Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Yankeefan007
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
#1Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Posted: 7/28/09 at 6:09pm
But unlike the "tell all" to the NY Times, this one isn't about sexuality.
http://stage-directions.com/esparza
#2re: Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Posted: 7/28/09 at 6:39pmI've never even heard of this website before, but what a great, wonderfully in-depth interview. Totally encapsulates all of the reasons I respect, admire, and adore him. Thank you for posting this.
AndAllThatJazz22
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/8/08
#2re: Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Posted: 7/28/09 at 6:48pmI did not know he was from Miami. I am too (originally). I just learned something new!
"There's nothing good on. The media hates Christmas. The media loves vampires, though. Maybe they will show a Twilight Christmas."
-Danmeg's 10 year old son.
-Danmeg's 10 year old son.
#3re: Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Posted: 7/28/09 at 7:00pm
AndAllThatJazz, Esparza is indeed a So.Fl native which I think makes him even cooler (being from there myself, as you know).
What a neat interview. It's pretty wonderful. I love what he says about Sondheim, I love how blunt he is about the Tonys (and in no way does he bash David Hyde Pierce at all), and I really like what he has to say about William H. Macy and Norbert Leo Butz, and of course his comments on Piven are priceless.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
#4re: Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Posted: 7/28/09 at 7:03pmEmcee, I didn't know you were an Esparza fan!
#5re: Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Posted: 7/28/09 at 7:09pm
It's my deepest, darkest secret.
(BWW NEWS DESK ALERT! SOMEONE POST A HEADLINE! EMCEE'S SECRET REVEALED!)
Anyway, I feel like there'd be no need to bash DHP anyway; it's not like it's his fault he won the award. He didn't go take it. There's no reason for Raul or anybody to be directly upset with him. I mean, surely Raul could have been all "Well, he didn't deserve it and I did," but that's not even really the point he's making; he was saying not so much that it was humbling to lose, but that the loss was humbling because it made him realize how much he had been putting on this without even acknowledging it. I do think it's really sad that he blamed himself for Company not running longer. He gave that show so much, and I know he cared about it a lot, so that really broke my heart.
#6re: Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Posted: 7/28/09 at 7:14pmLuvtheEmcee, I didn't mean to say that Raul should have bashed him or anything to that effect. I guess I've just read or seen interviews in which actors feel the need to bash other actors for losing a role or an award to them (Patti LuPone's ridiculous and obnoxious remarks about Bernadette Peters come to mind, for example). It just makes me respect Raul more knowing that he can accept that experience, talk about it, learn from it, without having the need to diss anyone else's talent. It's such a neat interview, really love it.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
#7re: Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Posted: 7/28/09 at 7:14pm
Oh thanks! Loved how he pulled no punches, loved the honesty, loved that palpable intelligence that comes through on most of his interviews; tickled to see his usual digs at undergrad theatre class; and adored that sexy, rock star confidence of his. 
(Now where the heck is my "next project" info?!)
#8re: Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Posted: 7/28/09 at 7:16pm
No, I didn't think you were! 
I was saying I think that even if he wanted to, it just wasn't germane to the point he was making, which is actually much sadder and more self-deprecating than the "But I deserved it!" comments like the ones you're alluding to.
Ariella
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/10/06
#9re: Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Posted: 7/28/09 at 7:17pmHis thoughtfulness never ceases to impress me. And I agree with Em - he's talking about losing the Tony in a personal context. DHP had nothing to do with it: he's saying it forced him to re-examine his priorities and consider the significance of the award as affirmation of craft. The significance of the loss became a projection of his own investment in the Tony, and he's gotten past that now. And I think he's got a much better perspective on it now. I hope that's also true in terms of how he feels about Company's closing, because there were so many other factors undermining its run by that time. He shouldn't feel remotely responsible.
#10re: Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Posted: 7/28/09 at 7:22pm
I really like how candid he was while talking about his Tony experience. I agree that it seems like he might have come to term with the fact that his loss did not equal COMPANY losing, I mean, the show won Best Revival and it still closed so it really had nothing with him winning or losing a Tony. I hope he knows that now. If anything, it was his performance (and the Times' love-letter to him when he did the Cincinnati production) that guaranteed the NY production. Now I just want to give him a hug.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
Updated On: 7/28/09 at 07:22 PM
#11re: Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Posted: 7/28/09 at 7:30pm
This is why he is my favorite actor on Broadway. That, and his unequalled acting ability and nearly unmatchable vocal prowess. His performances in SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE and MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG are two of the greatest musical theatre performances I have ever seen.
COMPANY will live FOREVER largely because of his carrying the brunt of that ENTIRE production and turning it, along with Doyle, into something slightly transcendental and it's on DVD as proof to see. The COMPANY DVD is worth a million TONYs, and I'm sure he would agree. Though a TONY would have been nice TOO.
P
Updated On: 7/28/09 at 07:30 PM
#12re: Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Posted: 7/28/09 at 7:35pmExactly, ray. That's why it broke my heart, because he was the center of that show. Doyle's vision was nothing short of stunning, the rest of the cast was great, but Raul's embodiment of Bobby is what ultimately made that show. It's hard to say that unequivocally because I know how collaborative the process of developing that portrayal was between he and Doyle and they built so much of it (and in turn, the entire show) together, but I still really firmly believe that no other actor would have been able to do with it what he had. No one else is ever going to bring to it what he brought, and it was raw and beautiful and real. This is definitely the most open he's been in the press about the 2007 Tony, and it's just so heartbreakingly honest. I hate to see people who are so insanely talented get down on themselves like that.
#13re: Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Posted: 7/28/09 at 7:37pmYes, but isn't he known as being difficult to work with and isn't it true that many working Broadway actors do not care for him? Isn't that how he lost the Tony? That was my understanding.
"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal
"I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello
#14re: Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Posted: 7/28/09 at 7:46pm
On one hand, I feel like I shouldn't even respond because anything I say is likely to be automatically dismissed, but in the interest of proving wrong the perception that I live in a house of rose colored glass (and answering the question)...
I've always understood it that yes, he did have a reputation for being kind of difficult for a while -- in part because he Post blew the Taboo thing out of proportion and people ran with and remember that, and in part because it was probably, to a degree, true. But all those stories you used to hear, you don't really hear them anymore. And I know people who have worked with him more recently, in various capacities over the past few years, who have had nothing but nice things to say about him. So I think that yes, that probably was a factor in some people's votes, because sure, there are people out there who won't like him. But even still, I wouldn't say that was how he lost the Tony. And, I mean, how can it be your "understanding" that that's how he lost? Did they publish a Reasons for Vote breakdown? 
Like I said, I have no problem believing that it lost him a number of votes -- but that it declaratively lost him the Tony? That's a little bit of a broad stroke. We'll never know exactly what it was that cost him the award. There are so many possible factors that, in all likelihood, probably all folded in on top of one another.
Chrysanthemum62001
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/14/04
#15re: Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Posted: 7/28/09 at 8:15pm
Lovely.
And I too am awaiting anxiously for some news on whats next. He deserves a looooong break, but for selfish reasons I don't really want to see that happen.
"What a mystery this world. One day you love them and the next day you want to kill them a thousand times over." The Masked Bandit in THE FALL
TulitaPepsi
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/13/04
#16re: Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Posted: 7/28/09 at 8:32pm
It's the best interview with ANY actor I've yet seen. What a pleasure to see an actor as fine, complex and articulate as Esparza be encouraged to go into such intricate detail on the inner workings of his craft.
Interviewer Bryan Reesman is sharper than anybody in PLAYBILL or most of the staff at Theatermania. It's clear Raul respected him and trusted him.
Two other points: Raul and DHP have become quite friendly since those Tonys. There is much mutual respect between the two men.
"Hurry up and get into your conga clothes - we've got to do something to save this show!"
#17re: Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Posted: 7/28/09 at 8:39pm
I'm still processing this interview. There are so many things I could say, some of which has already been said, but I haven't found the words yet.
Just one thing, though. Silly and nit-picky, I know, but....Raul is only 38. He won't be 39 until October.
Sarcasm is an allergic reaction to stupid people.
#18re: Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Posted: 7/28/09 at 9:13pmI love this article! Thank you so much for posting. What an inspiration to actors. I sent it to my acting coach. Does anyone have a link to the article done while in Company. I never read it.
Genius lasts longer than beauty.
#19re: Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Posted: 7/28/09 at 9:24pmSearch for his name on the New York Times website. It's probably still there.
#20re: Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Posted: 7/28/09 at 10:01pm
"(Patti LuPone's ridiculous and obnoxious remarks about Bernadette Peters come to mind, for example)"
ray, what did Patti say about Bernadette?
Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiae
Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra
Salve, Salve Regina
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Eva
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
O clemens O pia
Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra
Salve, Salve Regina
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Eva
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
O clemens O pia
BryanReesman
Swing Joined: 7/29/09
#21re: Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Posted: 7/29/09 at 3:59pm
Thanks for the kind words. This was an amazing interview to conduct, and there's another 1,200 words that I cut out!
Cheers,
Bryan
www.bryanreesman.com
#22re: Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Posted: 7/29/09 at 4:19pmOh gosh, Bryan, you didn't just say that right? Because you know all of us are now going to be pestering you to post of the rest of that interview somewhere, anywhere! (Please, please, please?!?)
#23re: Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Posted: 7/29/09 at 7:43pm
Oh my goodness YES!!
Welcome to BWW, Bryan! That is one of the best interviews I've ever read. Not only did you know your subject, but you were smart enough to ask your questions and then just get out of the way. Let Raul run. He is nothing if not loquacious!
Bryan, is there any chance we might be able to read the rest of the questions and their answers? Maybe it could be posted privately somewhere?
Sarcasm is an allergic reaction to stupid people.
Updated On: 7/29/09 at 07:43 PM
TulitaPepsi
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/13/04
#24re: Esparza tells all to Stage Directions magazine
Posted: 7/29/09 at 10:04pm
Bryan, I have a question.
Did your editor cut it or did he/she let YOU cut it?
"Hurry up and get into your conga clothes - we've got to do something to save this show!"
Videos