The Raúl E. Esparza "Spread the Love" Thread, Part Four — Page 58

Did anyone go to the thing with Seth Rudetsky Raul did today in Times Sqaure?

---

Did anyone else see today's matinee? I thought it was kind of strange, especially compared to the performance I saw in mid-previews. Moss seemed much stronger, with more vocal flexibility and presence (you go, girl!), and Piven seemed more truly emotionally "lost" in the third scene, as he claims he is. And Raul - boy, I thought I'd be the last person to say this, Raul seemed like he needed to catch a train, or something. Very, very fast, and "going through the motions" in the entire first scene. He redeemed himself in the third scene, but I wouldn't say it was one of his better, or at least most consistent, efforts.

ETA: Richard Schiff (Toby from WEST WING) was in the audience.

Updated On: 11/19/08 at 09:31 PM

Jeremy McCarter of Newsweek, writing about the Mamet shows currently on Broadway, thinks all the actors fail at grasping the balance of Mamet's dialog, his "word-music", with one shining exception:

"Why, then, does the show thrive? Listen closely to Raul Esparza. The young star of musical theater all but sings the role of the craven producer, flickering from deadpan comic understatement to high, excited shrieks. He brings to Mametspeak the verbal flair you'd expect from an actor who spent the past two years slaloming through the rhythms of Sondheim and Pinter."

He goes on to say:

"This isn't to say that song-and-dance men alone can be trusted with these roles. But it can't be a coincidence that the only Mamet performances in the same league as Esparza's lately were by actors famous for their skill with heightened language: Liev Schreiber, who paused on the route from Henry V to Macbeth to play a salesman in "Glengarry Glen Ross," and Chiwetel Ejiofor, who brought to the film "Redbelt" the gifts that led London critics to call him an Othello for the ages. With this Shakespearean pedigree in mind, the producers of the next Mamet revival may want to apply a more exacting standard during casting, one offered by another writer-director with strong opinions about the actor's craft: "Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you," says Hamlet, "trippingly on the tongue.""


Mamet, the right way

---

Or at least 38 is the the new 30.

I saw that production of GGGR and was disappointed by Schreiber because his voice didn't carry very well and I could hardly hear him from the rear mezz. The movie however, I love love love.

---

Up for auction on eBay, a bit of artwork by Raúl:



Bid 2 Beat Aids Raul Esparza Original Art

---

Updated On: 12/1/08 at 01:31 PM

Raúl will be performing at ASTEP's Christmas benefit on December 15th at the Zipper Factory.

What Christmas song would you most like to hear him sing?
Esparza, Pritchard, Gregory, Boggess and More Set for ASTEP's New York City Christmas

---

O Holy Night. Okay, not actually my favorite but I want to hear him hit those high notes.

humbugfoto - wonderful! Thanks!

Awwww, thanks for the report and the nice picture!

Um:
https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Streisand_Looks_to_THE_NORMAL_HEART_As_Possible_Next_Film_to_Direct_20081206

---

You don't.... Do you think.....does Raúl stand a snowball's chance in the Sahara of even being considered for the project?

And she's been sitting on it for over 15 years. Why now, I wonder?

---