Anyone else dissapointed with Rapp's performance?

[Mealz1042]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 7:30pm

Maybe it's because I was expecting a lot, but maybe with the exception of "What You Own" he really did nothing for me. I felt that he was trying WAY too hard to be funny and that he drew attention to himself when it wasnt neccesary (such as his overly enthusiastic clapping durin "Seasons of Love") And although I didn't notice this, a friend pointed out that he seemed bored when he was in scenes and didn't have lines.

Pascal was a different story, I thought his performance was truly incredible.

Just wondering if anyone else felt the same way.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 7:34pm

nope. sorry.

[Chloe]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 8:00pm

Not me either. I'm a big fan of Adam's but I have to give Anthony credit for a wonderful performance. Maybe he was feeling under the weather at the show you saw.

[misschung]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 8:06pm

For the record, Anthony's Mark has always done the very enthusiastic clap during Seasons of Love. Usually, Anthony's stage presence during scenes when he has no lines is one of the things that impresses me most about his performances.

As for trying too hard, I didn't perceive that from him in the performances that I saw, but as Chloe said, maybe he was having an off night. What did you think were the other instances of his trying too hard?

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 8:12pm

Like they are going to stop the hero worship of him, even if he gave the worst performance ever. Rentheads would find a reason why: ie Sick, Under the weather, Friends cat had died, see a pattern.

[misschung]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 8:19pm

Hero worship? Actors are human, they occasionally have "off nights. I don't see how posing it as a possibility is worshiping Anthony. I really am curious in what Mealz thought his weak points were during the performance.

[MarkRascati]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 8:19pm

I heard his dentist's wife left him on the day of the performance you saw

[Ariella]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 8:22pm

I disagree. I thought Anthony was excellent - it didn't feel like he was acting, but rather, immersing himself into a character he knows incredibly well. His is a hard act to follow, and it will certainly be strange seeing a different Mark in the future.

Rosscoe, we all look for different things in a performance and perhaps you don't care for Anthony's interpretation of Mark. Rapp has serious fans for good reason, and it can hardly be expected that all performers are completely 100% each show. And I'm not seeing any trend of consistent excuses for Anthony.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 8:22pm

Funny, 'cause that's the same list of complaints I would have posted about Matt Caplan. But really, I'm not trying to be too snarky -- I think it's interesting that the complaints are similar, and yet personally, I'm hard-pressed to find any inkling of said issues in Anthony's performance.

I thought Anthony was remarkable. I'd never seen a truly great Mark, and his performance was everything I'd hoped for.

Updated On: 8/26/07 at 08:22 PM

[Mealz1042]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 8:31pm

Perhaps it was an offnight, since I only got to see him once I do not know.

It's not that I thought he was bad, I just felt a sort of disconnect and wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be.

[Chloe]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 8:33pm

Roscoe, just for the record, I'm neither a Renthead nor a particular fan of Anthony's. Since I neverthless thought his performance was very good, I was looking for a possible reason why someone who IS a fan was disappointed. That's not the same as making excuses for him.

ETA: Also, I specifically mentioned "under the weather" because I can imagine a performer who feels lousy alternating between trying too hard and zoning out. Updated On: 8/26/07 at 08:33 PM

[brdwybound2]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 8:35pm

I whole-heartly agree with basically everyone that has replied to this thread. I saw Anthony at the beginning of this month when I was in NYC and I was absolutley blown away. I'd never seen RENT on Broadway (but I did see the tour last summer, and while I wasn't impressed with the show as a whole, I was able to take a workshop with the cast and I think they were quite talented). But I've been a big Rapp fan for a while no, so my opinion may be biased, but I think Anthony did fabulously. Not that I didn't love Adam, because I thought he was really great as well... but there was not one second that I found Anthony to be "trying too hard".

[ashley0139]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 8:39pm

Anthony, to me, was Mark. He was completely immersed in the character. Very few times have I ever seen someone so embody a character as he did. I was beyond impressed.

[misschung]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 8:43pm

It's not that I thought he was bad, I just felt a sort of disconnect and wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be.

That's totally understandable. I'm just curious as to what you thought he did that he could have done better. Was it just the things you mentioned originally? This is the first negative review I've heard of him so far on the boards, so I'm genuinely interested in your opinion.

[Amneris]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 8:43pm

=o)



i dont care about any of this chatter.. i just wanted to say that anthony rapps love child is the little boy from jerry mcguire




Updated On: 8/26/07 at 08:43 PM

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 8:56pm

That made me laugh.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 8:59pm

Calling Whiteboy Spice!

[misschung]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 9:18pm

Actually, there's another one of him and Adam where he looks even more like that little kid

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 9:23pm

Don't call Anthony to this thread. This is beneath him and there's no need for the nagativity.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 9:29pm

LOL.

Remember this gem?

http://www.journalfen.net/community/fandom_wank/843081.html

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 9:39pm

Lizzie, that is 100% priceless.

[Amneris]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 9:39pm

i love whiteboyspice and i wish fredi would come back too.

[hermionejuliet]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 9:40pm

Nope- Completely disagree. To me, Anthony IS Mark. I think it will be hard to watch another Mark now that I've seen him in action. I'm not saying he is perfect, but I'm not sure that anyone can compete with his Mark.

I'm not a particularly an Adam fan myself. However, there is no denying he has a wonderful voice and immerses himself in the story. I just prefer a different type of Roger.

One thing I WILL say is that if you know who Adam and Anthony are (and most people do), it is very hard to immerse YOURSELF in the story. I was always watching and thinking about their performances. I don't know how to explain it, but I will say that watching Rent with A&A is quite different that the many other times I saw the show.

[Mealz1042]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 9:43pm

Sorry, I wasn't aware the people weren't allowed to have opinions, also I'm not really sure what nagativity is.

Anyway, i had forgotten but I remembered what it was that made my feel less connected. Although i don't have a particular example I felt that throughout the show he seemed to be acting towards almost a younger audience like the way he was trying to humor the crowd and how he narratated. I find that interesting only because thats EXACTLY what I thought when I read his book. Does that make sense? And as for the clapping, I know he's always done it and like in the movie and such I'm used to it, but seeing him w/ the cast that I'm familiar with and watching them being normal and him being a little... spastic? was just an odd look on the stage. Again, I didn't not like it, (As I said before, I was blown away by WYO) I just didn't love it, that's all.
----------------

I searched around to see what other people had said and I came across a comment by a friend of mine, she wrote:

"First of all, he almost never films. He rarely smiles. I understand that he has a different Mark than Hanke, but I thought Hanke's goofiness in the first act made Halloween and Goodbye Love more heartbreaking. He also never stopped acting. Anthony kind of just stands there when he isn't speaking, he doesn't react most of the time. But Anthony's WYO kicks ass. He is very spaztic, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse.

But Adam and Anthony do give off an incredible energy. They're definitely worth seeing, but when I'm watching the show with them, it's the Adam and Anthony show. It isn't Rent."

I disagree with that last statement though, i mean thats true perhaps by the audience's reactions but I definitely thought the show was the same, particularly because I had the honor of watching Kelly Karbacz as Maureen who was incredible and I saw Merle for the first time, who I felt really portrayed the role of Joanne well (even if I do prefer the vocals of Kenna and Tonya)

[Boq101]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 9:45pm

Anthony is the only Mark I notice when Christmas bells gets really confusing before Over The Moon. You know, when there's like ten different things going on drowning Mark, Roger, and Mimi in the middle, he was the only Mark tha tI actually kept focusing back on during that whole part, he's just very immersed in what he was doing.