Ryan Idol in THE RITZ????

[ILUVTOMG]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 6:33am

As someone who's hand firsthand (no,not that hand) experience with the Idol I hope Joe Mantello knows what he's doing. The man is a walking timebomb. Let's hope casting porn stars in bway shows doesn't start a trend. What next? Blue Blake as Colonel Pickering?

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 6:39am

Jeff Stryker sang in one of his porn films ( well so i am told ), maybe he can join the cast of ..........( insert name of show here )

But i would love to have first hand experince with Ryan Idol!

[mattonstage]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 7:15am

Ryan Idol would not be the first porn star to have a part in The Ritz, back in the 70's or 80's, porn star Casey Donovan played Michael Brick in an off-broadway revival.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 7:50am

Didn't he fall out of a building or something?

[alterego]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 7:59am

Jeff Stryker to join the cast of CHICAGO. Surely it is only a matter of time.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 8:03am

Are we sure it's the same Ryan Idol? This guy is only listed as playing a "Patron"--a part that is little more than an extra.

[alterego]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 8:10am

I would have thought the role of "patron" (extra) would have been a perfect fit for his talents,

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 8:50am

Dollypop,
The answer to that question is in this thread...

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?thread=943908&dt=7

[Dollypop]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 10:41am

The link doesn't work for me.

[Bobby Maler]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 10:44am

Why is he a time bomb? What do you mean? Like he's emotionally explosive all the time?

I for one can't wait for this!

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 11:12am

Didn't he shed his porn image several years ago when he discovered God and became a born again Christian? I remember his website reflected this new phase of his life several years ago.

[Action2]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 11:21am

Not to be all preachy, but why shouldn't a person with a past in porn (or anything else) be allowed to do a show? Perhaps he gave a great audition. And if he looks good in a towel, and that's appropriate for the part, all the better. There are a number of Broadway actors who have a bit of blue in their past (Vanessa Williams, Frenchy Davis, Tom Judson). Why is it such a major deal?

[LoringsGuy]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 11:37am

Judson started out on stage and then transitioned to adult films, not the other way around. Is he back on stage now?

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 11:50am

Although why I know this stuff is beyond me....

Tom Judson has quit porn...iI love the fact that he maintains separate websites for his various incarnations.

How long ago did Ryan find God? Remember taking my partner to see him at Stonewall within the past five years.

[peterjoshua]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 12:11pm

It's not because of his past in porn, Action2, it's because the man is crazy. (Thank you for posting this, ILUVTOMG -- I was thinking the exact same thing when I ran across your post!)

I worked with Ryan (aka Anthony) on a production of MAKING PORN in 2002, and by the end of the run, we all wanted nothing more than to be rid of him. To put it nicely, he basically acted like a 4 year old in a 40 year old's body. And that was on his good days.

And to answer a couple of questions posted above -- yes, Ryan did attempt suicide a number of years ago by jumping out a window. He sustained some injuries, but that was all. And yes, he did "find god" just a very short time after I worked with him 5 years ago. At that time, everything that had previously been on his website disappeared and was replaced by some incoherent, supposedly "life-affirming" message on the main page, and that was it. But I've also heard that he's gone thru numerous other phases since then -- one of which, if I remember correctly, involved starting a skin-care line. The producers are gonna have their hands full with this one.

[WestVillage]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 12:17pm

ILUVTOMG is correct ... the man is a walking timebomb. Won't go into details here, but I also have first hand experiences (completely non-sexual) with him that are quite disturbing. Maybe he's gotten it together recently, but based on what I know and experienced, I would run the other way before hiring him for a Broadway show.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 12:22pm

You cast "Ryan Idol" in a gay play that requires some degree of nudity and you expect us to believe he was cast because he is a good actor? Yea, right. He is not playing a lead, or even a character with a fricking NAME. He is "Man in TOWEL" or "Patron 1" IN A GAY BATH HOUSE!!! I have seen him try to act...you know that thread on the OT board, "Can anyone act?", well this is a good argument for NO.

If "Ryan" wants to be taken seriously as an actor he needs to use his real name.

This is nothing more than a gimmick to get even MORE gay men in to see what I believe will be a huge bomb. I don't know any of the other actors playin the "patrons" but I would not be surprised if "Ryan" was not the only one with a porn past.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 12:23pm

I'm gonna watch some of his old movies to see if he can act.
(I didn't know he jumped out of the window, I thought he fell during a bad trip)

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 12:24pm

I thought Michael Jackson dropped him.

[fflagg]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 2:47pm

Maybe he should have been one of the strippers in GYPSY. With Jason Adonis and Mark Dalton.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 3:15pm

This seems like a good opportunity to talk about Wakefield Poole. Namo, where are you?!

Posted: 8/7/07 at 4:18pm

He was in the 42nd Street tour?
http://www.tomjudson.com/photos.html

[antonijan]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 5:00pm

I would like to see Brad Patton explore his options in a musical :P

There was this 2004ish Boy Band porn and they sung and danced in the video...anybody remember the title?

Who else could have a future in Bway?

or at least have a major talent besides making porn?

Johnny Hazzard?

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 7:07pm

IMBD says:

Birth Name, Mark Anthony Beret
Born August 10, 1966 (Happy Birthday)

Escaped death when he fell out of a fourth floor window of his girlfriend's New York apartment, suffering a broken pelvis and head injuries. Sources say he was drunk and/or on drugs. Idol has admitted having a drug problem, but claims he does not remember anything about the incident. (Wow!)

His films include:

Idol Country
Idol Eyes
Idol Thoughts
Idol Worship
(and my fav)
Idol In The Sky
(I guess that was about the fall)
Updated On: 8/7/07 at 07:07 PM

[ILUVTOMG]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 7:28pm

He's 41 in the same universe where Marian Seldes is an ingenue. I worked with him 10 yrs ago and if he was 31 then he wasn't aging well at all. He is abusive to other actors especially if they get more laughs than him (WATCH OUT ROSIE!), and he has been involved in fistfights on and off stage (one ended up with him and Blue Blake landing in the audience). He punched out a director and was led out of the theatre in handcuffs. He also showed up at the theatre stoned one night which forced the cancellation of the remainder of the run of the play he was appearing in and resulted in the rest of the cast not getting paid. tick tick tick