Dear Barry & Fran Weissler,

[joshgadspellingbee]

Posted: 9/19/14 at 6:11am

Hiring Josh Kaufman is a stupid money making decision ad we are sick of people doing this. He is too old can't act and has no reason to be on the Broadway stage. Most people can think of lots of people who would be a better choice for the show. Please STOP doing this!
We are sick to death of your Stunt casting

I know they are not going to read this have to get out the frustration

Updated On: 9/19/14 at 06:11 AM

[skylight2]

Posted: 9/19/14 at 6:38am

He can't act? How can you be so sure unless you've seen him act before?

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 9/19/14 at 8:37am

Since he's literally never acted before, that may be a tough one. SH*Tty choice guys.

[brdway411]

Posted: 9/19/14 at 8:51am

I am staying away from Pippin.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 9/19/14 at 9:08am

Dear joshgadspellingbee and brdway411 (amongst others),

Maybe you should grab some tickets to our long-running hit Chicago.

Ki$$es,

The Weisslers

Updated On: 9/19/14 at 09:08 AM

[JRybka]

Posted: 9/19/14 at 9:11am

Wait someone said he was too old? He is in his 30s. How is that old? And we have no idea if he can act? We KNOW he can sing. How about we worry about it if it was say.... David Hasselhoff as Pippin.

[brdway411]

Posted: 9/19/14 at 9:12am

I saw Chicago 2 years ago. It looked tired.

[aasjb4ever]

Posted: 9/19/14 at 9:19am

I saw the announcement that he was joining and audibly went, “Who?”

[newintown]

Posted: 9/19/14 at 9:29am

Also never heard of him, but that face looks like an amateur Photoshopped it all wrong...

[I'm a starkid]

Posted: 9/19/14 at 9:44am

It seems strange to do stunt casting for Pippin, but I guess we can't judge until he starts performances. And for the people saying he doesn't look right for the part, I'm sure he will shave his beard and they will give him a youthful looking haircut or something. Don't judge a book by it's cover.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 9/19/14 at 9:47am

You just joined to say that? Obviously you don't know how Barry & Fran work. They have raised stunt casting to an art form. That's their thing. Like you can be assured that when you go to a Roundabout show it will be crap, you can be assured that when you go to a Weissler production someone in the cast is there just as a stunt.

[dreaming]

Posted: 9/19/14 at 10:17am

Well if this is the best they can do at stunt casting, they've not achieved their goal. I'd never heard of this guy until he was cast in Pippin. I listened to him sing and he's fine. He doesn't physically fit the part and he's 38 (a little old???).

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 9/19/14 at 11:00am

I think he has a great look for the role. He has a very theatrical child-man baby face. Perhaps by not physically fitting the part you mean he doesn't remind you of other actors who have played the role. So?

If the objection is that he isn't a typical leading man in looks, I find it an odd objection given that the role is at its core an Everyman (it certainly isn't archetypally a Prince in either the romantic or commercial traditions).

Beyond that, even assuming anyone would care, which they don't, no one knows what the actual Pepin of Italy aka Pippin aka Carloman looked like (and the images artists have provided over the centuries are quite dissimilar - as any google image search would reveal).

That he hasn't acted before doesn't mean that he can't act, particularly given that he's a performer.



Updated On: 9/19/14 at 11:00 AM

[Brian07663NJ]

Posted: 9/19/14 at 11:03am

Too bad they don't have a talented, handsome actor sort of like Erik Altemus to step into the role of Pippin. I'm sure if Erik were in the understudy role of Pippin it might even be a thought...

[HogansHero]

Posted: 9/19/14 at 11:13am

who is the "we" in this post? the only "we" that matters is the buyers of tickets. It is pretty clear "we" will buy quite a lot of them. And since the raison d'être of the show is to make money, why would anyone care what you think?

[dreaming]

Posted: 9/19/14 at 11:18am

"We" will buy a lot of them??? I sure won't.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 9/19/14 at 11:21am

Anyone seen this "old" dude shirtless?

[newintown]

Posted: 9/19/14 at 11:31am

The wonderful thing about the original production of Pippin is that Fosse cast a really skilled/experienced actor who could sing. This revival has featured (buff-torsoed) singers who can remember lines (in my opinion).

Maybe Paulus (or more likely, the AD) will pull a phenomenal acting performance out of this newb, but I don't think that's really anyone's priority here. This is just a shot in the dark to try to sell tickets.

[NewYorkPulse24]

Posted: 9/19/14 at 12:17pm

Never heard of him.
I hope he keeps his shirt on.
If theyre trying to sell tickets they could absolutely do much better.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 9/19/14 at 12:48pm

@dreaming: a fortiori, you are not "we." It's really pretty simple.

[dreaming]

Posted: 9/19/14 at 12:49pm

Neither are you.

Let's see just who buys all these tickets.

[troynow]

Posted: 9/19/14 at 1:42pm

I actually agree with him. A stunt on occassion when the role is suited for a "STAR" is great. However this fashion is becoming? has become the norm for this producing team.

I know and understand that putting butts in seats is the only objective of a producer. However STOP and i agree STOP IT! Put people in the show that right here in NYC who can sing it, act it and be it! Stop killing your shows with stunts! If your show can't survive with out a "STAR" maybe you should consider the QUALITY OR LACK THERE OF YOUR SHOW!.

CHICAGO DIES EVERYTIME you put some woman in the show who can sing, cant act, and cant dance. Really Wendy Williams??? Christie Brinkley? You make yourselves the laughing stock of BROADWAY! Go back to putting good people in a show and let the show be the star. This formula has worked for PHANTOM OF THE OPERA because the show is the STAR and not the person.

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 9/19/14 at 1:50pm

Add me to the list of people who had no idea who he was. He doesn't look the part but who knows. I'm always interested that performers nowadays pick a Broadway show as the place to make their acting debut.

I'll be in NYC for October and November and wanted to go back to Pippin. I'll be sure to catch it before he goes in.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/19/14 at 3:15pm

Never heard of the guy, but who knows? He may turn out to be great. I thought Justin Guarini was fatastic in Women on the Verge.

Asking the Weisslers to stop stunt-casting is like asking Perez Hilton to stop being a douchebag.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 9/19/14 at 3:24pm

^ TRUTH