MATT CAVANAUGH AND CODY GREENE MUST BE REPLACED!- Page 2

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 12/21/08 at 11:20pm

Yup! That was me. We definitely spoke! I thought I had recognized you from this board...

Did Matt and Curtis emerge eventually? (i met them on Thursday evening)

[Eris0303]

Posted: 12/21/08 at 11:30pm

Yes, they did. I got to tell Curtis how great I thought he was which was my primary goal for going to the stage door since I don't normally go unless I know someone in the show. I also got to razz Matt about the Phillies winning the world series (he's a Mets fan) lol

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 12/21/08 at 11:35pm

I thought Matt's rendition of "Maria" was absolutely lovely. In fact, I started applauding as soon as he stopped singing, but no one else did because Maria and her (loud, creaky) balcony came rolling out. I'm usually more in sync with these things, but I was overcome by the song.

Frankly, all of the singing needs to be tightened, but I assume that will be worked out in the week to come.

[jejr]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 12:42am

Toony is not a boring role in the right hands. Larry Kert was GREAT in the original cast. All three if Tony's first songs were wonderful the way he sang them.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 1:41am

"Larry Kert was GREAT in the original cast. All three if Tony's first songs were wonderful the way he sang them."

I think that's why Matt is falling short in so many peoples' eyes. Larry Kert's vocals on the cast recording were so full and poignant. Matt, at this point, can't compare.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 2:42am

Give Matt time.

[BroadwayBound062]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 2:47am

blaxx..totally agree just let him run around stage without clothes on!

Okay on a more serious note, I've played Tony before (ages ago in a professional production) and honestly his songs are hard as heck! And its not so much how high the notes are in the placement and vowels that Sondheim gave us to sing on with his lyrics. It takes a while to get these songs in your voice in a comfortable place. Years later I've found this placement but if I have to sing them again, I had to rehearse them. And with the stage and choreography I feel that the music may have been slightly overlooked. I honestly feel they just need a few weeks in the role to grow. I have been looking forward to this revival. I'm crossing my fingers.

[beltingbaritone]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 3:00am

Is Matt doing the high Bb in "Maria" or doing an alternative like in the movie?

[TheCharleston]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 3:04am

"Give Matt time."

tick tock, tick tock...

how much time does a Broadway STAR need???

[beltingbaritone]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 3:06am

A HUMAN BEING, needs time to settle into those songs. Just sayin'. Broadway stars are people too.

Edited for failed attempt at a joke. Oops!

Updated On: 12/22/08 at 03:06 AM

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 3:13am

"How much time does a STAR need?"

Is that a real question?

"Be on your guard! Jerks on the loose!"

http://www.roches.com/television/ss83kod.html

**********

"If any relationship involves a flow chart, get out of it...FAST!"

~ Best12Bars

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 3:17am

What do testicles have to do with anything?

[TheCharleston]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 3:17am

oh I thought he sang it fine

his acting and approach and prescence bored me to tears, though

that's what stood out to me

[A Director]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 3:33am

The Charleston - Do you have any idea what the acting process is like? For some actors, it takes time to get into a role. How many weeks of rehearsal did this production of West Side Story have before it went into previews?

[zoran912]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 4:52am

I think beltingbaritone was implying that women need no time at all to settle into their roles. Only men, or "human beings with testicles" need time to ease into playing a role.

[amoni]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 7:55am

"I think that's why Matt is falling short in so many peoples' eyes."

Ohhh sooooo many people. Two anonymous posters on a theater board. FIRE HIM NOW!!

[Eris0303]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 8:53am

"Ohhh sooooo many people. Two anonymous posters on a theater board. FIRE HIM NOW!!"

Were you in the theatre listening to the comments of the other people in the audience? On Saturday night I heard more than one person state that they were disappointed in Matt's vocals. As I stated previously one audience member was heard to say that Matt "ruined" Maria because he didn't sing it the way they thought it should be. And I defended Matt because I have heard him sing better than he did on Saturday night. So I am not looking to have Matt fired or replaced. I'm am just stating not only what I heard from Matt on stage and from other people in the audience.

I know it's early in the preview process and that they've had a hectic schedule so I really have the hope that this is something that won't be a problem as time goes on.

[philcrosby]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 9:03am

I thought Matt was fine -- but no one in the show has the vocal "chops" that the original cast did. I did long for the music to really "soar."

Even Josefina -- who was so perfect as Maria in so many ways -- has a very "light" soprano.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 9:17am

Beltingbaritone, Matt hit the Bb on Thursday evening's performance, but did not sing it on Saturday night. I felt Matt was vocally stronger on Thursday night, but he was still fine on Saturday.

Eris0303, that was me with WAT checking the list of names.

Miss P, I also mentioned in my earlier review of the show that I felt that Curtis Holbrook would make a wonderful Riff.

Updated On: 12/22/08 at 09:17 AM

[Eris0303]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 9:36am

Oh, how lovely! I wish I'd known at the time that I was speaking to BWW members *s*

I don't think Matt's vocals were "bad" but I know I've heard him do better.

[mywonderwa11]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 9:50am

I can't wait to see this in one week. I hope Matt opps for the Bb next Tuesday.

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 10:39am

I think many of you need to check your history on West Side Story. Larry Kert and Carol Lawrence were BLASTED for their lack of singing ability. They sang sharp. Both of them. Harsh notices from the critics about their acting, too.

In fact nobody got great reviews as a performer with the exception of Chita's dancing (which was more group praise than individual).

No one from the original cast got a Tony nomination.

Just a reminder to those of you who say they cast brilliant singers and actors in the original production, and "why can't they do that now?"

They didn't. At least, not according to the people who were there at the time.


EDIT: I must correct my own "history." Carol Lawrence DID receive a Tony nomination for Maria as Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She was the only performer nominated. She didn't win.

The only Tonys that the original production won were for Choreography and Scenic Design.

Updated On: 12/22/08 at 10:39 AM

[Brick]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 10:53am

Thank you, Best12Bars.

I'm not defending the production for I haven't seen it, but one of my biggest pet peeves (especially from critics) is comparing a performance to one they haven't even seen. And clips from television or Tony performances don't count because they aren't in context of the Bway season itself. From what I've read, WEST SIDE was not given a huge glowing reception on Bway. Its "hit" status in pop culture didn't come until the film.

So, criticize this productio all you want, but don't compare it to a production you didn't see or couldn't compare to what was playing next door at the time. Maybe you wouldn't have liked the originals, either...

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 11:03am

The choreography was the star of the original production. Even the music reviews were "mixed" at the time.

Carol Lawrence and Larry Kert were both cast because they could dance, as well as act and sing. But dancing was the primary reason for getting them hired. As with Chita and the rest of the cast.

Then, as the rehearsal process went on, the dancing for the two leads was reduced to next-to-nothing. Carol Lawrence (in particular) was crushed by the creative decisions. She was primarily a "dancer who could also sing and act." Now, she was doing almost NO dancing in the show, and she was going to be judged as a "stand and sing" soprano. She couldn't compete with the Barbara Cooks and Julie Andrewses of the day. She wasn't in their league. But that wasn't why they had cast her initially.

Nevertheless, when the show opened, they both faced harsh criticism. Particularly about their singing, but also their acting. At least Chita got noticed for her dancing ability. But that was about it. The cast was considered (in general) a group of very capable, young dancers who didn't know much about singing or acting. And weren't up to the demands of the "strange and unusual" material.

It's funny how history rewrites itself over the years.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 11:20am

Larry Kert didn't sing the Bb until later in the run.

In the 1980 revival, Ken Marshall could hit it only occasionally. Bogardus could hit it out of the ballpark with marbles in his mouth, as could Brent Barrett.

The 2nd Maria understudy was a very young, still pudgy Harolyn Blackwell, who went on, of course, to lose weight and become one of the recent generation of "svelte sopranos," touring with Pavarotti.