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Not too long I hope.

Posted by: Chazwaza 01:28 pm EDT 05/06/15
In reply to: Anyone know how long Ken Watanabe is staying? - MockingbirdGirl 11:59 am EDT 05/06/15

I'd love to see it again with an actor playing the King who is not saddled with the apparently insurmountable hurdle of acting in an entirely foreign language. Watanabe had some good moments and the best of intentions, but even by the time it had opened, the language barrier was, for me, a generous viewer, a fan of his, and someone familiar with the lyrics and dialogue, to big of a problem to get past.

If an American actor went to Japan, or any non-English speaking country be it France or Spain or India, and played a "westerner" in a play written entirely in Japanese, and that actor did not speak Japanese and could not master the language or even sound fully intelligible in their delivery of that language, it wouldn't matter how good the acting might be underneath, the audiences and critics would be unforgiving. A for effort doesn't count.


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Shall I tell you what I think of this? ...

Posted by: WaymanWong 11:04 pm EDT 05/06/15
In reply to: Not too long I hope. - Chazwaza 01:28 pm EDT 05/06/15

Ken Watanabe certainly carries himself regally like a king, but his largely unintelligible diction ruined it for me. But this is what happens when a Lincoln Center production is so eager about casting a star who's an Oscar nominee.

What a shame this opportunity didn't go to, say, Paolo Montalban, Jason Scott Lee (who played opposite Elaine Paige) or Daniel Dae Kim (who played opposite Maria Friedman). Or Paul Nakauchi, who is terrific as the Kralahome in this production and understudies Watanabe.

Plus, Lou Diamond Phillips (a Tony nominee for the 1996 revival) just did ''The King and I'' again last year in Australia. Why not bring him back to Broadway in that royal role? Hey, it worked multiple times for Yul Brynner!

Link 1996 Tony Awards: Lou Diamond Phillips and Donna Murphy

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Ris a pazzlemint

Posted by: sandcastle 04:02 pm EDT 05/06/15
In reply to: Not too long I hope. - Chazwaza 01:28 pm EDT 05/06/15

Shull we dunce, bu bu BU!


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re: Not too long I hope.

Posted by: scoot1er 02:38 pm EDT 05/06/15
In reply to: Not too long I hope. - Chazwaza 01:28 pm EDT 05/06/15

As I have said before, I saw it just before it opened and understood every word he said. Could it be you had cotton in your ears or that you just weren't listening? Perhaps, when preview started, his English was a real problem, I don't know, but I do know that by the time I saw it he said everything he was supposed to in a clear, though Japanese accented (obviously), way.


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re: Not too long I hope.

Posted by: AlanScott 10:12 pm EDT 05/06/15
In reply to: re: Not too long I hope. - scoot1er 02:38 pm EDT 05/06/15

FWIW, at this afternoon's matinee, I thought I would have found him difficult to understand if I did not know the script so well. I thought that "A Puzzlement" would have been almost completely unintelligible.

But then it seemed to me that the lyrics are not coming through very clearly in general, from almost everyone who has much singing to do. I really wonder how many of the lyrics are being really understood by folks who do not know the score.

I'd have to guess that if his ability to get across his dialogue improved during previews, it has perhaps started to move backwards now. Or maybe he has good performances and less-good performances. But given how well I know the script, it may be hard for me to judge.


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re: Not too long I hope.

Posted by: Chazwaza 02:45 pm EDT 05/06/15
In reply to: re: Not too long I hope. - scoot1er 02:38 pm EDT 05/06/15

Nope, definitely wasn't that. A more attentive audience member you couldn't have found... and I have the ears of a young man because I am one. I saw it the week of opening, in a good seat, and despite being able to actually figure out what words he was saying most of the time, I found the language barrier to be an extreme hurdle and distraction in his performance. He sounded thoroughly like a person trying to speak in English despite it not being his language, I'll give you that. But like I said, the show was written in English, for English-speaking audiences. It was written for someone to pretend they were struggling with the nuances of the language, not someone actually experiencing that through the performance.


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re: Not too long I hope.

Posted by: scoot1er 08:12 pm EDT 05/06/15
In reply to: re: Not too long I hope. - Chazwaza 02:45 pm EDT 05/06/15

A subtle difference, no? But one which I bought into completely. You didn't, which is fine. As the French say, Chacun a son gout. (no accents because I don't know how to do them on this computer!)


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typo

Posted by: Chazwaza 01:30 pm EDT 05/06/15
In reply to: Not too long I hope. - Chazwaza 01:28 pm EDT 05/06/15

Of course I mean "too" not "to" ... so spare me the posts about how I can't even write in English, a language I claim to be fluent in. It was a typo.


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