"I Don't Get It": Well-Liked Performers You Don't Enjoy- Page 7

[yankeegal]

Posted: 6/1/09 at 10:12pm

Kristin Chenoweth

Jennifer Gambatese

Carol Channing

[DefyGravity777]

Posted: 6/1/09 at 11:23pm

Aaron Tveit
Julia Murney

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 6/1/09 at 11:37pm

TheatreFreak05, you just answered your own question in one post.

[justagirl2]

Posted: 6/2/09 at 1:20am

Kelli O'Hara. She has a beautiful voice and is very lovely, but...for me, that's all there is to it. I didn't see that fiery spark that draws me to other performers. There is no doubt that she's extremely talented, but I'll have to jump on the "boring" bandwagon.

Kristin and Idina, too.

Schmerg, I'm actually with you on female performers. Too often, I think "oh, they don't make me want to rip my ears off. I guess that means they're good." I much prefer (and am wowed by) male voices.

[Kizzlah]

Posted: 6/2/09 at 2:57am

Susan Boyle - Granted, not Broadway, but I still don't see what all the hype is.

Kerry Ellis - Wonderful voice but rather bland acting.

Idina - I really enjoy her CD. She's not really doing anything for me on stage now, though.

Nick Adams - Sorry, I just don't understand the appeal.

Cheyenne Jackson - Gorgeous man, gorgeous voice, don't think he's that great of an actor, though.

Bernadette Peters - Honestly, I keep going back and forth with her. Love her voice on some songs, can't stand it on others. I have yet to watch SITPWG, so maybe I'll be astounded by her acting when I get to see it.

[JPBaker67]

Posted: 10/25/22 at 5:52pm

Same. Don’t know what it is about her singing, but it doesn’t quite grab me the way it does most everyone else. Nonetheless, I admire her career and appreciate her contributions to Broadway. To each their own.

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 10/25/22 at 6:43pm

Christian Borle. What deal with the devil happened there? 

[goodlead2]

Posted: 10/25/22 at 7:53pm

Andrew Rannells -- He always seems amazed at his own talent.

But I want to stick up for Sutton, Kelli, and Patti, who I think was the definitive Rose.

 

[quizking101]

Posted: 10/25/22 at 8:01pm

Derek Klena - I was never a huge fan of his. He seems to have all these leading roles where he just kinda looks pretty and sings without much charisma. I wasn't a fan of him in ANASTASIA and I felt like he only did slightly better with the cardboard caricature (as written) in JAGGED LITTLE PILL.

Jonathan Groff - He has talent, but like Lea Michele, his insufferable personality shines through everything he does and that overtly obnoxious theatre kid energy is grating. "Glee" did him no favors.

[DJD4]

Posted: 10/25/22 at 8:49pm

Kristin Chenoweth: She seems like an absolutely lovely person, but the sound of her singing voice just doesn't sit right with me. Plus I know the random, spontaneous high note has become a gimmick of hers but it's incredibly unnecessary. Very charming in those cheesy Christmas movies though. 

 

Ben Platt: I think this is becoming popular opinion these days. How is he even as famous as he is? He mostly seems to be beloved by more novice/mainstream theatre fans (aka teenagers and their moms), but I personally don't get the hype.

 

Sutton Foster: I know y'all love her, but the two performances I saw her in (Shrek and Anything Goes) were some of the most dead-eyed, robotic performances I have ever seen. 

 

Lin Manuel Miranda: He writes amazing music, maybe he should just stick to that.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 10/25/22 at 8:51pm

This thread is 13 years old! How did it get bumped up to the top??

Anyway, Annaleigh Ashford is my answer.

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 10/25/22 at 9:18pm

I love Aaron tveit as a singer. I find his charisma ends there. Patti lupone commands the stage but is it just me who finds the words she sings hard to hear? Lin miranda oh man. I can live without. He comes across as very pretentious. Neil Patrick Harris I just do not get. Anna Leigh Ashford. Please no. Karen olivo. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/25/22 at 11:51pm

quizking101 said: "Jonathan Groff - He has talent, but like Lea Michele, his insufferable personality shines through everything he does and that overtly obnoxious theatre kid energy is grating. "Glee" did him no favors."

 

Groff is one of the kindest, most genuine human beings to ever be put on this planet and I’ve yet to hear from one other person that’s ever spent ANY amount of time with him that his “personality” is anything less than wonderful. 

 

[binau]

Posted: 10/26/22 at 4:49am

Perhaps I'm overestimating her popularity now but this thread feels like a classic example of how it didn't used to be 'cool' to like Patti. Things STARTED to warm up/change after Gypsy and then Patti became an unstoppable force/adored over the last 10 years or so but it hasn't always been like this.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/26/22 at 7:22am

ashley0139 said: "This thread is 13 years old! How did it get bumped up to the top??

Anyway, Annaleigh Ashford is my answer."

How'd it get to the top?  ONE person adding a post does that.  From there, people just decided to join the conversation.

[The Other One]

Posted: 10/26/22 at 8:47am

Hugh Jackman and Marin Ireland.

The comment about Andrew Rannells seeming amazed by his own talent made me laugh out loud. Lord knows he is always “on” but somehow I still enjoy him. 

Updated On: 10/26/22 at 08:47 AM

[JanMaxwellsBag]

Posted: 10/26/22 at 8:49am

dramamama611 said: "ashley0139 said: "This thread is 13 years old! How did it get bumped up to the top??

Anyway, Annaleigh Ashford is my answer."

How'd it get to the top? ONE person adding a post does that. From there, people just decided to join the conversation."

I did find it funny that the person who bumped it didn’t specify who they’re talking about. 

It was fun to read this thread though. 2006-2011 were when I was a lurker/occasional poster before jumping back in last month, so it was nice to see some old posters.

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 10/26/22 at 12:29pm

Not performer, but a show I did not like-and I saw it twice. I definitely gave it a chance. I was not a fan of Great Comet. I respect what they did 100%, and especially liked the opening number, but I was not a fan of the show. 

[BuddyStarr]

Posted: 10/26/22 at 12:35pm

Christine Ebersole. I really liked her then I found she was a 911 denier and did a protest WITH Alex Jones (not against) and I was through. 
 

 

[OhHiii]

Posted: 10/26/22 at 1:39pm

Doesn't get more white bread boring than Jessie Mueller for me. Sorry, ya'll.

And echoing loudly the Ben Platt gripes. From these initial Parade videos, looks like we'll be getting Evan Hansen leads his the school production. Doesn't help that he's gotten where he is all thanks to Daddy Platt.

[verywellthensigh]

Posted: 10/26/22 at 1:42pm

Writing performers off entirely unless they are truly terrible is kind of basic.

I used to NOT GET AT ALL Michael Cerveris and then he proceeded to blow me away in Fun Home.

Debbie Reynolds' aggressive cuteness used to grate on me but then as she aged her perkiness began to seem a lot more like grit, determination and class.

[Bigserver1]

Posted: 10/26/22 at 6:23pm

Ed_Mottershead said: "I may get slaughtered for this one, but I've NEVER understood the hoo-haa about Kevin Spacey -- and I've seen every show he's been in since Ghosts in 1981. Just because he plays the roles that Jason Robards soared in doesn't mean he's particularly good in them."

 

 

Ed was ahead of his time...

 

[dwirth]

Posted: 10/26/22 at 8:11pm

I just canceled my Washington DC hotel for a February  weekend during which I planned to see Sunset Boulevard with Stephanie J. Block at the Kennedy Center.

Why? While I was watching some SJB clips from the new Into The Woods, my wife - who has seen SJB in shows way back to 1st stop on the original Wicked tour (where I thought we loved her) - strongly voiced her.... well.... thoughts on SJB for the first time. 

Now, in fairness, SJB does come off a bit mannered... (but very talented) - abd always has... but I've felt a different way about it than my wife. 

Anyway, no Sunset for us.  

Updated On: 10/26/22 at 08:11 PM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 10/26/22 at 8:39pm

I do think Aaron Tveit is talented and very handsome.  I feel he lacks charisma major.

I have never understood the Christine Ebersole love. I generally think she is bland, starting 1,000 years ago with Camelot, moving on to 42nd St.  she won a Tony for that in a very dismal category.  I did think she was good in Grey Gardens, but I thought Lupone walked away with War Paint.

I truly never have understood the Betty Buckley love. I don’t even like her voice.

I find Andrew Rannells one-note.  I don’t even like looking at him because he looks too ‘plastic’ to me.

I hated it when Madelyn Kahn sang.  Loved her in The Sisters Rosensweig and In the Boom Boom Room, to name two.  Hated her in On the 20th Century and the One-Night performance of Anyone Can Whistle.

I also really didn’t like Karen Olive and was sorta happy when she said she was giving up Broadway.  

I think Laurie Metcalf is usually an excellent actress, but I don’t understand the (many) people who think she has no equal.  May be me…she just won an Emmy for Hacks and I thought she was terrible in the role…for me it was an embarrassing performance.  I also didn’t like A Doll’s House Part 2…thought it was a great concept, but Cliff Notes rather than a fully developed play.

[joevitus]

Posted: 10/26/22 at 8:57pm

Jarethan said: "I do think Aaron Tveit is talented and very handsome. I feel he lacks charisma major.

I have never understood the Christine Ebersole love. I generally think she is bland, starting 1,000 years ago with Camelot, moving on to 42nd St. she won a Tony for that in a very dismal category. I did think she was good in Grey Gardens, but I thought Lupone walked away with War Paint.

I truly never have understood the Betty Buckley love. I don’t even like her voice.

I find Andrew Rannells one-note. I don’t even like looking at him because he looks too ‘plastic’ to me.

I hated it when Madelyn Kahn sang. Loved her in The Sisters Rosensweig and In the Boom Boom Room, to name two. Hated her in On the 20th Century and the One-Night performance of Anyone Can Whistle.

I also really didn’t like Karen Olive and was sorta happy when she said she was giving up Broadway.

I think Laurie Metcalf is usually an excellent actress, but I don’t understand the (many) people who think she has no equal. May be me…she just won an Emmy for Hacks and I thought she was terrible in the role…for me it was an embarrassing performance. I also didn’t like A Doll’s House Part 2…thought it was a great concept, but Cliff Notes rather than a fully developed play."

I will say this for Buckley: she's the rare singer on this list with a genuinely original voice. Hitting the notes isn't the beginning and the end of what should qualify one for Broadway stardom. She hits the notes, yes, but additionally she doesn't sound like anyone else. I'll grant there's almost something...metallic?...about the sound she produces--or produced in her heyday, anyway--but it's absolutely unique, so I get why some people would be crazy about her. Most of the people who've been listed here, though talented enough in a conventional sense, are just pretty bland. They don't represent anything special.

I'm on the fence about Patti. I'm not a big fan. Articulation is not her thing, and a lot of the roles she gets because she's a name she's not well-suited for. On the other hand, she's probably the best Evita ever--she got the gutsy coarseness of the character, as Rice conceived it, in a way no one else ever has. And, like Buckley. she has a unique sound. These are two performers you'd never mistake for anyone else.

Updated On: 10/27/22 at 08:57 PM