Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan — Page 2

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#26

re: Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan

Posted: 3/12/05 at 1:22pm

Would sticking your head in the 10 gallon pickle tub during We'll See be breaking character? The scene was going on and he was just sitting there with his head in the tub!

I'm sorry, but saying "Whos to say ____ wouldn't act like this" is a lame excuse. That is excusing every bit of bad acting ever done on stage. I can say "Who's to say that Aida isn't supposed to cry all the time" in refernece to Toni Braxton's performance.

Its clear that Mark isn't over Maureen in the beginning of the show, thats why he goes to help out with the equipment and after "The Tango Maureen" he says "I feel great now." When Matt does it there is no difference to how he acts at the beginning of that number and the end.

I want to write music. I want to sit down right now at my piano and write a song that people will listen to and remember and do the same thing every morning...for the rest of my life. - Jonathan Larson. Tick, Tick...BOOM!

Updated On: 3/12/05 at 01:22 PM

#27

re: Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan

Posted: 3/12/05 at 1:51pm

I've never seen Matt do something like stick the pickle tub on his head, and I do think that that is going to far, but in the performances that I saw, he never broke HIS interpretation of the character. Again, I can't say that I liked that interpretation, that's just my taste. I haven't seen him in a pretty good while, and it was apparent that he is bored then, so most likely it had gotten worse, and he started breaking character. I'm only going by what I have seen, and I never saw him break character.

#28

re: Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan

Posted: 3/12/05 at 2:18pm

Also, I didn't say "Whos to say ____ wouldn't act like this" to excuse his performance AT ALL. Frankly, I didn't like his performance the last two times I saw it. But, I did think that he made an interesting choice. It was one that makes sense with the character and was different, unlike Toni Braxton's crying all the time, because Aida is strong.

#29

re: Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan

Posted: 3/12/05 at 2:52pm

Well, Mel B made interesting choices, too. Didn't make them good. What can be said for Drew is that at least he was ALWAYS 100% dedicated to putting every ounce of energy into Mark. He has a bunch of vocal problems, but honestly, I don't think they can be helped.

JOHN LITHGOW I just realized, your last name is Butz! Both "Norbert" AND "Butz" are in your name! You must have gotten picked on a lot as a child!

#30

re: Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan

Posted: 3/12/05 at 3:09pm

I never said that interesting = good. All I'm saying is that at least he tries to make it interesting for the audience, rather than sleepwalking through it, as I've seen other bored actors do.

#31

re: Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan

Posted: 3/12/05 at 3:13pm

I have to agree with those who said Matt should leave the show. I saw him on tour and he was incredible, easily my favorite Mark. When I got to see the show on Broadway, he seemed very, very bored. It's one thing to put some of your own personality into the character, it's quite another to deliberately screw around during a performance for the sole purpose of keeping yourself entertained. I saw Joey Fantone as well and although his acting and singing were not as strong as some of the actors I've seen in the role, there's a lot to be said for the fact he put actual effort into what he was doing, instead of just going through the motions.

#32

re: Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan

Posted: 3/12/05 at 3:21pm

Blair, I guess I feel that Matt tries to entertain *himself* through the show more than the audience. On a side note, I'm excited to find out who the new Collins is!

JOHN LITHGOW I just realized, your last name is Butz! Both "Norbert" AND "Butz" are in your name! You must have gotten picked on a lot as a child!

#33

re: Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan

Posted: 3/12/05 at 3:34pm

He was AWWWTHUMME on "Welcome Back, Kotter"!

"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” ~ Muhammad Ali

Updated On: 3/12/05 at 03:34 PM

#34

re: Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan

Posted: 3/12/05 at 3:36pm

TheGa, you beat me to it! Thats exactly what I think is happening.

I heard that he started wearing his own pants on stage and when questioned about it he said that he couldn't do karate kicks off the table during La Vie Boheme. I don't think these kicks are that important that you have to change your costume. But thats just my opinion.

"Now the second 2 times I did feel that he was getting really bored; like talking with different accents in completely random places to get laughs. BUT, and that's a big but, who's to say that is not what Mark would do? "

Sorry Blair, but it did sounds like an excuse.

Updated On: 3/12/05 at 03:36 PM

#35

re: Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan

Posted: 3/12/05 at 3:42pm

TheGa, I agree, he does try to entertain himself, but the majority of the audience is entertained as well. However, most of the time that majority is people who haven't seen the show before, and aren't as critical as Rentheads can be.

In response to him leaving; it's quite hard to leave a well paying Broadway show just because you are bored with the role. If he left only because of that, he would have been long gone years ago.

#36

re: Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan

Posted: 3/12/05 at 3:47pm

TGIF, perhaps I should have phrased it differently, but I was not attempting to make excuses.

#37

re: Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan

Posted: 3/12/05 at 3:49pm

Well, but it's the producer and director's job to see that they are getting the best possible person for the role, and to make sure no one looks bored on stage.

JOHN LITHGOW I just realized, your last name is Butz! Both "Norbert" AND "Butz" are in your name! You must have gotten picked on a lot as a child!

#38

re: Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan

Posted: 3/12/05 at 5:28pm

I think you'll probably find that the majority of people who see the show numerous times think it's time for Matt to move on. Most people who see the show once are likely extremely impressed with his talent. I've seen him when I thought his interpretation was brilliant and moving. But I've seen him when I wanted to go up there onstage and strangle him for what he was doing to get laughs. Casual theater-goers and random tourists are probably going to like him just fine. And you cannot deny his talent. He has a great voice! I know I would NEVER choose not to see a performance because Matt was playing Mark.

#39

re: Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan

Posted: 3/12/05 at 5:48pm

all this talk makes me sad b/c i saw it when he was understudying for drew so i guess that means that he was happy to be there and willing to try his hardest. I think what we are missing here is consistency. If he is not consistent then there is a problem.

#40

re: Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan

Posted: 3/12/05 at 10:54pm

This thread is entertaining, if only because if this question were posed say, a year and a half, two years ago, you would have gotten mostly completely GLOWING responses. Is it Matt or his fans that have changed? Probably some of both.

Myself, I consider Matt my favorite Mark. Not so much for recent performances, but you don't throw away how amazing a performer can be, and you witnessed being, simply because he has changed. I still think Matt does a great job with the role and portraying the character, and I think his "mattisms" are labelled as such far too quickly. I find good, canon-based reasons for all of them. Maybe I'm being forgiving, but I really do think they are CHARACTER and not Matt. But then again, I'm also one of those who are quick to say that I think Matt has, and probably always will, been a living Mark Cohen and that his actual connection with the character is what somewhat prohibits him for always illustrating the character in the way some people expect.

That said, Matt's been in the show a LONG ass time. He can probably use a new show to get involved in, and I hope he does. It's the only show he's ever been in, they've whipped him around like it's nobody's business, taking the role from his hands not once but twice (and the first time was an IS.SUE, those who were around then can remember the Matt!love soaring and ranting and raving when word that his newly acquired fulltime Mark status was being removed in favor of pop stardom) but at the same time, I don't think he's BAD at all, and I think I'll always be loyal to the guy for how much I did and still continue to enjoy him in Rent and in his other projects.

Updated On: 3/12/05 at 10:54 PM

#41

re: Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan

Posted: 3/13/05 at 4:43am

i have seen matt quite a few times and he never broke character/ seemed bored.

I have to agree. I've seen him many, many times over the years, and he still gives one of the best performances I've seen to date. His little "Matt-isms" as someone called it are very calculated (according to what he's told me after several conversations about his characterization.) He tries very hard to make the character real (and he makes a point of staying in character when he's in the dark or not the focus of the scene) -- and what some call "breaking character" could simply be him acting like "Mark". Who knows. I would never try to claim that he has never broken character/looked bored (because of course I haven't seen all of his performances)...but I'll say that he's always given a very even, consistant performance that is very true to the character when I've seen him.

Updated On: 3/13/05 at 04:43 AM

#42

re: Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan

Posted: 3/13/05 at 4:47am

Is it Matt or his fans that have changed? Probably some of both.

What I find is that it's the *fans* that get tired of the actors in the role and it's the *fans* that want the change. It's hard to look at the performer objectively when you are seeing them for the umpteenth time. It's impossible to imagine you are seeing their performance for the first time and wonder what you would think....

(Just my opinion)

And someone said something about the "majority" of people were ready to see Matt leave. What majority? Let's keep things in perspective here. How many of the estimated 1,189 people in the audience 8 times a week have an opinion as to when Matt should leave?

Updated On: 3/13/05 at 04:47 AM

#43

re: Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan

Posted: 3/13/05 at 9:39am

"What I find is that it's the *fans* that get tired of the actors in the role and it's the *fans* that want the change."

Well, I think it's almost the opposite in this case. For example, MarkFord has been with the show for years and years and always gives the same, amazing performance.

Matt, on the other hand, changes his performance at will, as someone said, putting the pickle tub on his head, delivers lines as if he's a cartoon character, etc. I never get tired of Matt in the role, because it's always different. That doesn't make it necessarily professional.

JOHN LITHGOW I just realized, your last name is Butz! Both "Norbert" AND "Butz" are in your name! You must have gotten picked on a lot as a child!

#44

re: Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan

Posted: 3/13/05 at 11:53am

Becky: What I said was the majority of the people "who see the show numerous times...." (Read: hardcore Rent fans, Rentheads if you will.)
Perhaps I wasn't clear in my meaning. Matt is very entertaining! That is not in question at all. Most of those 1,189 people you mentioned have nobody to compare to. They go once or twice and don't sit around for hours comparing the ins and outs of each actor's performance (Not this this is a bad thing at all.)
I truly believe any of those people will NEVER be disappointed in Matt's performance.

From what I have read in numerous places, the people that think it may be time for him to move on are the ones who have tons of other people to compare him to and have seen him umpteen times!
Just my observation.

I personally think his biggest talent is his songwriting and performing his own music. I don't know what his ambitions are with that, but I hope that once he does leave Rent, whenever that is, he will have success with that.

#45

re: Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan

Posted: 3/13/05 at 1:23pm

I do agree that the fans are the ones that get bored. Although I still enjoy MRF as much as I always have, the truth is, when there is an understudy, I am excited to see a fresh take on the performance.

The fact that Matt changes things up always made me happy ... but he has begun to change up things that I feel are solid and do not need to be changed. Serious lines should not be given accents but this can be overlooked by the fact that I think Matt has a great voice and a great look and take on Mark.

After seeing Drew and Colin, I wish Matt added more of the vulnerability into his Mark but his take is good also. I look forward to seeing him back on stage as him and Cary have amazing chemistry and always were fun to watch.

"Less Of A Marilyn, More Of A Jackie" www.richardhblake.com

#46

re: Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan

Posted: 3/13/05 at 1:36pm

"I do agree that the fans are the ones that get bored."

Not for me. I have seen others in Rent multiple times also (and other shows) and I haven't had one complaint.

#47

re: Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan

Posted: 3/16/05 at 9:26am

Time to bump this thread...

I saw Rent yesterday (Matt's second performance back) and after being very harsh on him on this thread I felt I 'owed' it to Matt to post my thoughts.

A completely different performance by him and I certainly changed my mind about him after yesterday.
He wasn't bored, he played and sang the part beautifully.

Matt still portrays the part differently than other Marks but it worked. He seemed vulnerable and 'geeky' enough but still very likeable. Unlike others, he is trying to be funny and is attempting to make Roger, Collins etc laugh... I actually didn't feel that he was doing this to get laughs from the audience but it was his choice to make Mark look like fighting to get attention from the other characters.
Loved how uncomfortable he got when being confronted by Roger at Angel's funeral and how much affection his Mark had for Roger (just a few examples).

The only criticism I have is his Tango Maureen. I think, TGIF already mentioned this but he seemed to be loving it too much, he was jsut laughing and goofying around too much.
He did two 'dance moves' where I thought 'ok, you've done that now just to make the audience laugh' and it worked because they did laugh. It's not that it really annoyed me but I felt that Mark wouldn't really play up like this when meeting the girlfriend of his ex (who he still has feelings for).

But overall, I was pleasantly surprised and really hope that Matt can keep up the energy and remain 'consistent' throughout his run. It's such a shame that he can give half-assed performances (like the ones I saw him in last year) when he's capable of a performance like yesterday.

QM

'He really wasn't good as Fieyro. Is it just me or does he sort of come across as a pimp? Just...the hand motions I've seen him do and the attitude..not that Taye is a pimp.' - SallyBrown on Taye Diggs as Fiyero

#48

re: Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan

Posted: 3/16/05 at 9:54am

I actually didn't feel that he was doing this to get laughs from the audience but it was his choice to make Mark look like fighting to get attention from the other characters.

I was glad to read this, because that's something I've always thought about Matt's portrayal. I'm glad you had a fresh chance to see him.

#49

re: Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan

Posted: 3/16/05 at 10:47am

Me too. I was very happy that he managed to completely change my mind about him. Now I just need to kick his ass for being so bored last year.

#50

re: Pros and Cons of Matt Caplan

Posted: 3/16/05 at 11:31am

Thank you QM for posting those thoughts. You perfectly described the quality of performance I've always seen Matt deliver (even last year!)

Glad you had fun...

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