What ever happened to Alice Ripley- Page 2

[binau]

Posted: 8/18/25 at 3:20am

At the time there was certainly A LOT of hype of ‘greatest of all time’ for Ripley and it’s because of the intensity of her emotions, the strange uncanny feeling that Ripley’s performance was coming from a deep place of genuine trauma, and the unusual and thrilling quality of her unusual rock voice that is tested in all sorts of ways throughout the score. 

I fully accept that without the voice everything seemed to collapse. I did see her on tour and everyone’s complaints are justified - it was painful watching her struggle with ‘so anyway’. But I will admit I still find myself occasionally ‘listening’ to the tour vocals intentionally because it’s like the most broken and sad version of her Diana - as if she has been trapped for years and has almost given up hope. I watched Ripley give every breath and ounce she could deliver the notes in ‘light’ and it was moving (and you'll find some way to survive....) - I don't think I've seen this moment so moving another time because of how desperate and real it looked like Ripley was trying to hold on, although she then missed the two following performances. 

For what it’s worth, I think Ripley’s vocals improved a bit for the Barcelona version than the tour (but they also changed the ending of so anyway so she doesn’t have to hit those notes). 

I have a feeling that people really don’t like vocal damage in actors. It was deadly for Bernadette (especially Follies), it was deadly for Ripley, it is deadly for Billy right now in Cabaret. 

People seem forgiving for people who never really had a voice. But for people who did have a voice, when it goes, people don’t like it. Personally, I think it can add a certain broken quality to the performance and character but I always accept everything is always better when the voice is healthy. 

Updated On: 8/18/25 at 03:20 AM

[Dreamboy3]

Posted: 8/18/25 at 9:02am

I greatly admired the intensity of her performance. Her vocals on the night I saw it were better than the OBC but still not particularly good. I went back to see Marin Mazzie and Jadon Danielly and boy the score soared. Mazzie’s performance was less intense but she conveyed so much more emotion through her glorious singing. 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 8/18/25 at 11:17am

I have a feeling that people really don’t like vocal damage in actors. It was deadly for Bernadette (especially Follies), it was deadly for Ripley, it is deadly for Billy right now in Cabaret.

Gotta include Barbra Streisand here as well. She’s self-admitted to only once in her entire life ever use a vocal exercise and found it so mundane she never did it again. She’s accepted her vocal limitations today are due to this negligence and has embraced the reality her legendary vocal prowess days are now far gone. She now focuses on perfecting the limited range her voice has today instead. 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 8/18/25 at 11:20am

BrodyFosse123 said: "I have a feeling that people really don’t like vocal damage in actors. It was deadly for Bernadette (especially Follies), it was deadly for Ripley, it is deadly for Billy right now in Cabaret.

Gotta include Barbra Streisand here as well. She’s self-admitted to only once in her entire life ever use a vocal exercise and found it so mundane she never did it again. She’s accepted her vocal limitations today are due to this negligence and has embraced the reality her legendary vocal prowess days are now far gone. She now focuses on perfecting the limited range her voice has today instead."


LOL she is 83 years old. Get real.
 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 8/18/25 at 11:25am

LOL she is 83 years old. Get real.

This is HER own assessment not just my opinion. If that’s her excuse as an 83 year old, it’s hers - not mine. 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 8/18/25 at 11:30am

Please provide us with a quote of Barbra's where she makes the "excuse" that her vocal decline is due to her own negligence.

[MadsonMelo]

Posted: 8/18/25 at 11:41am

binau said: "I actually saw her in concert in late 2023 at one of those small off broadway spaces (the green room?). She was in glorious voice. Unfortunately, the room was almost empty. Seriously just a hand full a fans and one of the writers of ‘side show’. It was a little sad. I think she has been caught up in a lot of offstage behaviour plus her obvious vocal damage I think people just got a bit off her.

Still a massive fan and saw her also do an absolutely amazing job in the Barcelona next to normal a few years back."

I'm planning a trip from Brazil to Argentina to see this production with her and J. Robert Spencer. Is it worth it? Is 1 hour long, right? Any advice for ''seating''?

[Bwaygurl2]

Posted: 8/18/25 at 11:49am

TotallyEffed said: "Please provide us with a quote of Barbra's where she makes the "excuse" thather vocal decline is due to her own negligence."

As a matter of fact, while she has said that she never practiced due to it being boring, in the last ten to fifteen years she did say she started practicing after Tony Bennett (rip) taught her some warm ups. 

Her hoarseness didn't appear until she renovated her Malibu home in the early 2000s; she said she yelled over buzz saws during this time. I think that's why her voice declined (though she still has never developed a wobble). Listen to her before and after the renovation: (anything prior to her 2006 concerts, verses 2006-the present) it's like night and day. 

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/19/25 at 3:35pm

Ripley appeared in some readings of Joy (playing the mother role) but obviously didn't continue into the current production, for whatever reason. I have no idea if that was her choice or a production decision.

Regarding Next to Normal, I'd say her performance was already becoming mannered and overwrought in the early months on Broadway, before she won the Tony, and that her voice declined significantly between the Second Stage and Broadway runs. She compensated by ramping up the intensity of her characterization, but to me, it dipped into caricature after a certain point and never recovered. I know Marin Mazzie's interpretation of Diana wasn't to everyone's taste, but I appreciated that she brought a different style to the score and gave a fully formed performance that was totally her own.

[binau]

Posted: 8/19/25 at 4:11pm

MadsonMelo said: "binau said: "I actually saw her in concert in late 2023 at one of those small off broadway spaces (the green room?). She was in glorious voice. Unfortunately, the room was almost empty. Seriously just a hand full a fans and one of the writers of ‘side show’. It was a little sad. I think she has been caught up in a lot of offstage behaviour plus her obvious vocal damage I think people just got a bit off her.

Still a massive fan and saw her also do an absolutely amazing job in the Barcelona next to normal a few years back."

I'm planning a trip from Brazil to Argentina to see this production with her andJ. Robert Spencer. Is it worth it? Is 1 hour long, right? Any advice for ''seating''?"

I’m a bit confused. Is this happening again? Can you link? The seating was general admission on little boxes. The entire walls wrapped around and were projected on. I’d always recommend sitting close to the front dead on. I saw and heard Alice Ripley do the show just inches away from my face it was like being in a rehearsal room. Very cool experience. 

Updated On: 8/19/25 at 04:11 PM

[kdogg36]

Posted: 8/19/25 at 5:23pm

binau said: "I’m a bit confused. Is this happening again? Can you link?"

I actually saw an ad a couple of days ago on Instagram for an upcoming immersive production of Next To Normal in Buenos Aires, with Ripley, Spencer, and Pascal reprising their roles. I couldn't find anything about it on Google (and still can't), so I decided not to post about it here, but I swear that I saw it. 

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 8/19/25 at 5:30pm

Don’t get excited Adam was just a voice over 

[DurantPlummer41]

Posted: 8/19/25 at 5:32pm

instagram link: https://www.instagram.com/p/DNayEfSN4H1/?hl=en&img_index=2

their account links to this for tickets: https://www.plateanet.com/obra/32418?obra=NEXT-TO-NORMAL-IMMERSIVE&paso=inicio&custom_discount=true&discount=6775&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAad33ply9I8IUd3J0BraR1700wK-wp4jTHiwNM-vDybKE4Vvl02sJ3xvienv8Q_aem_bqlieWJdCMeCFIQppiyiaQ

Can't tell if its sold out or if the promo link is no longer valid