Kyle Riabko in Spring Awakening — Page 4

That was something else I forget to mention about Riabko. His Melchior didn't go on any kind of a journey. His character at the end of the show was essentially the same as it was at the beginning. Groff always managed to take you on this emotional ride with him, but Riabko doesn't do that.

I checked in on SA last week (I saw it three times with the original cast).

In my view, the show is in a very sorry state. Riabko is a moderately talented singer but is incapable of delivering a fully rounded performance. He overacts and mugs constantly. Alexandra Socha is passable as Wendla, but lacks any real star quality or charisma. She also lacks Lea Michele's good looks (I'm sorry, but Socha makes for a downright homely Wendla). Blake Bashoff is a very good Moritz, but his performance was not enough to save the evening.

I went back to SA last week to take two friends who i thought would enjoy the show (they had never seen it). Given the sad state SA is currently in, i was actually *embarrassed* for having pushed my friends to come see it.

Someone fix this show before it dies a wimpering death.

i totally agree with you, adamgreer.

if i sound overly negative, it's partially based on how much LOVED the show with its original cast, in comparison. the show definitely "does NOT feel the same".

i'm sure a lot of people who've seen the show will feel the same way, dchestnutny. i certainly did.

it was my ninth time seeing the show over the past 18 months and, amazingly, every other time groff and michele were there. and while i had my criticisms at times, they were such a powerful presences. so to cast people that gave such smaller performances, especially when the rest of the ensemble is playing at such a higher level, it just wasn't the same show.

---

I thought that his hayloft scene was really well done, I thought his pre All That's Known scene was nice, and I thought his cries before Those You've Known were really good. Also regarding Socha's voice, I've always loved it but it has been a little weak before. Tuesday night though, she sounded better than I have ever heard her. Every note was pure and clear and she sounded amazing.

K, I just did a HUUUGE long review on my recent viewing of SA on another site, but I'll just basically give my 2 cents on Kyle for now:

He's a VERY very talented guy, there's definitely no denying that. But seeing him also made me realize just how beautifully nuanced Groff's performance had been. Kyle is very good at doing the edgier, more "rebel" side of Melchior. It's only in the "sweeter" moments where he fell flat for me. The problem is that... it was those very moments that made Groff so likeable. When you only have the hard-edged, almost-pretentious Melchior, you don't really feel as much for him in the end.

That said, considering I think this is his first venture into the acting world (I could be wrong on that), he definitely was not BAD! He just...wasn't as effective as Groff in my opinion. That's all :) (by "effective" I obviously mean he didn't make you feel for him as much)


Vocally, he was definitely spot on. He has a great voice. I don't personally find it quite as BEAUTIFUL and easy to listen to as Groff's (his falsetto is strong but just naturally a little bit nasaly for my taste), but def really good!



In short... I miss Groff


(no seriously, I always knew he was awesome, but seeing another take on the role completely accentuated the fact that Groff nailed that performance. Could his Those You've Known sometimes be a bit overdone? Absolutely. But all in all he made you love him, and...I think people probably took his ability to do that for granted a bit)

---

I highly dislike Riabko performance. Yes, he sings VERY well and perhaps has one of the most beautiful falsettos I've ever heard. His acting is WEAK at best. He doesn't connect anything to anything else going on. It is terribly obviously he doesn't have acting training: or at least not enough.

I've seen him 2x now: once with Eryn and once with Socha. He was MUCH better with Socha (whom I think is incredible as Wendla) but basically he was boring.

I agree with a few other posters that said his Melchior doesn't take any kind of journey.

FYI: the advanced buzz on Hunter Parrish is that he is amazing. And at this time, there will be about 2 weeks of U/S action covering when Riabko leaves for the tour and before Parrish's start.

Most of the buzz lately is certainly that Bashoff is carrying the show.

---

No matter what, though, the tour cast will be great because they'll have an OBC like energy.

Updated On: 5/5/09 at 01:46 PM

Updated On: 5/5/09 at 01:53 PM

I am going to today's matinee! I am a little disappointed that Kyle won't be in, but I honestly don't care that much - I'll post a review about him in the role. Best of luck, Matt!

Who will cover Matt's ensemble track?

---

ooooh Matt's going to be on today!? I'm so jealous, I want to see Matt!Melchior so badly!! haha. From everything I've *heard*, he's excellent, and has more of the loveability factor than Kyle does :)

(though I could be going into that biased because I'm so used to listening to Matt as Peter from Bare and, you know, how much more loveable can you get than Peter from Bare??)

---