Can someone please explain what Alice RIpley has that I am not seeing.
I have seen her n Tommy and Sunset Blvd (6x) and still have only enjoyed her in Sideshow and I basically think her voice only works in that because of how great Emily is with her. In Sunset everytime she came on the stage I was bored...my friends would laugh because they knew that I thought she was so bland and dull as a performer. When I finally saw someone else (Sioban in the reboot with glenn) I was surprised how much I really enjoyed the character. I have heard her sing in so many shows and her voice always sounds like she is in pain....I did meet her after Sunset and she was as nice as can be...but I don't get it. She is on youtube in Carrie (horrible ) and singing Norma Desmond (again horrible)….is this just a case of I am missing something ???
She gave one of the most thrilling performances I’ve ever seen in Next to Normal and it is a performance I will never forget. She isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, she’s strange, her voice isn’t cookie cutter but dammit, I think she is incredible.
She gave one of the most thrilling performances I’ve ever seen in Next to Normal and it is a performance I will never forget. She isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, she’s strange, her voice isn’t cookie cutter but dammit, I think she is incredible."
I agree that she was amazing in ‘Next to Normal’ during the Broadway run. One of the best performances I’ve seen.
Years before that, I saw her as Fantine in Les Mis and she acted that part well too. I do distinctly remember, though, that on the line ‘But there are dreams that cannot be’, her voice completely collapsed on the word ‘be’; not sure what note she hit there, but it was nowhere near the correct one! She didn't flinch, however, and finished the song well enough! Ah, memories...
As others have said its her performance in Next to Normal set the theater-world ablaze. Her voice though is most certainly not everyone’s cup of tea. It has a raspy folk singer-songwriter quality that doesn’t fit with most legit scores. I would honestly compare it to Elane Stritch in terms of its uniqueness, except Alice Ripley can actually sing. Alice Ripley is also much more of a acting driven musical theater actor, then a singing driven musical theater actor. In saying this I mean, her performances are about being in the moment of the piece on a given day, instead of trying to replicate exactly whats on the page. In doing so, she will miss notes, forget lines, or her voice will give out, but if you are unfamiliar with the show/aren’t following along word for word with the book and score, you won’t notice as shes so in the moment. This is in part why her performance as Diana in Next to Normal, was so thrilling. Its a character who literally has lost her mind, and is capable of doing or saying anything in a given moment. Add to that her the raspiness of her voice only added to Diana’s pain. It is honestly one of the times where a performer and a character perfectly align to give a performance for the record books.
I'm not crazy about her voice (she can be pitchy) but I think that when she commits to a role she can really let it rip. She definitely goes her own way as a person and actor, but what's wrong with that? She's a character (which I always mean as a compliment) and she brings interesting quirks to her characterizations.
I’ve seen her in concert four times and I honestly think she has one of the most unique and beautiful voices in musical theater. The fact that is so untraditional is what I love about it so much. She’s so cathartic and exhibits so much pathos in everything she does I can’t help but be hypnotized by her. I’ve also had the pleasure of meeting her 3 times (once very extensively), and she’s just all around a wonderful human. I really wish she worked more steadily on the broadway stage (her off-Broadway, regional, and concert life is very healthy and thriving), but she’s seen as such a specific “type” after Next to Normal, and a lot of casting directors don’t have imaginations. I’ve been saying it for a while, but I’d kill to see her take on Heidi in Evan Hansen, and I’m very sad I won’t get to see her take on her dream role of Norma Desmond this September, as I’m sure it will be a grand event.
You're not missing anything, that's just your opinion and I happen to agree with you to some extent. She does have a raspy edge to her voice that isn't everybody's cup of tea.
When I watched her in next to normal for the first time -my first time seeing her and the show-, I was mesmerized by her performance and loved every single detail about it. However, towards the end of her run, she'd started cracking her voice and my rewatch was nowhere near as exciting as the first time - she was still very fierce (hey, that's the first time I've used the word fierce! That's the second!), but her voice bothered me a lot: it didn't help that I'd seen the show with her understudy, Jessica Phillips, whose voice was beautiful and smooth (and gave an equally beautiful but vastly different performance). I'd say that was her normal performance, not an off night, but the beauty of the being of seeing a show for the first time was gone and I was able to pinpoint aspects of it -of her performance- I didn't like. Nowadays, listening to the Next to Normal OBCR, there are times when I think she's brilliant due to how well her voice suits the character and times when it sounds like she's trying to impersonate Daphne Rubin-Vega paying homage to Elaine Stritch.
Throughout the years, I've heard her in a number of things -Sunset Boulevard (her As if we never said goodbye), Carrie and Side Show- and they're usually unpleasant. I constantly wonder how I loved her the first time I watched her.
I don't necessarily dislike her because of how good an actress she can be, but she's not a good singer in my opinion. Some people say that doing next to normal ruined her voice. I don't know if that's true, but I much prefer her in the Side Show OBCR, she sounds much healthier. If that's the case, I do hope she gets her voice in good shape again.
This is interesting because I have some of the same feelings about her as a vocalist.
She has the inherent skill of being a GREAT actress. Her problem is that it appears she's never really been taught to sing properly and she ends up letting the emotion of a character run her voice ragged. Much like early-days LuPone, she just powers through the notes... And that only works so many times in a night before you start sounding rough.
'Sing on your interest, not on your principal' is something many voice teachers say. That's a real thing, especially when you are doing a lead role, 8x a week on contract.
Even just a few years back, seeing her at 54 Below, she started the show great, but by the end of the set, she sounded tired. I think working with a good voice coach would fix a lot of that. She's certainly got the ability.
Alice is one of my favorites of all time - simply because of her uniqueness - there is a 'polished rawness' to her that makes her relatable and human as a character and draws me in as an audience member compared to other actors/actress' that are so technical and by the book that it almost becomes slightly distant and boring. She plays a lot of 'broken' characters and the tone and style of her voice just enhances the imperfections and flaws of them- she is my cup of tea! And I saw her sing a few songs as Audrey in Little Shop - She can play vulnerable with a slight edge like no ones business! AH AHA HA HA Side Show will always be #1 in my book with Next to Normal as a fav performance as well. Cheers
Having seen her as Diana, I can attest to her being an extraordinary actress. And I am glad she is preserved in prime form on the Side Show cast recording
however
her voice has deteriorated dramatically since Next to Normal. Don’t think it’s too controversial to say that show took a toll on her. The fact she did the tour didn’t help
Well, Ms. Ripley was a Hee Haw girl. (which has absolutely nothing to do with the discussion here).
On topic, we saw Ms. Ripley in the Los Angeles stop of the tour and she was On Fire. We did go to the stage door but were told that it takes a while for Ms.Ripley to decompress from the performance, which supports comments that she just threw herself into the role of Diana Goodman.
And while the stress on her voice was apparent, it just didn't matter to the amazing performance.
I remember seeing SIDE SHOW right before it closed and enjoying it, particularly Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner. For a time after that I would listen to the SIDE SHOW cast album and their other albums all the time. I used to prefer Alice Ripley's voice but over the years I've come to become much more fond of Emily's.
joined:12/19/06
joined:
12/19/06
Posted: 7/23/19 at 10:37am