Lip Synching - A Moral Question — Page 2

Oh, ok.

Personally if I had to pick a weaker side as an audience member, if it's a musical, I'd sacrifice a bit of acting talent for the vocal goods. But that's just my opinion.

---

A) Would I prefer someone who can do both? Of course. BUT if they have to choose, if it's a musical choose the stronger singer. If it's a play choose the actor.

B) I haven't complained about tv stars being brought in. But that kind of proves the point here. A tv star's acting skills might (MIGHT) be excellent, but if it's a musical and they can't sing, I think people have a right to complain. It's a MUSICAL. Ergo if you can't sing, you should probably stick to plays. I don't pay money to watch someone lip sync or sing less than well in a musical!

---

>> I disagree, Sean, if they can't pull it off this could be what the theater is known for and be laughed at for years.

That's their decision, and I'm sure they're aware of the risks.

---

I'm not questioning or disapproving of your opinion! Just voicing my own too!
Thats what these boards are about..just opinons. Nuthing personal!!!

I don't know what theater company you are referring to, but I do know that our local theater company works with a razor thin budget. A bad review i.e. "the lead can't sing!" would put them in a red hole.

Perhaps if they put in a disclaimer...Due to unavoidable circumstances, rather than cancel the performance, we have chosen to enhance the vocals of X with the voice of Akiva.

As an audience member I might be grateful that the show wasn't canceled - but if I just thought the lead was lip synching, I would be furious.

Akiva, if you don't do it. I sure will. I always wanted to be the male Marni Nixon (Those damn editing voice programs ruined any chances of that!), So this seems like the next best thing.

---

Updated On: 7/8/07 at 11:18 AM

I hate the idea of lip synching in live theatre. It does seem dishonest to me. However, this theatre company is in a major bind and lip synching may be the only way to go. But the audience must be in on this before the show begins, either in the program or by a public address announcement prior to the start of the show. Otherwise it becomes doubly dishonest. If the audience is left to discover this on its own then it would be furious, and rightly so.

---

Bertandrew: I assure you. I can act and serviceably dance the role. I have been a lead for this theatre company several times before. The reason they can't offer me the actual role is because of scheduling conflicts (aka...I will be across the country during the run of the show working on two other shows).

Thanks everyone for their opinion. Again, I can't even begin to make a decision until I have a big talk with the producers. I think what I will essentially tell them is that I am willing to record my voice (hell...I need the money, and I love the recording studio), but that quite frankly it just won't work. I mean...I took a sound design course in University. I know acoustics. I know the layout of this theatre (or actually...lack of theatre since its outdoors) and the distance from an actor to the closest audience. There is no way the closer members will be fooled. Having said that I think I will be a horrible person and record my voice for them if they still want to, and let them suffer the consequences, whatever they might be, with not much guilt actually since I will have given them full warning.

Akiva

Quick question...maybe even a stupid one, but how did they even wind up in this mess to begin with? Didn't the understudy have to audition for the role? How are they now figuring out that the guy can't sing the role?

Akiva, if the company is well-known enough that the inevitable scandal when the truth comes out would be picked up by the press, I would think about declining. It would be very easy for a reporter to write a story slanted towards the idea that the theater was tricking its audience, and if that happens, you don't want to be in the article as someone who was an active participant in a plot to deceive innocent people who paid hard-earned money to see live theater, only to be fooled by the theater management.

If it's a small theater that is completely off the radar screen, then it's a slightly different situation, but if not, I think the theater is crazy to entertain this idea. As you've pointed out, it won't work, and the theater will lose any audience base it ever had.

---

What part of "live" theater don't you get?

Lip-synching for any reason is a sham and plain wrong (I want to hear an actual performance, not a perfect one - for that I can listen to the OBC).

Several years ago a local theater wanted to use synthesized music to save costs - I and mnay other supporters told them that our subscriptions and donations would be cancelled if they went ahead with their plan - the result, live music only.

So unless the piece calls for an obvious recorded segment (e.g the taped playback in "Hey There"), I'm paying for and expect live performances.

---

Lip Synching,or "sweetener" is used ALL the time in shows. The title number in Phantom of the Opera is almost(if not completely) pre recorded and Lip-synched to. Of course it is their voices on track. The audience will know in your case,so they won't be fooling anyone. The should just come clean.