COMPANY review 11/1- Page 2

[Bal]

Posted: 11/2/06 at 10:18pm

I found his Caractacus to be very warm and endearing and parental as well; that was my first Raul performance ever, and my first EVER experience with hearing him or anything... so i wasn't biased going in. Maybe I saw him on an 'on' day, but I couldn't stop smiling during Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

I paid a lot of attention to the way he played 'father', and I was really, really impressed. My dad died when I was little (don't say you're sorry or anything, I'm just trying to make a point), and Raul's Caractacus made me ache for my father.

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 11/3/06 at 12:34pm

This is such an interesting debate. I can definitely see where people are characterizing Raul's Bobby as cold or distant, but I think that a good portion of that was the director's intention. That's just the tone of the production, and everyone is dry, Bobby just happens to be drier. I feel that that works, but I'm sure it doesn't work for everyone. I felt that the emotional journey -- particularly the breakthrough after his conversation with Joanne -- was very well conveyed. Bobby in Doyle's production is cold, but far from emotionless.

As to Raul's personality as an actor, there's something about him that makes you want to trust him when he's on stage, even as the character he's playing does totally unsettling things. As Emcee mentioned, I think he or colleagues have mentioned this in interviews. He's good about making you uncomfortable, but it goes against natural tendencies. I'm trying to wrap my head around the idea that he's a cold performer, and I'm not sure that I see that. Maybe that's because I almost automatically associate intensity with warmth. When I think back over the roles he's played, I think there's honestly a pretty fair mix of warm (Jonathan in tick, tick... BOOM!, Ned Weeks in The Normal Heart) and relatively cold (Bobby, George, Emcee, to some extent Philip Sallon, etc.). I won't go either way on Caractacus, other than to agree that it was odd casting. I've never not felt for his characters, though, so I think even when there's an outward coldness, there's something I find inherently sympathetic about his acting.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 11/3/06 at 12:40pm

I think Cabaret is a perfect example of that idea of wanting to trust him on stage even if he's being... very unsettling. I think that's part of his magnetism as a performer, in the sense that he's able to draw you in even when the character is very frightening and deviant. Even in roles like that, I find that he's very easy to connect with, but like I said before, I can absolutely see how those things could go the other way.

And I love it. :)

[Ciaron McCarthy]

Posted: 11/3/06 at 12:42pm

I can definitely see where people are characterizing Raul's Bobby as cold or distant,

I think it has more to do with the fact that he is a New Yorker than anything else. =)

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 11/3/06 at 3:34pm

I can see the connection b/w Idina and Raul, they both have that "IT" factor that so many people strive for. They both have their loyal followers, and they both can sing the sh*t out of a song. I think they're both great performers to watch, so engaging. I know Idina has sort of been cursed, but I think she's a great actress/performer, as is Raul. And I know she gaps, but c'mon, have you heard Wicked? Belting that out 8 times a week and twice on a matinee day? That would wear anyone out.