wasn't photogenic and it would have saved us that whole "meth binge" discussion

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I'm still anxiously waiting to see if I can make it to Cincinnati. fingers crossed!

Oh, and might I just say that (although I've been told this before) Raul seems ridiculously, incredibly brilliant? I'm sure that this has been discussed before, but I just stumbled onto it today:

PBOL: How did you go about approaching the role of George [in Sunday in the Park with George]?
RE: Very carefully. [Laughs.] I went to Paris. And I tried to learn to draw. And I tried to learn what it means to see as a painter. .... There was something about learning to figure out how an artist sees the world that really kinda got me into the part...I think Matisse said that "I have learned that if I have not drawn something I have not really seen something." And to draw something ordinary, in the middle of it, you realize how extraordinary it is. It becomes a sheer miracle, it changes in front of you. So the most ordinary things become extraordinary.
- http://www.playbill.com/celebritybuzz/article/76191.html

Who says that? Even if he wasn't an amazing actor, I'd want to just listen to him talk as himself. I can't begin to comprehend how someone could gain that much insight into a part.

Seriously...ugh.

"Even if he wasn't an amazing actor, I'd want to just listen to him talk as himself."

And this is why he should have his own show at Joe's Pub or something

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I think it kind of funny, and a little bit ironic that I've only been privy to ONE intelligent conversation with the man, considering how many times we've met. I know I give off a very nervous vibe, so he acts silly to try to alleviate that. Granted, a bunch of us were all talking to him together, and I think we held our own nicely, but most of the time he just talks to me about giggly things, like people taking their clothes off in Hair.

My friend is trying to get Anthony to speak at our school, but was told to think of other actor people who might also want to/be able to do something like that, because the arts coalition thingy doesn't want to spend a lot of money, and they have some bizarre connections. Anyway, Raul's being in Ohio prevents him from even being a possibility, and I don't know that public speaking is his thing, but how AMAZING he would be...

Anyway, it's things like that quote that make me hold to my belief that he is the best actor I have ever seen. I love SMART actors, and ones who look that deeply into their work. I love actors who do tons and tons of research, and throw themselves into their work that way. I think he's brilliant, and that it only helps his acting, because he can interpret those characters down to the tiniest little nuances.

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Updated On: 1/20/06 at 10:09 AM

He ad-libs like nobody I have EVER seen before! He can really cover for almost anything, which I find incredibly entertaining. He really works on his toes.

I remember when I saw that Show Business documentary at Tribeca, and he gave a backstage tour of the Plymouth before the show. Something was going wrong with understudies and who was covering for what part, and he -- on his own accord -- took charge of all of it to make sure everyone was ready and knew what was going on, and further was *okay* with it, since I guess this was something that hadn't happened before.

He's really humble. I remember telling him, in my weird state, after I saw The Normal Heart that what he did up there was the single best performance I have ever seen, from anyone, in anything, EVER. He was so sheepish about it, and thanked me like eight times. But whenever he thanks you for a compliment, it's so sincere, I could melt.

For all of the personality flaws there might be, he's really something. And he has an enormous heart.

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Updated On: 1/20/06 at 10:29 AM

ahem. *choke*

Okay, that's not a *personality* flaw. It's just a... a thing.

But hey, nobody's perfect. He can be a bitch. It's okay.

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I want to like... touch my Company tickets, but they're being mailed to my house and not to school.

I am the master of not ever knowing what to say to someone. When I met him backstage, I wasn't gonna like... ask for an autograph. So I was quiet. Very quiet. He shook my hand and was like "Hi, I'm Raul. Good to meet you." In my head, I was like "I know, silly," but he was just being polite.

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