Skip to main content
My Shows
News on your favorite shows, specials & more!
Home For You Chat My Shows Register/Login Games Grosses

Raúl Esparza Joins 'Speed-the-Plow' Cast — Page 2

New Post Search Report Abuse Rules

Welcome Guest. Please Login or Register.

#26

re: Raul Esparza Joins 'Speed-the-Plow' Cast

Posted: 7/10/08 at 9:17pm

My fall season is getting hectic -- and now with Raul in STP, it's joined my must-see list. I felt so sorry for Joe Mantegna when he didn't even get nominated for a Tony and Ron Silver (deservedly) won the award. Montegna's comment at the time was something to the effect that Silver had the edge because he didn't have to play against Madonna (who gave one of the WORST performances ever). Depending on who plays the Madonna part (name of character escapes me), maybe Pivan will be facing more equal odds.
BroadwayEd
#27

re: Raul Esparza Joins 'Speed-the-Plow' Cast

Posted: 7/10/08 at 9:18pm

WHAT.

This has just moved to No. 1 on my "Need-to-See" list. In fact, I created the list just for this.
I chose, and my world was shaken. So what? The choice may have been mistaken. The choosing was not.
#29

re: Raul Esparza Joins 'Speed-the-Plow' Cast

Posted: 7/10/08 at 10:06pm

I remember MargoChanning said in an old thread something to the effect that Madonna gave the worst, or one of the worst, stage performances he had seen.
I'm not exactly sure what the critics thought of her in the role though.
I believe Alicia Silverstone gained some fans when she played the role in CA.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
#33

re: Raul Esparza Joins 'Speed-the-Plow' Cast

Posted: 7/11/08 at 1:28am

I can see Boeing-Boeing closing at the end of the summer. Or when the contracts of the cast are up. Whichever is first.
A little swash, a bit of buckle - you'll love it more than bread.
#34

re: Raul Esparza Joins 'Speed-the-Plow' Cast

Posted: 7/11/08 at 1:41am

Frank Rich liked Madonna, though other dailies like the Post didn't.

Ezparza and Priven are brilliantly cast.
#35

re: Raul Esparza Joins 'Speed-the-Plow' Cast

Posted: 7/11/08 at 1:43am

(faint)
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
#37

re: Raul Esparza Joins 'Speed-the-Plow' Cast

Posted: 7/11/08 at 10:10am

I like Esparza but he's coming dangerously close to getting "Nathan Lane Disease" i.e. I'm getting sick of him.
"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
#38

re: Raul Esparza Joins 'Speed-the-Plow' Cast

Posted: 7/11/08 at 10:56am

Esparza is a good actor, a very good actor in fact, but except for a small circle of theatre-goers, he won't sell a dime.

Jeremy Piven might sell some tickets, but he also has a reputation for being a monumental PIA. He's also not that big of a star that he can carry a play.

They'd better go after the biggest woman name they can find like they did before.

The play as I remember is good, but is one of Mamet's woman-as-villain pieces. Ho hum. Is there a cry in the wilderness for a revival of this play?

Think Belasco for a theatre.
"If my life weren't funny, it would just be true. And that would be unacceptable." --Carrie Fisher
#39

re: Raul Esparza Joins 'Speed-the-Plow' Cast

Posted: 7/11/08 at 10:57am

I suffer from Nathan Lane Disease myself...but three very high-profile roles in a row does not constitute overkill...yet, anyway.
#40

re: Raul Esparza Joins 'Speed-the-Plow' Cast

Posted: 7/11/08 at 11:06am

I get Nathan Lane disease because Nathan Lane always plays Nathan Lane, and he does that very well, but that's all I have seen him do. So far Esparza seems to be choosing vehicles that have significantly different styles, and is able to move between musicals and non-musicals. To say nothing of Wes Craven. We'll see.

Updated On: 7/11/08 at 11:06 AM

#41

re: Raul Esparza Joins 'Speed-the-Plow' Cast

Posted: 7/11/08 at 11:08am

For what its worth, it's going to be a very short, limited run production. The original press release (back in April when they announced Piven) said previews start October 3, and the show would close November 16. It seems that schedule has changed slightly, but even if they extend, Raúl has other commitments that would prevent him from extending beyond the end of the year.

And, I'm probably confusing this with something else, but...I think I heard Scarlett Johannsens's name rumored for this at one point. But it was probably something else.
Sarcasm is an allergic reaction to stupid people.
#42

re: Raul Esparza Joins 'Speed-the-Plow' Cast

Posted: 7/11/08 at 11:39am

I agree with whoever said that other than for theater people, Piven is obviously the "draw." Though that seems like a given. One of the things that makes me wonder how big a draw, though, is that this play will be running at the same time as a handful of other productions that also boast big (in some cases bigger) names.

Scarlett Johannsen's name has been rumored for a bunch of things lately. I haven't heard her name for Speed-the-Plow, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been thrown around. Again, I hope not.

Also, there's no definite public information regarding the dates for Leap of Faith, at all. Just an amorphous "next year" or "next season" and a few estimates that I'm guessing people have probably just made up or guessed. So I think it's only fair to stop talking about it like anything is known for certain. It's kind of misleading to people who are asking for information.
A work of art is an invitation to love.
#43

re: Raul Esparza Joins 'Speed-the-Plow' Cast

Posted: 7/11/08 at 3:38pm

Nathan Lane disease comes nowhere close to applying to Raul Esparza. As one of the posters above said, Lane is pretty one note, usually playing a version of himself. Yes, he's a performer with a distinct style and can deliver one-liners, but I always feel like I'm watching "Nathan Lane as ________" when he's on stage. Raul is a chameleon--he can bounce between musical and play (and even TV--did anyone catch his wonderful guest turn on Pushing Daisies?) and manage to transform himself every time. He's so present and getting so much work because he's talented. Hopefully we'll be seeing just as much of him for years to come. (And maybe he'll finally get a much-deserved Tony to boot!)
"Maybe Philly'll change your luck."-42nd Street "Don't be afraid it won't be perfect. The only thing to be afraid of really is that it won't be."-Company
#44

re: Raul Esparza Joins 'Speed-the-Plow' Cast

Posted: 7/11/08 at 5:16pm

If Scarlett Johannsen is cast, this goes from "#1 Must-See" to off the list completely. Ugh.
Like a firework unexploded
Wanting life but never knowing how
#45

re: Raul Esparza Joins 'Speed-the-Plow' Cast

Posted: 7/11/08 at 5:47pm

What a mistake that would be. It would have the same unbalancing effect as Madonna did in the original cast - " Oh, look, it's Scarlett trying not to make you think 'Oh, look it's Scarlett!' "
#46

re: Raul Esparza Joins 'Speed-the-Plow' Cast

Posted: 7/11/08 at 8:32pm

Isn't it great that this fall people will have the opportunity to see Cheyenne Jackson, Raul Esperza, Patrick Wilson and Matthew Morrison in the same week?
BroadwayEd
#47

re: Raul Esparza Joins 'Speed-the-Plow' Cast

Posted: 7/11/08 at 11:36pm

In the last few years since The Producers, Lane has opened Trumbo off-broadway, Butley at The Huntington and on Broadway, The Frogs at Lincoln Center, which he also co-authored, Dedication by Terrence McNally off-broadway, The Odd Couple, and November. If that's considered a disease may we all be stricken. He also goes from plays to musicals with ease and has been doing so for 26 years. But I do agree that your beloved Raul is a chameleon. He's a slimy lizard capable of changing colors when it suits him.

← Back to Message Board

BroadwayWorld TV

View all Videos

Ticket Central
Ticket Central
Ticket Central
Hot Show
Tickets From $59
Hot Show
Tickets From $71
Hot Show
Tickets From $71
Hot Show
Tickets From $95
More Hot Shows Discounts
Recommended For You