New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
#1New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
Posted: 11/24/08 at 4:30pm
Matthew Risch is the new Pal Joey!?!?
From Tony Award winning actor to Broadway chorus boy? How did they not pick another "known" actor?
Anyway, good for him
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/123636.html
Updated On: 11/24/08 at 04:30 PM
#2re: New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
Posted: 11/24/08 at 4:36pmgood for him, I was only looking forward to seeing this show because of Christian, but I guess Matthew will be great. :) Congrats!
#2re: New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
Posted: 11/24/08 at 4:43pm
I hate to even speculate about this, but I am going to :)
I loved Christian Hoff in Jersey Boys and have not seen Pal Joey so my views haven't changed... But, do any of you think that after the horrible reviews and comments made about his performance, he needed a way out? I am not saying he completely made up this injury (though I'm not saying he didn't), but maybe over-exaggerated it? Maybe even some pressure from the Producers?
Just some thoughts to put into your mind...
Updated On: 12/16/08 at 04:43 PM
Smaxie
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
#3re: New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
Posted: 11/24/08 at 4:45pmThe injury is 100% legit. He was ordered not to dance on it.
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.
#4re: New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
Posted: 11/24/08 at 4:49pm
Well, then maybe it was a piece of good luck to have this small (hopefully in terms of a 100% recover in the future) injury that allows him to get out of the show prior to opening. People will forget that he was involved and he can move on to the next and likely better performance. A blessing in disguise?
We'll see...
WiCkEDrOcKS
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
#5re: New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
Posted: 11/24/08 at 4:55pm
Knew it.
Good for him although I hear he's just as bad as Hoff. But I hope to catch him in the role. I hope he grows into it.
Noel&Cole
Leading Actor Joined: 11/10/07
#6re: New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
Posted: 11/24/08 at 4:55pm
Thank you Glory!
Hoff was big part of the reason I was excited for this show. I hope Matt Risch does well because I hope anybody in any show does well but this bad news for a lot of people. And I am glad someone else on here is acknowledging that.
#7re: New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
Posted: 11/24/08 at 4:56pm
CLOSE IT!
This fellow is absolutely charmless.
#8re: New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
Posted: 11/24/08 at 5:00pm
jv92 are you talking about Risch?
I don't understand why they didn't push the opening back and replace Hoff with a "more" suitable replacement? Better for the show in the long run...
Ole Chum
Leading Actor Joined: 12/6/07
#9re: New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
Posted: 11/24/08 at 5:01pm
smaxie is like the voice of god over here. i have no idea why i do, but i always think he/she knows exactly what theyre talkin bout.
injury might be real, but producers arent stupid- if he was as bad as everyone says he was... they pounced on this opportunity.
CurtainPullDowner
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/4/04
#10re: New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
Posted: 11/24/08 at 5:05pm
Matt Risch was wonderful in the part with literally NO rehearsal.
I think this will swing this production into high gear.
And it makes great Broadway legend.
millie_dillmount
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
#11re: New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
Posted: 11/24/08 at 5:12pm
"From Tony Award winning actor to Broadway chorus boy? How did they not pick another "known" actor?"
Why are you people making judgments on someone you haven't seen perform in the role yet? Just because someone is dubbed a "Broadway chorus boy" means they will be incapable of doing better than a Tony Award winner? Not all Tony Award winners perform the parts they perform in well all the time. And just because someone seems "charmless" in another role does not mean they will be that way in all the roles they play (besides, you said that you loved Hoff in Jersey Boys, yet he received horrible reviews in Pal Joey). People constantly improve/change with time and depending on the show they do.
I am not saying Christian Hoff did a good or bad job, but I wonder if the OP has even seen Risch in the role yet. I went back and read - you hadn't!
Who really cares? Christian Hoff wasn't exactly a "well-known" to begin with, even with his Tony Award win.
"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611
Updated On: 11/24/08 at 05:12 PM
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#12re: New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
Posted: 11/24/08 at 5:21pm
From Tony Award winning actor to Broadway chorus boy? How did they not pick another "known" actor?
Anyway, they can "pick" another known actor all they want - that doesn't mean they'll be able to actually get a known leading man to learn a new role fast enough for opening night, especially on a non-profit's budget, and most especially on a production that's getting crap word-of-mouth. Proper triple-threat leading men with a high profile are incredibly rare. You can't just magically pull one in.
Good luck to Risch; he's going to need it.
#13re: New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
Posted: 11/24/08 at 5:24pmI just can't see that Carlos guy from Legally Blonde playing Joey. It's a strange choice, but good for Risch for owning the versatility. (I assume.)
#14re: New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
Posted: 11/24/08 at 5:25pmThis is SO exciting! I'm seeing the show tomorrow night and I feel like I'm going to be seeing a terrific PAL JOEY!
#15re: New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
Posted: 11/24/08 at 5:26pm
Matthew Risch is a very talented triple threat. He will sing and dance the hell out of the role by the time the show opens. He's also very sexy and will finally give Cheyenne Jackson some healthy and friendly competition as the reigning leading man hunk of Broadway.
I just hope that his personal life does not become the latest fodder for malicious internet gossip.
"It does what a musical is supposed to do; it takes you to another world. And it gives you a little tune to carry in your head. Something to take you away from the dreary horrors of the real world. A little something for when you're feeling blue. You know?"
dg22894
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/22/08
#16re: New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
Posted: 11/24/08 at 5:26pmThis could be a breakout role for him
#17re: New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
Posted: 11/24/08 at 5:27pmI am very happy for Risch. He was on as Kyle when I saw LB and was the best part of the show. I wish him the best of luck.
<------ Me and my friends with patti Lupone at my friends afterparty for her concert with audra mcdonald during the summer of 2007.
"I am sorry but it is an unjust world and virtue is only triumphant in theatricle performances" The Mikado
"I am sorry but it is an unjust world and virtue is only triumphant in theatricle performances" The Mikado
#18re: New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
Posted: 11/24/08 at 5:33pm
As BroadwayBaby6 said, "Matthew Risch is a very talented triple threat. He will sing and dance the hell out of the role by the time the show opens."
WHAT ABOUT ACT!?!?
I'm sorry but to play a leading role on Broadway I think you need more acting ability than being a pretty/hunky chorus boy.
I would love for him to succeed, but there is not much evidence on this board or his past theatrical credits that hint that he will...
Updated On: 11/24/08 at 05:33 PM
Holbee
Featured Actor Joined: 8/3/05
#19re: New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
Posted: 11/24/08 at 5:34pmHoff is not a star. And it shows in the performance. He's forty. Honestly, if he were to be a star, he would have been one by now.
millie_dillmount
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
#20re: New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
Posted: 11/24/08 at 5:40pm
"WHAT ABOUT ACT!?!?"
Hence the poster said "triple threat." BroadwayBaby6 just commented that he'll sing/dance the hell out of the role.
Seriously, people. Go see him in the role for yourself before you proceed to tear him apart in the role.
"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611
#21re: New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
Posted: 11/24/08 at 5:42pmBelieve it or not but many of these chorus boys can act, especially if they had good rounded undergrad training, as Risch had at CCM. Mark my words- he'll be amazing by opening night.
"It does what a musical is supposed to do; it takes you to another world. And it gives you a little tune to carry in your head. Something to take you away from the dreary horrors of the real world. A little something for when you're feeling blue. You know?"
#22re: New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
Posted: 11/24/08 at 5:42pmBelieve it or not but many of these chorus boys can act, especially if they had good rounded undergrad training, as Risch had at CCM. Mark my words- he'll be amazing by opening night.
"It does what a musical is supposed to do; it takes you to another world. And it gives you a little tune to carry in your head. Something to take you away from the dreary horrors of the real world. A little something for when you're feeling blue. You know?"
#23re: New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
Posted: 11/24/08 at 5:46pm
Well, I'm seeing it tomorrow night, and I'm pretty tough on Pal Joey's. If I think he has "it," I'll say so, and if I think he doesn't, I won't.
But to all these people saying "He's just a chorus boy," may I remind you:
Shirley MacLaine was "just a chorus girl" when she went on for Carol Haney.
#24re: New Pal Joey! Hoff out; Risch in
Posted: 11/24/08 at 5:47pm
BroadwayBaby6, hence not being able to act.
I can say FIRST HAND that CCM does not give well rounded training. They focus on singing and dancing... CCM does not come close to justifying his ability as an actor
Updated On: 11/24/08 at 05:47 PM
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