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| re: Does the ghost of Audra hang over Lindsey Mendez' Tony chances? | |
| Posted by: mikem 12:56 pm EDT 06/03/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Does the ghost of Audra hang over Lindsey Mendez' Tony chances? - LynnB 12:11 pm EDT 06/03/18 | |
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| I agree with you both. I really like her but there is no subtlety to her performance. It Is fun, but not nuanced. I think part of the reason she is getting so much attention is because Jessie Mueller has been directed to fade into the background, so Mendez really pops in their initial long scene together and then brings needed jolts of energy later. And of course she sings wonderfully. |
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| I, too, am mystified by the acclaim Mendez has garnered. | |
| Posted by: GabbyGerard 04:35 pm EDT 06/03/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Does the ghost of Audra hang over Lindsey Mendez' Tony chances? - mikem 12:56 pm EDT 06/03/18 | |
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| I loved Mendez in Significant Other and ESPECIALLY in Dogfight. (Had Dogfight transferred to Broadway, I suspect she and Ashford both would have taken home Tonys, or at least nominations. And I’ve always felt that it would have had a much better shot at transferring had Klena not been the production’s leading man.) Though I didn’t see her in Wicked, I love listening to her sing the big Elphaba songs. But her performance in Carousel was a huge disappointment to me. Calling it “broad” is an understatement. It felt almost collegiate in the way she pandered for laughs. She did not mine it for any of the depths that others—including Audra—have revealed. I was even more surprised by how unpleasant I found her singing to be. In general, I don’t love the music direction of this production, but Mendez was—to my ear—its most unfortunate victim. Her placement sounds pinched and effortfully bright. Her vibrato does not seem well controlled or supported. Maybe it’s Mendez’s physique, or the consistent metaphorical wink in her delivery, but everything about her Carrie made me wish Emily Skinner had had a crack at the role when she was in the right age range. |
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| Thank you; her vocals were not pleasant to me, despite the big voice. | |
| Posted by: Delvino 08:39 pm EDT 06/03/18 | |
| In reply to: I, too, am mystified by the acclaim Mendez has garnered. - GabbyGerard 04:35 pm EDT 06/03/18 | |
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| I couldn't identify what it was that didn't land on my ear. But your use of "pinched" and comment on her vibrato -- which I later told someone reminded me of Bert Lahr's "King of the Jungle" vibrato in "Wizard of Oz," intended for specificity, not ridicule -- made me realize I wasn't alone. Something was just too much. When the Snows take over in the middle of act one -- and suddenly, in this production, they do -- I couldn't escape my response to her overthought or overly precious performance. I liked her best in her extended act two scene, when she played Carrie older. But it's a foolproof scene. I don't know what it is about her voice, but it's not my taste, large and expressive though it may be. | |
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| re: I, too, am mystified by the acclaim Mendez has garnered. | |
| Posted by: carolinaguy 06:27 pm EDT 06/03/18 | |
| In reply to: I, too, am mystified by the acclaim Mendez has garnered. - GabbyGerard 04:35 pm EDT 06/03/18 | |
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| She and Gemignani were the only two who brought any distinctive personality to their roles in this otherwise dreary production, so it’s no wonder they stand out. Comparative bias at work. Why the others were Tony-nominated speaks to the weakness of the season. Except Henry, whose “Soliloquy” is vocally thrilling if oddly directed. |
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