"Tony-winner Raul Esparza"- Page 2

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 12/12/08 at 4:17pm

In my experience with Raúl, he does not have an inappropriate ego. He knows he is talented and he is proud of that. But he doesn't look down on "the little people" or anything like that. He doesn't even read reviews, good or bad, because he doesn't want to by psyched out by anything he can't live up to.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 12/12/08 at 4:19pm

And once lit a wig on fire.

But no, not inappropriate. I did not at all mean to insinuate that.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 12/12/08 at 4:25pm

I love that story. :)

I wasn't addressing you directly there. I was just speaking in general.

[PRFRMR20]

Posted: 12/12/08 at 4:47pm

I hate asking this, but what is that story?
Updated On: 12/12/08 at 04:47 PM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 12/12/08 at 5:01pm

I hope I'm remembering this correctly... it's in an interview somewhere, but I guess when he was doing Evita on tour, someone showed him a rave review he had gotten that said something about his masterful use of the cigar on stage. And so having read that, he was kind of like, "Oh, I'm doing this so well!," and wanting to make sure he was living up to the comment, really went for it the next night -- so much so that he lit the wig of the "corpse" on fire. A lot of actors say they don't read ANY reviews at all, even positive ones, because they worry about them impacting their performance. Case in point!

Updated On: 12/12/08 at 05:01 PM

[Hest882]

Posted: 12/12/08 at 5:59pm

so much so that he lit the wig of the "corpse" on fire.

BWAH! Lesson in humility.

[commasplice]

Posted: 12/12/08 at 6:54pm

"I heard Patti LuPone walked out when she didn't win a Tony once, it's not like he is the 'biggest' ego on stage right now.."

I don't know about LuPone, but didn't Stephen Schwartz do that a few years ago?

[binau]

Posted: 12/12/08 at 6:59pm

I also heard the same thing when Avenue Q won best musical..But I can't verify it. Apparently walk outs are common.

[wonkit]

Posted: 12/12/08 at 8:40pm

Emcee - I agree. My reference was to an earlier post in which the suggestion was made that Raul was heavy on the "ego". He seems very polite and approachable from everything I've read. And anyone without at least a healthy amount of self-esteem is hardly going to survive in show business.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/12/08 at 10:28pm

Schwartz walked out when he lost Best Score, I thought.

(Interesting, because I don't really think he was favored to win that award to begin with)

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 12/12/08 at 10:29pm

That wouldn't stop him from thinking he deserved it!

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/12/08 at 11:28pm

True, but I meant that he shouldn't have been all that shocked about losing it, since most people predicted that would be one of the awards Avenue Q was going to win.

[jv92]

Posted: 12/12/08 at 11:51pm

"I heard Patti LuPone walked out when she didn't win a Tony once, it's not like he is the 'biggest' ego on stage right now.."

Well, if it was in 2006, she damn well should have! LaChanze?! Are you kidding me!? I think she was fairly content about losing in 1988 as Gleason was favored to win. Or was she?

Anyway more tidbits and opinions...

Yes, Schwartz did walk out in 2004. Despite popular belief, Sondheim DID NOT walk out in 1984 when the Tony voters made the egregious error of giving Jerry Herman Best Score for La Cage. He should have won for Mame and Mack and Mabel (The only good score that year and the only one that didn't even get nominated, I think). Sunday is a masterpiece. La Cage is camp with one very moving number and some nice ballads.
And Raul was more self indulgent than Mandy Patinkin in Company. David Hyde Pierce was charming and likeable in Curtains and gave a wonderful performance. He should have won. Esparza was robbed last year for Featured Actor and will likely be robbed again this year.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 12/13/08 at 12:13am

And Raul was more self indulgent than Mandy Patinkin in Company.

Wasn't he supposed to be? That's the character.

Raúl's performance was moving and heartbreaking and hilarious, and the show would not be the same without him in that role. It just wouldn't.

David Hyde Pierce, while talented, played a blandly funny character in an ensemble show. That part could have been played by any relatively talented actor and the show would have been pretty much the same. Perhaps better, if a different actor had actually been able to do a consistent Boston accent.

That, in my opinion, is why Raúl deserved the Tony. However, it's over, it's done, on to next year.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 12/13/08 at 12:23am

Oh my God can we not go through this yet again? It's over, it's done, it sucks, and yes, some day he will win a Tony, but no matter what, it will never be for Bobby.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 12/13/08 at 12:32am

Fair enough.

So, how great is he in Speed-the-Plow? My amazing boyfriend got me in to a private talkback with Raúl after the show with his class. It was supposed to be 20 minutes, but he just talked to us for 40 minutes, telling us stories, taking questions. It was so cool.

We were in the front row of the theater for the talkback. He jogged down the aisle from the lobby, where he was doing BC/EFA donations, and announced, "I got a date. Some woman handed me her phone number on a napkin." He gave the napkin to some stage hand. Then he jumped up on stage, looked down at us, and said, "This is weird, I feel so high up. Man, those are awful seats!" He jumped back down and sat in the house with us.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 12/13/08 at 12:38am

That was bitchier than intended. Sorry. It's just that continuing to go over it... it's not going to change anything. And it's not going to un-taint the award he will eventually win. I think for a lot of people who really loved the revival, and who really loved Bobby, it's always going to have that bite of "yeah, but..."

I was invited to stay for a talkback a couple of weeks ago, but it was for a school group of which I was not part, and I felt awkward pretending to be in high school, so I declined. What kind of stuff did they talk about?

Updated On: 12/13/08 at 12:38 AM

[binau]

Posted: 12/13/08 at 12:41am

"Well, if it was in 2006, she damn well should have! LaChanze?! Are you kidding me!? I think she was fairly content about losing in 1988 as Gleason was favored to win. Or was she? "

Actually I heard it was the Gleason year but again, It's all 'hearing' I can't verify any of it. (read it on another forum)

[Perfectly Marvelous]

Posted: 12/13/08 at 2:35am

I was reading this thread and feeling slightly envious towards those who have had talkbacks with Raul or have known him/worked with him... but then I remembered that I met him last year, and he talked to my family, and that will always be a pleasant memory.

Anyway, I disgress.

I'm thinking of bringing my friend along with me (as a surprise) to see Speed-the-Plow. He's been a fan of Raul for a while and has never seen him onstage.

And briefly on the Tonys - although last year did suck and part of me is going to always be a little bit, "WTF, Tony Committee?" I also know that Raul is talented and doesn't need an award to justify that.

Updated On: 12/13/08 at 02:35 AM

[B3TA07]

Posted: 12/13/08 at 3:40am

hahaha

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 12/13/08 at 9:08am

I only had to pretend I was in college, so it wasn't as awkward.

It was a theater criticism class, so he started by talking about his feelings about reviews. That's where I heard the Evita story, along with a few others. He said since he decided not to read them, he's read one, and that was Brantley's review of Sunday. Brantley said something like, "I wish he had done this here instead of this," and Raúl thought that was an interesting idea, tried it, and it worked better. He said it would be great if actors could have a kind of conversation like that with critics, but that's not their job.

Then he talked about Speed-the-Plow as compared to some of the other shows he's done (the manic energy is much more how he really is than Bobby or Lenny) and how the cast had to run lines practically every single day because it was so hard to memorize and how he prefers doing plays, partly because a lot of musical actors in New York don't enjoy coming to work. They feel like a cog in a machine and they don't ever change anything about their performance and Raúl doesn't like that because that's not how he acts.

He also shared a story about when he was in tick, tick, Boom when 9/11 happened. He was shaken and thinking that he shouldn't be an actor, there's no point, there are much more worthwhile things he could do, etc. He was on his way to the UN (I think it was the UN) to act as a translator. When he got there, the security guard outside was singing "Louder Than Wings" from ttB. When he saw Raúl, he said to his buddy, "Hey, man, look, it's Raúl Esparza! He's in a musical! Man, you're great. That's such an important show right now." It was a great story.

Then, because we were asking a lot about ttB, he asked if we had any connection to it and the professor said their college had just produced it as part of their season. He asked if they changed it at all and my boyfriend (who was the house manager) explained how they used 7 actors instead of the usual 3. Raúl was interested and said that could really work well, except for "Come to Your Senses," because Karessa has to be Susan in that moment or it doesn't have the same affect. (In the college production, they were different actresses.)

I can't really remember much else. It was really just a bunch of anecdotes and stories. Really cool and I'm glad I got to tag along.