Does anyone think the emperor has no clothes? I saw him live 4 times (Tick Tick Boom, In the Heights, Merrily We Roll Along, Hamilton) and I find him grating and shrill and incapable of doing anything more than reciting lines. He tries very hard to be emotive but you can see how much he's trying very hard to be emotive.
I wish he'd stay at his desk and write, maybe do some press junkets, but performing is not his strength.
Editing the post because my main problem is with his singing.
To each his own, though I totally disagree. Is he the greatest actor in the world? No, and he's admitted that. But he's delivered powerful stage performances every time I've seen him.
More importantly, why is this relevant? It's August 2017.
I saw him do Hamilton twice and saw Javier once, and I thought Lin was a much stronger actor. I was expecting the opposite after hearing so much praise for Javier.
Lin, for me at least, has the ability to inspire empathy in the crowd. His face was so emotive that I was totally swept away by his performance. Whether it was joy or sorrow. I was really taken aback by how well I liked his performance, especially after all of the criticism I'd heard before I saw him
maybethistime3 said: "Does anyone think the emperor has no clothes? I saw him live 4 times (Tick Tick Boom, In the Heights, Merrily We Roll Along, Hamilton) and I find him grating and shrill and incapable of doing anything more than reciting lines. He tries very hard to be emotive but you can see how much he's trying very hard to be emotive.
I wish he'd stay at his desk and write, maybe do some press junkets, but acting is not his strength."
There's a reason Hamilton won a lot of Tony's, but Leslie won for best leading actor instead of Lin. I think he was great in In The Heights, but he was also largely writing about himself and for himself. Lin is a phenomenal writer, and honestly his acting is pretty good. But it's not amazing.
maybethistime3 said: "I saw him live 4 times (Tick Tick Boom, In the Heights, Merrily We Roll Along, Hamilton) and I find him grating and shrill and incapable of doing anything more than reciting lines. "
More importantly, why do you keep torturing yourself? Especially in his own shows, he never does 8 shows a week, so you always have an out, no?
I think what he lacks in technique he makes up for in passion and emotional availability. Would be interesting to see him try a play. I will say that I think he's a poor singer.
Is he the BEST actor ever? Nope, but he is heartfelt and sincere.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
I think he's a great actor. Not that he is especially Tony worthy, but he's good and can convey emotion and passion successfully. And the thing is, with a role as big and well-known as Hamilton, you can't really imagine someone else playing him. It's an iconic role at this point, and I don't think it would be if Lin wasn't a good actor.
He's a good actor in general, and a great interpreter of his own work. Are there better actors? Of course. That doesn't mean that he's without talent.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
I've always enjoyed his performances. I've seen him in Tick Tick Boom, Merrily We Roll Along, and Hamilton (five times). I always cried during It's Quiet Uptown. I love his energy and enthusiasm onstage. No complaints from me.
haterobics said: "maybethistime3 said: "I saw him live 4 times (Tick Tick Boom, In the Heights, Merrily We Roll Along, Hamilton) and I find him grating and shrill and incapable of doing anything more than reciting lines. "
More importantly, why do you keep torturing yourself? Especially in his own shows, he never does 8 shows a week, so you always have an out, no?
"
I don't choose when I'm going to see shows based on whether I'm going to see or not see Lin.
Not a fan of his acting. Saw him in MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG. He just seemed out of his league. From clips I have seen from his other performances he may be passionate but the term "Wide eyed kid" seems to run through my mind whenever I see him acting. He is the reason I didn't need to see HAMILTON while he was in it.
With that said, there is no disputing his other talents. Jmo
Saw both him and Javi in Hamilton, enjoyed them both. It would be hard to pick a favourite, they were both great in different ways. (Javi had a stronger Hurricane, where I prefer Lin's Quiet Uptown)
I have always enjoyed Lin's singing, and acting. He doesn't have a traditional broadway voice, but it's well suited to the characters he plays and I find it pleasant to listen to. I enjoyed his acting, fully bought in and was moved. I would love to see him on stage again
I've always found him to be rather awkwardly cheap and sentimentally hammy as an actor. But I think that's a rather popular combo these days. Subtle doesn't seem to be a highly-sought commodity. (Was it ever? I used to think so...)
He's a good actor. Not particularly nuanced but very good at getting an emotional reaction from an audience. I also agree that he was far more effective than Javier.
His singing isn't technically good but it's listenable and even endearing at times. His rapping is excellent and there wont be many Hamiltons or Usnavis doing it as well as him.
Most importantly, he has presence and charisma. He's likable (part of the reason he became a huge star as soon as he had the platform). That comes across in his performances and is what made them so effective despite him not being technically brilliant.