Andy Karl Back

[mmFan]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 12:43pm

Just curious if Andy Karl is back full time in Groundhog Day.  (Haven't heard much so am guessing he is).  We were in NY two weeks ago and saw Saturday matinee show.  Unfortunately that was one of his "resting" times so we missed him.  His understudy was great (Andrew Call)...no complaints, but still feel like we missed out...especially each time I listen to the music.

Hope his knee is recovered.

[JudyDenmark]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 12:46pm

I can't speak to this very moment, but when NY1 interviewed him right after the Tony nominations came out (5/2), he said that he was back to 8 shows a week. Don't know if that's permanent or not, but unless things with his knee get worse I'd imagine he's in for good now. 

[mmFan]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 12:57pm

So disappointed we missed him, but am happy to hear he is back playing the role full time.

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 1:03pm

I saw the show this past Wednesday matinee, 5/10. He was in, and an usher at the theatre confirmed that he's back to 8 shows a week. He wears a knee brace, which is humorously featured during the scene with the fur coat. Some have said that he might be on a full schedule just until the Tonys, but he strikes me as a dedicated performer with a great work ethic who wants to do the job for which he was hired. Like Judy, I assume that he's back for good, barring any further complications.

[Nycat63]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 1:16pm

I really hope this means he won't need surgery - for his sake as well as for those of us seeing this right after the Tonys!  Obviously he needs to do what he needs to do, but I was selfishly worried he might perform up to the Tonys and put off surgery until after.  But I have to think if he's handling 8 shows a week perhaps he really won't need surgery as most people were speculating.  

Updated On: 5/12/17 at 01:16 PM

[adamgreer]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 1:17pm

As someone who just recently tore an ACL (oddly enough about a week after he did), and is also going the non-surgical route, I find what he's doing extremely impressive and my hat is off to him. I don't think I could do that 8 times a week with a torn ACL. 

[Nycat63]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 1:20pm

adamgreer said: "As someone who just recently tore an ACL (oddly enough about a week after he did), and is also going the non-surgical route, I find what he's doing extremely impressive and my hat is off to him. I don't think I could do that 8 times a week with a torn ACL. 

 

"Ouch - wish you a speedy recovery adamgreer!

 

[clb10162]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 2:50pm

CT2NYC said: "I saw the show this past Wednesday matinee, 5/10. He was in, and an usher at the theatre confirmed that he's back to 8 shows a week. He wears a knee brace, which is humorously featured during the scene with the fur coat. Some have said that he might be on a full schedule just until the Tonys, but he strikes me as a dedicated performer with a great work ethic who wants to do the job for which he was hired. Like Judy, I assume that he's back for good, barring any further complications.

"

I was also at Wednesday's matinee.  It was my 5th time seeing the show (I've had some luck with the lottery) and I can tell you that the fur coat scene was played that way before he was injured.

[mmFan]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 4:34pm

adamgreer said: "As someone who just recently tore an ACL (oddly enough about a week after he did), and is also going the non-surgical route, I find what he's doing extremely impressive and my hat is off to him. I don't think I could do that 8 times a week with a torn ACL. "

Hope it heals quickly for you.

Thanks for the replies.

 

 

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 5:13pm

clb10162 said: 

I was also at Wednesday's matinee.  It was my 5th time seeing the show (I've had some luck with the lottery) and I can tell you that the fur coat scene was played that way before he was injured.

Oh, I know that he always put his leg up on the stool, I just meant that his showing off the brace itself has become a comedic moment. 

 

 

 

[Big Apple2]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 8:08pm

CT2NYC said: "clb10162 said: 

I was also at Wednesday's matinee.  It was my 5th time seeing the show (I've had some luck with the lottery) and I can tell you that the fur coat scene was played that way before he was injured.

Oh, I know that he always put his leg up on the stool, I just meant that his showing off the brace itself has become a comedic moment."

He was there last night as well. I too was wondering about that fur coat scene and whether the brace was written into the show. The line is more effective and funnier now with the brace on. Thanks for confirming. 

[10086Sundays]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 9:07pm

I saw it the Saturday night when members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club were in attendance and, not surprisingly, it was the best audience I've had in my 4 viewings of GHD.

That night the moment got such a big laugh, Andy starting adjusting the brace alluringly while waiting for it to die down, which of course only made it last longer.  The other times it hasn't gotten as big a laugh, but he's still sometimes just toward it.

Phil, the groundhog, received applause when they removed him from his burrow as one would expect with his fan club in attendance.

Updated On: 5/12/17 at 09:07 PM

[Steve C.]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 9:20pm

Yes this is great news that Andy's back to 8; he was on Colbert this week and told the story of what happened on "that night" and what it meant to him and being in the show, and how wonderful everyone has been to him. (He had me tearing up a little).

I'm guessing his Tony Award this year is a long shot, but when you see and hear him talk, how positive and loving the cast and crew has been, how he and Orfeh are in total sync and in love...I think he's thinking he's already received his awards.

[binau]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 9:25pm

If the Tony Award was just based on his performance alone then I think it'd be a long shot. But now after the injury and all of the publicity surrounding it, he is in for a real shot.

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 11:21pm

I'd give Andy Karl more credit than that. I know most folks think Ben Platt is a shoo-in for the Tony, but I'll play devil's advocate, and say that I believe in many ways, it's Andy Karl who has the bigger obstacles to tackle. Phil Connors is a marathon of a role, and very physical. He's practically onstage the whole time. He also has a wide-ranging character arc. Unlike Evan Hansen, who's created to be a sympathetic character from the word ''go,'' Connors is anything but. He's a snarky and snide No. 1 jerk to everyone for pretty much all of Act I, and Karl's challenge is how to make his character worth redeeming, and show his emotional journey as a human being.

On top of that, Karl has to battle an audience's preconceptions about ''Groundhog Day,'' and not once (to me) does he ever try to evoke or do some cheesy imitation of the iconic Bill Murray in any way. He makes Phil his own creation. Add how he's been a trooper in surviving his leg injury, and I'd say Karl gives a Herculean performance for the ages. He's won the Outer Critics prize, and looks like a shoo-in for the Drama Desk. But whether he can score the trifecta and the Tony, only time will tell, but I'll say his chances look better now than they did before his injury. It may give Tony voters a chance to appreciate the fact that he's a pro with 9 Broadway shows to his credit, and 3 Tony nominations (and 4 Drama Desk noms). Maybe it's time for Karl to finally shine in the winner's circle.

P.S. Andie MacDowell, Bill Murray's co-star from the 1993 movie, went to see ''Groundhog Day'' on Broadway a few weeks ago. She heartily applauded Karl and pronounced the show ''fabulous.''

Updated On: 5/12/17 at 11:21 PM

[10086Sundays]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 11:33pm

Wayman_Wong said: "I'd give Andy Karl more credit than that. I know most folks think Ben Platt is a shoo-in for the Tony, but I'll play devil's advocate, and say that I believe in many ways, it's Andy Karl who has the bigger obstacles to tackle. Phil Connors is a marathon of a role, and very physical. He's practically onstage the whole time. He also has a wide-ranging character arc. Unlike Evan Hansen, who's created to be a sympathetic character from the word ''go,'' Connors is anything but. He's a snarky and snide No. 1 jerk to everyone for pretty much all of Act I, and Karl's challenge is how to make his character worth redeeming, and show his emotional journey as a human being. On top of that, Karl has to battle an audience's preconceptions about ''Groundhog Day,'' and not once (to me) does he ever try to evoke the iconic Bill Murray in any way. Add how he's been a trooper in surviving his leg injury, and I'd say Karl gives a Herculean performance for the ages."

I completely, agree.  While I expect Ben to win, I'm keeping up hope that the Tony Committee will vote for Andy's more nuanced characterization.

Especially in the act 2 scene with Rita, when Phil talks about being stuck in one dark day forever, the quiet emotional depths Andy reaches are more profound to me than Ben's overt displays of emotion.  Ben's performance is great, but it's much easier to chew the scenery than portray Phil's slow transformation.  

In my opinion, Ben's performance is overshadowed by the weak book.  DEH doesn't really go anywhere, while Andy gets to portray a full character arc. I admire that DEH didn't go for the happy ending, per se, but it felt abrupt and not fully realized.

Updated On: 5/13/17 at 11:33 PM

[Wick3]

Posted: 5/13/17 at 1:21am

I just watched Groundhog Day for the first time this evening and Andy Karl performed ---- and he was amazing! I've seen DEH 5 times and am a big Ben Platt fan, but after seeing Andy's performance, I think it will be a close race between Andy and Ben.

To me, what impressed me the most was the transformation of Phil Connors from the beginning to the end. There was a real change in character. Evan Hansen is also a demanding role but I really really hope Ben Platt's vocal health is 100% this month since most of the Tony voters will be watching. I last saw DEH two weeks ago and I felt Ben's voice was definitely restrained and those high falsetto notes sounded too forced compared to the cast recording and to his performances that I watched earlier this year.

[clb10162]

Posted: 5/13/17 at 6:42am

I've seen DEH 9 times, going back to its run at Second Stage, and Groundhog Day 5 times. Obviously, I love both shows and have seen both (again) in the past 2 weeks.  If I were a Tony voter and had only seen the most recent performances of each, I would give my vote to Andy Karl.  Ben Platt seems to have fallen back on some bad habits, e.g., overplaying the twitchiness and, as someone said above, going for the showier emotion rather than the more subtle moments.  I don't know how Tony voters will respond, and the juggernaut that's been rolling for the past year or more may be unstoppable.  But to me, Andy is giving the more satisfying performance.

[mamaleh]

Posted: 5/13/17 at 9:29am

I'd like to see a tie between Ben Platt and Andy Karl.  They both deserve the Tony.

 

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 5/13/17 at 1:25pm

Tony ties are rare. Leslie Uggams and Patricia Rouledge tied for Actress in a Musical in 1968. And ''Kiss of the Spider Woman'' and ''The Who's Tommy'' tied for Original Score in 1993. The most recent tie might've been between ''Billy Elliot'' and ''Next to Normal'' for Orchestrations in 2009. ... I don't think there's ever been a tie for Actor in a Musical, but this would be a good season for one.

Updated On: 5/13/17 at 01:25 PM

[thealtoslament]

Posted: 5/13/17 at 5:03pm

10086Sundays said: "

I completely, agree.  While I expect Ben to win, I'm keeping up that the Tony Committee will vote for Andy's more nuanced characterization.

Especially in the act 2 scene with Rita, when Phil talks about being stuck in one dark day forever, the quiet emotional depths Andy reaches are more profound to me than Ben's overt displays of emotion.  Ben's performance is great, but it's much easier to chew the scenery than portray Phil's slow transformation.  
 

"

This is definitely it for me. I feel like the emotional depths a role like Phil requires (and the complete heel-face-turn while also not trying to ape Murray's iconic performance from the movie) have gotten lost in the discussion. Evan Hansen definitely requires emotional depths, but the way Platt plays it makes it more "showy" and obvious. 

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 5/14/17 at 7:32pm

I saw the show this afternoon. i loved the score and I loved Andy Karl but I thought the show suffered from some structural problems in the second act that made the quality drop off a lot. 

Full thoughts here:

http://poisonivywalloftext.blogspot.com/2017/05/groundhog-day-and-who-deserves-tony.html

[mmFan]

Posted: 5/14/17 at 8:08pm

poisonivy2 said: "I saw the show this afternoon. i loved the score and I loved Andy Karl but I thought the show suffered from some structural problems in the second act that made the quality drop off a lot. 

Full thoughts here:

http://poisonivywalloftext.blogspot.com/2017/05/groundhog-day-and-who-deserves-tony.html

"

Thanks for sharing your review.  You bring up some good points (e..g not developing Nancy even though she has a number in act 2 - so not as meaninful) and good to read others' opinions.

 

[Auggie27]

Posted: 5/14/17 at 8:22pm

As is always the case with competition the two roles and two performances have little in common. I don't believe one has more nuance than the other, just a different palette to play.  It's truly a toss-up. But Platt's performance is one for the books, probably (as per the Times article) as notable for its emotional demands as purely musical theater chores.  It's unique in that regard, and it's hard to imagine that it will go unrewarded.  Nothing against Karl, but it's Platt is in that golden place, alchemy of actor and role -- and a role that didn't exist in another medium prio, which must be noted, 

[10086Sundays]

Posted: 5/15/17 at 2:41am

Going back to Andy's injury and the possibility he might take a leave of absence after the Tonys if he doesn't win: 

Someone on Twitter asked Andrew Call, the main Phil understudy, when he would be on next and he said possibly after awards season ends/June 8th.

Andrew's Tweet

Andy has said how much he loves the show, but without the Tony, I would completely understand him taking a break to heal.  After all, it's his career on the line and he needs to be able to walk and dance.  Although, I don't think he would have gone back to 8 shows a week if the show were causing permanent damage, so perhaps he'll just do 6 shows week again post-Tonys.

I'm reading too much into it, aren't I?

Updated On: 5/15/17 at 02:41 AM