The Raúl E. Esparza "Spread the Love" Thread, Part Four- Page 110
The Raúl E. Esparza "Spread the Love" Thread, Part Four
The Raul E. Esparza 'Spread The Love' Thread, Part Four#2725
Posted: 4/26/10 at 11:06am
Raul is singing Being Alive tonight, for anyone else who is going.
As I'm sure you can all assume, I am having a hard time functioning today. 
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/30/08
The Raul E. Esparza 'Spread The Love' Thread, Part Four#2726
Posted: 4/26/10 at 11:13amEmcee - any idea what Lansbury is singing? (So - if Raul is singing Being Alive, I assume Sutton Foster will sing Anyone Can Whistle, Zeta-Jones will sing Send in the Clowns, etc.)
The Raul E. Esparza 'Spread The Love' Thread, Part Four#2727
Posted: 4/26/10 at 11:19amNo idea. That's all I know. I think it would be a little silly for people to sing things from stuff they were JUST in or are currently in. But since it's been a long time since Company and because Doyle directed it, I wouldn't assume that means anything about other song choices.
The Raul E. Esparza 'Spread The Love' Thread, Part Four#2728
Posted: 4/26/10 at 2:33pm
If they're going for the obvious choice, probably Worst Pies in London.
Sadly Stephan Sondheim did not write Beauty and the Beast, because that would be my first choice for her. 
Wanting life but never knowing how
The Raul E. Esparza 'Spread The Love' Thread, Part Four#2729
Posted: 4/26/10 at 2:51pmI read somewhere (maybe the Anyone Can Whistle playbill) that Doyle is having a lot of "Actor sings song from a role he originated, then hands it off to Actor who played the role in the revival".
The Raul E. Esparza 'Spread The Love' Thread, Part Four#2730
Posted: 4/26/10 at 3:00pmThat would be sweet, but does the cast really include that many of those pairs?
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/30/08
The Raul E. Esparza 'Spread The Love' Thread, Part Four#2731
Posted: 4/26/10 at 3:25pm
Hooray - Emcee has brought back her Bobby avatar for the occasion!
OMG if the reported approach leads to Lansbury and Cariou handing "Little Priest" off to Lupone and Cerveris! (Is Lupone scheduled to appear? I really ought to do my homework before posting...)
The Raul E. Esparza 'Spread The Love' Thread, Part Four#2732
Posted: 4/26/10 at 4:51pmPatti was, but she isn't anymore. Michael will be there, thought.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/1/04
The Raul E. Esparza 'Spread The Love' Thread, Part Four#2733
Posted: 4/26/10 at 6:36pmRaul Esparza can spread his love for me anytime, anywhere, anyplace.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/30/08
The Raul E. Esparza 'Spread The Love' Thread, Part Four#2734
Posted: 4/26/10 at 11:40pmIn the ultimate irony, my two assumed song/singer pairs (Sutton Foster/Anyone Can Whistle and CZJ/ Send in the Clowns) came true tonight! And Raul was amazing, singing Being Alive with the Tunick orchestrations. It gave me chills when John Doyle said that COMPANY opened forty years ago tonight, and then Raul got to sing.
The Raul E. Esparza 'Spread The Love' Thread, Part Four#2735
Posted: 4/26/10 at 11:56pm
I have not cried that hard at a performance probably since Company closed. Actually, once since Company closed -- the last time I saw Rent. But needless to say, rarity.
Happy birthday, Bobby!
CZJ is so gorgeous, I can't take it. She was good tonight! But I am in the camp that liked her in Night Music, too.
The Raul E. Esparza 'Spread The Love' Thread, Part Four#2736
Posted: 4/27/10 at 12:25amI liked his Being Alive better tonight than in the production. Was it the better orchestrations? Was he more reserved? What do you think?
The Raul E. Esparza 'Spread The Love' Thread, Part Four#2737
Posted: 4/27/10 at 1:27amHmm. That's interesting. It's honestly kind of hard for me to say because I loved him so much in production. But maybe it was having the full orchestra? Maybe that way what he was doing didn't feel... exaggerated? That's not really the right word that I'm looking for, but not quite as in-your-face, I suppose. I think he was definitely a little more reserved, simply because it was out of context and so it's different because there isn't all of that emotional buildup. Also, maybe the bigger house, too?
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/30/08
The Raul E. Esparza 'Spread The Love' Thread, Part Four#2738
Posted: 4/27/10 at 9:15amI thought that John Doyle and Mia Farrow were both very good at giving the line readings at the beginning, which helped give the song "some" context (as compared with the total absence of the friends' comments during the Tony awards performance - that made me uncomfortable). I think that not having the emotional buildup beforehand gave him the chance to start on a more subdued level. It made him seem more vulnerable, which made it very touching.
The Raul E. Esparza 'Spread The Love' Thread, Part Four#2739
Posted: 4/27/10 at 9:35amEvery time I have seen him perform it with Doyle out of context, he has included the spoken lines. I think it's really necessary, and I love when Doyle does them himself, as a huge fan of that particular vision, I think it's really special. With the Tony Awards performance, I believe it had to do with meeting the time constraints, and not being able to use the other performers, unfortunately. Bobby always seemed very vulnerable to me WITH the emotional buildup and the context, because you see this character live his life and then come to this enormous breakthrough, so I have to disagree there. But my God, I was a mess either way!
The Raul E. Esparza 'Spread The Love' Thread, Part Four#2740
Posted: 4/28/10 at 1:07amI LOVE that Bryan Fuller was at the Sondheim Gala!
The Raul E. Esparza 'Spread The Love' Thread, Part Four#2741
Posted: 4/28/10 at 10:12amHe was also at the Promises, Promises opening, along with a lot of other Pushing Daisies people. I didn't get to meet him, but I DID get to meet Lee Pace, and oh. my GOD, my friend and I were squealing like schoolgirls in a corner afterward. He is even better-looking in person, and absolutely lovely to talk to.
The Raul E. Esparza 'Spread The Love' Thread, Part Four#2743
Posted: 4/28/10 at 4:24pmLove it! Oh, Lee Pace...he needs to be back in a NY play yesterday.
The Raul E. Esparza 'Spread The Love' Thread, Part Four#2744
Posted: 4/28/10 at 4:47pm
Raul attended the opening of "Enron" last night, and was looking especially dapper and dashing.
Here talking to Jason Danieley
The Raul E. Esparza 'Spread The Love' Thread, Part Four#2745
Posted: 4/28/10 at 7:26pm
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/30/08
The Raul E. Esparza 'Spread The Love' Thread, Part Four#2746
Posted: 4/28/10 at 9:35pmLove the black suit, and the great tie. I swear, in some pictures he and Norbert look like brothers!
The Raul E. Esparza 'Spread The Love' Thread, Part Four#2747
Posted: 4/29/10 at 11:44am
Somebody on Twitter spotted Raul on the subway:
OMG, Broadway star Raul Esparza standing in front of me looking sexy playing an iPhone game on the 1 train!
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/30/08
The Raul E. Esparza 'Spread The Love' Thread, Part Four#2748
Posted: 4/29/10 at 3:06pmDamn, that's one hot picture!!
The Raul E. Esparza 'Spread The Love' Thread, Part Four#2749
Posted: 4/29/10 at 4:06pmI think it's a little creepy and invasive. I must be missing the gawker gene. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited when I see celebrities in real life too, but I really hate the whole paparazzi institution in Hollywood and it bothers me that now Broadway fans are attempting the same. Taking pictures and posting them on the internet is crossing the line, IMO.
Wanting life but never knowing how
The Raul E. Esparza 'Spread The Love' Thread, Part Four#2750
Posted: 4/29/10 at 4:39pm
I have to agree. I think that while it has its advantages, Twitter is making daily life creepy. It's made privacy more of a commodity, and kind of given permission for that paparazzi effect to become even more commonplace than it already was. I'm particularly noticing that in the theater community. I think this kind of thing is something I would feel uncomfortable doing no matter what, but I can't understand why you would do it when the person is like a foot away from you and clearly close enough to notice. With stuff like BwaySpotted, calling a few friends to tell them who you saw on the subway, or even a polite, "Hi, I love your work," has been replaced with telling the whole world where someone is and what they're doing. I guess you could argue that that's part of being in the public eye, but I don't think you can argue that things like Twitter haven't changed it. I tend to be pretty conservative about this kind of thing, and I know that, but it makes me a little uncomfortable.
Videos
