Alice Ripley in Next to Normal in Los Angeles — Page 2

"When someone dicontructs on stage"


Huh?

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lol...deconstructs...oops!

I saw Next to Normal in NYC more than a year ago and at the Ahmanson a couple of weeks ago.

While I am a fan of Alice's I thought her voice was definitely strained and not as good as it was when I saw the show on Broadway. One of my friends who had seen the show in NYC said the exact same thing.

Emma was fantastic and vocally stronger than Jennifer
Asa was good, but I prefer Bobby
Curt was also a strong Gabe, but again I prefer Aaron and Kyle
Preston did an excellent job as Henry.
Jeremy was fantastic as the Doctors.

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Umm...I'm sorry my acting class lingo is off putting, but I was trying to contribute something beyond "he was okay".

As far as scores...it's a weird phenomenon...Someone with a ridiculous range originates a show and gets a score written for said range. Then, student singers spend hours and hours working on extending their ranges so they can play that role too. Then, all those students get out of college and start doing shows, which get written for their new giant ranges. It creates this strange positive feedback loop. Everyone thought Stephen Schwartz was insane for writing Elphaba the way he did, but...they keep finding girls to fill the role...because it's the new standard of training.

10/15 years ago, a woman belting a D was serious business. Now Ds are a dime a dozen and Fs are the new hot ticket.

I'm really waiting for the day when a Bway show has to change keys all over the place because they simply CAN'T FIND can't a replacement who can sing the role as written. It's going to happen.

Before the day comes when they can't find the replacement, the day is going to come when a lot of female singers will have trashed their voices so badly that they will not have them anymore. A little of that crap goes a long way - everyone sounds the same today - it's ridiculous. Even a decade ago we still had unique to the performer voices. Not so much now - just a lot of caterwauling into the stratosphere where it loses all impact because it happens in every big number in a show.

People like Gwen Verdon, Chita Rivera,Carol Channing, Lansbury and Stritch would never stand a chance today. They never could really sing that well. Producers don't want personalities anymore. They want voices they can plug in and check once they have shredded them.

Once those ladies are gone Broadway will be starved for legends because no one is replacing them.

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I saw the closing night of the LA portion of the tour and also saw it earlier in the run. Despite having heard people complain about her vocals, I thought she was incredible both times. I was lucky enough to have really great (and close seats) both times and agree that what some might have found as vocal issues seemed from the close seats a result of her crying throughout much of the show. Really, I was blown away by her acting and had no problems at all with her singing. I can not even imagine someone could embody Diana in the way she does. To me, the character is imperfect and thus her goal is most likely not to sing it perfectly but to sing it as Diana would and I think what she is doing is really effective.

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We saw Alice in LA on Tuesday 11/21. (Rows K and L in the orchestra). We were concerned Ms. Ripley wouldn't make it to Chicago, so while out visiting relatives, we got single tix.

My daughter said Alice's placements were "different" and not as "clean" as on the OBCR. Still, my daughter thought that Alice was great. However, a person sitting next to her very much disliked the way Ms. Ripley sounded.

To me, seeing the show was so different from the OBCR - having everything in context and in a flow and seeing the actors act was just a different experience and a better one. Alice absolutely creates a full character that she inhabits throughout the show. The "pain" she communicates in her voice - singing and speaking - comes through. That said, her curtain call was kind of odd or different. She stepped forward with a sly smirk on her face, gave a little skip, and then left the stage with the cast.

However, Emma Hunton was amazing - and had the night's largest ovation. I thought Asa Somers was too young looking for Dan. Curt Hansen looked kind of "goofy" to start with, such that it wasn't a "shock" that he wasn't "alive". But, he grew on me. My daughter, on the other hand, thought he was "amahzing" and perfect. And my daughter is thrilled to finally understand the line "you're not a scary rock star anymore"

That said, I found the experience a little odd. I really appreciated the show, but didn't find myself drawn in. As such, I felt awkward and intrusive looking in on these people's lives. This may have been due to lack of sleep and driving through the rain to the theatre, but it's the way I felt leaving the theatre.

Whoever gave Ripley the o.k. to continue with the show made a poor decision. She is obviously having vocal troubles and as an audience member, it's difficult to sit through.

However, her performance is still glorious and shouldn't be missed. Just know that when you see the show with her, Diana may sound like a deaf person when she sings. :]

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steven22,
Like you, I am acutally interested in seeing what Pearl might do with Diana. As on B'way with Jessica, you get a different take and most of the time, a more subtle and nuanced version of Diana. I do hope she gets a chance to go on as I'm sure it would be frustrating to tour for a year and not be heard.

I saw Ripley in previews in NY, and she was already singing flat anytime she went past the first break (around G). Add to that her strange pseudo-rock nasal placement, and it made a really unpleasant listening experience to this musician. However, many other people don't know flat from sharp from on pitch, so they couldn't care less, as long as they feel they're getting a "soulful" rendition. This is also why Tonya Pinkins ripped her voice to shreds during the relatively brief run of Caroline or Change.

Bruce above has called it right - a lot of composers today write for screamers, not singers. But the public who call for screaming (and who find musical education annoying and unnecessary) are more to blame than the writers.

I just got in from press night for the show in Denver (Their actual opening night was last night but we were informed that they didn't want press there) I am most likely reviewing it so I won't say too much. It has been a while since I listened to the OBCR. It sounds like Ms. Ripley is singing in a lower register and some of her vocals are missed or overpowered by the other cast members. A few semi flat notes. One in particular in the scene where she is walking out near the end. But as far as acting goes, she nails it.

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