Michael Cerveris Appreciation Thread — Page 3

I'd missed the Passion concert when it was one PBS - sadness! I wish I could see the whole thing.

Here's a stagedoor pic from my lovely evening seeing Sweeney in June. Never mind me - Michael looks wonderful. My mother's been teasing me about it mercilessly, but he's awesome, so I don't care.

A little over 48 hours until I get to appreciate Mr. Cerveris and the rest of the outstanding cast of "Sweeney Todd" again .

Hopefully I'll get a glimpse at Broadway Barks as well -- if I can tear myself away from the dogs long enough to take a gander.

Updated On: 7/7/06 at 12:35 AM

moxie, sorry to say he's only about 5'9.

you might be interested in this thread

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?thread=884915&boardname=bway

Moxie -- Would you believe me if I said my living room?

Yeah, didn't think so. I had to work last Monday (the 3rd) and it was unbelievably slow so I spent a good part of the day on the internet and in particular, michaelcerveris.com. The website is great -- it goes off on all of these tangents so I really don't remember exactly where I swiped the photo from but I do believe it was a recording session.

I'm just back from seeing the show tonight and it was fantastic! The crowd was great (once the drunk woman towards the front finally left but that was a whole different drama) and the cast was as great as I remember them being in May. I'm going again on Sunday and I can't wait.

Has his slider been stolen yet?

He was fantstic last night in Sweeney! And he is so nice at the stage door.

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I'm loving his pirate shirt in that pic :)

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My pic with Michael is up on my blog. I have no idea how to post pics on here. See blog link in my signature.

Just keep in mind.....it was a steam bath in there!

If you read the post, you'll see that I said to him as we were posing, "Are you gonna do that head tilted, raised eyebrow look you do?"

He said, "That's the only look I know."

All time favorite Michael story. We waited for quite a long time after The Apple Tree just to meet him. When he walked into the lobby, he walked right past us having no idea any one would wait for him that long. I stopped him, and he was genuinely shocked and baffled. He asked us who we were waiting on, saying Kristin had already gone. I so uncalmly and uncool-like blurted out "you".

I've heard people here say very nasty things about him and accuse him of being a bad person. But Michael is such an average guy and that makes him so unique. He is so special and he contributes so much to the Broadway community.

I will say this though. I love how he plays up his inability to get girls, though I don't believe he has quite the difficult time he makes it out to be...

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I just wanted to add something to this conversation....

I have no idea what kind of a person he is in his real life. But I definitely got the feeling last night that he has a "fan" personality and a "real personality."

When we spoke, I said to him that Sweeney Todd was the first play I ever saw. He said, "Mine, too!" But it didn't feel sincere. It felt rehearsed. I'm pretty sure he has rehearsed responses and lines for typical fan encounters. I also got the impression that he says the same thing over and over to fans.

The line that did feel authentic to me was his "It's the only look I know" response when I commented on his infamous eyebrow raise photos shots.

I have no idea what he's like, what he does in his private life, who he screws, who he dates, etc. But I did feel that his fan banter was very, very rehearsed. Of course, I'm sure he gets put on the spot a lot
and never wants to be rude so he is as accomodating as possible. But I almost feel like he's a little...phony. Not that he's going to talk to me like I'm someone he knows but.... I really didn't sense that he wanted to be there. I don't think he even knew what they were going to sing in the medley. He came at the very last minute, went on stage, then left. It felt to me that he was there out of a feeling of obligation than because he really wanted to be there.

I spoke with so many people last night and they all seemed a lot more real to me than my brief conversation with him. Daniel Reichard was a riot and I just got the feeling that he wasn't worried about what people thought of him. Same for Christian Hoff. But Cerveris...I don't know....i just got the feeling that he cares a lot about what people think of him or is overly concerned with his public persona.

Moxie, it's not like he's going to say to you who he's dating and other personal things when he just met you.

Edit: I am not trying to be rude.

Updated On: 7/11/06 at 11:05 PM

Long story, but I was sick when I saw "Sweeney", so I didn't stage door. As it happened, our hotel was really close to the O'Neill theater, and when my mom was leaving to get me some medicine about an hour after the show, she saw Michael still at the stage door. She got him to sign a Playbill she still had in her purse, and she relayed my personal opinion that I thought "Sweeney" was robbed at the Tonys. She said he seemed really genuinely surprised she said that, and that he was really gracious and nice--real laid back, and in her words "You would have no idea it was the same guy who had been on that stage". (Thank god--can you imagine??!!)

Not that this one encounter encapsulates his personality, but my mom has encountered people at the stage door before, and she mentioned several times, even the next day, how cool of a guy he seemed to be...I dunno. But I'm sure there are things that actors get in the habit of saying in response to certain questions/comments. After a while, you only have so many original things to say to fans.

And maybe the whole comment about "Sweeney" being his first Broadway show seemed rehearsed because probably every other "Sweeney"-related review I've read with him, he mentions it.

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