Man In Chair should win Tony- Page 2

[Suedenymes]

Posted: 5/21/06 at 10:15am

melissa errico fan and princeton78, the portrayal of man-in-the-chair damages the movement toward gay rights by reinforcing the strongly held gross misconception that only gay males like show music--and the more you like it the gayer you are. the entire show comes across as some sort of a show queen's wet dream. the audience is laughing at the gay guy. sad that has been rewarded with tony nominations.
Updated On: 5/21/06 at 10:15 AM

[mrkringas]

Posted: 5/21/06 at 10:39am

The gay agenda???????

What did know one tell me about a secret conspiracy that involves all gay people organising and promoting an agenda? Seriously I am very pissed as a good progressive liberal no-one mentioned it!

[Princeton78]

Posted: 5/21/06 at 10:57am

Calm down Sue, I agree with you.

[best12bars]

Posted: 5/21/06 at 11:08am

Suedenymes & Princeton --- If you feel that strongly... Where were you when they handed out all those record-breaking awards to "The Producers?"

That show has a handful of offensive characters that make Man In Chair look like the epitome of conservation and restraint.

...And I'm one who's very sensitive about things like this, and DID chime in about The Producers... and I don't find Man In Chair's performance to be either a grotesque caricature or offensive to my "gayness." Stand him next to Roger De Bris, Carmen Gia and their Village People entourage, and you'll see what I mean.

EDIT: I'm not saying you have to LIKE his performance or warm to it... but he isn't doing "Aunt Jemima" up there.

Updated On: 5/21/06 at 11:08 AM

[Phantom2]

Posted: 5/21/06 at 11:14am

Three words...JOHN LLOYD YOUNG. I'm just sayin'...

Updated On: 5/21/06 at 11:14 AM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/21/06 at 11:46am

Martin's performance felt like stand-up to me, as well. I loved the material, but I didn't love the delivery.

[TheaterAddict7652]

Posted: 5/21/06 at 1:19pm

I haven't seen Drowsy Chaperone yet, and I'm sure that Bob Martin is great, but he shouldn't win. Of course he should be good- he's performing his own material! Let him win for Best Book. But if he wins for Best Actor in a Musical OVER Cerveris and JLY for performing his own material, that would be pathetic.

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 5/21/06 at 1:27pm

If we are worried about gay agenda's let's turn on the tv for a moment. Oh look we have 5 flaming queers trying to make the perfect metro man. That is pushing homosexuality back, not Man In Chair.

[ShuQ]

Posted: 5/21/06 at 1:34pm

But if he wins for Best Actor in a Musical OVER Cerveris and JLY for performing his own material, that would be pathetic.

What does performing his own material have anything to do with it?

[bjh2114]

Posted: 5/21/06 at 1:37pm

Isn't the whole, unabbreviated title of the award "Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical"?. Actor, by the first entry in the dictionary, is defined as "A theatrical performer". As such, the award should go to the male lead who gives the best performance overall. I believe overall includes singing AND acting where applicable. As much as I loved Bob Martin, no way he should win it. He's my pick for Best Book though.

[mallardo]

Posted: 5/21/06 at 2:50pm

To answer the question from way back on page one, yes the Super is Joey Sorge, or at least he was when I saw it in LA.

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 5/21/06 at 3:00pm

He still is

[cmleidi]

Posted: 5/21/06 at 4:30pm

Just because a character can be seen as stereotypical does not mean the character presented is not an honest depiction. I know many men like the man in the chair, and seeing THE DROWSY CHAPERONE, I thought he was doing a take off of the guy who hosts BROADWAY BEAT (and the comment is not meant to be negative). I asked some NEw Yorker friends about this, but they had no idea what I was talking about.

[Kevinoes]

Posted: 5/21/06 at 4:33pm

Okay, this thread has gone WAY out of its bound. We were talking about Bob Martin's Tony chances. Now, we're saying he is shallow and potentially homophobic?!! WTF?

ACTUALLY, I know TONS of guys like Man in the Chair - most through my community theatre group, etc. Single gay men in their 40s-50s who live alone and play showtunes when they feel sad, etc. Call them stereotypes if you want, but don't deny the fact that they exist in VAST NUMBERS!!

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 5/21/06 at 8:32pm

Bob Martin is giving a funny loving performance and after Cervaris, it is my favorite.
and he does sing a "little" doesn't he?
and as far as doing his own writing, it is a character he helped create and not the least bit homophobic, loosen up you guys!

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 5/21/06 at 8:48pm

I'm a little confused. The Man in Chair is gay or supposed to be some representation a specifically gay musical theatre fan? Why? How? There's zero mention of even the possiblity of it in the script and it's even pointed out that he used to be amrried. I know that doesn't prove anything, but STILL........

And if you're suggesting that Bob Martin is "playing" him "gay," last week there was an ATW 90 minute seminar on Drowsy where Martin was very prominently featured and you know what? How he acts as the Man in Chair is PRECISELY how he is in real life -- same mannerisms, same inflections, same body language. There way absolutely NO difference between the character and the real man (which may be a reason for some people to oppose him winning the Best Actor Award -- he's playing himself). And, of course, we know that in real life, Bob Martin is a (presumably) heterosexual man who's marriage (to a woman) was the genesis of this entire show. He's also a huge fan of musical theatre, especially shows from the the 20s and 30s and loves his cast albums. Perhaps he's a bit effeminate, but that doesn't make him or the character gay. So before people castigate him and the show for promoting negative stereotypes and setting back the "gay agenda," perhaps you should take a step back and take a look at what's actually on stage (and behind the scenes) -- rather than imposing your own political agenda on it.

[new_philosophy_girl]

Posted: 5/21/06 at 8:54pm

Margo...I think the perception of the Man in the Chair being gay comes from when he talks about how he would love to see Percy after the number "Cold Feet", sweating, out of breath, etc...

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 5/21/06 at 9:05pm

And he also gets all mooney-eyed over a couple of the female one. You can call it gay diva worship, but that's a matter of interpretation, not explicitly spelled out.

[new_philosophy_girl]

Posted: 5/21/06 at 9:06pm

Oh I agree...I think he plays the part well as to "keep you guessing" about his sexuality. But you know what, it didn't really matter to me while watching the show...

[best12bars]

Posted: 5/21/06 at 9:09pm

Aside from the whole misguided "gay agenda" issue...

...I can give you several names of actors who presumably have played "themselves" on Broadway (with a different character name, of course) who have deservedly won Tonys for their acting.

...starting with Harvey Fierstein in "Torch Song Trilogy." Still one of the best performances I've ever seen on any stage.

Updated On: 5/21/06 at 09:09 PM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 5/21/06 at 9:11pm

Oh I totally agree, Best12Bars. It's not a concern of mine at all, but I can just hear that being used as argument as to why he shouldn't win.