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| re: Man in Chair performances | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 03:49 pm EST 01/10/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Man in Chair performances - JereNYC 02:53 pm EST 01/10/22 | |
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| By which you mean he didn't display obvious gay "tells" and mannerisms/vocal approach, the way Bob Martin did? It's interesting. When the show came out, my main hesitation was how it looked to me like "come laugh at the sad, lonely, pathetic old show queen and his pointless obsession with a bad old musical" the musical. As I've gotten older I've become somewhat less bothered by that, but I still find it to be a sad way into the show... and coming from a man who identifies and lives as straight (Bob Martin) writing and playing it... I always felt a bit weird. Not that there aren't plenty of gay men who experience what the show portrays for him, or that having the joy and life he gets from his musical records isn't a wonderful thing. But I've always been sensitive to how the world, and straight people, see "show queens", especially older ones who are unattached. Like it feels like they think that life is just even sadder because of their obsession with a genre of music or entertainment that the straight audiences watching it do not fully understand the reason for obsessing about, other than general "gayness". Even if his sexuality is not discussed... which maybe makes it worse and sadder. Bob Martin seems to love writing flamboyant, stereotypical show queens in the books he writes for musicals. |
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| re: Man in Chair performances | |
| Posted by: mikem 12:28 am EST 01/11/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Man in Chair performances - Chazwaza 03:49 pm EST 01/10/22 | |
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| It's been a very long time since I saw the show, which I only saw once and with the original cast, but I don't think the show is portraying Man in Chair as someone who is pathetic or someone who should be laughed at or pitied. If anything, I think the show presents Man in Chair as a protagonist to root for. (spoiler coming) IIRC, the show implies that Man in Chair is gay when he has a line about having been married and then says something to the audience like, "Does that surprise you?" But I guess in a portrayal like it sounds like Bob Saget had, the audience could be surprised because Man in Chair doesn't seem to have the social skills to have a deep relationship of the type that leads to marriage. |
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| re: Man in Chair performances | |
| Last Edit: Chazwaza 12:36 am EST 01/11/22 | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 12:35 am EST 01/11/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Man in Chair performances - mikem 12:28 am EST 01/11/22 | |
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| The show was so adored, I have to assume it didn't come off as I feared it did. I only know the album from listening once, and watching the show in other ways, and I don't remember it so well but I don't remember it being a pathetic view. I nonetheless have a lot of sensitivity about the preconceived notions straight people bring to a character/premise like this. As far the mention of him being gay, a "does that surprise you" type line could mean/imply many things, including being delivered by a closeted (or trying to pass as straight) man who is obviously gay to the audience, and the joke is him dancing around the obvious or nearly daring you to call out what he's so willfully ignoring. But it all depends on the delivery. But like you said with Saget's performance, it could also just be a reference to him being socially awkward or a nerd, whatever. |
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