Nathan Lane: Snubbed For Four Consecutive Years — Page 2

I saw Butley and thought Nathan's performance was very good. I was especially impressed by his English accent. I am surprised he could do that. I am back from NYC where I sat beside David Alvarez' mother at Billy Elliot while David performed, talked to Eamon Foley at Everyday Rapture, and sat at a restaurant at the next table to Matthew Gumley and Adam Riegler who were there with their moms. Matthew and Adam told me about The Addams Family which they will be appearing in. Want to hear about it? I really liked your messages.

Lane is a friggin' Theatre genius.
Does he bring something of himself to most roles?
Yes, and so did most brilliant Actors:
Helen Hayes, Lunt and Fontanne, Bankhead,
Robards, Mostel, Merman, on and on.
Is he perfect in every show, well, no,
but the play, the direction, cast and every aspect also play a part.
Who else can go from Farce to Musical to Simon to Mamet to Beckett?
if you saw him and castmates from Godot on Charlie Rose you would see his intelligence and how he inspires other actors.
He is one of a very small few who can actually get Producers to put up.
And at this point in his career getting Beckett's Godot on Broadway is more fullfilling than any award or nomination.

Have seen Nathan in almost everything he's been in - thought maybe his best was in Trumbo (excluding "The Producers, which he was perfect for).

I do, however agree that Raul would make a great Gomez.....

As someone who has spent most of my life in and around theater, I have come to believe that there are actors whose physical appearance and mannerisms are so recognizable that they become part of their stage persona and therefore many audience members believe they 'play the same character' when in fact, they are simply using their body, voice and face to the best of their ability. Some people are born with less distinctive physical features and can more easily disappear into a character. There is also the love/hate factor of very strong performers like LuPone, Patinkin, Lane and others. You either love them or you hate them. Having seen most of Lane's work I can say that, for example, in Butley, his performance was heart wrenching and he balanced the humor and pathos quite well. He is not Alan Bates and for that he was criticized but anyone who paid attention to the final scene saw a complete emotional picture portrayed by Lane without words.

Of course, like any performer, his work is not for everyone. His work in Dedication was wonderful and Love! Valor! Compassion! was powerful and moving. Most audiences know him for his musical and comedic roles and therefore expect him to do that kind of work. While he certainly is successful in that venue, some of his best work has been in plays. He is wonderful in Godot and he and Irwin and the rest of the cast bring gravity to a play that is often misunderstood and make it accessible to all.

As for his being snubbed this year...it has been a great year for plays and there were a lot of performances that were ignored. As a theater pro, you take the recognition and the snubs in stride and you do it for the work. Listen to an indepth interview with the man and you will know that he has an impressive knowledge of the work, the history of theater and the the process.

Having said that, I agree that you either love his work or you dislike him intensely and, as Estragon says in Godot there is 'nothing to be done'.

---

When Lane is on, he's absolutely terrific. When he's off, he's just going through the motions.

I saw his marvelous performance in LOVE! VALOR! COMPASSION! and was surprised he wasn't nominated. The role is a bit of a cliche, but he really made it work. I was very taken with his work in WAITING FOR GODOT, but did feel that he went a little too often for the easiest laughs.

His performance in BUTLEY was a nonstop avalanche of self-pity. It isn't that Lane wasn't Alan Bates that was the problem: it was that Lane's take on the role was so boring. His little tearful breakdown at the very end was embarassing.

And I'll never forget or forgive his behavior at a Wednesday Matinee performance of THE FROGS. The theatre was virtually empty (this was during the occupation of NYC by the Republican Fourth Reich's convention) and Lane was so busy checking out the empty seats that he was forgetting that there were other people on that stage that he was supposed to be interacting with. He just walked through the performance, clearly not giving a damn about those of us who had shown up.

The second half of the show was completed by an understudy due to an "injury" that he supposedly suffered backstage and that I've never really believed in. Surely it would have had to be life-threatening to prevent him from phoning in Act Two the way he phoned in Act One.

---

Updated On: 6/17/09 at 11:44 AM

Well said, SamIAM and others

Please be sure to read SamIAm's last post, Roscoe.

---