Thoughts on David Hyde Pierce

[esparza 333]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 4:19pm

He has two Tony Awards one for Curtains and now an honorary one. I have always been amazed by his comic timing and he is absolutely brilliant on Frasier. I thought he was wonderful in Curtains and I don't want this to branch out into a Raul vs David arguement. In addition to this he has since come back to broadway in Accent on Youth which from what i have heard was okay but he was the best part about it. He'll be coming back in La Bete soon and he is considering coming in the spring for How to Succeed... I have just been noticing that he really is building an impressive resume on the stage as of late and he is one of the most gracious hilarious and witty thespians around. He is sort of becoming a regular (if he appears in both the above then he will have been 4 productions in the last 5 years. I am not comparing him to broadway regulars like Michael Cerveris or Norbert Leo Butz who have tremendous musical talents but he is a delightful actor who is great in everything he is in and is having a great run.

Your thoughts???

[CapnHook]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 4:33pm

I have absolutely no clue as to what you are asking or inferring.

David Hyde Pierce has 6 Broadway credits.
Norbert Leo Butz has 7 Broadway credits.
Michael Cerveris has 8 Broadway credits.

David Hyde Pierce began his Broadway career YEARS before Butz and Cerveris.

[esparza 333]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 4:43pm

I am not comparing him to Cerveris or Butz I was just commenting on how he is not mostly considered as a broadway regular as these two are. Maybe it is due to his television status i really don't know. I was also explaining that he is not a regular in the same vein of those two performers who have also appeared in both musicals and plays. And as far as him starting career years before them I asm well aware of that. He might have made his debut a lont time ago but his main success on stage has been in the last 6 years or so.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 4:49pm

Pierce started out on stage, went to Hollywood, got a bank account for himself, then went back to the stage.

But what are you trying to say here? Pierce is a talented actor, a deft comedian, a deft song-and-dance man, a tireless activist, and, in my few encounters with him, a genuine helluva guy.

[esparza 333]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 4:53pm

I am just getting a feel for people view of his stage work and him. All of the board posts about him mostly seem to be a debate on whether his tony was deserved. And it really makes me happy that someone like you said Yankee could make a name for himself in hollywood and in tv and return to his roots. It's very rare and very refreshing.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 4:58pm

Pierce has done both plays and musicals on Broadway, too. I still don't know what you are getting at.

All three performers have had roles on stage, film, and TV. The only difference being that Pierce happened to land a hit sitcom which lasted for several seasons.

Yankeefan is exactly right. He finished his sitcom and came back to the stage. He's one of the great ones.

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 4:59pm

I think he's extremely talented, apparently a really nice guy and very generous with his time and money (besides the Alzheimers' work, his family paid for the restoration of a church organ in Saratoga, where he grew up).

I do, however, think Raul deserved the Tony that year. Pierce's acceptance speech did personify class though.

I am worried about him in one respect. He looked like hell at the Tonys and I was wondering about his health. He's always looked kinda fragile but it really had me concerned.

[esparza 333]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 5:02pm

I agree broadwayjim he looked very out of it at the tonys. At first I thought amybe it was because he was emotional about this award as I know alzheimers is a subject very close to his heart and that is stil posibble. I think he is probably fine as he is already doing La Bete in London.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 5:06pm

I'd hit it. That's my thought.

[boardwalker2]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 5:30pm

I can't add anything more without being repetitious. Yankee, CapnHook, Broadwayjim and you, esparaza, have pretty much covered all his talents and his charitable nature.

I echo all your sentiments and thoughts.

As for the Tony appearence; he did look drawn and tired to me, but I chalked it up to jetlag. If I'm not mistaken, he was in rehearsals for La Bete at the time, so he would have to have flown in from London for the award show. Isn't there a four or five hour difference between our time and London? He also said in a recent interview that he hadn't been sleeping since starting rehearsals for La Bete. Add that to all the pre-Tony parties and functions he had to attend - heck, maybe he was just drained.

As you say esparza, he's doing La Bete now and seems fine. :)

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 5:33pm

I'd sell my mother for his career. Discovered in NY, made enough on a hit sitcom to be comfortable for the rest of his life, and then come back to the theatre and simply take the projects that interest him.

Oh...and an awesome human being. It's an enviable life.

[boardwalker2]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 5:37pm

"I'd hit it. That's my thought."

Yup.

[Weez]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 5:37pm

He totally deserved the Tony award for his performance in Curtains. It's just unfortunate that Raúl also deserved the Tony award for his performance in Company, and that Curtains is not as strong a show as Company. But there can be only one (with a few notable exceptions), and so Hyde Pierce it was. And from what I know, it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

Looking forward to seeing La Bete in less than two weeks. :3

[wonderwaiter]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 5:47pm

When I asked him for his autograph he kicked me in the shins and then ATE A CHRISTIAN BABY.

[BroadwayBound115]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 5:49pm

He is a smart man. I think that starting in film/tv is the way to go for young actors aspiring to be on Broadway. Especially now with all the "big names" required to keep a show afloat.

[Daniel2]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 6:53pm

David Hyde Pierce almost carried Curtains on his back and forced it to be a crowd pleaser. Esparza was amazing in Company but I think Pierce had the more impressive task.

[willep]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 8:13pm

I love him and I think he is crazy talented. Was thrilled that he won for Curtains (although I am also in the group that loved the whole show, not just him).

BroadwayBound, he didn't start his career in film/tv, he started on stage, then went to film/tv and got famous and filled up his bank account and is now returning to the stage.

[esparza 333]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 8:28pm

Not to mention he was brilliant on television. His Niles Crane is one of the best television characters ever. He deserved all 4 emmys.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 9:01pm

Sometimes, I randomly pass him in the street, and I still kind of want to punch him in the face. Even though he didn't actually like, STEAL the Tony.

Those are my thoughts.

No, honestly, I think he's very talented and have always liked him, and even though I know part of me will always hurt over what happened in 2007, I hope to see him in something that I like him better in than Curtains soon.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 9:16pm

I must be in the minority because I loved DHP in Curtains and feel that in no way was Raul robbed. I thought Raul was simply passable in COMPANY and his goat-vibrato during Being Alive made me want to hurt people. BAD! I thought the supporting players in COMPANY were leagues better than Raul.

Plus, I don't think he is well liked which might affect how people vote.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 9:19pm

Well, to be fair, I found Curtains just to be average on the whole. And don't get me wrong, that was actually one of the shows I was most excited about that season -- and I was just so disappointed.

Past that, I am not going to get into it again. It's been long enough. People will think what they will -- on both sides.

Updated On: 7/7/10 at 09:19 PM

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 9:27pm

Oh emcee, I thought Curtains was bad too-don't get me wrong, but I thought DHP was giving 120% and sold the show. That was major in my book.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 9:30pm

Oh, I was just clarifying that I wasn't simply unequivocally hating on him because he wasn't Raul.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 9:31pm

When David Hyde Pierce was in Little Mermaid I saw him outside the stage door smoking a cigarette in costume.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 9:32pm

Oh, the horror! What would Disney say?