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

[humbugfoto]

Posted: 11/19/08 at 8:46pm

Yeah, but it doesn't say what he sang:

"Fichandler, who was unable to attend, was honored with a moving tribute by her former students -- including Danny Pino '00 (Cold Case) and Manoel Felciano '04 (Sweeney Todd) -- who saluted her extraordinary career in the way she taught them -- by performing."

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 11/19/08 at 9:24pm

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

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 11/19/08 at 9:26pm

Apparently Raul's interview is being rescheduled.

[wonkit]

Posted: 11/19/08 at 9:31pm

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

[humbugfoto]

Posted: 11/20/08 at 8:50pm

Well, that's that, then. ABC has canceled Pushing Daisies. We won't be seeing any more of Alfredo Aldarisio.

Sigh. No big surprise, but it's still kinda sad. I sooo wanted Raúl and Kristin to sing together on the show!

[humbugfoto]

Posted: 11/22/08 at 3:42pm

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

[Hest882]

Posted: 11/22/08 at 7:10pm

Nice. But young? Well, 40 *is* the new 30.

[wonkit]

Posted: 11/22/08 at 7:31pm

Or at least 38 is the the new 30.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 11/22/08 at 11:38pm

Jeremy McCarter's essay in the Company CD pamphlet is one of my favorite pieces of theater journalism ever.

Updated On: 11/23/08 at 11:38 PM

[bestinshow2]

Posted: 11/23/08 at 12:03am

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.

[misschung]

Posted: 11/23/08 at 9:47am

Definitely the best "liner notes" I've ever read.

[humbugfoto]

Posted: 12/1/08 at 1:31pm

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

[bestinshow2]

Posted: 12/1/08 at 5:25pm

STP production shots up at Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60208525@N00/

[humbugfoto]

Posted: 12/3/08 at 8:09pm

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

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 12/3/08 at 11:22pm

The Dreidel Song.

[Hest882]

Posted: 12/4/08 at 1:07am

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

[humbugfoto]

Posted: 12/4/08 at 11:16am

"O dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made it out of clay
And look! I made a dreidel! Where there never was a dreidel!"

[wonkit]

Posted: 12/4/08 at 12:33pm

humbugfoto - wonderful! Thanks!

[TIGGOSAURUS]

Posted: 12/6/08 at 6:00am

Just wanted to pop into this thread and say I went to see Raul Esparza in Speed-The-Plow last week and now I 'get it'! Not a fan of Entourage or Mad Men (or of much TV in general tbh), so Raul's name carried more weight with me anyway, but I didn't expect to be so mesmerized by one actor out of a company of three. I found the second act really sagged without his presence, but this just heightened the climactic tour-de-force he delivered in Act III. Wow! Consider me a convert.

He also came straight down from stage to collect for BC/EFA in the lobby afterwards. He was incredibly gracious, spent time talking to every single person who wanted to exchange words with him, signed and took pictures for everyone who wanted and was just one of the most genuinely approachable Broadway actors I have ever encountered.



When I was in Times Square on the day I was due to fly home from NYC, I swung by the theatre again, met him going in and wished him all the best for the Tony awards next year. I really hope he finally wins (and this comes from a DHP fan who was over-the-moon two years ago)!

Updated On: 12/6/08 at 06:00 AM

[Hest882]

Posted: 12/6/08 at 11:53am

Awwww, thanks for the report and the nice picture!

[wonkit]

Posted: 12/6/08 at 12:56pm

Tiggosaurus - welcome to the club!

[ElphieDefiesGravity]

Posted: 12/6/08 at 4:35pm

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

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 12/6/08 at 6:13pm

You guys, I would implode. I hope she finds a way to make it happen.

Updated On: 12/6/08 at 06:13 PM

[humbugfoto]

Posted: 12/6/08 at 7:24pm

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?

[wonkit]

Posted: 12/6/08 at 10:46pm

Didn't Raul sing at Barbra's Obama benefit in October? OMG -