Hoff Withdraws from PAL JOEY, Risch Takes Over- Page 3

[PalJoey]

Posted: 11/25/08 at 12:48am

Of course they will.

[Trish2]

Posted: 11/25/08 at 12:48am

Well, he certainly is a handsome devil in his photos for sure. I don't recall him looking that strinkingly handsome in Legally Blonde though. Of course, it may have been the character he was playing. And if he was indeed acting in that part then maybe he can pull this off. If he wasn't acting in LB, then I'm not quite so sure I see a Joey there. The good news is he has two weeks til opening, so the part could be tailored to his specific talents, especially in regards to the dancing. Best of luck to him.

[Janki]

Posted: 11/25/08 at 2:29am

I LOVE Matthew. Thought he was great in Legally Blonde, and cannot wait to see his Joey (pun intended)!
Congrats Matthew, you can be my Pal Joey anytime!

[Auggie27]

Posted: 11/25/08 at 8:32am

Not since the Steve Kazee as Starbuck discussions have we seen such passion and rancor. Oh well, this thread is why BWW was created, no?

[wexy]

Posted: 11/25/08 at 10:23am

I don't believe the hurt foot story. He was at our Roundabout after party. He was pleasant and chatting away with everyone. He was not in any sign of pain. I spoke to him for a couple of minutes. I asked when the show was opening and he said in December and "we're working on things." Not a grimace or a limp. I wised him "luck"
and went on my way to my friends
He stayed at the party (Then to counter my story) I just heard from someone who has a friend in the show that he had a MRI Saturday that revealed an injury that would preclude him from dancing for a while. Sorry Christian,

Updated On: 11/25/08 at 10:23 AM

[Hiram]

Posted: 11/25/08 at 12:05pm

I saw the 1976 revival and liked it although I thought Christopher Chadman was a mediocre Joey. However regarding an earlier post, I must come to the defense of the wonderful, underrated Joan Copeland: Ms. Copeland was a brilliant Vera and was perfectly cast in the role. She received a well deserved Drama Desk nomination for her memorable performance.

I feel bad for Christian Hoff but wish Mr. Risch all the best.

[EugLoven]

Posted: 11/25/08 at 2:39pm

WOW!!! JUST WOW!!!
A classic theatre story turned real-life!
How freakin' awesome for Matthew! Bon chance
The Gay-European-turned-Sleazy-Showman!

Awww.... poor Christian though... Best regards to him. What a wicked twist of fate. I saw 3rd preview with Christian (consider myself lucky now!) and will have to catch the show again with Matthew now!

Goodness... what does this mean for Tony nominations?

wow...

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/25/08 at 2:41pm

Well, if Risch is the opening night Joey then he's eligible.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 11/25/08 at 2:42pm

It means that it's STILL too early to predict nominations?

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 11/25/08 at 2:43pm

"Goodness... what does this mean for Tony nominations?"

It means that instead of Christian Hoff being snubbed for a 2009 Best Actor nomination, Matthew Risch will be snubbed.

[justafan2]

Posted: 11/25/08 at 6:16pm

I personally wish Mr. Hoff would return to Jersey Boys---he was perfect as Tommy D.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 11/27/08 at 12:36pm

I think him returning to Jersey Boys ASAP would be a smart move. No matter what the truth behind his leaving the show is, he needs to get back in the spotlight and make people forget this sad event ever happened. I don't think anybody would want their last Broadway show to have involved them being replaced in previews.

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 11/27/08 at 12:47pm

I saw him go on for Warner in LB. He exuded stage presence and was better than Broadway's go-to "will he propose" a-hole Richard H. Blake.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/27/08 at 1:55pm

I personally wish Mr. Hoff would return to Jersey Boys---he was perfect as Tommy D.

Ugh, no way.

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/29/08 at 11:16am

So was there really a foot injury?

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 11/29/08 at 11:27am

I doubt it.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 11/29/08 at 11:31am

We'll probably never know if the foot injury was the real reason for him leaving the show. He definitely was injured, but whether the injury really was so bad that he HAD to leave the show of if it was just used by the producers as an excuse to get rid of him...well, we'll probably never know. It sounds like even the cast was told "Oh, he had an MRI and that showed that the injury was much worse than he thought." It could be true, or it could be B.S. to protect Christian's/the production's image and to keep company moral from getting too low. Probably only Christan, his wife, his agent, Joe Mantello, and the Roundabout producers know what really happened for sure.

[touchmeinthemorning]

Posted: 11/29/08 at 11:33am

There really is a foot injury people. Broadway producers do not have big enough hearts to let a lead go mid-previews AND let them keep their pride. Hoff got hurt and couldn't continue, and the producers felt good about replacing him anyway.

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 11/29/08 at 11:34am

Oh come on. You're really implying that Broadway producers have hearts of ANY size?

[PalJoey]

Posted: 11/29/08 at 1:01pm

I saw the show this past Tuesday, Matthew's 4th performance, and I predicted then that Matthew Risch is going to be the next Cheyenne Jackson or the next Sutton Foster, if not necessarily the next Shirley MacLaine, although he has the potential for greatness.

The cast believes that Christian hurt his foot--period, end of story--despite what Brady claims (or imagines, as usual) to have been "told" (which means, in Bradyspeak, "made up").

Mostly what the cast wants is for bitchez like BradyFosca to stop gossiping about the departure and focus on the show itself and its future.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 11/29/08 at 1:17pm

Futton Soster? Ain't she that chick from Flight of the Conchords?

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/29/08 at 1:18pm

I think Hoff would be great as Nathan Detriot in the Guys & Dolls revival!

Especially with the cast they're assembling. He'd fit right in to the group so far.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 11/29/08 at 1:40pm

Why don't you ask GrodyBradyBunch what he thinks? He'll ask someone in the "inner circle," no doubt.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 11/29/08 at 4:07pm

I've said this before, but the injury was legit. I've been told that Hoff realized something was seriously wrong with it when he got home after the performane on Friday night. If it turns out to have been a blessing in disguise for the production and for Roundabout, I don't think any of it was deliberately done.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 11:14am

SPOILERS

I was at yesterday's matinee and was horrified at what Richard Greenberg has done to the book. Whatever wit was in the show to start with has disappeared without a trace. New, unnecessary characters and subtexts have been inserted, large hunks of what worked have been deleted, and the whole thing is one unmitigated mess. Congratulations, Roundabout, once again you've taken a classic musical and destroyed it. For example, Happy Hunting Horn, one of the original's dance highlights (check out Harold Lang during the '52 revival which aired on the Ed Sullivan show) has been reduced to a dirge -- the chorines appears in mourning veils at the start of the number and it was downhill from there. "Choreography" has been reduced to arm-swinging and uncordinated, meaningless gestures. Kelly, Fosse, Lang et.al. must be turning in their graves!!!! Gladys is now an ex-girlfriend of Joey's who had to have an abortion as a result of one of their indiscretions; Lowell is now a not-very-closeted gay who has a penchant for chorus boys; the sets were, to put it mildly, minimal. Two dreary songs that were written but dropped have been reinstated (Abbot, Rodgers and Hart knew what they were doing when they dropped them) -- the list goes on and on. No number registered with the audience and there were no repeated bows at the end. And, as for the casting:

Matthew Risch could be a good Joey, but this production defeats him. He dances well (as far as could be told from Daniele's vile choreography), is a Joey "type," sings well enough (though not spectacularly) and shows some spot-on acting in the 2nd Act. Stockard Channing cannot sing, period. Her acting is fine, when given half a chance, and she brings some flair to the part. Poor Martha Plimpton is up against insurmountable odds with some very unfunny dialogue.

I LOVE the show Pal Joey (as written) -- it's always been a favorite and it grieves me no end that this monstrosity should be some people's first and (most likely) only exposure to the piece. But Roundabout should be run out of town for allowing this to happen.

You may have guessed, I didn't like it.

Updated On: 11/30/08 at 11:14 AM