Chad Kimball...the new Karen Olivo?

[backwoodsbarbie]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 3:02pm

Chad has been missing a lot of performances recently. Are we going to bring out the same firing squad that attacked Karen Olivo over her missed shows last summer?

[BwayTday]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 3:08pm

Well if yesterdays performance at White House was any indiction, his voice might be in bad shape right now.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 3:09pm

There is a difference. Chad's absences are almost all prearranged. Karen won the Tony & then missed a few weeks of performances.

[AC126748]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 3:13pm

I don't know what his attendance has been like in MEMPHIS--I had heard it was pretty good for a while--but he missed a lot of performances of LENNON.

[newintown]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 3:16pm

Poor Chad, such a sad little boy.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 3:17pm

Well, he was the only original cast lead member at Bryant Park last week.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 4:17pm

I'd say he's the new Laura Bell Bundy. "Memphis Lives in Me" seems like it's becoming a chore. He can't seem to hit that note to save his life. They should pre-record it. I'd rather hear a recording of him getting it right once in a studio than anything like the White House performance.

[backwoodsbarbie]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 4:23pm

Memphis Lives In Me=So Much Better? That actually makes sense as both are very show-offy and kill the singers voices because they can't sing them properly.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 4:29pm

"Memphis Lives In Me" is just a stupid song to begin with. I mean, why would you make the lead of a show sing a high B after 2 1/2 hours of dancing, plus chain smoking non-stop? That just seems like poor planning. At least give me a break before the song so he can swig some water or something.

[newintown]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 4:30pm

I would add "Lot's Wife" to that list - frightening to listen to Pinkins croak through that after the show moved uptown.

[BroadwayBound115]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 4:34pm

Thats not a high B, its a high D!! I think So Much Better isn't exactly that hard of a song. It may have just been taxing on Laura Bell Bundy.

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 4:34pm

I thought the end of Memphis Lives In Me *was* pre-recorded?

[BwayTday]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 4:38pm

The D is optional I think.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 4:39pm

Oh, a D? And he doesn't even have a high, pingy, gay-theater queen tenor. So that's got to be tough.

[Drunk Chita Rivera]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 5:17pm

Karen Olivo didn't choose to miss those performances. She had some kind of respiratory infection. At the Barnes and Noble signing a few days after the Tonys she wasn't really talking and didn't sing at all. And on the Tonys performance you can hear that she was losing her voice. She didn't want to miss those performances.

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 5:24pm

I saw Pinkins do Lot's Wife the Tuesday before the official opening on Broadway and she nailed it.

I would even throw Defying Gravity in there. I saw the show in April of 2004 and Idina was having problems with those last last few notes. She cracked a bit when I saw her but she somehow held on to them.

Updated On: 7/20/10 at 05:24 PM

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 5:49pm

Chad has been singing this score for years and it seems it took a toll on him. I'm sure he will be a 100% after a few days off.
Karen is a true professional, a gifted performer who had some health issues. She is usually very graceful to her fans, and if she didn't even talk to anyone it means she was very sick. She shouldn't have shown up at all. Love them both, and just because they had some personal problems and missed a few performances it doesn't mean they are not worthy of their success.

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 6:00pm

Thanks, Muscle23ftl, for your gracious words about Karen & Chad.

In Chad's case, I've also heard that he's been having back problems and has been taking it easier, per doctor's orders. Anyone who's seen 'Memphis' knows it's a killer role, vocally and physically; Huey is rarely offstage, except to make lightning-quick costume changes. Both Chad and Karen are Broadway pros with a history of professionalism, and I'm sure they hate missing shows. Performers are only human, and not robots, and try to do their best, given the circumstances.
Updated On: 7/20/10 at 06:00 PM

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 6:08pm

No prob.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 6:47pm

Performers are only human, and not robots, and try to do their best, given the circumstances.

Absolutely! And we tend to forget that...a lot! So I think it's grossly unfair that some of you come on here and have the audacity to criticize performers, in this case, Karen Olivo for her missed performances without being privy as to why she missed them in the first place.
Updated On: 7/20/10 at 06:47 PM

[Holbee]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 7:47pm

I've been in love with Chad since "Godspell"...

actually this has no real relevance to the conversation but I just have to say that every so often.... :)

[backwoodsbarbie]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 9:31pm

I completely understand that performers are human and would never criticize them or question their reasons for missing shows. I was merely poking fun at the over-dramatic people on here who criticized Karen so severely last year.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/20/10 at 9:36pm

Legends like Merman come along once in a lifetime.

She could be hit with an ICBM & would still perform. Everyone else is merely mortal. I do not think this is an outbreak of Sarah Ramirez syndrome a/k/a/ Donna Murphy flu

Updated On: 7/21/10 at 09:36 PM

[kmbrlee8252]

Posted: 7/21/10 at 12:08am

Honestly, the OP is just looking to cause drama.

I'm surprised people aren't up in arms over KO being out with a broken foot! Why can't she just suck it up and get her a** back on that stage?! What a wuss! If she were a true professional she would tape that foot up and give people their money's worth!

Most of us have no idea what it is to perform 8 times a week, what right do we have to judge anyone? We don't know what goes on behind the scenes, in their everyday lives. Let's stop pretending that we have any right to criticize things we really don't know anything about.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 7/21/10 at 12:33am

How's his dancing? Can he do a fan kick?