Next to Normal: Kyle or Aaron?- Page 2
Next to Normal: Kyle or Aaron?
#25re: Next to Normal: Kyle or Aaron?
Posted: 11/24/09 at 3:52pm
Is the 'reconciliation' scene "I am the one (reprise)"?
If so, is it really a 'reconciliation' scene? I mean the dead son has moved on from 'haunting' Alice to his father..I know there is that little moment "hi Dad" thing but I thought this scene was a kind of 'creepy' ambiguous cliffhanger. (I'm more than willing to accept I've got it completely wrong though lol).
If the son were alive of course the scene would read differently.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
After Eight
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
#26re: Next to Normal: Kyle or Aaron?
Posted: 11/24/09 at 4:07pm
POSSIBLE SPOILER:
Yes, that's the scene I mean. I took it to mean that the father was ready to stop trying to shut out the memory of his son from his consciousness, and that his son was grateful.
#27re: Next to Normal: Kyle or Aaron?
Posted: 11/24/09 at 4:32pmI suppose that is a kind of 'reconciliation'. Cool.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
KirbyCat
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/23/08
#28re: Next to Normal: Kyle or Aaron?
Posted: 11/24/09 at 4:38pmHuh. I took it as he's been seeing Gabe for all this time, but has covered his emotions until he is weakened by Diana's leaving him.
#29re: Next to Normal: Kyle or Aaron?
Posted: 11/24/09 at 4:59pmI haven't seen Kyle, but I saw Aaron and Tim (understudy), and I must say, Tim was a million times better than Aaron. His singing was fantastic, his acting was less creepy, and more caring, and he actually looked like an 18 year old...
#30re: Next to Normal: Kyle or Aaron?
Posted: 11/24/09 at 5:54pm
i really want to "hear" tim in the role..yet nothing seems to be on thattt site!
#31re: Next to Normal: Kyle or Aaron?
Posted: 11/24/09 at 6:09pmI like Aaron's creepiness in the role. Tim was good enough and better vocally than Kyle, but overall he's my least favorite of the three. I am glad I've seen all three actors who have played Gabe. None of them were bad.
#32re: Next to Normal: Kyle or Aaron?
Posted: 11/24/09 at 8:58pm
I've seen both Aaron and Kyle and when I saw Kyle it was like I was just watching an actor copy everything the original actor did. I'm sure he was probably directed that way...but, he wasn't by any means bad.
I prefer Aaron.
"Somethin's comin', I don't know what it is but it is gonna be great!"
#33re: Next to Normal: Kyle or Aaron?
Posted: 11/25/09 at 11:07pmI think in the reprise of "I am the one" Dan and Gabe reconcile because it's a heart-felt scene. They're crying so it's not supposed to be like Gabe is haunting Dan.
Harpz2006
Broadway Star Joined: 1/3/08
#34re: Next to Normal: Kyle or Aaron?
Posted: 11/25/09 at 11:11pmYeah, I don't think Gabe is haunting Dan... just that Dan is acknowledging the loss that has been haunting him and finally accepting that it will always be with him.
AwesomeDanny
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/30/09
#35re: Next to Normal: Kyle or Aaron?
Posted: 11/25/09 at 11:17pmWell, Brian Yorkey said that he and Michael Greif both have different interpretations of this moment, so either could be right, but I think it makes more sense to me that Dan has always seen Gabe but was denying it.
#36re: Next to Normal: Kyle or Aaron?
Posted: 11/26/09 at 3:41amI saw Tim and he was absolutely wonderful.
2010
Feb. 28 - Looped, Feb. 28 - Next to Normal, March 4 - Hair, March 11 - A Little Night Music, March 24 - Time Stands Still, April 6 - La Cage Aux Folles, April 10 - Anyone Can Whistle (City Center), April 10 - Looped, May 9 - Enron, May 15 - A Little Night Music, May 15 - A Behanding In Spokane, May 30 - A Behanding In Spokane, May 30 - A Little Night Music, June 20 - A Little Night Music, June 23 - Red, June 23 - Sondheim on Sondheim, July 13 - A Little Night Music, July 18 - The Grand Manner (Lincoln Center)
#37re: Next to Normal: Kyle or Aaron?
Posted: 11/26/09 at 10:46amI saw Next to Normal for the first time last night and while I was initially a little disappointed that there was an understudy for Gabe, Tim Young was fantastic! I think he had a little trouble hitting the high notes but overall he was just a delight. I also thought he resembled Alice quite a bit.
#38re: Next to Normal: Kyle or Aaron?
Posted: 11/26/09 at 2:16pm
I think it's probably not easy to be both an understudy for Gabe and Henry because while neither of them get extremely high or low, I feel that Gabe is definitely more of a tenor and Henry a baritone-bass (though he does hit the higher notes beautifully.) Not saying it's very difficult but it definitely reduces the size of candidates. You know, out of the millions 
"I love them both but you've got to admit that Alice pronounces things really strangely when she sings."
But Alice Ripley is a great actress and when she pushes the envelope and moves into the line between acting and overacting it's okay, it's her character. When Aaron pushes it there it doesn't really make sense and makes me feel awkward. He's a good performer but I feel people talk him up too much.
teka21
Leading Actor Joined: 12/19/06
#39re: Next to Normal: Kyle or Aaron?
Posted: 11/27/09 at 1:32pm
Spoiler:
Really, growing-up Gabe is Diana's imaginary character, he is not his own person. Since he is her delusion, it makes sense that Gabe is also over the top- he has grabbed onto her mind and won't let go.
#40re: Next to Normal: Kyle or Aaron?
Posted: 11/27/09 at 7:42pmI suppose that'd make sense. I guess I just still have a hard time sitting through his performance though.
NicAllen
Swing Joined: 11/28/09
#41re: Next to Normal: Kyle or Aaron?
Posted: 11/28/09 at 2:32pmI would have to go with Kyle. There was just something about Kyle that I really liked. I don't know what it was. Sure, he definitely plays Gabe a lot softer and "nicer" than Aaron's, but I think it fits a lot better. Aaron plays the role with a lot of "hostility", which really doesn't fit in at the end with the reconciliation. (In my opinion)
froggy2
Featured Actor Joined: 7/16/06
#42re: Next to Normal: Kyle or Aaron?
Posted: 11/29/09 at 3:45am
I love the harsher, more sinister way Tveit plays Gabe because it really drives home the symbolism for me on what Diana seeing him really means for her and the family. Yeah okay, he was her son, but his continued presence in her life IS evil, and I like how it's represented as such.
I suppose if a person takes the more literal approach in thinking Gabe is an actual ghost then they'd prefer a more subtle, softer representation of the character, and maybe then go with Tim or Kyle over Tveit. Fair enough.
#43re: Next to Normal: Kyle or Aaron?
Posted: 11/29/09 at 11:19amHe's a strange antagonist in the show really, because you're torn between wanting Diana to have him and knowing that he'll destroy her. That's something Alice is magnificent at. Tveit didn't have the energy or chemistry to really control the show and I found the chemistry between him and Alice awkward. Maybe it's because I didn't even pick up on the sexual connotations more than once but I also feel that he just didn't have the presence to control a scene like Bobby or Alice.
teka21
Leading Actor Joined: 12/19/06
#44re: Next to Normal: Kyle or Aaron?
Posted: 11/29/09 at 12:22pm
spoiler:
In the reconciliation scene, Gabe is not Diana's imaginary Gabe, he becomes Dan's vision of the son he lost. Dan and Diana had their own versions of denial of that tragedy- Diana's son has never died, Dan has banished Gabe's existence in order to cope with the loss. In the end, they both must confront the damage done by that continued denial- to themselves, and to Natalie.
Maceman91
Stand-by Joined: 3/15/09
#45re: Next to Normal: Kyle or Aaron?
Posted: 11/29/09 at 12:40pmQuestion: How tall is Kyle? I genuinely would like to know please.
#46re: Next to Normal: Kyle or Aaron?
Posted: 11/29/09 at 8:53pmI saw Aaron today and vocally he was amazing, but I think I liked Kyle's softer approach to the part.
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