I am totally in favor of gay guys playing straight characters. I had no trouble with ZQ in Glass Menagerie or vis-à-vis Fredrick Weller playing a gay guy in Mothers & Sons. They both, and many others, do it with credibility. With all of the sexual blurred lines, ass grabbing & semi orgy scene in Pippin, I just got the feeling KDM was enjoying it too much. I mean, I know if it was me, Orion could do whatever he wanted to me!!! MJT just made it work in a way that KDM just can't. Make sense?
"I had to look up what college she went to, I figured it would be Carnegie Mellon but I was pleasantly surprised to find out it was Baldwin Wallace. Just goes to show that even the brightest stars don't always go to the "top" schools."
Baldwin Wallace is definitely one of the "top" schools for musical theatre. They might not be as top-tier as Carnegie, Michigan, or CCM, but they have a great reputation. They are certainly one of the more selective programs, and many of their graduates end up on Broadway. That's not to say I don't agree with what you said--Kyle Dean Massey, for example, went to Missouri State University, which most people wouldn't think of on the same level as those other programs.
Flipping the age thing around - Isn;t Ciara too YOUNG to play Leading PLayer - I always saw LP as someone a little world-wise (and maybe world-worn) who is a guide for Pippin. Patina is 30.
As far as Kyle being 'too gay" - if you remember there were a lot of questions on this board when he joing N2N whether he WAS gay. I don't see where it matters.
And as a straight person-I find it offensive that someone can feel they are allowed to say that ebcause they are gay. You don't get a pass to be predudiced just because you are in the group you are judging.
Nobody has said either of the them wouldn't be able to handle the score. Handling the score and being right for the part are two different things. Anyone that has "concerns" admits they are judging on appearances...which since they've only had a few performances under their belt, is all they've got. It's called a reaction. Those people that return to see it, will still give an honest opinion.
I THINK he'll appear too old - which is wrong for Pippin. I don't worry about HER age, the Player's age has nothing to do with the purpose of the the Player. It DOES for Pippin.
Most people on these boards keep an open mind (except if it concerns Wildhorn!) when actually seeing a show. People hated (with a heated passion) when Corbin Bleu and Phylicia Rashad were announced replacements for In the Heights and August, respectively. However, MOST posters reported back after having actually seen the performances to good things to say.
People are allowed to have opinions based on announcements. That doesn't mean it blinds them.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
I agree with dramamama. People said the same negative things about Nick Jonas when he was going into "How to Succeed" (have to admit, I was one of them), but when he actually started performances most considered him to be the best Finch the revival had.
I don't actually think KDM sounds very gay at all in that clip :-/. This wasn't ever an issue I recall anyone discussing during N2N either.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
What does 'too' gay even mean? If your thoughts about his sexualty got in the way of you seeing the character/story completely, I guess that for you, yes.
I've never thought he's come off in any stereotypical "gay way", either. I've known straignt men that seemed gay, and gay men that had no outward appearance of being so.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
I'm risking coming across as a total hater on this thread. I thought Kyle sounded bland, weak and nasal in that recording.
There are better performers out there. Hundreds are moving into NYC every year and it would have been awesome to get some fresh faced college grad with a lot of passion to take on this role. Pippin - more than any other role I can think of in musical theater - should be played by an unknown young man.
Still, I feel bad for being so critical of this guy. This is one of my favorite shows out there right now and I have a lot of opinions about it :)
I actually agree with you- granted he is soo new in the show, but the last notes sound forced and not good. The last note is a tricky one to do the way Matthew does it.
Dramamama, I usually agree with you but "The player's age has nothing to do with the purpose of the part" First I don't understand the sentence and second I think I totally disagree. How can a 20 yr old teach anyone about all the ways of the world. A worldliness and sense of knowledge are Very important to the part. I've haven't seen these new performers so this is more a general statement than criticism of these Actors.
I guess that's a difference of interpretation then. I've never felt the Player wanted to do anything but to get Pippin to kill himself, to make him feel bad about the choices there ARE in life, to do the grand finale. That just makes him/her manipulative and evil. I also believe that the Player has suffered herself, and just wants to keep others from finding joy -- which has eluded the player. I don't think there's an age requirement on that.
That being said, I see your point as well in the context you provide.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
A person can't completely control when he or she gets sick. This could happen to anybody. I remember Da'vine Joy Randolph being in the first preview performance of Ghost and then out the second. And I don't think Patina has been around enough to be considered a Veteran yet.