Posted: 8/4/15 at 10:47pm
"I think the following moment best encapsulates the show I saw tonight: when the green spotlight hit Taye at the beginning of "Hedwig's Lament," the expression that he made prompted half of the audience laugh out loud."
Any further detail on the expression? That's such an odd place for laughter (especially assuming Rebecca is still as intense as ever in the lead up) so I'm very curious.
Posted: 8/5/15 at 4:28am
I was at the performance tonight and the whole show was a Roller Coaster for me.
I've seen every Hedwig (except Michael) and there wasn't one that I disliked. They all put their own take on the role and performed the role wonderfully....and then Taye Diggs comes along and blows them all out of the water.
Going into the show I didn't really know what to expect. Reading this board I was prepared to see Taye reaching for lines and looking uncomfortable. Well that certainly wasn't the case. He was radiant and sharp as a knife tonight. His confidence filled the room and he was glowing through the whole darn thing.
You could see that intense look in his eyes that said "this is my show and I'm going to own it". He's definitely the sassiest Hedwig yet.
What really brought me into Taye's performance was when he sang Wig in a box. For some reason, I have always been unsatisfied with how that song is sung live. Neil's version is too soft for my taste, JCM talk-sang it and didn't seem to care if he was on key or not. Darren's interpretation was good but the emotion behind it was lacking. The song bloomed on Taye's voice this evening. It didn't even matter if they lowered the keys, his voice really just works with this type of music ( at least it did for me).
Another thing that struck me was Taye's interpretation of the book scenes is vastly different from the other Hedwigs. I think someone explained it as a more sorrowful approach to the dialogue? Sorrowful is definitely the correct word I would use. You could see his eyes start to water in some scenes. It was very moving.
I think the most emotional part of the show was Midnight Radio. When Taye sang "And All the brave rock n rollers, You know you're doing alright" You could feel a force of energy spill into the room enrapturing everyone. He made us all feel whole and we were definitely rockin out to our rock n roll. At that moment in time, he was the only essence on earth that mattered. He was Hedwig.
All that being said, I don't think he gave a perfect performance. He does need to work on some phrasing and it still looked like his sweat was bothering him. I never for one second thought he didn't know his lines though. He may have muddled one or two of them, but he certainly isn't going onstage every night not knowing his dialogue.
In all, He's my favorite Hedwig and I'll definitely be going back later in his run. I know that some people don't like him in the role and that's fine. Different Hedwigs work for different people. I thought he was in great form tonight and he surprised the heck out of me! As did Darren, so maybe I should just stop reading this board when new Hedwigs come in (hehe).
I don't like to rank, but since everyone else is:
1. Taye Diggs
2. Neil Patrick Harris
3. JCM
4. Darren
5. Andrew Rannels
I was never a big Taye fan, but he certainly made me one tonight. I'm on such a high after his performance. Can't wait to see it again.
Updated On: 8/5/15 at 04:28 AM
Posted: 8/5/15 at 6:24am
"You could see his eyes start to water in some scenes."
It's because he's still getting glitter in his eyes, dude. I could see it.
Posted: 8/5/15 at 1:05pm
I know its frowned upon and basically illegal, but I'm in the UK and I won't get the chance to see Taye in this role...
Does anyone have any video or audio recordings from the show? I love The Origin of Love and I would love to hear his version.
Posted: 8/5/15 at 2:14pm
This is already been discussed.
Posted: 8/5/15 at 6:48pm
So glad to hear a good report.
Posted: 8/5/15 at 8:51pm
It is concerning that all the reviews are that he is amazing or horrific, though. Guess I'll know where I stand next week.
Posted: 8/5/15 at 9:34pm
"It is concerning that all the reviews are that he is amazing or horrific, though. Guess I'll know where I stand next week."
That's exacly what I've been thinking. I assume there's either stretching of the truth in both directions or he's just hitting on really specific things that compleatly click with some people but are also the total opposite of what others are looking for in a Hedwig.
I've noticed that I often disagree with things people who are raving about Taye are saying about the other Hedwigs in comparison (most recently the opinion that Darren's Wig In a Box lacked emotion), and even the raves seems to single out things that are still problematic for him, so I'm thinking it's more of the latter and this is just the most polarizing Hedwig performance yet.
Updated On: 8/5/15 at 09:34 PM
Posted: 8/5/15 at 10:02pm
I think it's really the type of performance that you love or hate.
In similar news, an official review is out:
Posted: 8/5/15 at 10:22pm
I cannot take seriously any review that says of JCM's performance, "...it wasn't really Hedwig."
Posted: 8/5/15 at 10:24pm
Ouch.
But on a related note, I find it interesting that "slip of a girly boy" is what's almost always used to describe Hedwig's physicality when that line is actualy a reference to years prior in the Hansel era. To me "look at me, I'm a perfect sample size" does the same job but is current to the moment of her right then and there on stage.
Posted: 8/5/15 at 10:31pm
"I cannot take seriously any review that says of JCM's performance, "...it wasn't really Hedwig.""
That's really taking those four words way out of context. What was said was
"What made the night special was that Mitchell almost completely threw out the original script and just riffed for the entire evening, between numbers. It was a hell of a lot of fun, even if it wasn't really Hedwig. (I mean, the man wrote the show, he can do what he wants, right?)"
meaning it wasn't the show as scripted and expected, but it was still a "pleasure" and "special".
Posted: 8/5/15 at 10:36pm
I for one am just happy that Rebecca is getting some love. She's phenomenal and has really shown her skills.
I'm not sure if I liked her better with Darren or Taye as she changed it up a lot between the two.
Updated On: 8/5/15 at 10:36 PM
Posted: 8/5/15 at 10:37pm
The context doesn't change the meaning. It a ludicrous, ignorant statement.
I'm not a huge fan of the performance of Taye's that I saw (his first), but I don't think anyone would call about.com an "official" review.
Posted: 8/5/15 at 10:40pm
It's as official as a replacement is gonna get.
Posted: 8/5/15 at 10:40pm
"I cannot take seriously any review that says of JCM's performance, "...it wasn't really Hedwig.""
Did you not understand the contex in which that statement was made?
The fact that JCM was adlibbing and not immersed in the character of Hedwig it seemed in this instance, because of his disability, that the through story was dispensed with to compensate for what he couldn't do physically.
No--I was NOT there-just what I read into the above statement.
Posted: 8/5/15 at 10:49pm
I understood the context and, having seen the performance [redacted] times, understand how stupid it is.
Since this is a Taye thread and not a JCM one, I'll leave it at that.
Posted: 8/5/15 at 10:50pm
"The context doesn't change the meaning. It a ludicrous, ignorant statement.
I'm not a huge fan of the performance of Taye's that I saw (his first), but I don't think anyone would call about.com an "official" review."
They are literally saying that it wasn't Hedwig (the show), not that JCM wasn't Hedwig (the character). Reading comprehension is a wonderful thing, context does matter. it's an honest statement, if he changed enough of the script, it literally wasn't Hedwig the show, as written.
Posted: 8/5/15 at 11:01pm
Did you see it? 98% of the show was exactly as written. He added a few lines here and there to explain the injury and toned down the choreography. There was nothing about the show that wasn't Hedwig.
Posted: 8/5/15 at 11:03pm
"I for one am just happy that Rebecca is getting some love. She's phenomenal and has really shown her skills. I'm not sure if I liked her better with Darren or Taye as she changed it up a lot between the two."
Rebecca is phenomenal and imho doesn't get nearly enough love and appreciation. After seeing her for the first time, I actually busted my budget when buying repeat tickets so I'd be in Yitzhak high five seats.
How has she changed her Yitzhak for Taye other than lowering Midnight Radio (which is such a shame)? I've heard nothing about this before now.
Updated On: 8/5/15 at 11:03 PM
Posted: 8/5/15 at 11:15pm
I saw JCM on Feb 14, which was before his week off to recover from his injury. He was in a hip to ankle brace that completely immobilized his leg, and I strongly suspect that post-injury, pre-recovery week was the most off-script his Hedwig got. And to say he threw out the script is just factually incorrect. There were additional lines to explain the injury, and the Broadway choreography was largely gone, but it was on script. Nothing was removed. It was, literally, Hedwig (the show) as written, with extra injury-related stuff.
The script for Hedwig (the show) literally encourages ad-ibbing and improvisation in an authors note. The notion that changing the script makes something not Hedwig (the show) is just wrong. Like, lol that you made such a snotty condescending post about someone else's reading comprehension when you don't seem to have a clue what you're talking about.
Updated On: 8/5/15 at 11:15 PM
Posted: 8/5/15 at 11:22pm
""I wonder who was the worst Hedwig: Ally Sheedy or Anthony Rapp. "
Probably impossible to say, given the unlikelihood of anyone having been to both...
I do think it is unfair to judge the Anthony one negatively because they didn't do the normal Hedwig hair, etc., though. I know two people who saw his version and said they really liked it... I think people should be able to do their own thing with the show.
Obviously, on Broadway, each actors gets to personalize it, but it will still look the same since it is the same production..."
--
I wasn't basing his performance solely on the wig... Even thought it was a faux-hawk with braids! Really, that should be enough... But I watched video of his performance on youtube. Go watch. Tell us what you think. Maybe he'll be your favorite
Posted: 8/5/15 at 11:23pm
About.com isn't quite a legit theatre review, though JCM got some for his Hedwig, including NYT review.
Posted: 8/5/15 at 11:37pm
How has she changed her Yitzhak for Taye other than lowering Midnight Radio (which is such a shame)? I've heard nothing about this before now.
I'm probably gonna get yelled at but I honestly feel like she's better with Taye? She seems like she's more comfortable with both Taye's Hedwig and Taye than she ever was with Darren. I think she had more chemistry with Darren (I was there the night they got vertical on the car) but she has more fun with Taye?
I have no information on this other than personal opinion of what I witnessed at stage door and in interviews but I think Taye and Rebecca click on a whole different level than Rebecca and Darren did - something was missing from the latter two off stage.
Updated On: 8/5/15 at 11:37 PM
Posted: 8/5/15 at 11:38pm
"About.com isn't quite a legit theatre review, though JCM got some for his Hedwig, including NYT review."
John's run is an anomaly - thought I think About is more legit than anything the other three got, right? Especially MCH and DC.
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