Alice Ripley proving a tad elusive- Page 2

[mjroberts93]

Posted: 5/4/11 at 6:47pm

She did not only do 6 our of 8 shows every week on Broadway. I find it rude. Many people buy tickets with the thought they will see her. To just show up when she wants is just rude. I think her Tony has gone to her head.

[chinkie azn jai]

Posted: 5/4/11 at 10:36pm

She was out this past Saturday's evening too. I really liked Pearl as Diana, so I'm not heart broken that Alice was out and I saw Alice on Broadway. It was nice to hear the score sung...properly (for lack of a better word).

Posted: 5/4/11 at 10:45pm

I forgot she had a side gig this week. Hard to imagine giving MORE performances when you can't handle the 8, sorry, 6 shows a week you are supposed to do.

[moowithme85]

Posted: 5/4/11 at 11:07pm

Yes, to hear Pearl sing "properly" was very nice...the music is so beautiful and she certainly does it justice.

Does anyone know if Alice went on tonight?

[prp134]

Posted: 5/5/11 at 1:44am

Well I am glad I got to see Alice Ripley perform twice but the third time I went the standby went on and I was SERIOUSLY disappointed.

Yes, her voice is amazing but her acting skills are lacking (at least for this role)...I couldn't help but wonder "man, how did she get this role?" She does a dumb shoulder raise, like she's twelve, she acts more like she's drunk or high than bi-polar, she takes the craziness to a silly level in which she has a weirdass grin constantly. Plus, at least for me having seen Ripley perform twice, Pearl changes the mood of the show from a disturbingly raw emotional show to a silly comedy. The only thing that kept me from walking out is the rest of the cast.

At this point, unless Alice comes back I would say stay away from the show.

[Singer-Moves Poorly]

Posted: 5/5/11 at 8:23am

In response to your question -- No, Alice didn't go on last night, and apparently she didn't go on for the matinee either. I can understand that there are circumstances where the regular performer can't go on, but I was still disappointed because I was really looking forward to seeing "Tony Award winner Alice Ripley" and had a great seat (first row mezzanine on the center aisle).

Pearl Sun has a great, powerhouse voice and did a decent job with the role. However, she didn't really seem totally invested emotionally, which I guess would stand to reason since it's not "her" role. Although it's not like I have any basis for comparison since I've never actually seen Alice Ripley!

The actor who played the son was particularly outstanding, and the husband had a fantastic voice. (Sorry I don't have my Playbill with me, or I would have mentioned them by name, but they were the "regulars".)

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 5/5/11 at 8:32am

Since most of the TV commercials and spots tout "catch Alice Ripley in the Tony winning role she created" her spotty absenteeism is really unprofessional. She needs to schedule her absences since we know this is now a big problem.

Or maybe the commercials are trying to advertise it like a game, "see if you can catch Alice Ripley."

[bryan2]

Posted: 5/5/11 at 10:30am

I really do not understand why people are so dissapointed
I love Alice and have appreciated her talent since I saw her in Tommy but most people do not even know who she is. So they should just see the show for what the show is not for the "star" because if you didnt tell them half of them would say it was Alice anyway LOL
It is a shame she is wrecking her voice for a role ..but she knows how far she can go with it ..she is a smart woman

Posted: 5/5/11 at 11:02am

i agree with you bryan- most people do not know who alice ripley is. but they have advertised this show not as "see this amazing new musical with a great contemporary score" but as "see alice ripley in her tony-winning role."

i mean i don't know what a hemi is but i bought my truck because they told me it had one. if it doesn't, i'm pissed.

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 5/5/11 at 11:26am

Love Alice, thought she was amazing in the role when I saw it on Broadway, but she doesn't know how to take care of herself. With this many absences, she should be resting when not performing if she's taking the tour seriously. Many people going to see the tour want to see her, and she owes it to her audiences to give it her all to go on as often as possible, or at least just set an alternate schedule. I'd go see the show with or without her (especially since I am interested in seeing Pearl do it), but many people I know are going specifically for Alice.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 5/5/11 at 11:49am

Honestly, not surprised that she is only doing 6. That said, this sounds very oddly like what Lloyd Webber did in the original Evita with Elaine Page. Susannah Fellowes wasn't on a set alternate schedule, it just said "at certain performances" so you might show up 4 times in one week and get Fellowes, and you might go all 8 and see Page. There was no rhyme or reason, and you had no way of knowing who you would get going in.

If RIpley is only doing 6, then there needs to be some sort of caveat on the playbills and promotional materials saying so.

They also need to sit her down and say "OK, you can skip either matinees, or one matinee and one evening, but NOT the weekend shows."

Tony Award or not, this is incredibly unprofessional, and I've lost a TON of my respect for her.

[tazber]

Posted: 5/5/11 at 12:30pm

If she weren't doing concerts concurrently then I would just figure she needed some vocal rest or whatever. But to miss performances and then do a concert is not only rude but potentially
a breach of contract.

Ultimately it seems like her "moonlighting" job is adversely affecting her performance (pun intended) at her "real" job.

[littlegreen2]

Posted: 5/5/11 at 12:33pm

https://chicago.broadwayworld.com/article/Alice-Ripley-to-Return-to-NEXT-TO-NORMAL-Tour-After-Suffering-Injury-20110505

So, she had a knee injury. The concert had been scheduled for a very long time (and only required her to sit on a chair and play her guitar).

Updated On: 5/5/11 at 12:33 PM

[mikem]

Posted: 5/5/11 at 1:16pm

Whether or not Ripley's performance schedule is announced publicly is up to the producers, not up to her. Shows like Billy Elliot and Fela also had a secretive performance schedule, and that's a producer's decision.

Given that I've seen ads that say to go see N2N because of Ripley's "legendary, Tony-winning performance," I think the producers are setting themselves up for angry patrons when they know that 25% of the time, the audience isn't going to find out until they get there that they're not going to see that legendary performance, but that's on the shoulders of the producers and not on the performers.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/5/11 at 2:12pm

I really do not understand why people are so dissapointed
I love Alice and have appreciated her talent since I saw her in Tommy but most people do not even know who she is.

Well, in Chicago, it has a lot to do with these articles:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/ct-ott-0422-jones-loop-20110421,0,6732948.story

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/ct-ott-0429-next-normal-review-20110428,0,6565000.column

The knee injury thing sounds sort of odd to me. I read that she sustained the injury in St. Louis, yet was able to perform for the press in Chicago, then took off for the injury after the review was printed, yet performed her solo concert. I don't know what is the truth, honestly. I do know that the people I met read the article and review and were pissed they couldn't see her heavily touted performance.

Updated On: 5/5/11 at 02:12 PM

[littlegreen2]

Posted: 5/5/11 at 2:18pm

How about instead of questioning it, we just accept the fact that she had a knee injury and had to take a few shows off? I understand that people are upset and disappointed but it's frustrating that everything is endlessly scrutinized whenever she is brought up on this board.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 5/5/11 at 2:19pm

I saw her "heavily touted" performance opening night in Chicago. I did not know a "knee injury" can ruin someone's voice. The woman cannot sing. Period. If her ego is so big that she refuses to do performances when she obviously has a serious issue, then it is up to the production manager to STOP her from going on. People will understand an understudy going on if the "star" is ill, but putting an ill star on stage for the sake of the few who really care about SEEING her is entirely unprofessional.

The cast was fantastic, with one major exception, and she just about ruined the show for me and my friends. We were shocked to see her come back after intermission. I fully expected to see Pearl in the second act. And wish we had.

Get off the stage, Alice. Now.

Posted: 5/5/11 at 2:20pm

If you are going to advertise your star as the reason to see the show, she better be there.

[JRybka]

Posted: 5/5/11 at 2:29pm

I love the Alice. I also love the Marin....

Bring Marin in and the world will be fabulous.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 5/5/11 at 2:31pm

But Joe, this was not the "Alice" who won the Tony. With her performance on Tuesday night, I don't think she would have been nominated. She would have been replaced by opening night and Marin would have won the Tony.

[littlegreen2]

Posted: 5/5/11 at 2:32pm

Alice is going to finish out the tour. There's less than three months left. And she has a break coming up so hopefully it will let her rest before the last few stops.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 5/5/11 at 3:08pm

littlegreen2, you lack an ability to be objective in this discussion b/c you're blinded by your love for Alice. Accept the fact that you can't fairly participate in this discussion and quit coming back. You're just going to stress yourself out.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 5/5/11 at 4:51pm

Patti LuPone injured her foot and she didn't miss any shows. Unless they've added a lengthy dance break for Diana in the tour, I can't imagine why a knee injury would prevent her from performing- at least alter some of the staging so she can sit or stand still.

This announcement only coming out now AFTER a week of spotty attendance seems more like a damage-control excuse to appease frustrated audience members. If it were that simple, why didn't they just announce it when it happened?

[bobbybaby2]

Posted: 5/5/11 at 4:54pm

I hasten to point out that the tour plays less than two weeks in the third largest city in the U.S., a city that loves live theatre. While Broadway in Chicago is a subscription series that “Next to Normal” is a part of, there are many of us who do not subscribe but buy tickets to shows of interest because of particular appeals. A physical ailment is unfortunate but when the show is touting its star to pull in an audience, it’s a hard pill to swallow when you show up and learn that the star is not only out but has been out for most of the show’s brief run.

That being said, I caught the show last night with Pearl Sun in as Diana and have to say that I’m grateful that I saw, er listened, to someone who could sing the score as it is written and without manipulation. I really wanted to see the Pulitzer Prize winning material on its feet, in its original production, and hoped to catch the Tony Award winning star in her Tony Award winning performance.

I was familiar with the score going into it but hadn’t seen the show and it was a very moving experience. I didn’t love all of the performances (didn’t care much for the acting of Asa Somers or Emma Hunton and imagine that Alice is probably better acting the role than Pearl, but Pearl was still authentic to the character’s experience and the material, conveying the necessary truth to be effective) but the material is so strong that as long as it is delivered as written and without distracting performance styles or interpretations, I have no qualms with seeing an understudy. The power of the piece is built into the material: the music, lyrics, orchestrations, and book. This I did not know going into it and that surprise vastly outweighed the surprise of the star’s absence.

Frankly, after all that I’ve heard and the experience that I had in the audience, I'm glad she was out.

[twinbelters]

Posted: 5/5/11 at 5:21pm

I liked Pearl on Sunday. She was very dry and her voice is lovely. She did crack in the first act, though.

I do want to see Ripley and may try this weekend. Someone at the box office said there is no rush. Can anyone confirm or deny this?