Sarah Uriarte Berry to Play NEXT TO NORMAL during AR's VaCa- Page 2

[Betsy3]

Posted: 1/29/10 at 7:04pm

I read at Wikepedia she and her husband were expecting twin boys Oct. 2009. They must have a great nanny.

[Pgenre]

Posted: 1/29/10 at 7:11pm

somethingwicked is VERY right, Berry absolutely has the chops to handle the acting AND singing required for this role. This is absolutely FABULOUS casting, better than I could imagine. I would definitely go back and see this with her. She is one of the truly, shamefully underrated performers.

Anyone with ANY qualms whatsoever has certainly never heard "Safe In The City" and "Il Adore" from TABOO. Those songs are certainly on the same difficulty-level as N2N and Sarah has something Alice woefully lacks: AMAZING technique.

That being said, I, too, wonder how much head-voice she will use. She certainly has the ability to make this sound like a rock OPERA, OPERA being the operative term!

Sounds great!

P

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 1/29/10 at 11:36pm

Is there any speculation as to Berry playing this role again anytime after that one week?

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 1/29/10 at 11:50pm

I'd take Sarah anyday...

[broadwaybaby086]

Posted: 1/30/10 at 12:07am

I will definitely be checking this out. I've only seen Sarah onstage in The Light in the Piazza, in which she was phenomenal- I'm excited to see her in a role like this. (And in English. )

Updated On: 1/30/10 at 12:07 AM

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 1/30/10 at 12:13am

As much as I like her, no one will make me go to see this show again.
She will kick Ripley's as*. Her voice is terrific.

[Upland]

Posted: 1/30/10 at 7:03pm

I can't believe Sarah Uriarte is 40. I feel like I just saw her playing ingenue rolls back at Sacramento Music Theater. I'm eager to see her in Next To Normal. I think she will be great.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/30/10 at 7:09pm

There isn't even any confirmation that she'll definitely perform AT ALL, yet alone with her husband. (Though I admit, that would be pretty cool for them!)

[obsessedjb]

Posted: 1/30/10 at 8:10pm

I think we're all cognizant of that fact

[FeelingElectric2]

Posted: 2/19/10 at 9:28pm

According to http://twitter.com/LisaKN2N
.. Sarah is on tonight along with Michael as Dan :)
Updated On: 2/19/10 at 09:28 PM

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 2/19/10 at 9:34pm

Can't wait to hear all about it!

[TJ2]

Posted: 2/19/10 at 9:50pm

I wish this had been announced in advance. It is likely a once in a lifetime occurrence.
Updated On: 2/20/10 at 09:50 PM

[FeelingElectric2]

Posted: 2/19/10 at 9:57pm

I really want to hear about it as well .. if anyone from here is there. :)

[steven22]

Posted: 2/19/10 at 10:18pm

omg
if anyone hears of any more dates that she is on....let us know asap...and reviews..please!

[Blockhead24]

Posted: 2/19/10 at 10:31pm

Crap I wanted to see that really badly

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 2/19/10 at 10:35pm

Ahhhhh, I'm sad that I missed that. I'm sure she was great!

[wickedpoppinsfan]

Posted: 2/20/10 at 12:11am

I was there tonight, and I was going to make another thread, but when I came on I saw this thread, and found it coincidental.
p.s. THis is like my second review so sorry if i left out any questions, or you can't understand me.

Next to Normal Review 2/19 8:00
I had never seen this show before, and decided to go. Sarah was the u/s which I was kind of disappointed since I went there to see Alice, because of her performance people always rave about. I should have done more research but I got over it. Sarah's husband was Dan, because I think J. is on vacation also. So it was a double wham, but whatever I can't do anything now!

Anyway, Overall I loved the show! I can see what the hype is about, and it was fantastic, acting-wise, and production-wise. I did have a problem with hearing though, and I think the music was really loud, and sometimes I could just hear a bunch of mumbling from the actors when they spoke or sang quietly. This didn't affect the experience that much though. The sets looked great just like the production photos, and Everyone seemed to have energy, and no one was sleepwalking, so I'm glad that I decided to see the show.

Sarah- She played the part so well. I don't know if this was her like 3rd or 4th but she fit in right well. She's really great in the role, and as she progresses, she will definitely become better and better. Now this is my first time seeing it, and I never saw Alice Ripley, so I can't really compare her, but for for first time she was fantastic. Her singing was choppy at some parts, and the music a lot of the time was louder than her voice, so they either need to lower the music or her mic needs to be louder. Which is funny because the rest of the cast was perfectly heard, but I guess its because of her soft voice. Overall she was fantastic, and you should definitely see her.

Michael- He was a perfect fit for me as Dan. I thought he played the role great! Like I said this is my first time, so I don't know how J. Robert's portrayal is but he was fantastic, and the chemistry he had with Sarah was so wonderful.

Kyle- Kyle was alright. I really did not like the character of Gabe, I don't know why. I just didn't feel for his role. He has a great set of pipes, and he had some great acting choices, but sometimes he would just annoy me, and I'd be like ugh Gabe's coming back on. That's probably because of the character, I don't know.

Jennifer- Jennifer was probably one of the highlights for me. I loved ow she acted throughout the whole show. Some reviews used to say that she was walking through, but I guess today was different, because she had lots of energy, and I think she was one of the best link to the show. (I fell in love with Superboy and the Invisible girl.)

Louis- Louis was excellent, and had so much energy tonight, and his singing for me was one of the best out of the cast. He was not as boring as I thought his character would be, and I enjoyed his performance!

The whole show was great, and I'm trying to give you much detail, but I can't think that well right now, but I loved the show, and you guys should definitely go see her, before she goes.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 2/20/10 at 12:18am

Thanks for the review! Alice and Bobby aren't actually on vacation though. They're probably just sick. Sarah is filling in for Alice's standby who is on vacation.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 2/20/10 at 12:19am

Also (I can't edit my posts) this was Sarah's first performance as Diana.

[steven22]

Posted: 2/20/10 at 9:42am

anyone know if she is going on again?

[TimmyJ51]

Posted: 2/20/10 at 10:14am

I saw the show last night (Friday, the 19th), with Sarah UB on as Diana and Michael on as Dan.

To preface, I am a big fan of Sarah. I've seen Next to Normal multiple times, and while I was disappointed to see that Alice was out, I was actually excited to catch someone else in the role - especially someone who I think has the acting/vocal chops to pull off a completely different interpretation on such a complex role, and make it work. Furthermore, she is one of the sweetest people you could ever hope to meet.

With that said, I absolutely hated her in this role.

From top to bottom, I felt that she was entirely miscast. What I found most repellent about her take on the role was how affected it was - she never seemed to settle into the skin of Diana, and relied heavily upon histrionics to convey the varying moods of the character. The entire performance felt disembodied from the heart of the character; she began the first act with a surface chipperness that didn't seem to hint that anything may be wrong. As a result, any emotional climax never really had any impact, because nothing built up to it. To be honest - and I know this is harsh - the acting reminded me of Miranda Sings.

I was kind of surprised at how she handled the show vocally. There were times when she really let loose and belted, but for the most part, she sounded restrained to the point of barely making an impact.

I would love to hear other peoples' takes. I went into the show wanting to like her, but I left questioning if, had it been my first time seeing the show, I would have liked it as much as I currently do. I attended with three people who had never seen the show before, and all of them found Sarah's performance hesitant.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 2/20/10 at 1:26pm

I'm wondering if she'll be with the show for a few months. Jessica is on vacation now and Alice is expected to be on vacation in a few weeks.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 2/20/10 at 1:38pm

Jessica will perform during Alice's vacation, but I won't be surprised if Sarah comes back as standby for that week.

[steven22]

Posted: 2/20/10 at 2:03pm

she going on again anytime soon?...(this weekend)

[TheaterBoy7777]

Posted: 2/20/10 at 2:21pm

Did we ever find out exactly when Alice's Vacation was? I'd love to buy tickets in advance to see Jessica or Sarah, having seen Alice's a couple times