Ladies and Gentleman....Taye Diggs is your next Hedwig — Page 17

"...I found myself worrying that he was going to forget the next word because he didn't say it with the music."

He's not your kid in the class recital. Maybe a nice break with Hedwig is in order to cut down your stress?

Of course you did, and I'm proud for you. We seem to have different views on a lot of things, and that's obviously okay. I will say for me his singing is unique among Hedwigs, not in a good way. However, I'm leaving open the possibility that he will improve to a point that I do like his renditions. Frankly, though, whether I like it or not I want to support him because I want the show to stay open. I love the show. There are people whose cup of tea is and will continue to be Taye Diggs. I hope enough of them flock to the Belasco to ensure Hedwig's heathly continuation, and it looks like they might. I don't want to knock him down because of personal preferences because my preferences are mine alone.

Updated On: 7/29/15 at 07:27 AM

"Of course you did, and I'm proud for you. We seem to have different views on a lot of things, and that's obviously okay. I will say for me his singing is unique among Hedwigs, not in a good way. However, I'm leaving open the possibility that he will improve to a point that I do like his renditions. Frankly, though, whether I like it or not I want to support him because I want the show to stay open. I love the show. There are people whose cup of tea is and will continue to be Taye Diggs. I hope enough of them flock to the Belasco to ensure Hedwig's heathly continuation, and it looks like they might. I don't want to knock him down because of personal preferences because my preferences are mine alone. "

That is exactly why I will keep going. Even if he doesn't get better, I don't want my last Hedwig to be Taye. I'm still living on the hope that JCM returns.

"Is there no part of you guys that is happy to see someone playing the role differently? After seeing 5 different people slightly play the role differently, it was so exciting to watch Taye last week bring this show to life in a new way. He's singing the songs in a new way, which sounds amazing, so forgive me for being excited? Does this mean you would rather have Darren back in the role?

I really enjoyed Darren's portrayal, so yes, I would 100% rather have Darren back. I'd rather have MCH or JCM back more, but still.

I would be thrilled to see someone play the role differently in a way that was actually a performance I enjoyed. You are perfectly able to be thrilled! Isn't this a place to share our feelings?

Maybe reviews will come out and everyone else will love him - they loved Darren when I thought he was still weak. Hell they gave Neil a Tony and I wasn't thrilled with him either. But the feeling is something that more than just a few people here have.

Updated On: 7/29/15 at 12:00 PM

"". But the feeling is something that more than just a few people here have."

And there are more than a few people who like his performance so once again there is no "consensus" that some people imply.

This applies to all Hedwigs.

From what I've read (and heard through the audio recording that's floating around), it's not so much a question of character interpretation and more a question of preparedness. Regardless of how you felt about the previous Hedwigs and their interpretation of the character and the choices they made in carrying this basically one-woman show, I don't recall anyone calling into question the actor's ability to remember the lines, land the jokes, and keep up with the band. Most of the criticism I've read of Taye's performances has centered around these issues.

I'm sure that Taye will improve with time (and I certainly hope so since I have tickets for early September,) but I don't think he's as ready as he should be at this point in the game. He shouldn't be learning the show through performance. He should've learned the show backwards and forwards prior to ever performing it for a paying audience.

""". But the feeling is something that more than just a few people here have."
And there are more than a few people who like his performance so once again there is no "consensus" that some people imply.
This applies to all Hedwigs."

I'm gonna need to see the receipts on who these people were who liked it...

I thought Neil was the best to be honest. I've seen all the Hedwigs (except Michael) and I thought JCM was good, but he seemed tired and not into the performance when I saw him. His Hedwig seemed a bit too unnecessarily angry at times also. You should always be on Hedwig's side, and I just wasn't by the end of the night. I'm not a huge fan of NPH, but I thought he was the perfect package. He was absolutely glowing and hit all the beats a Hedwig needs to hit.

I will be seeing Taye next week and I'm extremely excited. I was dumbfounded to read all the negative comments on here about his performance. A few friends of mine saw him and raved about his performance. I'm sure I will love him.

I saw Taye opening night and agree he had work to do, but I felt he understood the character and I could see her pain under all the bravado, which is crucial. I think he'll get there, but he was not there yet a week ago IMO.

However, I was with a friend who is a casual Hedwig fan (not a Hedhead like me) and she loved him and was surprised to hear my criticism afterward. Hamilton22, were your friends fans of the show?

Will look forward to your thoughts next week.

"I thought Neil was the best to be honest. I've seen all the Hedwigs (except Michael) and I thought JCM was good, but he seemed tired and not into the performance when I saw him. His Hedwig seemed a bit too unnecessarily angry at times also. You should always be on Hedwig's side, and I just wasn't by the end of the night. I'm not a huge fan of NPH, but I thought he was the perfect package. He was absolutely glowing and hit all the beats a Hedwig needs to hit.
I will be seeing Taye next week and I'm extremely excited. I was dumbfounded to read all the negative comments on here about his performance. A few friends of mine saw him and raved about his performance. I'm sure I will love him.
"

You are a brave soul

I personally loved NPH's Hedwig as well. I saw him twice and was in tears and felt totally connected both times. After I saw him the first time (it was my first Hedwig experience) I was in awe. It was the greatest Broadway experience of my life.

That being said, I also loved JCM and Darren's Hedwigs. Taye was my least favorite, sadly. I am going to try and see him at the end of September and hopefully there is improvement.

This is Broadway, people come from all over the planet to see the best theater actors in the world. You expect a professional theater experience from an actor who is prepared, can remember his lines, and actually sing. I experienced none of this during my performance the other day with Hedwig. I believe people are giving him a pass because he's beautiful and the first African-American to do this role on Broadway. If NPH did this people would have destroyed him, critically and on this board. When someone screws up their lines on Broadway all the time, they are replaced. He shouldn't get a free pass because he's famous and pretty

You REALLY need to chill...

I am surprised about the strength of how much some dislike Taye's performance, especially since the audio recording was taken during, and most of the comments were about, his first week. As others have said, I'm sure he will improve. Most of the Hedwig actors improved as time went on.

Of course there won't be a consensus about Taye, as there wasn't a consensus for most of the other actors who played Hedwig (except for JCM). I don't think that expressing one's opinion is a matter of being selfish, because people are entitled to agree or disagree with others (as it was abundantly clear when it pertained to Taye's predecessor in the role, as well as the others actors before him). But it seemed every Hedwig actor has had their share of fans, as well as those who dislike (with a few who hate) the performance of a certain actor, along with some who simply didn't favor his performance. (I favor some of the Hedwig actors over others, but I thought every Hedwig actor whose bootleg I've seen has done well. If I was able to afford to fly to NYC, I would have loved to have watched every single Hedwig actor.) I just would like people to keep an open mind, and hopefully see him later in his run, because it may be that he will have improved tremendously in whatever ways they thought he needed improvement.

I'm not sure why Taye is having problems with his lines, as some people observed. But it is possible that it is not so much a matter or preparation, as of nerves. There are cases of people being completely prepared, but once on the stage, their nerves cause some moments of struggling to remember their lines.

And I do agree with others that there are many reasons to try to be supportive of Taye. I love it when we get different versions of a story, with different interpretations and different styles of delivery. Not to mention that I am beyond thrilled that we have two African-American actors as the leads in this musical. So much of the message of this musical is about acceptance and tolerance. And as others have said, this musical is so important to so many people. I hope that Hedwig, the little engine that could, continues as long as possible.

Updated On: 7/29/15 at 03:22 PM