The Raúl E. Esparza "Spread the Love" Thread, Part Four- Page 120

[humbugfoto]

Posted: 10/14/10 at 9:57am

From a review in the LA Weekly, definitely one of the....odder descriptions of a performance I've ever read.

"The play is set in the tiny, drought-plagued Kansas town where Jonas (Raul Esparza, in a spry and accomplished performance) and his gospel entourage have pitched their tent."

[misschung]

Posted: 10/14/10 at 10:38am

oops

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/14/10 at 11:22am

It comes across as thesaurus-ized but past that I don't see what's weird about the word choices. They're unnatural, but it's not like the writer called him bland and lame, or wrote a page about how s/he'd like to, slurp, lick him.

Updated On: 10/14/10 at 11:22 AM

[humbugfoto]

Posted: 10/14/10 at 11:53am

Technically, "spry" is an accurate description, but in our culture I think there's a tendency to associate it with the elderly.

I read that line and all I could think of was Raul jumping around the stage with a cane and an ear trumpet!

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/14/10 at 12:00pm

Hmm. I don't. It makes me think of a bouncy plant or something.

[humbugfoto]

Posted: 10/14/10 at 12:10pm

Hmmm. OK, that may be a generational thing. "Spry" and "sprightly" are two words I've always associated with the elderly.

But now you've got me visualizing Raul with, like, fern fronds, bouncing around the stage.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/14/10 at 12:13pm

Sprightly makes me think of leprechauns and baby animals.

[wonkit]

Posted: 10/14/10 at 12:23pm

Have to agree with humbugfoto on "spry." It's the first time I have seen the adjective associated with a 39-year-old.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/14/10 at 12:30pm

So I guess it's just us kidz and our new-fangled English, yo.

Updated On: 10/14/10 at 12:30 PM

[humbugfoto]

Posted: 10/14/10 at 12:37pm

Yep, us doddering old fogies just don't get you young whippersnappers. Can you dig it? Groovy!

Hey! Who took my cane and ear trumpet??

[wonkit]

Posted: 10/14/10 at 12:57pm

Spry Raul did.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 10/14/10 at 1:27pm

I've seen spry used to describe (young) dancers before. Then again, Raul is turning 40 in a week and a half, so the elderly comparisons might not be off base.

Sprightly sounds like fairies and wood nymphs.


BTW, is Raul coming out the stagedoor yet? My sister is going to be out there soon and had so much fun seeing him the last time, she wants to say hi again.

Updated On: 10/14/10 at 01:27 PM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/15/10 at 12:04am

Aww. I hope she gets to.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 10/15/10 at 1:29am

Hopefully they won't be ankle deep in snow slush this time.

[misschung]

Posted: 10/17/10 at 11:26am

Oh, I thought the funny part of the description you were talking about was the reference to "pitching their tent." Okay, apparently I'm 12 years old.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 10/17/10 at 5:46pm

"Then again, Raul is turning 40 in a week and a half, so the elderly comparisons might not be off base. "

40 is elderly?

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 10/17/10 at 6:44pm

Yes, 40 is so old and decrepit that people might as well just give up and wait to die.

It was sarcasm, ghostlight.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 10/17/10 at 7:38pm

And mine was a joke, 'skittles.

[Hest882]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 10:41pm

Very nice article in the LA Times.

To say that Esparza has conversational, much less theatrical, range is like calling the Everglades a bog. During the decade since he made his New York debut — on Broadway, no less — the four-time Tony nominee has played a struggling New York playwright, an incestuous evil sidekick, an androgynous Weimar-era showman and, in the current production of "Leap of Faith," a rock-star evangelist huckster. He has done serious drama and pop musicals, Pinter, Sondheim and "The Rocky Horror Show."
Raúl Esparza's hopes for 'Faith'

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 5:23pm

http://new.lincolncenter.org/live/index.php/as-2011-raul-esparza

!!!!!!!!

I have no words.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 5:36pm

Already have my tickets. I can't believe this is finally happening.

[wonkit]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 9:20pm

I haven't been to this venue before. Is it as cool as it seems?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 10:27pm

Me either, but it looks absolutely stunning.

[wonkit]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 11:35pm

My ticket says something about a tall chair. As in, don't drink because you might fall off this tall chair??

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/28/10 at 12:10am

It just means they're higher than regular chairs, probably to simulate an incline. So your feet won't touch the ground like they would in a normal theater seat -- think fancy bar stool.