As talented as John is, his Chris in the tour of Miss Saigon was not great. Playing straight americans is not his forte... still, at least i wont have to watch him on stage! Its a shame he wont get to dance though.
I really hope John can drop his EastEnders muscle-Mary persona.
It's interesting that they're obviously going for performers who have already had break-out roles rather than performers who would use ACL as break-out roles.
I mean as the alternative to discovering new talent!
Besides, the Strallens all seem like 'veterans' to me if only because I'm subconsciously acknowledging all their credits and combining them all into one super-strallen, if you will.
Johns casting is a strange one. Zach is only in a few scenes, doesnt sing or dance in the show, yet they give it to someone with extensive musical theatre experience. Maybe they are hoping for name recognition from Eastenders, given that his character has just left the show and was a fairly major storyline.
If any of the roles could be stunt casted, it would be Zach. Mario Lopez did it on Broadway. But maybe John was just the best man for the job of all the hundreds of people they saw :)
Given its the Broadway creative team, you knew they were not going to stunt cast the other parts 'on the line' and im really looking forward to seeing who the new talents are, especially in the role of Maggie. Watching those poor girls in 'Every Little Step' trying to belt that E.... and to have it captured on film too!
Actors cast in the role of Zach for most of the original 15 year run of the show at NYC's Shubert Theatre (1975-1990), were required to be above average dancers, from what I know. Zach has to dance the entire jazz combination at the very top of the show, along with the cast. It must be convincing that he has mastered it.
Ever since the revival, they've only had Zach join them depending on the actor cast in the role. The revival's national tour engagement at the Ahmanson in Los Angeles had a Zach who did not join the group. I know a few others have not joined either. Don't know why, but I assume it's because they aren't very good at dancing. Although I know at least one was an A Chorus Line veteran, which made me scratch my head when I saw he didn't join the group for the jazz combination.
Zach appears and is onstage for the duration of the opening number which is a good 10 minutes in length. He is only a voice at the back of the house until after Paul's monologue and stays onstage until moments before "What I Did For Love." He goes to the back of the house again, then joins the whole cast onstage again for the finale in the iconic gold costumed and top hat number, "One."
Like the Les Mis finale, sadly, a LOT of people don't get the ending, and think it's a happy, fun, glitzy send off for the audience. Um, nope. The dancing for that number is mechanical, the show looks like a tacky Vegas show, it's terribly cloying complete with cues designed to make an audience clap, and all those wonderful people we got to know as individuals and grew to love for who they are and were so invested in, are now faceless members of a chorus who move and even look alike. No individuality at all, but they wear a big smile on their faces because they are following their dreams. That final kick line is chilling as the lights dim and the music abruptly stops.
To think people out there think it's a final eye-candy moment for them so they can leave happy makes me want to tear my hair out, lol.
noticed there's a few U.S. based actors in this show - James T. Lane & Alexzandra Sarmiento(that I know of). suprised their website doesn't have an official announcement. Full casting announced
The Australian Producer of this show used a judge from DANCING WITH THE STARS (STRICTLY COME DANCING) in his Aussie production last year. This could be why he has gone for a name for Zach in the U.K.
Bea Arthur Nude Sells For Nearly $2 Million At Auction
Drama Desk Award Winners - MATILDA, VANYA AND SONIA, PIPPIN, VIRGINIA WOOLF & More!
John Bantay Talks to Richard Jay-Alexander About Musical Mondays Farewell
STAGE TUBE: Join Them! Watch the PIPPIN Cast on Letterman!
CHUCK Star Zachary Levi and Krysta Rodriguez Set to Lead FIRST DATE
Photo Flash: First Look - Kelly Rowland & Paulina Rubio on THE X FACTOR!
Photo Flash: New Poster for THE BLING RING Released
Gwyneth Paltrow Returns as the Face of Hugo Boss' Latest Scent
VIDEO: She & Him Release Music Video for 'I Could've Been Your Girl'
EA Announces Battlefield 4 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4
BWW Blog: Leah Edwards - Practice. Perform. Repeat
BWW Reviews: Pauline Koner, American Original
VIDEO: Must Watch - Mel Brooks AMERICAN MASTERS on PBS May 20!
joined:11/21/11
Posted: 11/22/12 at 05:37pm