Reviews of Clay in Spamalot?- Page 3

[Fosse76]

Posted: 1/23/08 at 11:44am

"Perhaps the usher was referring to the photographers and press. They rushed the stage at Friday's performance during the final curtain call."

And that is probably why no one noticed. I didn't really ask any details. All I know is that he heard security discussing the situation and how annoying the next few months were going to be.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 1/23/08 at 12:24pm

Maybe Broadway isn't used to showing the love for it's stars, but the pop world is.

Please don't speak about the Broadway community when the only experience you have with it is this past weekend, because you clearly don't have a damn clue what you're talking about.

[StageFan2]

Posted: 1/23/08 at 1:44pm

"Maybe Broadway isn't used to showing the love for it's stars, but the pop world is."

That's foolishness and it's insulting to the many of us who have been part of the Broadway Community longer than you are old. Just because we don't claw at our stage performers or shout over them when they try to speak, doesn't mean we don't "love" them. What we do is respect them and their space. They don't need bodyguards to keep us off of them. They ride the subways, dine in the same resturants, and walk their dogs in Central Park with everyone else.

RESPECT is the greatest show of flattery there is, and that is what we show our Broadway 'stars' above all else.

[phantomCA26]

Posted: 1/23/08 at 1:53pm

I saw Clay this past Saturday. He was awesome. Great comic timing!! Also very generous at the stage door. Definitely check him out.

[musiclover4]

Posted: 1/23/08 at 3:12pm

_______________________________________________________________

Ex-Idol Clay Aiken slips into 'Spamalot' By MARK KENNEDY, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 34 minutes ago

NEW YORK - Clay Aiken is trying to become the next American Idle
________________________________________________________________

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080123/ap_en_ot/theater_clay_aiken_1

[Cartwheel]

Posted: 1/23/08 at 3:32pm

"Associate director Peter Lawrence says Aiken has been no idle diva; the singer asked to be treated like any other company member and has been surprisingly fearless.

"Clay really surprised me. When you meet him, he's this sweet kid from North Carolina with an accent. And you think there's no way he can do Cambridge material. And then he does," says Lawrence.

"It's been a total delight and a surprise for me and everyone in the company to work with Clay because he can do things you'd never imagine he could do.""

So much for the fake insiders claiming the exact opposite of this. Thanks for the article, musiclover4!

Updated On: 1/23/08 at 03:32 PM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 1/23/08 at 7:37pm

"I'm not sure what "carrying on" refers to in regard to the fans. I watched the videos that used to be on You Tube of Spamalot with David Hyde Pierce in the part and it seemed to be the fans whooped and hollered in various parts of it as well."

Yes, the show has always been a crowd-pleaser. The reason for this, as already mentioned, was two-fold: the presence of Tim Curry, Hank Azaria, and David Hyde Pierce, as well as the enormous following of Monty Python. There were people who went to the show in costume, for God's sake. As time wore on and casts changed, this stopped.


"I still say there are tons of stars that have fans that act the same way. I have seen many times on TV where Tom Cruise, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Brittany, BSB, N'Sync, and many over the ages have been rushed by their fans and treated similar. Just part of being popular. Maybe Broadway isn't used to showing the love for it's stars, but the pop world is."

There are differences between a concert tour and Broadway shows. I adored Amy Morton's performance in August: Osage County, but I didn't throw my underwear at her.

[Kev2222]

Posted: 1/23/08 at 7:51pm

So far there are not only any REAL reviews of Clay, there are really almost no personal reviews (except from his fans, who are far too biased and crazy to be trusted).

I wonder why there's such a relative absence of reviews?

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 1/23/08 at 7:56pm

'Cause everyone who wanted to see Spamalot has seen it already and nobody would go back for Clay Aiken?

[Clayford27]

Posted: 1/23/08 at 8:17pm

"So far there are not only any REAL reviews of Clay, there are really almost no personal reviews (except from his fans, who are far too biased and crazy to be trusted).

I wonder why there's such a relative absence of reviews?"

I wish there would be more reviews from non-fans as well. I'm really interested to hear what people actually think of his performance. I am a fan (obviously judging from my username), and I'm going to see Spamalot on Saturday. I'm not a crazy though, so I'll post an unbiased review Saturday night. :)

[Ladyofthe Lake]

Posted: 1/23/08 at 8:23pm

So far there are not only any REAL reviews of Clay, there are really almost no personal reviews (except from his fans, who are far too biased and crazy to be trusted).

I wonder why there's such a relative absence of reviews?

I don't know if there's going to be a press night for Clay (and Hannah Waddingham, who - if her London reviews are any indication - really deserves one), but even if there will be, isn't it a bit too soon? I thought there was usually a bit of a "preview period" before the press is invited to review a new cast member, but maybe I'm wrong about that. {shrug}

As for a lack of "personal" reviews - I haven't been looking around the 'net for them, but it doesn't particularly surprise me to not see more of them here (except from those who just joined specifically to talk about Clay). Spamalot isn't usually a hot topic for discussion 'round these parts, and I don't think Clay's presence would change that for the regular posters.

[MissLesMis]

Posted: 1/23/08 at 8:25pm

So far there are not only any REAL reviews of Clay, there are really almost no personal reviews (except from his fans, who are far too biased and crazy to be trusted).

Hi Kevin, just curious as to what shows and performers you were a fan of when you came here? Do you buy memorabilia from any shows you see? Have you seen any shows more than once?

I noticed a thread talking about stage door fanatics. This has been going on for years. Did you ever try to get a picture or an autograph from an actor?
When you were a newbie here,how were you treated?
Did they tell you to go away? Did they call you names and make fun of you?

Fans of Clay have made reviews in this thread after seeing the show.Half of their reviews disappear because a few trolls come in to the thread to get it deleted. Clay is on Broadway. The few that have come here are looking to discuss the performer named Clay Aiken and seek others who have seen the show. Their opinions are just as valid as anyone elses. They criticize Clay when he needs it.
They are ordinary fans, just like everyone else who comes here for Broadway.

There are over the top fans in every fan base. But a whole fan base should not be condemned by the actions of a few.

For example, I am not going to condemn the people on the Broadwayworld board because of the actions of a few who told me to go away and talk about Clay on other boards.

I hope you will have second thoughts and make those who come here in peace feel welcome.

[bdwaygirl]

Posted: 1/23/08 at 8:50pm

A couple friends whose opinion I trust implicitly are at the show tonight. I'm anxious to hear what they think.

[Mikers]

Posted: 1/23/08 at 8:55pm

Ex-Idol Clay Aiken slips into 'Spamalot'

By MARK KENNEDY, Associated Press Writer Wed Jan 23, 1:34 PM ET

NEW YORK - Clay Aiken is trying to become the next American Idle.



"There's a lot of pressure," Aiken says. "To think about how many people dream of doing something like this and to have the opportunity is pretty humbling."

Humbling, and possibly a little bit puzzling: What's a nice North Carolina boy with scant theater background and a penchant for pop lite doing in a scatological English stage comedy?

Exactly.

"One of the reasons that it intrigued me was that it was so different. Nobody I think would have expected me to show up in 'Spamalot,'" he says, laughing.

"It's very irreverent. ... I mean, my character soils his pants on stage multiple times."

This also is different territory for Aiken, who hasn't really acted much and was even cut from his high school's production of "Guys and Dolls." Just nailing the stage lingo has him rattled.

"I'm having to learn a whole new language. Upstage, downstage. I'm like, 'Upstage? What's that mean? Behind? Oh, got it. Why didn't you just say behind? ...' It makes me crazier than I already am."

Aiken, 29, has taken over the role of Sir Robin, the cowardly knight that Idle once played on film and David Hyde Pierce originated when the Tony Award-winning musical debuted in 2005.

"I think I'm probably just like the character — kind of chicken, afraid of everything and likes to sing. This particular character becomes a knight because he really just wants to sing and dance. He's so surprised when he finds out there's fighting involved. That kind of silly stupidity? — yeah, that's me."

Aiken, a performer who has sold 6 million CDs and continues to draw fans to his concerts, confesses to being sore and exhausted as he prepares for his debut. Aiken's first performance was Friday.

"Probably more preparation has gone into this than anything I've ever done," he says. "It's not just learning music and lines and even steps. It's mentally preparing yourself to do all of it at once."

Associate director Peter Lawrence says Aiken has been no idle diva; the singer asked to be treated like any other company member and has been surprisingly fearless.

"Clay really surprised me. When you meet him, he's this sweet kid from North Carolina with an accent. And you think there's no way he can do Cambridge material. And then he does," says Lawrence.

"It's been a total delight and a surprise for me and everyone in the company to work with Clay because he can do things you'd never imagine he could do."

The show is based on the film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," which came out in 1975. The film, in turn, grew out of the success of the cult BBC comedy series.

Aiken, it turns out, was a stranger to both.

"Until three months ago, I thought Monty Python was a person," he says, sheepishly.

Not surprisingly, the Python-Aiken partnership started poorly. After being courted by "Spamalot" producers a year ago, Aiken went to see the show and left befuddled.

And why not? He was expecting something like "The Phantom of the Opera" and instead saw characters slapped with fish, dancing plague corpses, a killer rabbit and cow tossing.

"It was, in my opinion, the stupidest thing ever produced," he recalls. "There's no plot."

Persuaded over the summer to return, Aiken finally got it. "It's just completely off-base. So I went in and realized that. You have to go understanding that they even advertise it as being the silliest thing ever. It really is."

That's something Python purists will be happy to hear. Even so, Aiken is bracing for criticism from die-hard fans who can be more caustic than Simon, Randy and Paula.

"I'm anticipating and expecting some sort of fallout. I think it's a little bit different when someone who's never done Broadway before, who may be more well known in the pop world, comes in to Broadway," he says.

"There's always this skepticism that they've been brought in for the wrong reasons or they didn't pay their dues or they're not going to do their part well," he says.

"So I even told the choreographer and the director ahead of time, 'I don't want you to go easy on me. I want to do everything that everybody else does. Don't change things and make them easier for me,'" he adds, laughing. "I've since changed my mind."





Yahoo! News Updated On: 1/23/08 at 08:55 PM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 1/23/08 at 8:59pm

Ladyofthe Lake - Considering the entire cast is different (Hadaray as Arthur, Deckman as Herbert+, Waddingham as Lady, Holmes as Lance, Aiken as Robin, etc.), I can actually see the producers inviting the critics back.

However, they won't. Simple reason why - they won their Tonys, made their money back, have a highly successful tour going around, and worldwide productions. They don't need to review it on Broadway. There's no reason to.

MissLesMis - the thing is that all the Clay fans managed to appear within the timespan of January 17 and now. They are not ordinary Broadway fans, they're Aiken fans who wanted to see if they could sway the opinions of a theater messageboard. I have not seen any of them criticize Aiken's performance in the least.

Having fans is always a good thing, but coming onto a messageboard to preach devotion to one person to a group that clearly doesn't want to hear it is a different story.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 1/23/08 at 9:00pm

Mikers - that's classic plagarism. Shorten the article and put it in quotes.

[Mikers]

Posted: 1/23/08 at 9:04pm

It isn't plagiarism if its clearly attributed to the author and source. "By MARK KENNEDY, Associated Press Writer"

Plagiarism is taking someone else's work and passing it off as your own.


Updated On: 1/23/08 at 09:04 PM

Posted: 1/23/08 at 9:06pm

whats wrong with his face?

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 1/23/08 at 9:06pm

Would it really harm you in any way shape or form to cut half of your post and post a link to the article?

[Mikers]

Posted: 1/23/08 at 9:13pm

There! Happy now?

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 1/23/08 at 9:14pm

Updated On: 5/8/09 at 09:14 PM

[MissLesMis]

Posted: 1/23/08 at 9:16pm

Having fans is always a good thing, but coming onto a messageboard to preach devotion to one person to a group that clearly doesn't want to hear it is a different story.

I didn't notice any preaching. Coming to the Broadwayworld board is not imposing on you. There are many threads here to discuss whatever show or performer you want. If a group doesn't want to talk Clay,nobody is twisting their arms. They are free to ignore this thread. That would be the gracious thing to do.

A couple friends whose opinion I trust implicitly are at the show tonight. I'm anxious to hear what they think.

I am too bdwaygirl.

[Mythus]

Posted: 1/23/08 at 9:17pm

Blurry? Yeah, me too.

Considering the entire cast is different (Hadaray as Arthur, Deckman as Herbert+, Waddingham as Lady, Holmes as Lance, Aiken as Robin, etc.), I can actually see the producers inviting the critics back.

Jonathan Hadary, Tom Deckman, and Rick Holmes have all been in the show for over a year...I assume you mean "different from the original cast" and not "different since Clay showed up".

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 1/23/08 at 9:30pm

Yes, that's what I meant.

[Mikers]

Posted: 1/23/08 at 9:41pm

Yes, that's what I meant.

I thought LePetiteFromage made that comment. Do you have multiple accounts and got your screen names confused?