"I Don't Get It": Well-Liked Performers You Don't Enjoy — Page 5

Kristin Chenoweth- She has an ok voice, but is extremely overrated.

Sutton Foster- I am probably the only one who had to check to see if my ears were bleeding after hearing her "Astonishing."

Raul Esparza- The only song I have heard him sing that I actually liked was "Marry Me a Little."

Gwen Verdon- I am sure her dancing was phenomenal, but her voice is not my cup of tea.

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Her name was mentioned early on, but I just don't get Karen Ziemba. Brilliant dancer, but that's about it for me. Her singing is just okay, and I don't care for her acting at all.

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"I guess I can understand cringing at the sound of someone's voice, (though not really. Physical threats make me cringe, but never anyone's attempt at entertainment, however bad) but I really don't understand that someone else actually makes your face red. Why should someone you don't even know affect you so physically? That's just bizarre. "

Cringing is a fairly normal reaction to bad performances - this is why so many people watch the auditions of American Idol. Turning your face red, well, that's another story.

That I said, I have to add to the "I don't get it" of Harvey Fierstein. His voice DOES make me cringe, and I can't understand why he gets cast in singing roles. Acting, fine - I can deal with that, but the singing makes no sense to me.

To a lesser extent, I would say the same about Carol Channing. At least with her I understand the dynamism as a performer, which I don't get from Harvey at all.

Some of the choices on this list are just bizarre. I get the feeling some people "don't get" certain performers just as a gut reaction to those performer's popularity, as though being a Broadway performer isn't "niche" enough - not only do they have to be Broadway, but they have to be OBSCURE Broadway. It's like once someone finds success, they're immediately overrated and lack talent.

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"well-liked performers" that I didn't enjoy after actually seeing them perform: Anthony Rapp.

Someone needs to explain the boring Pablo Schreiber and the irritating Zoe Kazan to me.


But hey, even performers I don't like can do good work so this ain't a "hater" post, more like an "impatient huff-er" post.

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Patty Lupone.
Boyd Games.
Fath Prince.
Jayne Houdyshell.

Barbara Streisand, that is all I have to say.

There's no performer I really hate. Seeing some of the names mentioned surprised me though. Through my life there have been stars I've loved seeing and then lost interest in. Take Liza. When I was a kid there was a theatre in my hometown where a teenage Liza use to perform regularly. I saw her in four musicals where she played the lead and was simply amazing. These weren't high school productions. Most of the lead performers were equity members and there was a full orchestra pit. At 17 years old she was able to carry a whole show and was totally professional in every aspect. Problem is, for me she peaked in her teens. I remember seeing her in concert 20 years later at thinking to myself, this is the last time I'm seeing her. And it was. I also lost interest in yet still loved Geraldine Page in much the same way. As far as Patti goes. I saw "Evita" with at least a half dozen actresses in the role and Patti was hands down the best. Loni Ackerman sounded better, Florence Lacey acted it more believably yet the role was definitely Patti's. Never understood Gwen verdon's appeal until I saw her in "Chicago". Same with Lauren Bacall until I first saw Raquel Welch in "Woman of the Year" and later caught Bacall in the show on tour. It was a totally different show with the charismatic Bacall on stage. As far as charisma free, that's what Karen Ziemba has always been for me. Throw Marylou Henner in there too. Not crazy about Sutton Foster yet she was the best of the Millies I saw. And finally, I never ever want to see Rosie O'Donald's name attached to a musical again.

Thing about Patti LuPone is, I don't think her voice is pleasant to listen to, but I am still completely enthralled by her Evita. I can't stop listening to her on that CD, and I'm not really sure why.

I never "got" Michael Cerveris until I saw him perform at my friend's school yesterday. I always thought he had a nice enough voice, but there was something weird about it. But seeing him in person, the way he acted through the songs and the little things he did with his face and voice that accented the lyrics were just phenomenal. His version of "Finishing The Hat" was probably my favorite. I still think has a weird tone to his voice, like he's going to burst into tears, but I think he's a prime example of not judging performers before seeing them live.

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Again, for those of you who don't "get" Ethel...

In this clip she answers the musical questions "Who am I? What am I doing here?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7VzlCk1NoE

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The reason I don't like Patti is because she tends to scream everything. Not every song demands that you blow the roof off.

I definitely don't think she screamed everything in Sweeney Todd.

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Sutton
Sherie Rene Scott
Bernadette Peters
Patti
ANGELA LANSBERRY(sp)
Paulo Szot(sp)