SPOTLIGHT ON THE 2011 TONY AWARDS: DAY 26 - Raul Esparza, ROCKY HORROR & COMPANY

As a super-special Spring extension of BroadwayWorld's SOUND OFF column, every day until the Tony Awards on June 12 we will be presenting a spectacular new entry in the SPOTLIGHT ON THE 2011 TONY AWARDS series featuring a particularly entertaining, interesting, relevant and exciting Tony Awards-related clip from the last sixty-three years of the ceremonies and subsequent seasons on Broadway with a rundown and commentary on the sights, sounds and showmanship on display in each carefully chosen selection - all, of course, coming in anticipation of Broadway's biggest night, which will be broadcast on CBS this year, as always. Once again this year, BroadwayWorld is the official home of the 2011 Tony Awards and we will also be featuring exclusive interviews, articles, photos, video content, interactive features and more in the coming days and weeks leading up to the event so be sure to check back daily for your theatre fix!

Today we are featuring one of Broadway's most accomplished and charismatic leading men who has solidified himself as one of the premiere theatrical interpreters of our age in his performances on Broadway in both musicals and plays, off-Broadway and even in Shakespeare-In-The-Park productions: Raul Esparza. Mr. Esparza can certainly do it all and even though he has yet to take home a Tony Award of his own, he has enacted two of the most memorable recent performances on the yearly telecast: first, in his Broadway debut role as Riff Raff in the 2000 revival of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW and, most recently, performing a full-bodied, soul-bared "Being Alive" from COMPANY. So, let's take a look back at those two unforgettable performances and perhaps surprise or two, as well!

Being Raul

Who can command the attention of an audience with a look the way that Raul Esparza can? When he blazed upon the Broadway scene at the very start of this century in Christopher Ashley's Circle-In-The-Square revival of Richard O'Brien's THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW - and, from the very first lines of "The Time Warp" - it was clear that Broadway had found its next big Broadway star. His stupendous and studied performances as George in SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE and Charley in MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG at the Kennedy Center's Sondheim Celebration in 2002 proved that he could carry a serious musical - two of the trickiest to pull off, no doubt - and he got his chance to prove it when he created the role of Philip Salon in the Boy George musical TABOO, produced by Rosie O'Donnell. He received a well-deserved Tony nomination for his work on that show and followed up his performance in TABOO with a series of straight plays both on Broadway and off-Broadway - Larry Kramer's THE NORMAL HEART, David Mamet's SPEED-THE-PLOW, Harold Pinter's THE HOMECOMING, and, just this season, Tom Stoppard's ARCADIA. Lest we forget that Ms. Esparza has also turned in flawless performances in the Roundabout revival of CABARET as the Emcee and as the lead in Jonathan Larson's moving TICK, TICK… BOOM. Yet, it is his performance as Bobby in Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's COMPANY - also available on DVD and Blu-Ray - that introduced Raul to an international audience that may now treasure his inimitable acting of the role forever, thanks to the PBS telecast of the bare-bones John Doyle production. But, most importantly, the question on everyone's lips: what is next? When we conducted our extensive three-part InDepth InterView late last year it seemed like Alan Menken's LEAP OF FAITH was looking to be the next New York role for Mr. Esparza and, with the recent revamped version having been workshopped so successfully since, it seems destined to be! Perhaps 2012 will be the year Mr. Esparza picks up his trophy in appreciation for his career of astounding work!

Going back to where it all began, check out Raul Esparza leading the 2000 revival cast of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW - also including Alice Ripley, Tom Hewitt Daphne Rubin-Vega and more - in the rock anthem at the core of the score of the otherworldly, wacky show: "The Time Warp" on THE Rosie O'Donnell SHOW.

Here is the cast on the Tony Awards (sans Mr. Esparza).

In the actor-musician iteration of COMPANY directed by John Doyle, Bobby observed all of his friends accompanying themselves on instruments throughout the performance, but it was not until the very last song - the moment of truth - that Esparza-as-Bobby finally sits down at the piano, which has been center stage all along like the elephant in the room, and plunks out the accompaniment to "Being Alive". This production certainly put the COMPANY in accompaniment! Plus, Tony Awards performances don't get much more earth-shattering in their emotional intensity and power than this one!

Lastly, here is Raul Esparza performing "Finishing The Hat" from the 2002 Kennedy Center revival of SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE. Try not to cry - and fail!

Now, as the first special bonus - and, perhaps a preview of what musical theatre role we will see him in next - here is Raul Esparza performing "Everybody Says Don't" from last year's Encores! production of Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents' ANYONE CAN WHISTLE.

https://www.youtube.com/embed?v=ItIr83niyOc&feature=player_detailpage

As the last entry for today, here is Raul performing "Wilkommen" from CABARET in his own idiosyncratically alluring and enticing way.

What is your favorite Raul Esparza performance so far? Furthermore, do you prefer him in musicals or plays? What would you like to see him do next? WHISTLE? LEAP OF FAITH?

That's all for today. Be sure to stay tuned to BroadwayWorld for all things Tony Awards and subscribe to this column to be the very first to check out the clips, commentary and take part in the conversation in our deluxe toast to the one and only Antoinette Perry every day until June 12 - and, especially, on that day! Until then…