I found him very off-putting when I saw him in Side By Side By Sondheim. The show was night and day better when I saw it with David Engel, who was covering the role at certain performances.
He always bothered me on the Sweeney Todd Concert DVD. I thought his Anthony was a little (pardon me if this is the wrong way to describe it) oversung and the facial expressions ... a little bizarre. He just felt "too old" for the part, I guess. But that's my opinion - different strokes for different folks.
You do realize this thread is more than ten years old, yes?
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 was a fantastic Anthony when I traveled to San Francisco for the first time and saw him in "Sweeney Todd" (July 2001). Of course, Patti LuPone was Mrs. Lovett. Neil Patrick Harris played Tobias. The Beggar Woman was played by Victoria Clark. I didn't know much about the role of the Beggar Woman. Her language was very salty.
"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)
This thread is cracking me up....funny how it resurfaced! I saw him log ago in Phantom, and this past year, I saw him in productions in Long Beach in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Evita. He was good in both shows. I saw the OBC of DRS, so there was no comparison....he was no John Lithgow, but I did enjoy his performance.
defygravity2 said: "This thread is cracking me up....funny how it resurfaced!I saw him log ago in Phantom, and this past year, I saw him in productions inLong Beach in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Evita. He was good in both shows. I saw the OBC of DRS, so there was no comparison....he was no John Lithgow, but I did enjoy his performance."
I saw both those productions. Thought he was good in both, and then saw him in Man of La Mancha in La Mirada and thought he was incredible in that.
I saw him several times in PHANTOM (I was taking relatives or I wouldn't have been to POTO so often) and he was excellent. I've also seen him in a Benjamin Britten opera and live in concert. He was fine.
He was quite successful in POTO here in LA and ran it for several years.
I have several actor-singer friends who complain about Davis' "over-singing".
But for the real reason he isn't a major star, I'll quote Tyne Daly in an interview she gave this week: "In this culture, if you aren't on television, people assume you are dead."
Vocally he probably is my favorite Phantom out there, and it kills me that I never got to see him live in the role, and it is a shame that he probably will never do it again. I can see what people say about over singing but it works for Phantom I think.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27199361@N08/ Phantom at the Royal Empire Theatre
My question is why did nealb1 find a need to bump this thread
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