#michael esper

[alice-ness]

city of the damned!

[haveyouseenthisseries-poll]

[greendayauthority]

[nigesakis]

Trust (2018) | 7. Kodachrome

[securityholograms]

green day’s american idiot

[bungandmunchpi]

Sorry now that I've started New York Posting I can't stop but:

Little Tonys wishlist I wrote in a fugue state last night! Just centered around the shows I saw in person.

Stereophonic: it's gonna get in everywhere I think and probably sweep BUT all the actors are in Featured Actor in a Play and it's slowly killing me. I think Sarah Pidgeon's definitely getting in, maybe Juliana Canfield, and I think at least one of Tom Pecinka, Eli Gelb, and Will Brill are getting in. I thought before that they might bump Sarah and Tom up to lead, but now they're all in Featured it's really interesting/stressful (delete as appropriate). Previously I would have said Eli gets in and maybe Will, and Tom can mix it with the big lads, but now I'm wondering if Tom gets in just because Peter is almost the biggest role in the show, and then probably Eli because he already has another nom (can't remember which awards body it is, sorry). I think Eli and Will both getting in and not Tom would be super harsh, but I wouldn't be surprised if that did happen. Would love Will Butler to get into Score too, and I'm feeling reasonably optimistic about that!

Merrily: again it's getting in everywhere and probably sweeping. I wouldn't be shocked if all three leads won in the end: Groff Lead, and Lindsay Mendez and Daniel Radcliffe both Featured. I'm not super familiar with how stacked Featured is for Musicals, but I think Krystal Joy Brown and Katie Rose Clarke are both fab so would love if one of them snuck in. I also saw someone talking about Reg Rogers getting into Featured if the nominators really go for Merrily, which would be fun, but I have a feeling Featured Actor in a Musical is gonna be too busy, particularly since Illinoise haven't got anyone in Lead.

Enemy of the People: Strong's getting in and I would say probably the frontrunner for Lead? I think it's getting in for Revival too but I think Sam Gold might be on slightly shaky ground, which I'd say is fair given how strong Director of a Play is this year. I think Imperioli too, but I'd love there to be space for Caleb Eberhardt, although I can't imagine there will be.

Appropriate: again super strong, I think it's going to get a whole bunch of nominations. Lead Actress is a barnburner this year: Paulson v Lange v McAdams is going to be such a good race, and I think the general consensus is that the production is the runaway favourite for Revival, which is great. Featured Actor in a Play haunts me: everyone seems to be predicting Corey Stoll and not Michael Esper, but yesterday Time Out New York had Esper in their own picks (not predictions), and he got a Drama Desk nom and Corey Stoll didn't. I'm crossing every single digit I have that this holds out and we get Michael Esper Tony nominee! He's one of my favourite actors and (bias aside) I think he's so fantastic in Appropriate, and the more deserving of the two (sorry Corey).

Side note: didn't get to see Days of Wine and Roses as it had CLOSED by the time I got to NYC (I'm looking at you, everyone who didn't buy tickets), but Brian and Kelli are locks for Lead, and I'd love it to get in in Musical and Score. I think Brian v Groff and Kelli v everyone else are going to be very interesting races!!

[moritzakgae]

bass player jgj for the jgjheads of this world

[homecoming]

let’s start a war, shall we?

[expensivemistake]

amy lennox & michael esper as elly & valentine in 'lazarus'

[gameofthunder66]

The Outsider (2020) tv series

-(finished) watchin' Season 1- 3/19/2024- 2 [3/4] stars- on Max

The book was much better in my opinion.

[alice-ness]

who was gonna tell me about the scott pilgrim shirt.

[ruleof3bobby]

THE CREATOR (2023) Grade: B-

The visuals were great & some cool looking shots. The script wasn't like a Nolan film for sure. Little on the nose and long. Still like John David Washington, he turned a good performance.

[twittercomfrnklin2001-blog]

Appropriate

APPROPRIATE by Branden Jacobs-Jennings directed by Lila Neugebauer: I fidget a lot at the theatre because of my knee and, this trip, a sore shoulder from taking the wrong computer bag. During the first act of Branden Jacobs-Jennings searing, often blisteringly funny portrait of American life at its worst, I barely moved. And when Sarah Paulson dove into one of her many beautifully played tirades, I had to remind myself to breathe. I wish I could say the same for the second act, but I think the first scene could use some judicious pruning. It just feels more like making points and marking time until the big eruptions in the next scene. Paulson is Toni, a bitter divorcee who’s spent most of her life caring for a family that’s drifted away. One brother (Corey Stoll) is a businessman consumed by his life in New York. Another (Michael Esper) has a history of drug addiction and various crimes, great and small. With her father’s death, she’s trying to settle the estate, a dilapidated, overstuffed former plantation in Arkansas. Complicating matters are the presence of Esper’s spiritual girlfriend (Ella Beatty), charges of anti-Semitism from Stoll’s wife (Natalie Gold) and the discovery of racist memorabilia among daddy’s belongings. Did he collect them or were they just left behind by the previous owners? Most of the cast does solid work, with particularly strong support from Stoll, though Esper had projection problems. Nor does it help that he’s settled with a lengthy monolog at the wrong point in the play. It’s not just that you keep losing lines; you may wonder why nobody tells him to get to the point. The insertion of the racism question adds another level to the play. As the family try to justify daddy’s behavior, the play creates a great dialog with AMERICAN ROT, my Friday night piece. Is saying “those were different times” enough to let someone off the hook? And were they really that different?

[theoldgvard]

my thoughts on Trust (2018) (because there are many)

i came as part of my marinelli filmography mission and i was not expecting to love it as much as i did it’s absolutely brilliant

fletcher chase was absolutely one of my favourite parts the way he connected the audience to the show and encouraged us to examine everything and try to understand the story was so fun, he should’ve been used more also the last episode where he hints at little paul’s future and says ‘google it’ THAT WAS COLD AF pure genius

harris dickinson was amazing and while i do wish they would’ve cast someone who actually looked fifteen he created a character to care about so well

my other personal standout was michael esper as paul jr, the way you are able to both dislike him for the shitty things he does while also so intimately understand where it all comes from was very emotionally intense and just outstanding

nearly all the characters had these fleshed out three dimensions that prevented it from being black and white, literally everyone does at least one thing you can disagree with yet nearly all of them get the chance to lay out their truth so you understand ‘i am a person and this is what i am doing but it is not the whole story. this act is not me. it is not that simple.’

speaking of which (i had to mention him when he brought me here) primo. while he was always going to be brilliant in luca’s particular brand of entertainingly unhinged, i didn’t expect to not hate him. there were certainly moments when i did, but when he stands at the port in the finale, there was something almost satisfying about it? especially regarding his dealings with salvatore and francesco. the parallels between the guys in calabria and the gettys are just wonderful narratively.

(little mention for angelo. i loved him in episode 5 and when primo showed up and did that i was devastated.)

god donald sutherland can play a villain. the frustration and fury and desperation of his family rubs off on you as you watch, so many times i was yelling at the screen and wondering how someone could be so awful. the scene where paul jr lost his lover and called asking for help stands out in my memory.

bullimore <3

so many great shots, great edits, great soundtrack. this is just so well done, it was such a pleasant surprise to enjoy it so much.

[bungandmunchpi]

Just wanted to write a little something about the shows I saw in New York before the Tony noms come out tomorrow! I never write long-form about the things I've seen any more so thought I'd indulge myself quickly.

Stereophonic, 13th April

Theatre twitter was abuzz about this when it was at Playwrights' Horizons and the transfer rumours were very exciting as we were planning our trip. We managed to nab some $40 seats in the rear mezz for previews and went with it as the first show of our week!

It's a great play, although I don't think totally deserving of the raves/five stars it's getting everywhere. It could do with some pruning in places and I think both Nancy and I thought the female characters were a little bit underwritten: I'd say the scenes where it's just the two of them discussing their careers and personal lives are the weakest of the play, although Sarah Pidgeon and Juliana Canfield are both fantastic. The rest of the cast is as well - it's stacked top to bottom, with six out of seven making their Broadway debuts which is thrilling! Will Butler's music is absolutely phenomenal, and the show really soars when the band kick into gear and are recording successfully: we were both nodding our heads and tapping along, and I can't wait for the album to come out on May 10th.

Shout-outs to basically everyone in the cast, as everyone gets their little (or large) moment, but I think Eli Gelb really anchors the thing and has a gorgeous arc, and Will Brill is incredibly funny and sad at the same time. Tom Pecinka is doing fantastic work too as the antagonist/engine of the show, and I've really enjoyed watching his Gold Derby interview where he speaks about the hostility he experiences from the audience a lot of the time, and how he processes that and stays true to the text without being tempted into making the character more likeable.

We stagedoored too and everyone was very lovely! We got to compliment Will on his British accent and meet Tom's dog Molly, who was totally over the two-show day and ready to be on her way (but very sweet with it). A great start!

Merrily We Roll Along, 14th April

This was the show I spent the most money on, and I went on my own as Nancy was off being immersed at Punchdrunk (/the McKittrick Hotel, apologies). I love Sondheim and I really love this show - I was introduced to it by Lonny Price's beautiful documentary The Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened, which I would really recommend even if you're not a big Sondheim/musical theatre person, as it deals with being creative and dreaming big at a young age, and how we adjust when those dreams aren't realised or turn sour. It felt very special to be seeing Merrily on Broadway, as I believe Sondheim used a lot of his own early experiences in the theatre to make it. So special in fact that just hearing the overture made me extremely emotional (although it's a different version/orchestration to the overture on the original cast recording, which is one of my favourites of all time).

It's brilliantly directed/somewhat reworked by Maria Friedman, and she's been credited with turning what was a notorious flop originally into an absolute smash off and on Broadway this season. I think she does a lot of good work but it's undeniable just how brilliant a lot of the songs in it are: when Daniel Radcliffe finished Franklin Shepherd Inc, the man sitting behind me exclaimed "what a number!" to his seatmates. The material in the second half in particular is extraordinary, and I thought all three leads were fantastic as the characters get younger and younger, with It's a Hit, Opening Doors, and Bobby and Jackie and Jack highlights. Our Time, the brutally optimistic climax of the show, had me tearing up as soon as it started, and I cried all the way through the curtain call, just because I felt so lucky to have been in that space experiencing that piece of work made by this team of cast and creatives.

Jonathan Groff, Lindsay Mendez, and Daniel Radcliffe are all phenomenal in it: I was expecting less from Daniel Radcliffe as I know he has the least musical theatre experience of the three, but he did a great job and brought so much humour to Charley, which I really enjoyed. Jonathan Groff's Growing Up is stunning and he just leads the show so well - he's a real star and would be very deserving of the Tony, which I have a feeling he may just land. Lindsay Mendez has been out of the show now and then so I was preparing myself not to see her and then was thrilled I got to: her voice is so solid and her arc was beautifully drawn, from Mary's acerbic comedy at the beginning of the show to her brightness as she's entering the creative world early on in her career.

In terms of emotion, this was probably the highlight of my trip, and I'm excited to see the production sweep a lot of awards in June!

An Enemy of the People, 17th April

As soon as this was announced, it started making my New York trip plans more concrete. I think Jeremy Strong is one of the best actors we have working today, and it was brilliant to see him onstage - I don't think he's done any theatre for a decade, and Circle in the Square is pretty intimate for a Broadway venue, so that was extremely exciting.

I was left a little cold by the production: I think that may be Amy Herzog's version, which gets through the nuts and bolts of Ibsen's play, but does so at quite a lick (the show runs about two hours with a five minute pause in the middle). The character work the actors are doing is beautifully detailed, so you really want to spend some more time with them all. Jeremy Strong is totally transformed from Succession, endearing and frustrating in equal measure, and he and Michael Imperioli work so well together as very different brothers. I saw Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' The Comeuppance recently at the Almeida, so it was fun to see Caleb Eberhardt and try to read him back into that play: I thought he was really fantastic and nuanced in Enemy, and would love to see him snag a Tony nom, although I think Featured Actor in a Play is insanely crowded (and I would hate to see any of the Stereophonic guys lose out).

Sam Gold's staging is nice although the space seems to be a little difficult to work in. There are some interesting details in the second half as things become less naturalistic, with characters remaining onstage to watch the action, and Jeremy Strong being Jeremy Strong has to put himself in some kind of physical peril (getting buckets of ice poured on him as the townspeople turn on Stockmann, leaving him wet through (and I presume freezing) for the rest of the show).

Overall this was good if not as impressive as I'd hoped, but it was amazing to see Jeremy Strong onstage and he again was lovely at the stagedoor, so I'd recommend that if you're interested!

Appropriate, 17th April

This was the best show we saw all trip, from the writing to the direction to the performances, and so brilliant that we didn't try very hard to get into something on the Thursday evening, as we didn't want to spoil the high we'd experienced the night before.

I love Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' writing, and the way he plays with drama as a form to create his shows. Appropriate sits in the tradition of American domestic drama, and it's harrowing and screamingly funny all in one go. Again a real thrill to see a cast this stacked, and fun to pick up another Succession cast member, with Natalie Gold so good in what could be a tricky role. Sarah Paulson leaves it all out there in the lead role, and does a fantastic job: another actor who isn't afraid to be unlikeable, and who goes deep in the cruelty she exhibits towards other characters. Corey Stoll does some great, solid work too, and Michael Esper is so SO good as Franz. The role is so disruptive and interesting and gross and funny, and he does a beautiful job. Nancy and I really bonded over the production of The Glass Menagerie he was in in London in 2017, so it was wonderful to see him onstage again and to see him bring it so hard.

The design elements of Appropriate are phenomenal too, particularly the final sequence, which I won't spoil but is one of the most extraordinary things I've seen done onstage.

That was the trip!! I had a brilliant first ever week in New York and the best time seeing my first shows on Broadway: I was very sad to leave but it's made me really excited to see great work in London over the summer, and I'm ready to start saving up again to go back!