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re: I'm amazed how many of you defend Willis

Posted by: whereismikeyfl 08:10 am EST 11/03/15
In reply to: re: I'm amazed how many of you defend Willis - KingSpeed 12:57 am EST 11/03/15

How do you give a great performance if you are being fed lines through an earpiece?

Maybe some people would be satisfied, but I suspect they are there to see Willis himself, rather than see him give an actual performance. I have seen other celebrities with earpieces and they hardly gave "great performances." It usually is a pretty sad spectacle.


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re: I'm amazed how many of you defend Willis

Posted by: ryhog 12:44 pm EST 11/03/15
In reply to: re: I'm amazed how many of you defend Willis - whereismikeyfl 08:10 am EST 11/03/15

You are confounding two things. I think we can all agree we go to something to see a great performance. But for you to ask and not answer your lead-in question is a leap of logic. How do you give a great performance? Hide and watch. If it is not great, it's not great; if it is great, it is. Damning the performance based on means rather than result seems misguided to me, unless, like the sentiment expressed in some posts, you are passing judgment on something that is really not your concern. Laurette Taylor was so drunk onstage sometimes she walked into the wings and puked. How many of us would not want to see her perform because we don't approve of people working drunk?


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re: I'm amazed how many of you defend Willis

Posted by: whereismikeyfl 12:18 am EST 11/04/15
In reply to: re: I'm amazed how many of you defend Willis - ryhog 12:44 pm EST 11/03/15

If I buy a ticket, the quality of the performer is my concern. It has nothing to do with "approval." I have seen drunk performers and performers being fed lines. I do not consider either to be worth spending money on.

You suggest that the means are not visible in the result. If you cannot see a difference, then go spend your money on this. I do see a difference when a performer is fully present or not--and the latter is just not worth it to me. Especially at Broadway prices.

My last memory of seeing a beloved performer on stage is seeing her distracted from the person onstage with her by the earpiece. I wish I had not see it.


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re: I'm amazed how many of you defend Willis

Posted by: ryhog 12:28 am EST 11/04/15
In reply to: re: I'm amazed how many of you defend Willis - whereismikeyfl 12:18 am EST 11/04/15

What you are describing is someone who failed to give the best possible performance. No one is criticizing anyone for expecting that. But you are assuming that an earpiece or any of the dozens of other tricks that help people with their lines are inherently affecting the performance. If you don't want to see Laurette Taylor when you and I time travel back to that period, I'll buy your ticket from you at premium prices.


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re: I'm amazed how many of you defend Willis

Posted by: Billhaven 08:23 am EST 11/03/15
In reply to: re: I'm amazed how many of you defend Willis - whereismikeyfl 08:10 am EST 11/03/15

If the performance is great you won't have had any idea that lines were being fed thru an earpiece. There is a real craft in using such a piece. It is very commonly used in commercial industrial films when there is a lot of technical jargon (concerning a new drug or medical procedure, for example). I have also had personal experience in a show where the leading actor used a piece brilliantly. Every line seemed like a fresh thought. The performance won accolades and a Tony Award.


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re: I'm amazed how many of you defend Willis

Posted by: whereismikeyfl 08:57 am EST 11/03/15
In reply to: re: I'm amazed how many of you defend Willis - Billhaven 08:23 am EST 11/03/15

I think I was so embarrassed for Lansbury the two times I saw her being fed lines, I resolved to avoid seeing performances like this ever again. I prefer to remember her--and any actor--in better form.

I will be skipping Misery.


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re: I'm amazed how many of you defend Willis

Posted by: davei2000 12:12 pm EST 11/03/15
In reply to: re: I'm amazed how many of you defend Willis - whereismikeyfl 08:57 am EST 11/03/15

Did you boycott the Wooster Group's "Early Shaker Spirituals"?...;)

Link http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/30/theater/early-shaker-spirituals-plain-spoken-tribute.html?_r=0

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re: I'm amazed how many of you defend Willis

Posted by: MikeR 11:46 am EST 11/03/15
In reply to: re: I'm amazed how many of you defend Willis - whereismikeyfl 08:57 am EST 11/03/15

So far there is no proof that Willis is using an earpiece. Maybe you should wait for something more than hearsay on which to base your ticket-buying decision.


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