I have not been able to stop smiling. That was just so much fun. Raul is typical Raul. Practically perfect in every way. I am convinced Elizabethan costumes were created to be draped across his Grecian god-like body. He looks dashing. Think Arcadia. There is period dancing at the end, and as much as I think Raul has an inner sense of rhythm, he cracked me up with his dancing. He looked like he was pretending to be a pony. Raul does indeed do a bit of singing, though David Pittu does most of it. Which was kind of a downer. I love David Pittu, but his voice just doesn't do it for me. I think Raul is brilliant, but Hamish Linklater stole the show. Honestly, when he was onstage I found myself forgetting Raul was even in the production. I've sorta became a fan of his since Pushing Daisies. (He was John Joseph Jacobs in the Halloween episode where Ned has to confront his ghosts, and they think JJJ has come back from the dead to kill off all the jockys from the Jock Off-including Olive.) He's got the physical, slapstick comedy, and basically hams it up for the audience. But it is SO MUCH FUN to watch him work. He's one tall fellow, and his physicallity was amazing.
I can not wait to see this again. It definately has it's slow moments, but for the most part it was a riot. The women, thank God, are brilliant, which always seems to be my complaint.
Oh, and Raul's crazy pointy sideburns are back! I was so excited!
"What a mystery this world. One day you love them and the next day you want to kill them a thousand times over." The Masked Bandit in THE FALL
Maybe it's Victorian costumes. I always get those two confused. Whatever it is, it's very period. And there's this one part where Raul dashes out in one of those open chested billow-y ruffle-y shirts. Heaven.
Ha, I didn't realize she had described him as a pony. Funny. It's just the way he sort of trots through the dance steps...not very graceful, but very entertaining.
Have fun folks, you are all in for a real treat. I am SO glad they picked this for the financial times. It really does allow you to slip away from your troubles for a bit and just laugh at the foolery of others.
"What a mystery this world. One day you love them and the next day you want to kill them a thousand times over." The Masked Bandit in THE FALL
Raúl not graceful?? What? That just doesn't seem right, unless Sullivan wanted Orsino to be graceless. What an odd choice. Hopefully it makes sense in context?
Because I was bored, and because a rather clueless friend called me all excited "did you know there?s this movie called Show Business and that Raúl guy is in it!", here are a couple of screencaps from the film of Rabbi Raúl at the 2004 Tonys.
Oh, I remember that year well. I am still bitter Michael Cerveris was in that category. I also remember Raul's name being announced as "Raul Esperaza" throwing something at the tv, and wanting to strangle Puff Daddy.
And every time I see that beard I think about The Normal Heart.
"What a mystery this world. One day you love them and the next day you want to kill them a thousand times over." The Masked Bandit in THE FALL
Sorry, I haven't had time to say much the past few days. It's been an extremely busy weekend. I had some issues with the production as a whole, but in terms of the overall picture, they were pretty minor quibbles. On the whole, even though it didn't do a lot of the things I'd hoped it would, it was still quite lovely. I laughed a lot, the acting was wonderful, and I will definitely be seeing it again. Audra is INCREDIBLE, Anne is adorable and very very natural, I totally get why everyone is talking about Hamish Linklater, and Raul is excellent. It's a really different part for him, but he's doing well with it.
Another update to the scheduling of Raúl's Law&Order episode. It seem to be back on June 28th now, airing at 9PM on the USA network. But since it seems USA is a bit commitment-phobic when it comes to scheduling, I'm still calling it "tentative". Stay tuned....
The shirt is indeed excellent. There's a vest, too, to go with the shirt. This outfit is sadly very short lived, but it's nice while it lasts. :) In his first scene, he really does look like something right out of Arcadia, and in the final scene, he looks like Napoleon. I'm a sucker for period clothes, and Raul happens to look really great in them.