SOR Alex Brightman missing ALOT of performances — Page 8

I can definitely see your point, but in some cases it does mean someone has charted their character well enough to give a strong and influenced character while others end up feeling the lack of challenge and begin to phone it in. I think in most cases, trying to stay fresh and taking different choices here and there helps people stay committed to their character day after day. Not everyone is Patti LuPone, but really who is? I definitely see where you are coming from, RippedMan, but I feel like that doesn't apply in every case.

also PThespian, the reason Jack Black looked nothing like Alex Brightman when he saw School of Rock on Broadway is because Jack Black looks basically nothing like he did 13 years ago in the movie (beard, more weight). Black from the movie and Brightman when the show opened were definitely very similar.

Updated On: 8/2/16 at 09:06 AM

You're projecting a lot on my posts, so take a breather and calm down. All I'm saying is if his performance has drastically changed, as you seem to believe it has, from opening to now, then yeah, I think that's wrong. When the show opens he and the director and all the other creatives have basically decided this is the show. It's set. And again, little changes here and there are bound to happen and so is discovering something new about the character. But a drastic character switch is not good.

Again, you're watching a show 8x a week. I saw the show once. Obviously you're very fond of it. It's not a bad show by any means.

But you're not going to sway me that he's not giving at least a Jack Black influenced performance, which again, isn't a negative. It's a musical based on that movie, audience are expecting certain things, and I'm sure the creatives knew that going in. That's why theirs a gay kid who does the costumes: it was a funny bit from the movie.

Are you an actor because I think you'd understand where I'm coming from if you were. No one says you have to be a robot, but to make drastic changes, as you've said he has made, I think, is not good. What was the rehearsal process for is he's just not sinking into the character a year later? It's not Hamlet.

I enjoyed his performance when I saw it, so no shade given. Just replying to you're remarks.

cool.

Not completely sure what the discussion here was, but Patti LuPone definitely changed up her performance throughout her run of Gypsy. Her Rose's Turn by the end of the run had many, many differences from the beginning.

If anyone is worried about missing Alex Brightman, I've seen the show twice, once with Alex as Dewey and Mamie Paris as Rosalie and once with Will Blum and Sierra. The show is still a lot of fun with Will. His interpretation is different but also very entertaining. Alex plays Dewey more high intensity and manic with more abrupt emotional switches and sharper emotional peaks and valleys than Will. Obviously humor is subjective, but I found that interpretation to be a bit funnier and thought Alex's comedic timing was slightly better. That's not to say Will was not also quite funny though (he is!). I strongly disagree that Alex is doing a Jack Black impression. There will always be some similarities on aspects that are most intrinsic to Dewey because they are playing the same essential character, but both Alex and Will totally make Dewey their own in my opinion.



Will's voice is great tonally but was less powerful. To be fair, I think I saw Will in the second show of a two show day for him and I saw Alex on a one show day. My friend and I both agreed the romantic chemistry was better between Will and Sierra than it was with Alex and Mamie. I had a much easier time buying into that subplot, which I think is a touch underdeveloped, with Will. Will is very talented, capable, and excellent as Dewey. My friend liked him and Alex equally well, and both left me grinning and excited after the show.



For me, however, Alex just is really spectacular and an awe inspiring ball of energy. Everything popped a little more and felt more vibrant with him on stage, and I felt like he raised the level of the entire show up a notch by bringing out the absolute best in the rest of the cast as well. He is so intensely emotionally present at every moment that one of my favorite scenes when I saw it with him was actually the bedroom scene with the kids at the end when Dewey doesn't even say or sing anything for a while. It's a scene that easily could play as cheesy and overly sentimental if handled wrong. He goes through such an clear emotional journey in the background and has such strong, heartfelt, honest feeling connections to all the kids in that moment that it actually made me tear up a bit. To sum everything up, I would recommend seeing Alex if you have a choice, but I wouldn't hesitate to highly recommend seeing it with Will either.

Where did Alex say he was leaving November 6th?

LizzieCurry said: "Glittergrrl said: "Alex Brightman and Laura Benanti are on the Doug Loves Movies podcast from August 7. He does a whole musicals episode. Anyway... Alex Brightman said his last day at SOR is November 6 in case anyone's interested."

Wow. Thanks!



"

You're welcome! :)

Alex is in the matinee today!



ipdate. Intermission. It's Will Blum. There was no insert and nothing on the cast board. He is great

Updated On: 8/28/16 at 12:53 PM

PThespian said: "The Playbill now list Will as doing the Wed, Sat and Sun matinees. That's why there's no insert or anything on the board.



"

Yeah I didn't notice that until after the show!

OT but how is Jenn's attendance?

Yes, it has been confirmed...