BroadwayGirl107:
Kris2...I'm glad you mentioned Caren, she's a wonderful talent...the only one who really breathed any life into the show last time I saw it...and she was an understudy. She was a fantastic Mimi. Sweet and sexy. She had the whole package. She wrote this psychedelic musical called Womyn in 3. I saw it at the Fringe Festival and it became one of my favorite musicals of all time. It’s being staged on November 3rd. ::plug:: SEE THIS SHOW. I encourage everyone to make plans and get tickets. Get your butts down there. It'll blow your mind. Caren is incredibly talented. The show has a great message, the costumes are great, the direction is fabulous, and it's just so creative and original. A very Cabaret-like feel to it. The music, lyrics, choral arrangements, and vocals are top notch. R&B/rock belting. You'll be sorry if you miss it. I hope you love it. I did. And yes, it’s as strange as it sounds.
“The Atomic Bar & Chill is situated in the womb of the universe. The house band is the creatrix, Great Mother of all things, fronted by Infinity Blue, the personification of will. Together with their cracked out chorus of atoms, they create a journey.... a karmic ride dripping with soul and spoken word guaranteed to open your minds and deepen your smile. Get ready for the ride of your life...... because Time is a Mother....and she's coming!”
Henry St. Settlement
466 Grand Street (at Pitt Street)
New York, NY 10002
http://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?showCode=WOM46 /plug
Broadwayguy2:
Kris, a couple of strong performers can not compensate. The creative has let the show become sloppy and worn out and they led that path with their own actions.... look at the cast.. so many of them have been recycled and rehashed it isn't funny.. and they aren't even the standout performers of many of their former companies. It seems like they just don't WANT to go find new people for the cast... and playing onstage 100% out of character is inexcusable... and many of the current cast members are guilty of that... and by the admission of many rentheads, who, I may add, actually think that playing around out of character makes a good show. and energy or not, there has to be talent and spot on performances. Energy can not make up for that.. all they are then is high energy bad performers. Okay, I didn’t mean for it to come off like I thought all they had going for them was a great energy. My bad. I feel that all the ones I listed before are extremely talented performers and are great at the characters they’ve played. Jeremy Kushnier has certainly proven himself as one of the best Rogers out there imho (though insomniak will probably counter me on that point). The most believable in the part too. Colin Hanlon was amazing as well. Caren Lyn Manuel was with the show for a year maybe and she rocked as Mimi. Dominique may be with the show since forever, but she’s one of the best out there imo.
They’re not looking for new talent? Ryan Link . . . That didn't exactly work out too well. Destan Owens, Frenchie Davis, Kelly Karbacz, and Drew Lachey are still pretty new. Destan's been there 8 months or something. Frenchie may be recycled, but she wasn't there that long to start with. Sometimes new casting works, sometimes it doesn't. Why shouldn't the producers go with actors that have done the role previously? Just because we've seen it before? Would you complain if Shayna Steele came back? It’s hardly like Rent is the only show to recycle cast members - for instance, Chicago does it a hell of a lot. Look at Charlotte D’Amboise. The argument against recycling has been done to death. I mean, since when is it bad to come back to a show you're familiar with?
I would like to defend the Rentheads as well. Many of them hated Matt Caplan’s antics towards the end of his run. They couldn’t stand it. I’ve seen Matt give excellent and crappy performances though. Yes, I have seen a couple of them break character, Matt included. No, I do not approve. However, I’ve also seen a few of them joke around within the parameters of their character, Matt included again. You’re hating on the whole cast because a couple people screwed around? I have never seen Mark Ford, Destan, Todd, Mayumi, D’Monroe, Krystal, Merle, Colin, Justin, etc. break character. Ever.
Mister Matt:
"There is a lot of talent in the current cast."
That may be true, but there is very little discipline or direction in what I saw last July. Some cast members were certainly at fault for the delivery of their performances (and deserved to be fined by Equity at the very least), while others I believe just received little to no direction in characterization. Fined by Equity? Whoa. Please elaborate because I really want to know what you feel they should be fined for. Also, are we talking this past July or July 2003? If it were 2003, I’d understand better. Kindly detail which performances you felt received little or no direction in characterization too. I would like the chance to agree or rebutt.
