The Raúl E. Esparza "Spread the Love" Thread, Part Four- Page 94

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/1/09 at 11:19am

Oh, yeah, I'll forever be more grateful for that than I can say. It's not the same, and what's on DVD isn't really the show I remember seeing all of those times, but, amidst people constantly hoping for shows to be recorded, I feel really, really lucky that the one I loved that much was chosen.

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 7/1/09 at 2:54pm

Raul looks like Lee Pace in that pic.....not that I'm complaining. It's an amazing photo.

[Ariella]

Posted: 7/1/09 at 5:02pm

I can't believe it's been 2 years. That's almost unbelievable to me.

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 7/1/09 at 6:44pm

Gosh, me too. That season got me into Broadway.

Updated On: 7/1/09 at 06:44 PM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/1/09 at 7:28pm

It was a good season.

I remember that year really well. Wow, what a whirlwind that all was.

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 7/1/09 at 7:53pm

To this day, I'm still amazed that Raul did not win the Tony that season. It just annoys me.

Updated On: 7/1/09 at 07:53 PM

[humbugfoto]

Posted: 7/1/09 at 8:05pm

"Annoys" you?? Oh dear, you really ARE new to BWW, aren't you?

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 7/1/09 at 8:30pm

Um, is that bad? Should I have sad, "It f*cking pisses me off?". I've been on BWW for quite some time now...

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/1/09 at 8:31pm

That'd have worked better, yes.

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 7/1/09 at 8:36pm

Ah, ok :)

It f*cking pisses me off!!!

[wonkit]

Posted: 7/1/09 at 10:04pm

By George, I think he's got it!

(And it f*cking pisses me off, too!)

[spidey_88]

Posted: 7/1/09 at 10:15pm

More than likely, it f*cking pisses him off, too...

[Hest882]

Posted: 7/1/09 at 10:33pm

Heh, I always found Raul just a tad too dorky in that picture. It's that bowl hair.

I just got the New Yorker with that amazing picture Humbug posted. It's on page 14, as one of those smaller photos they use in the Goings On About Town front section with the week's event listings. I'm surprised such an artfully arranged photo would have been taken for such a mundane purpose, which gives me hope that it'll crop up as part of a larger collection someday.

And, damn, looking up Brigitte Lacombe's work, he's no small potatoes either. This has got to have been commissioned for something bigger.
Updated On: 7/1/09 at 10:33 PM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/1/09 at 10:59pm

Aww, it's the pimpy hair.

[humbugfoto]

Posted: 7/3/09 at 12:48pm

Just a heads up - there are some rather strong rumors flying around that Raul has been cast as Frederik in the upcoming production of A Little Night Music, to be directed by Trevor Nunn. Just rumors, for now. but it sure seems like a realistic possibility.

Check out this thread on the main board for the details of the rumors.
A Little Night Music takes the Kerr?

[Hest882]

Posted: 7/3/09 at 1:06pm

Ahhh, Humbug, that would just be so grand. Granted, Frederik is a doofus character, but ALNM, Sondheim, Raul on stage singing! I was so hoping that Sondheim hint he's dropped would be this.

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 7/3/09 at 5:11pm

I have never been a LNM fan *waits to be eaten*... but this just might convert me.

[Ariella]

Posted: 7/3/09 at 8:30pm

Well, we shall see. Fingers crossed.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 7/4/09 at 2:19pm

Ugh, casting him as Frederik would throw off the dynamics for the entire cast. He's supposed to have a 19 year old son, which is not physically possible. He played 35 only a few years ago in Company- no one is going to buy that Raul is old enough to have fathered the actor cast as Henrik. They'd have to cast someone like Jennifer Damiano or Remy Zaken as Anne before the age difference would be visibly dramatic enough for the commentary.

Yes, they could cake him up with prosthetic make-up and put him in a gray wig to make it more pronounced, but there's nothing about Raul that makes him so perfect for this role that couldn't be found in one of the many other theatre actors that are more age-appropriate, AND are the baritone the part requires.

Updated On: 7/4/09 at 02:19 PM

[wonkit]

Posted: 7/4/09 at 2:35pm

I don't see the age thing as being unworkable. He is turning 39 this year, played 35 when he was 35. He can Act 45 (and the part is written stodgy so it supports an older demeanor). The voice range is a little more troubling - I actually didn't read him into a lot of the rumors because of that.

With the right Desiree chemistry, though, he can do a great job, IMO.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/4/09 at 2:45pm

Apparently Trevor Nunn wants to cast the whole thing on the young side, which I think runs the risk of causing some things in the show not to make sense. But, I'm willing to keep an open mind. I mean, remember when that crazy guy told the actors to play instruments? I don't know what he was thinking.

[Hest882]

Posted: 7/4/09 at 2:52pm

I am not concerned about the age thing--he *is* almost 40--and playing a man during an age where young marriages and (sans the proliferation of birth control) young parents were common. Plus, although Desiree is nearly always played by older actresses it makes as much sense to me that she may have been a young ingenue back when she and Frederik had their affair. Desiree in Smiles of a Summer Night wasn't old, after all.

I *am* more concerned that the role is meant for a baritone and not sure how they'd handle that.

Updated On: 7/4/09 at 02:52 PM

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 7/4/09 at 3:28pm

A directorial concept like Doyle's is not the same as casting A Little Night Music like it's a Hollywood blockbuster and 30-year-old Angelina Jolie is playing 29-year-old Colin Farrell's mother.

There are so many amazing actresses that would be perfect to play Desiree that would look too old to be cast opposite Raul. Didn't they originally want Natasha Richardson? She would have been too old for this production now, which is absolutely ridiculous.

Having children young in a different time is one thing, but since Henrik is already cast, the actor is too old to be believably Raul's by any stretch of imagination. Just a few months ago, everyone was posting about how young and amazing Raul looks for his age, and now that it's convenient, he looks old enough to play the father of the actor already cast as Henrik? You can't have it both ways.

I want something better for the first revival of this show than to throw in a bunch of Big Name Actors, transpose all the music to make up for the inappropriate vocal ranges, and put it in a theatre with room for only 10 musicians in the pit. So unless Trevor Nunn has a crazy concept to make up for all that, I'm more anxious than anticipatory.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 7/4/09 at 3:37pm

"Casting him as Frederik would throw off the dynamics for the entire cast. He's supposed to have a 19 year old son, which is not physically possible".

I want to live on your planet

"But, I'm willing to keep an open mind. I mean, remember when that crazy guy told the actors to play instruments? I don't know what he was thinking".

A lower overhead? Honestly, I despise that conceit of Doyle's, in Sweeney and in Company. It's annoying as hell, and really takes me out of the show. Bobby on the piano? Fine. Patti on the tuba? Not so much.

But in Trevor I trust, even if appears he's going to be ageist about it.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/4/09 at 3:48pm

Wow, I'm 0 for 2 with the tongue in cheek today!

I guess I have some explaining to do then, heh. :)

First, I'm generally pretty willing to keep an open mind with conceptual revivals. I just rarely have the energy to get up in arms and worried in advance, until I see the finished product for myself. Sure, some things turn out great and some are complete misfires, but, it's my personality to be pretty easygoing about it, only because I've learned that a lot of finding genius is about taking risks. I'm not saying that makes all risky concept brilliant, and of course there's a place to drawn the line, but I'm very much of the opinion that directors staging revivals should be trying new things.

And second, I'm a huge, huge Doyle-ophile. His work rocked my world in a number of ways. I know it doesn't work for everybody, and that's okay. But I love it.

I've been a big fan of Trevor Nunn's work in the past. Some of his stuff has been problematic, sure, but he's also staged a lot of my favorite things. So, I'm willing to have faith in him figuring it out.

Updated On: 7/4/09 at 03:48 PM