The Official Raúl E. Esparza "Spread the Love" Thread, Part 3- Page 56

[Sondheim Geek]

Posted: 7/6/07 at 11:46pm

Ahh, I was just thinking that this was going on durring the run of the show, not after it had closed.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/6/07 at 11:48pm

Ooh, no, this was recently.

[opiv]

Posted: 7/7/07 at 12:27am

Oh God, TNH was heartbreaking. I read it for the first time in about a year a couple weeks ago, all in one sitting. Ned's one of my all-time favorite characters. I instantly related to him in that I've felt passionately about certain issues, and when others don't see it my way, or have the same sense of urgency I have, I get extremely angry. If I could see Raul in anything, it'd defidently be that.

[jenna2]

Posted: 7/7/07 at 12:46am

I can definitely see how people could find 'The Normal Heart' too preachy. I read it for the first time a year ago and certainly did. I really didn't see the appeal of the play at all. I understood that it was political and served an important purpose, but I found that it read very dull.

I decided about a week ago to give it another shot and this time around I've fallen in love with it. I just don't think I knew what to expect the first time. Now I find myself looking past the facts and figures and really connecting with the characters (and it truly is breaking my heart). It's now easily one of my top five plays to read. I would have loved to have seen Raul in it, but can imagine him in the role and see why he would have been a perfect fit as Ned.

Updated On: 7/7/07 at 12:46 AM

[misschung]

Posted: 7/7/07 at 1:05am

See, I thought that the way it was written allowed for Ned to be a little preachy, rather than the entire piece being more overtly so.

Random picture

[Sondheim Geek]

Posted: 7/7/07 at 1:08am

Wow... Raul looks really short...

That's all for Sondheim Geek's random shallow comment of the day! Come back tomorrow for more b*tchy fun!

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/7/07 at 1:09am

One of my favorites:

[MotorTink]

Posted: 7/7/07 at 1:11am

wilderness beard, hehe

[opiv]

Posted: 7/7/07 at 1:24am

I love this one:

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/7/07 at 10:46am

Whenever I see that picture, the first thing I remember is sitting there TREMBLING during that scene.

[misschung]

Posted: 7/7/07 at 11:05am

I've never seen that pic before. During the scene when he throws down the groceries, I literally was sitting with my hands over my mouth holding my breath.

Another part that always gets me is when Felix says "I want my mother." I'm getting goosebumps right now thinking about it

[fishdancer23]

Posted: 7/7/07 at 11:13am

Pardon me for interrupting...

I'm going to be cryptic because of the board rules, but if you haven't already, you might want to Google the name of our current favorite Sondheim show under the THIRD search category (not Web or Images)...

[Katecab99]

Posted: 7/7/07 at 11:47am

"find me guilty" just came from netflix. is it worth watching the whole movie, or just skimming through until i find his scenes??
Updated On: 7/7/07 at 11:47 AM

[fishdancer23]

Posted: 7/7/07 at 12:05pm

I watched the whole movie just once. The crack addict who sings Sondheim is only in two scenes... in the very beginning and in the courtroom scene that starts I think just a half an hour before the end (a long one). It's been on cable numerous times, so I pretty much knew when to tune in to see him, but it hasn't been on for about a week now.

[misschung]

Posted: 7/7/07 at 12:27pm

Is the video of the first Act the preview performance from November?

[EAU]

Posted: 7/7/07 at 12:28pm

I just saw it last month myself. Here's what I thought of the movie in case you're interested in a layman's perspective with a certain bias...

Ed's Amazon review - Find Me Guilty

[Sondheim Geek]

Posted: 7/7/07 at 4:17pm

Katecab - thanks for being elusive...here's to hoping that... eh... some more will follow.

Cryptic enough?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/8/07 at 11:19am

So you're looking for specific pictures, and not just any old shots of the marquee? Can you... describe the angle or something? I have some cool ones saved on my computer -- maybe I have it.

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 7/8/07 at 11:23am

It's very difficult for me to connect or 'get' a play from the text, but (I guess because it is extremely fact-heavy) The Normal Heart just clicked for me. I guess it's because it seems almost like a history text, but written down in a different way... of course it's better spoken, but eh… I’m terrible verbalizing anything with this play..

Yeah, I'm the same way. They say that plays are meant to be performed, not read, and I think that rings especially true for those of us who don't have the creative vision of actors or directors. I have a hard time "staging" a play in my head, and without context it's just dialogue, which alone doesn't create a fully realized characters because, unlike with a novel, so much of the characterization is fleshed out by an actor performing the role. Plays that I've found tremendously moving on seeing them (Angels in America being a prime example) sometimes do almost nothing for me on reading alone. The Normal Heart, because it's so straightforward and generates emotion based on outrage at historical truths, actually had more of an effect on me the first time I read it than it did when I finally saw it performed (though the performances were, needless to say, incredible and heartbreaking).

Hmm, looks like the Google video didn't last. Updated On: 7/8/07 at 11:23 AM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/8/07 at 11:27am

I agree about AiA vs. TNH in text -- I read AiA after I saw the movie, so I was already moved and "OMG GENIUS," about it, to be... blunt, but I can imagine finding it dense or completely confusing and just... not moving as text alone; there's so much going on that I think it's kind of easy to get a bit lost in the heaviness of the text when you don't see it.

Updated On: 7/8/07 at 11:27 AM

[opiv]

Posted: 7/8/07 at 12:16pm

That's how AiA was for me. I read it first, and overall I thought it was very moving- but there were defidently moments that translated better on screen.

[circusliz]

Posted: 7/8/07 at 1:35pm

Sondheim Geek -- Raul is a bit short, as you can see from the picture (which I finally managed to get online). His presence on the stage made him seem tall, so my sis I were surprised when he turned out to be her height.

It was so nice of Raul to come out to sign last weekend. I could tell during the curtain call that he was absolutely exhausted, and he still had that evening's show to go. Very gracious.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/8/07 at 3:02pm

Awww, that's adorable!

[misschung]

Posted: 7/8/07 at 5:17pm

I adore his polos, I must say

[fishdancer23]

Posted: 7/8/07 at 7:23pm

The first time I saw him as himself he was standing outside the Cincinnati Playhouse and lighting a cigarette, and he was wearing one of his polo shirts. Even in the dark I noticed the shirt and that nice chest of his...

BTW, Miss C, you are very observant. I agree the video may be from the preview and the same one we've seen on that other site. I think I recognize that head in front. I hope Act 2 gets fixed.