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[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 2:37am

I just don't like her take on Maureen at all. Nothing about it.

Pretty much the same here. I saw her in May and found her take really obnoxious and off-putting. Tried to like her. I didn't hate her, though.

Updated On: 8/2/07 at 02:37 AM

[jimnysf]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 2:53am

Adam forgot the lyrics to "Another Day"

Older people sometimes forget things.


and miss evadiva, you sound like a rancid fan girl! Ha! Ha! I love that!

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 2:56am

"Older people sometimes forget things."

GOD! Jimny, COME OFF IT! No one agrees with you. You are allowed to have your own opinion, but it's just wrong when you try to FORCE it on them! You are not going to win this battle.

[jimnysf]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 3:00am

GOD! Jimny, COME OFF IT! No one agrees with you.

LOL Stalker! Of course no one in this thread agrees. It's full of fan girls, stage door stalkers, and Rent Heads! I'm here to offer an oppossing viewpoint so if you don't like it, don't read it!

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 3:10am

Jimnysf loves Adam as much as he loves Lestat!

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 3:16am

I'm not a Rent Head, stage door stalker (pay no attention to my name. lol) or a fan of either one. But I don't think that they are too old for the roles. If they LOOK the part, that's all that matters.

[erinrebecca]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 9:57am

jimny, I don't agree with your ragging on Adam's age most of the time (especially since so many of the cast in recent years have been the same age!) but I have to admit that your comment about old people forgetting things made me laugh. :)

[Ariella]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 10:11am

When Rent opened at NYTW in '95, Pascal had lines on cue cards taped on strategic locations throughout the set. This isn't a new development

If you look at the pictures posted of curtain call, Adam and Anthony in no way stand out from the rest of the cast for age (were you expecting wrinkles and gray hair to be visible?)

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 10:14am

Obviously Adam just dyes his.

Jimnysf must just secretly like them, or something, because he spends an AWFUL lot of time talking about them.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 10:22am

I don't think it was as much forgetting the lines as just going on autopilot and his brain was ahead of his mouth. Because he clearly started to sing his second verse, then recovered and sang the last part of his first verse. He just sang the wrong verse to start with.

eta ~ By autopilot I don't mean phoned in. I just mean we've all done it. You do something so much you forget if you've done it because it's second nature. Not necesarily a bad thing...he just happened to do it in front of a packed house. :)

Updated On: 8/2/07 at 10:22 AM

[GuitarGirl]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 10:29am

It's sort of like when you're writing and you skip a few words and write ahead because you're not thinking and going to fast.

Didn't Adam mess up the lyrics to that same song at Rent 10?

[jordangirl]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 10:31am

GuitarGirl ~ Yes! That's what I mean! :) Thanks!

I wasn't at RENT 10, so I don't know. He did recover pretty quickly anyway.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 10:37am

Yeah, he wasn't phoning in -- he just flipped the verses, and then got kind of flustered when he realized he was off. It took him a bit to recover, but once he did, he was fine. He had lyrics written down in his pocket for Happy New Year at Rent 10. I don't remember if he messed up Another Day, but I have seen him screw it up in one of the same spots before. A few years ago, he and Daphne did a concert together, which was a mix of their respective solo material and a couple of Rent songs. I remember Adam f*cking up, and Daphne going, "somebody didn't do their homework!" Adam's response was, "you know I'm drunk!"

[MotorTink]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 10:41am

On Tuesday when he almost messed up the lyrics to Goodbye Love (or was it Another Day, now I'm confused), you could tell it was because he was totally getting into the scene, but after a very brief second pause, he went on and didn't flub it.

[Anastasia_Beaverhausen]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 10:56am

Too old? Are we REALLY on that again? Good lord, get over it. Who cares about their ages, the fact is they don't LOOK too old an that's all the matters.

And as a 33 year old male, I am not a fan girl, stage door stalker or and Rent Head....FYI.

[misschung]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 11:08am

I love this "too old" argument, I really do. Sandy Duncan in Chicago, anyone?

Orange, were you there on Monday and Wednesday? Glad you were able to stay in NY longer. Did that thing with the girl at the stagedoor happen last night?

I remember the last Hanson concert that I went to... I think it was 2002 - people had to be lifted over the barricades because they were literally getting crushed. Little 10 year olds were crying because they were being trampled and pushed and shoved against the metal - it was awful!

I happened to be walking out of the theatre at the same time as the producers and one of them commented "Oh my god, are they [crowd] all here for them?!" I mean, this is what they wanted, isn't it...?

Yeah, I don't understand why the Nederlander people are surprised, really. They didn't expect this?

[Anastasia_Beaverhausen]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 11:13am

I remember when I saw the original cast back in '96 they didn't come out of the stage door. They came out in the theater lobby somewhere and everyone got autographs there. It's where all my pictures are. Needless to say it was a mess in there, but worth it!
Updated On: 8/2/07 at 11:13 AM

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 11:40am

"Without getting into detail, I knew you would find a way to pick out the negative aspects of the show to post about instead of- I dunno- posting anything about the two performances you drudged yourself back to the Nederlander for the only time in years to see in the first place?"

Which is why I posted positively about Nicolette Hart (which I'm sure fits in to your idea that I just hate everyone who plays that role besides Idina. But I guess I just CHOSE to enjoy Nicolette so I can prove I don't have a bias, right?). Please--without going into details? You're not going into details because you know very well that your claim that somehow what I think or am going to think about Rent is determinable prior to my actually SEEING a particular performance is absurd. I had no idea going in what I'd think of the show. You had no idea what I was going to think. And I don't "pick" at negative things--I've never sat there looking for things to put down in people's performances, but if it's not working for me, I try to analyze why. I think that's a good thing.

Anthony was great. He was everything I thought he'd be. He's really the same as he was years ago--there's nothing hugely different about his performance. It was a joy to actually see a Mark who connected with the passion and struggle of the show (I saw Matt Caplan the other two times, who was the complete opposite), and he really just gets that.

Adam was a little more complicated because while he's definitely become more specific with his acting moment to moment, I missed the raw, reckless passion I saw years ago. To me, a certain level of explosiveness adds to any Roger's performance, and it wasn't quite doing it for me at times (the Mark/Roger argument in "Goodbye Love" is coming to mind as one of those moments that was lacking that extra punch). I think the big thing was actually that his voice seemed to be an inhibition to him; I actually felt that his voice sounded kind of throaty and pitchy at times--not full-body the way it used to be, or even as free as I recall him sounding recently. It seemed to prevent certain things I think he was trying to communicate from really coming through full force. But I still found him to be more than adequate, and perhaps it goes without saying that he has a very strong sense of who this guy his.

I mean, yes, this was the best time I've seen the show live because there are two strong players in what I see as the key roles for the way I personally access the show. But I don't think that fixes the entire show; I do think it was still disjointed and despite a few stronger performers, failed to come together into a greater whole. I wasn't expecting two actors to magically make that happen, though--it takes that kind of work from the whole ensemble.

[misschung]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 11:48am

I agree about Adam's voice, which is why I said earlier that it seemed like he was still adjusting to the role, vocally and otherwise. It seems like he's trying to combine his matured singing voice with the raw, gruff Roger sound that he was used to and is expected of him.

I feel like he's not as angry as he used to be. I mean it WAS their opening night, so of course there was probably a certain amount of pent up energy and excitement. But I feel like Adam's Roger used to be more unpredictable. Mimi is sort of supposed to be the brave one who stands up to him even though he's got this explosive temper and sadness about him. I thought she portrayed that pretty well, but I don't know. Overall, my sense of the whole show was that it seemed more fast paced than I remember. I mean it has been like 6 years since I've seen it live, so this should be taken with a grain of salt anyway. But I remember it being darker - on Monday, the timing seemed a little rushed. I dunno

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 11:58am

Yeah, I'd agree with your analysis of his voice, misschung.

I also agree that he's not as angry as he used to be, though to me it reads as though his Roger is not quite as tortured or in quite the same amount of pain as I like to see Roger. I generally get the impression that the anger comes as a defense mechanism of sorts--but this time, I saw a guy who probably was bottling it all up. Now, that certainly IS part of it, but I think there are quite a few moments that hit home more when we see him burst and loose his ability to bottle that anger up. I really wish I'd see more of that.

It's funny that you mentioned that the show seems rush because while I'd say certain interactions (sans the music) between, say Adam and Anthony seemed to be nicely paced, the tempos of almost any song seemed a notch too fast for their own good. It seemed like the music was being played just fast enough so that the actors and musicians' brains couldn't quite keep up with it.

[Shawk]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 12:01pm

I also didn't quite "get" Nicolette Hart as Maureen. She was consistent in her portrayal, which I would describe as sort of brassy and tacky, which is in the realm of ways to interpret Maureen, it just didn't do a lot for me. Unfortunately, her voice was not a great blend with Tonya Dixon's (Joanne at the time), either.

[HJAJtheFirst]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 12:06pm

Photo Coverage: 'Rent' Welcomes Back Rapp and Pascal

https://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=20429

Enjoy,
Linda

[misschung]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 12:15pm

"Take Me or Leave Me" was disappointing to me on Monday. Merle was great, but Nicolette missed some of those great high notes during the crescendo at the end of the song. I didn't feel the sexual tension between their characters at all.

Broadwaygirl, I think you're right about the pacing of the dialog. Anthony in general seems to have this ability to really set a pace on stage - if something isn't working, it seemed like he could slow it down.

Regarding the tempo and pacing of the whole show, I just felt, for example, that you didn't really feel or experience the grief with Troy Horne at Angel's funeral when he sang the ICY reprise. And I didn't feel that Nicolette had any connection to Angel when she did the eulogy. I'd have to see it again in order to really pinpoint specific weak points, but I think it had to do with the fact that the actors seemed to deliver their lines really quickly. To me, because of that, you don't really have the opportunity to witness Angel and Collins' relationship and love for each other. It seemed like a quiet moment between the two characters had to be filled by something funny, or just some movement or something so that it couldn't just be a quiet moment. Even though I really liked Justin Johnson's performance, Angel seemed to be filling more of a comic relief role, which is fine, but I think his character is capable of more.

Updated On: 8/2/07 at 12:15 PM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 12:25pm

The show flew by, but for me, I think that's because I know it so well.

Anthony was perfect. I had never previously seen a truly great Mark, and... I have nothing to say other than that he was perfect. He just disappears right into that character; it felt as though he never left.

I think Adam sounds more controlled now. There's less of that throaty thing going on, but with it also comes less of that rawness. He sounds like he has a better idea of how to use his voice, though -- he didn't seem like had to try for that high "Mimi" during the "she said, 'would you light my candle,' and she wanted you to take her out tonight..." exchange. He used to crack it pretty often, but now he barely sounds like he's reaching for it. He's a little less explosive than he used to be, but still much moreso than he was in the film, when that volcanic kind of quality was more or less replaced with subtlety. Roger, overall, seemed more controlled, although I still got the sense that he was liable TO explode at any minute. When he did go into the outbursts of anger (and physical violence), it was, to me, very right. I think it's easy for Roger to get TOO overtly angry. For me, there's got to be a degree of sadness and introverted self-loathing, too. Adam was truly everything I hoped for, though -- and I am most critical of those whose work I love the most. I'd been waiting so long for this, and it was everything I wanted. And, three long years after I last saw him in a musical, it was worth the wait.

Updated On: 8/2/07 at 12:25 PM

[MotorTink]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 12:32pm

I don't like overly angry Rogers. It made me like the character less. I relate to them more when they are just angsty with the built up explosions once in a while. I loved Adam's original interpretation, but I really connected more to his new one. I think it will get a bit more angsty as he settles back into the role and feels more comfortable, but I like him much better this time. He hit the notes in songs I was most excited about, so can't complain.