Just out of curiosity, how old is Matt now? I got a chance to see the show earlier this month, and both Cary and Matt just so happened to be out, so I got Jay and Colin instead. They were great! Colin, particularly, I was incredibly impressed with.
As for Matt...I've never really been a fan of his Mark, and I let my dislike of his portryal of my favorite character in rent carry over into Matt's non-rent endeavors. Simply stated, I never bothered to give his solo stuff a chance because I really didn't think it would impress me. I was wrong. I finally gave in and checked out some of his music. Much to my surprise, I liked it. A lot. Go figure.
I like to believe certain actors stay with certain shows because they love the characters they play. However cold the truth could be of just earning a steady paycheck, I believe actors stay with parts they enjoy and cherish. Rent seems to have that effect on a lot of their performers.
PS I want Andrew to be my defense attorney if I ever end up in court some day^^
He's 26. After all these years he is still one of the younger members of that cast. He got cast in the Benny Tour in May of 99 as a swing. He got promoted to full time Mark in February of 2000. He played that role until the Benny tour closed on July 15, 2001. Shortly after that he was brought in as a swing on Broadway. In May of 2002 he was promoted to full time Mark on Broadway which he has being playing ever since, except for brief hiatuses when Joey Fatone and Drew Lachey stared.
Do you guys think there's a possibility Will Chase could win the new Tony category this year for Best Replacement? I know Adam Pascal was nominated for the role back in '96, so it's a Tony-worthy role... Any opinions, from those who've seen him play the role before?
An update: Will will only be in Rent for a month. From after Christmas until the end of January. Then they are bringing in someone new. I don't know who though.
Ryan actually just recorded some pretty hot club mixes of "One Song Glory" and they're available to stream on his MySpace (http://myspace.com/ryanlinkmusic). I recommend the Buffalo Bill Mix. He sounds great!
I don't know if Karmine really wants to work on another CD and hence that's why she's a swing, but it is a valid statement. I know of quite a few people who prefer being swings for the flexibility and opportunity to work on their own things when not on stage.
I hope Will stays past January! Either way, I'll definitely be going to see him. Am I wrong in thinking that he's the first person to be in Rent with as many past Broadway credits as he has? At least in recent memory, right?
There are others who have more Broadway credits than Will - Anthony, Adam, Michael McElroy, Darius De Haas, Richard Blake, are the ones I can think of. There are probably several who have an equal number to Will who has five, I believe. Unless you mean before Rent? Which really wouldn't apply here because he's returning so the same could be said probably for several actors if they chose to return. I imagine there are a few who had four or five before Rent back in the day. Byron Utley comes to mind. Probably Darius, too, and maybe Michael. Updated On: 12/2/05 at 11:00 AM