Name a Way that Your Favorite Performer Can Improve

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 12/22/04 at 9:30pm

Rather than the usual "I love _____" thread. I thought I would make a "I love _______ except for" thread.

I'll start.

As much as I love Kristin Chenoweth, and I lurves her a lot, I think she needs to work on being understated and tone herself down a bit. Some non-fan of Chenoweth said that she always has to prove that she's the amazing Kristin Chenoweth, and I have to agree with that in a way. It seems that she is always trying to show off or be funny or amazing, etc. Maybe her being a short statured-blonde girl with a squeaky voice from Oklahoma makes her feel inferior to her collegues, thus trying to overcompensate.

I think she needs to tone herself down and let herself not be so forced when performing.

Ok. Nobody is perfect.

Updated On: 12/22/04 at 09:30 PM

[jacobtsf]

Posted: 12/22/04 at 9:32pm

I love Douglas Sills except for the fact that everytime I try to see him he either leaves the show or is sick.

[maybethistime]

Posted: 12/22/04 at 9:34pm

I love Patti LuPone but she needs to watch her diction sometimes.

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 12/22/04 at 9:36pm

Well I don't know if this is true or not, because I've never really seen this, but from the videos I have seen Idina Menzel and Sutton Foster don't seem to move when their singing unless there is a particular dance move. I dunno that just bothers me
Still think Sutton's amazing though!

[CaMi MiAmI]

Posted: 12/22/04 at 9:36pm

fun thread... hmm...I once saw Bernadette Peter's eyes wonder as if she were bored during a very emotional song (I forgot which one b/c I was so disappointed in how unappealing and un-Bernadette Peter-sy she was performing.

[Schmack]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 12:17am

Idinia Menzel could learn some proper breathing techniques. Everytime I've heard her sing "Defying Gravity" she is gasping for breathe from the very beginning of the song - if she would calm down and breathe in through her nose to her diaphragm instead of gasping and putting it into her chest she might actually have more control over what she's doing, and she would be able to generally be more secure with all her wailing at the end. Not that it's never not good, but sometimes it's pretty shaky and a little all over the place.

[Jwei123]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 12:20am

Ann Reinking. The lady's dancing is phenomenal...STILL! But what she could improve upon is also her breathing. She doesn't make it as noticable when she gasps for air, but if she hasn't taken a really big breathe, her face turns BRIGHT red, so she has to take quite frequent breathes. But I love you, annie!

[ShineOn]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 2:42am

I'm not namin' names or nuthin'... but...

*coughATTENDANCEcough*

*innocent smile*

[paradox_error]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 3:29am

Bernadette and Donna Murphy could start being a little more predictable, and stop taking off so many shows.
Donna, nobody gets that sick that often!!!
Do the f*en matinee!
LOVE YOU ANYWAY!!!

[flamingo]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 8:22am

Just a brief comment on Bernadette and her attendance:

"Gypsy" played a total of 484 performances (that includes 33 previews). Bernadette took a 1-week vacation Sept 29-Oct. 4, 2003 (8 performances) and a 1-performance night off to be with her husband in July 2003--both announced in advance. She was out sick for 11 performances (in April and May 2003 and once on May 9, 2004). The facts belie the constant carping about Ms. Peters' poor attendance, at least at "Gypsy".
Updated On: 4/24/06 at 08:22 AM

[BWayBoy88]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 9:15am

As much as I love Michael Arden, the only thing I could find that this man can't do is dance.

[Love4Cheno]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 10:13am

Dear Lea Salonga,

Please learn how to act...Thanks!

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 1:34pm

I adore Bernadette, Idina, and Kristin more than life itself, but there certain things about them that bug me. Idina needs to have more control over her voice and breath when she's singing. Kristin needs to tone down her cuteness. Bernadette sometimes has a tendency to over-act. Updated On: 12/23/04 at 01:34 PM

[Joshua488]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 2:13pm

Kerry Butler. She needs to stop doing that baby voice so often, like Penny Pingleton's character voice? She seems to incorporate that voice somewhere into all of her characters, even if it's only in just one line or lyric. I think she must have been THRILLED to be playing a geeky teenage girl in HAIRSPRAY because it was an excuse to use that voice ALL THE TIME! I love Kerry to death, but don't do that baby voice so much!

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 2:17pm

George Hearn and Mandy Patinkin can do everything perfectly.
Except really dance.

[Eponinez.Rain]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 2:21pm

By performing on a stage near me! Seriously, though, I've never been graced by a live Idina performance but it does seem she needs to work on her breathing. That's all I can think of right now... fascinating thread, though.

[Corine2]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 2:29pm

My favorite performer is Stephanie D'Abruzzo. She is perfect.
No improvements needed.

[orion59]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 2:34pm

Wait a minute, aren't a lot of you the same people who posted in the "What Production Are You Working On" thread about your college and high school shows?

I hope Bernadette, Lea and all the other who have made it on Broadway are sitting up and paying attention to this sage advice on how they can be better.

[CanWeTalkBroadway?]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 4:28pm

Aren't many high schools and colleges now doing open ended runs of eight performances a week? Certainly these modern-day Barrymores and Bernhards are exactly the people who should be giving advice to these so-called "professionals." A long weekend of playing Ren in "Footloose: The Musical" is all the credibility a person needs.

[Plum]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 4:35pm

Oh, come on. It's not like anyone here actually expects to be read and taken seriously by professional actors. And the fact that they're starting by talking about favorite performers implies that they already adore most of what these people do.

I'm sick and tired of hearing the argument of "if you can't do it, you can't judge it." We can so. I'd trust the judgement of people with experience and education more than that of people who are lacking in those departments, but everyone's allowed to have an opinion. This isn't a mindless bashing thread, so leave it.

Loving a performer doesn't mean blindly thinking everything they do is perfect. That's why Idina Menzel fans have a bad name around here.

[LittleFish8386]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 5:24pm

Very well said Plum, and you are absolutely right. Half of the theatre critics and reviewers out there can't do what the performers do. In my Rep class we have a name for this--Constructive Criticism. We are only pointing out the minor flaws in the performers we love.

That being said, I can't think of one thing that Jennifer Laura Thompson can improve on. I'm sure there is something, but I can't think of anything... :)

[OrdinaryJukebox1]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 6:13pm

Has Idina Menzel murdered anyone lately? I mean, the way she's bashed on EVERY THREAD THAT BARES HER NAME is a sign that she must have done something horrible and awful!!! I don't defend her every move, hell, I don't even know her every move. Liked her in "rent," "the wild party" and "wicked." Does that make me a fan, sure it does. Would I go to the end's of the earth, like some people, nope. But, my god, every time I read her name, there's a thread about how awful she is, or blah, blah, blah.

-Vincent

[Plum]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 6:15pm

Huh?

[My Fair Lady]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 6:16pm

I think Sutton is amazing but in Snoopy she was a bit awkward and she twitches.

[Sumofallthings]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 6:29pm

Ya know Idina Menzel could always try her hand at acting lessons...