The biggest show on earth currently is starring its creator as its lead, and even though he is sub-par, he gets away with hit because of who he is. Same idea here.
Don't ask the original cast of Disaster, which made the show a hit Off-Bway, what they think of Seth after have been summarily dismissed in favor of "big names" for the Bway run. I mean I admire Jennifer Simard, Kevin Chamberlin, Max Crumm and the sole holdover from the Off-Bway production, Seth himself, but these are the "big names" that will sell tickets on Broadway? I guess we'll see.
Considering what all Seth has done for the visibility of the Broadway community, I can cut him some slack on a "vanity project." I have my ticket to see Disaster in February and will be happy to chime in on his acting abilities afterwards.
I honestly have been really confused about how they've been advertising it using everyone's names. People may be like "Oh, that's the guy from Jessie", or "That's the guy from Rent" but it's still unlikely. No one outside of the Bway community gives a crap about anybody in the cast. Don't get me wrong; I LOVE Seth Rudetsky, but I just hate this advertising. I liked it before they changed it, but now it's just a picture of (for most people) random actors. I can't even think of another show that has advertising with people just standing around.
Think about shows with headlining actors. Shuffle Along, She Loves Me, China Doll, Waitress (kind of), Violet, If/Then, Finding Neverland, Misery, and It's Only a Play, just to name a few. Their headlining actors (Audra McDonald, Laura Benanti/Zachary Levi/Jane Krakowski, Al Pacino, Jessie Mueller, Sutton Foster, Idina Menzel, Matthew Morrison/Kelsey Grammer, Bruce Willis, Matthew Broderick/Nathan Lane/Katie Finneran, respectively) are all very notable. Kevin Chamberlin, Adam Pascal, Rachel York(e?)...... not so much.
Well, I agree with the acting part, but the singing I will cut more slack on. You can't be a noted musical director and arranger without some musical ability. Whether that extends to his being a good singer is debatable, but he's got talent.
I REALLY hope Jack Plotnick reels Seth in... As I have said before, I can barely understand what he says on his SIRIUS radio show. He speaks far too fast. He is, however, an amah-zing musician!
Agree with most here who say he's not the greatest at creating a real character.
My main beef with him at the moment is that you cannot go 10 minutes on SiriusXM On Broadway without him plugging that damned show. It's constant. I never thought I'd yearn for Julie James so much, but lately she's been a swell distraction from the 'me, me, me' show that Seth has been putting on.
Oh, I'll take Seth's plugging over Julie James any ole time. Julie James gives new meaning to the term "overgushing." She has the ability to work my last nerve. Plus, it is beyond inane to ask Jonathan Groff a question speaking in the third person (during a segment of "Broadway Names With Julie James". I have no problem with Seth promoting "Disaster" on his radio show. It is to be expected.
"Noel [Coward] and I were in Paris once. Adjoining rooms, of course. One night, I felt mischievous, so I knocked on Noel's door, and he asked, 'Who is it?' I lowered my voice and said 'Hotel detective. Have you got a gentleman in your room?' He answered, 'Just a minute, I'll ask him.'" (Beatrice Lillie)
to be fair for anyone that saw ut off-Broadway, Seths character is essentially just seth, his character is a walking talking footnote, pretty much the narrator of the piece.
I just don't think it's nice to dump terrific actors like Mary Testa, Tom Farrell, Judy Gold and Haven Burton, who turned your show into a hit, in favor of "names" which, as another poster opined, only Bway fans would recognize anyway. Loyalty is a virtue, opportunism not so much.
Wilmingtom said: "I just don't think it's nice to dump terrific actors like Mary Testa, Tom Farrell, Judy Gold and Haven Burton, who turned your show into a hit, in favor of "names" which, as another poster opined, only Bway fans would recognize anyway. Loyalty is a virtue, opportunism not so much."
How do you know if any of the performers you've just named were even available to participate? They may have had other commitments. You can't just blindly go and accuse someone of being disloyal without knowing the facts.
funhamilton_rent said: "I honestly have been really confused about how they've been advertising it using everyone's names. People may be like "Oh, that's the guy from Jessie", or "That's the guy from Rent" but it's still unlikely. No one outside of the Bway community gives a crap about anybody in the cast. Don't get me wrong; I LOVE Seth Rudetsky, but I just hate this advertising. I liked it before they changed it, but now it's just a picture of (for most people) random actors. I can't even think of another show that has advertising with people just standing around.
Think about shows with headlining actors. Shuffle Along, She Loves Me, China Doll, Waitress (kind of), Violet, If/Then, Finding Neverland, Misery, and It's Only a Play, just to name a few. Their headlining actors (Audra McDonald, Laura Benanti/Zachary Levi/Jane Krakowski, Al Pacino, Jessie Mueller, Sutton Foster, Idina Menzel, Matthew Morrison/Kelsey Grammer, Bruce Willis, Matthew Broderick/Nathan Lane/Katie Finneran, respectively) are all very notable. Kevin Chamberlin, Adam Pascal, Rachel York(e?)...... not so much.
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I could be wrong, but I think that's exactly what they are going for with the advertising. Many disaster movies from the '70s were marketed like "Watch a bunch of people you may (or may not) recognize from other movies fight for their lives!"