"He never gives up, Lets go of his dream, His world goes around for his one true belief"~~Lyrics from Measure of a Man sung by Clay Aiken
Friday, October 17, 2008
Spamalot Stage Door Fashion
It's always fun to see what Clay will wear when he greets the fans at the stage door after a show. Clay tends to comfort and quirky choices for his everyday wear. One could say that the fashion and style gene was left out of his gay coding. *g* Who knows, because one person's style is another person's horror show. I love hoodies myself, but grandpa vests (even ridiculously expensive and trendy ones) not so much.
Judge for yourselves from a selection of photos taken over the last several weeks at the stage door:
If you were taking a cab across 44th Street on September 19, chances are it wasn't cheap. With Daniel Radcliffe appearing down the block in previews for Equus, the sidewalks got even more crowded with fans and onlookers, thanks to Clay Aiken's splashy return to Spamalot. After leaving the show in April (and becoming a father last month), the pop phenom reassumed the role of Sir Robin and brought down the house with his seemingly effortless performance and an ace rendition of "You Won't Succeed on Broadway." Aiken's signed on through January 4, so if you missed him the first time, here's your chance to be impressed. And trust us, the guy's pretty darn amazing.
Clay Aiken reprized his role in Spamalot this past weekend to the delight of his fans. After a four-month absence from the role, Clay resumed playing Sir Robin, a prison guard, and Brother Maynard as if he had never left.
Here are a sample of comments made on the message boards:
*He was AMAZING! For only one day of rehearsal the man did everything perfectly. He really looked like he was having the time of his life. I think he really loved being back on stage and seeing the fans. And we definitely showed him the love!
*It was so great being back at the Shubert and just being there and seeing everyone again felt like coming home. Clay has brought this family together and it was so amazing to have a reunion tonight and have everyone back together again. This is only the beginning! The next 4 months are going to be amazing!!
*He looked so happy on stage. It struck me at the very beginning and throughout the show how happy the other castmates were. Especially, Rick, Tom, Chris and some of the ensemble who were with Clay the last time. I felt again that the entire cast was enjoying the enthusiasm that the Clay fans had...not just for Clay but all of them. As each of the old cast members hit the stage, there was great applause...it was wonderful. I noticed that Clay spent a good deal of time looking at the audience as her performed. It was as if he was making eye-contact with his fans.
*Just being there again last night was magical! I've seen this show from the orchestra, the mezzanine and in SRO..... last night we chose the balcony . Let me say that it really doesn't matter where you are sitting because the excitement Clay brings to this show just fills the theater!!!
*Still flying from seeing Clay last night. It was what I needed...to laugh...to reconnect with Clay. It was good for the soul. It reminded me why I am here. When his face peeked out of that tower it was just a giddy feeling...almost close to that feeling I had at AI 2 at the concert when I was just...he is real...he is really really real...I think though this time it was he is here again...he is really really here again.
*As I entered the Shubert, the feeling of 'coming home' was overwhelming!!!! Seeing so many familiar faces in the audience, the smiles, the hugs, the hellos were like a warm blanket you could wrap yourself in.
*The house was electric before the show and afterwards in the alley. I think the cast feeds off that energy...and Clay brings so much to the show...his IT his energy...it adds that spark...that magic that makes Broadway at times an experience that can soar.
*Finally, the play started and we held our collective breath until that magical moment when Clay appeared in the tower... and Lord, what a moment!!! The cheering was deafening and would have gone on forever had it not been for the orchestra striking up King Arthur's song who bravely went ahead and started singing above the cheering... To our credit, we did quiet down...
*If there truly is heaven on earth, it can be found at the Shubert Theater from now until January 4th.
*It was also rewarding to hear the cheers that Rick, Tom and David got when they made their first entrances. I respect them so much and appreciate their talents immensely. Again, it was like seeing family again...albeit a Broadway Show Family....when they each walked out on stage in their roles that had grown so near and dear to me. I had a huge smile on my face as each one of them appeared on stage. They were as marvelous as ever.
So it sounds like a like a good time was had by all. *g*
Here's wonderful montage made by sueru to commemorate Clay's opening night.
Return Engagement September 19, 2008 through January 4, 2009
Broadway is a very, very special place with very, very special people and Clay Aiken couldn't stay away. In a statement Clay joked, "Since leaving Spamalot in May, jokes have just not been funny. Food has lost its taste. The grass is no longer green — the sky no longer blue. And, babies won't stop crying!! I'm so excited about coming back to the funniest show in the world!"
From Variety:
Clay Aiken returning to Broadway 'American Idol' vet to reprise 'Spamalot' role By GORDON COX
Claymates, get ready to head back to Broadway: "American Idol" alum Clay Aiken returns to the Rialto production of "Monty Python's Spamalot" this fall in a four-month stint.
Aiken will reprise the role of Sir Robin, which he played earlier this year in an engagement that ended May 4. David Hyde Pierce originated the part in the 2005 tuner, based on the 1975 film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."
Aiken is one of several reality TV stars who have made their way to Broadway, along with Fantasia Barrino ("The Color Purple") and Taylor Hicks ("Grease").
His previous run in "Spamalot" had a noticeable effect on box office. Weekly sales for the tuner surged the week Aiken joined the cast and took a steep tumble the frame after he departed.
Do you have any spare cash lying around the house? I mean a lot of spare cash? *g* If so, you might want to bid on these Spamalot items that were put up for bid on eBay to benefit Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS. Even if you can't bid, it's fun to watch those bids go up.
*Tickets to SPAMalot and Champagne toast with Clay Aiken
*Dinner with Clay Aiken and SPAMalot cast members
*Assistant" Drummer in SPAMalot
*Clay Aiken's costume from Broadway SPAMalot Green and white Sir Robin costume worn by Clay Aiken during his run in the Broadway production of Monty Python's SPAMalot. (tabard only). Includes certificate of authenticity signed by Clay Aiken and the SPAMalot costume supervisor.
*Clay Aiken's costume from Broadway SPAMalot Green and white Sir Robin costume worn by Clay Aiken during his run in the Broadway production of Monty Python's SPAMalot. (gloves only). Includes certificate of authenticity signed by Clay Aiken and the SPAMalot costume supervisor.
One fan recently remarked that if the reviews of Clay's performance in Spamalot weren't good, she would be calling the reviewer a liar. You might think, "what else would a fan say", but the truth is everything Clay Aiken does is analyzed to the nth degree by the fandom. In many ways, some fans are harder on him than any critic could be, but with Spamalot there is seemingly universal agreement that he taken this role, and kicked it to the curb. The great thing is that he is totally out of his comfort zone. He's not exactly experienced in dancing and acting. Singing yes, but not doing it while acting and dancing. He has surpassed fans' expectations with this role and hopefully his own. He might just have found his grail on Broadway or at least part of his grail.
Hey, it's not dead yet. In the words of one of the supremely goofy bad-taste delights from "Monty Python's Spamalot," the musical may be approaching its third year at the Shubert Theatre. But the thing's not dead yet - in fact, not even close.
Forgive our suspicion that "Spamalot" might have reached the uh-oh point in its heretofore long and happy run. After all, Clay Aiken, unknown until he was the runner-up in the second season of "American Idol," had been cast, with alarming hoopla, to play Sir Robin and assorted zanies - in a British accent, in a role created on film by (author, lyricist, co-composer) Eric Idle himself and recreated on Broadway by David Hyde Pierce.
We know that Fantasia, Aiken's fellow breakout survivor from gladiator TV, had a phenomenal stage debut last year as a replacement for the star in "The Color Purple." But what are the chances that another newbie from the South with zero stage experience would be able to slip into a high-maintenance Broadway hit without dragging it down like a boulder tied to its soft shoe?
So it's excellent news for Aiken and "Spamalot," not so good for drama schools. Aiken is a charmer. With his aging cherub face and a frizzle-pageboy wig, he goes sweetly and deftly Medieval on Broadway - a world described in the show as "a very special place with people who can sing and dance, often at the same time."And so he does, frequently at the same time. Aiken blends into the sophomoric adorableness of the show, even toying with his own girlish charisma at a piano topped with a Liberace candelabra. His voice has range and color. He dances with a childlike skip, he yodels and sings falsetto and gets through the scenes when Robin "soils himself" with no visible humiliation. This is not a debut for cowards.
Overall, Mike Nichols' cartoon spectacle has been spiffily maintained. The actors - including Jonathan Hadary's little-king Arthur, Christopher Sieber's droll Galahad, David Hibbard's loyal Patsy and Rick Holmes' thoroughly demented French Taunter - play with the abandon of bright kids discovering a new toy. Hannah Waddingham is a force of nature as the many faces and voices of the Lady of the Lake.
For the record, Britney Spears' name has indeed been replaced by Posh Spice in the "Diva's Lament," because, according to the creators, "we don't laugh at sad people." They do, however, laugh at just about everyone else, from Jews to gays to the Finnish. And they still sell the best show-related merchandise on Broadway. Killer-rabbit bunny slippers? Nice touch.
Clay Aiken deftly handles supremely silly in `Monty Python's Spamalot'
by MICHAEL KUCHWARA, AP Drama Critic
Let's clear things up right away: Clay Aiken can handlesupremely silly.That's not an inconsiderable talent when you are appearing insomething as daffy as "Monty Python's Spamalot," the madcap medieval musicalthat has just added the "American Idol" alum to its cast.We knew Aiken couldsing. "Idol," television's favorite trial-by-fire, proved that. So it was onlynatural that Broadway, eager for new faces that might sell tickets, would call —just as it did for Fantasia, Frenchie Davis, Constantine Maroulis and othersfrom "Idol."But don't go expecting a star turn. Aiken is a team player — andthat's meant as a compliment. The ingratiating performer fits seamlessly intothe extended high jinks of "Spamalot," which has been running at the ShubertTheatre since March 2005.The guy gets the goofy humor that is the Pythontrademark and goes with the flow, most prominently when he is portraying theperpetually petrified Sir Robin. It's one of three roles he plays in themusical.Aiken also exudes the physical buffoonery that underlines thecartoonlike nature of the characters and their quest to find the Holy Grail. Heradiates a delightful benign bewilderment. What's more, for someone born andraised in North Carolina, Aiken does a credible British accent.And the rest ofthe production, directed by Mike Nichols, holds up quite nicely, too. The tale,concocted by "Python" legend Eric Idle, is loosely based on the movie "MontyPython and the Holy Grail," and film buffs will recognize some of their favoritebits from the film. Idle also wrote the lyrics and shares credit with John DuPrez for the music.If there is anything approaching show-stopper status in this"Spamalot," it's the performance by Hannah Waddingham as the Lady of the Lake.The statuesque Waddingham, who originated the role in the London production, issensational. She's funny, sexy and blessed with one of those powerhouse voicesthat really shakes up the score.But then Nichols and choreographer CaseyNicholaw have kept the musical in tiptop shape. From Jonathan Hadary's robustKing Arthur to the preening Galahad of Christopher Sieber (an original New Yorkcast member who recently returned to the show) to Rick Holmes' sexually fluidLancelot, the cast gets a high amount of laughs from low comedy.And then there'sTom Deckman as the hilariously fey Prince Herbert and David Hibbard as the aptlynamed Patsy, singing and tapping his way through the show's best known moment ofmusical cheer, "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life." This is ensemble comiclunacy at its most inspired.But attention Aiken fans. He appears in "MontyPython's Spamalot" only through May 4.
********* MICHAEL KUCHWARA has been the drama critic and drama writer for the Associated Press since 1984. Before being named to that position, he worked for the AP in Chicago as a general assignment editor and reporter and in New York on its General (now the National) Desk, the main editing desk for national news. Born in Scranton, Pa., he is a graduate of Syracuse University. Kuchwara also has a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. Kuchwara is a past president of the New York Drama Critics' Circle.
Clay Aiken is trying to become the next American Idle.
The singer, who burst to fame during the second season of "American Idol," has made his Broadway debut in "Monty Python's Spamalot" — in creator Eric Idle's old role.
"There's a lot of pressure," Aiken says. "To think about how many people dream of doing something like this and to have the opportunity is pretty humbling."
Humbling, and possibly a little bit puzzling: What's a nice North Carolina boy with scant theater background and a penchant for pop lite doing in a scatological English stage comedy?
Exactly.
"One of the reasons that it intrigued me was that it was so different. Nobody I think would have expected me to show up in 'Spamalot,'" he says, laughing.
"It's very irreverent. ... I mean, my character soils his pants on stage multiple times."
This also is different territory for Aiken, who hasn't really acted much and was even cut from his high school's production of "Guys and Dolls." Just nailing the stage lingo has him rattled.
"I'm having to learn a whole new language. Upstage, downstage. I'm like, 'Upstage? What's that mean? Behind? Oh, got it. Why didn't you just say behind? ...' It makes me crazier than I already am."
Aiken, 29, has taken over the role of Sir Robin, the cowardly knight that Idle once played on film and David Hyde Pierce originated when the Tony Award-winning musical debuted in 2005.
"I think I'm probably just like the character — kind of chicken, afraid of everything and likes to sing. This particular character becomes a knight because he really just wants to sing and dance. He's so surprised when he finds out there's fighting involved. That kind of silly stupidity? — yeah, that's me."
Aiken, a performer who has sold 6 million CDs and continues to draw fans to his concerts, confesses to being sore and exhausted as he prepares for his debut. Aiken's first performance was Friday.
"Probably more preparation has gone into this than anything I've ever done," he says. "It's not just learning music and lines and even steps. It's mentally preparing yourself to do all of it at once."
Associate director Peter Lawrence says Aiken has been no idle diva; the singer asked to be treated like any other company member and has been surprisingly fearless.
"Clay really surprised me. When you meet him, he's this sweet kid from North Carolina with an accent. And you think there's no way he can do Cambridge material. And then he does," says Lawrence.
"It's been a total delight and a surprise for me and everyone in the company to work with Clay because he can do things you'd never imagine he could do."
The show is based on the film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," which came out in 1975. The film, in turn, grew out of the success of the cult BBC comedy series.
Aiken, it turns out, was a stranger to both.
"Until three months ago, I thought Monty Python was a person," he says, sheepishly.
Not surprisingly, the Python-Aiken partnership started poorly. After being courted by "Spamalot" producers a year ago, Aiken went to see the show and left befuddled.
And why not? He was expecting something like "The Phantom of the Opera" and instead saw characters slapped with fish, dancing plague corpses, a killer rabbit and cow tossing.
"It was, in my opinion, the stupidest thing ever produced," he recalls. "There's no plot."
Persuaded over the summer to return, Aiken finally got it. "It's just completely off-base. So I went in and realized that. You have to go understanding that they even advertise it as being the silliest thing ever. It really is."
That's something Python purists will be happy to hear. Even so, Aiken is bracing for criticism from die-hard fans who can be more caustic than Simon, Randy and Paula.
"I'm anticipating and expecting some sort of fallout. I think it's a little bit different when someone who's never done Broadway before, who may be more well known in the pop world, comes in to Broadway," he says.
"There's always this skepticism that they've been brought in for the wrong reasons or they didn't play their dues or they're not going to do their part well," he says.
"So I even told the choreographer and the director ahead of time, 'I don't want you to go easy on me. I want to do everything that everybody else does. Don't change things and make them easier for me,'" he adds, laughing. "I've since changed my mind."
Aiken, who got a degree in special education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, was teaching grade school kids with autism before he tried out for "Idol" in Atlanta. He was a former member of the Raleigh Boys Choir, and occasionally sang at weddings and at church.
"There's not really a market in North Carolina to sing for a living. There's not that career path for people. So I never really assumed or had any dreams or aspirations to sing," he says.
That changed in the seventh grade when his mother took him and a friend to a local production of the musical "Big River," starring Martin Moran as Huckleberry Finn.
"It was the first time ever that I looked on stage and saw people — you know, adults — singing. And I thought, 'Wow, wait a second. You can actually sing for a living?'" he recalls. "From that point on, I kind of allowed music to be a part of my what-I-want-to-be-when-I-grow-up scenario."
After finishing second to Ruben Studdard on "Idol," Aiken went on to release his debut CD "Measure of a Man," which went double platinum in 2003. His other albums are "Merry Christmas With Love" and "A Thousand Different Ways." He's currently working on his fourth CD, due possibly by May.
In one of the weirder twists of Aikens' Broadway debut, he looked down at the Playbill while catching a "Spamalot" performance before he officially signed on and saw a familiar name: Martin Moran as Sir Robin.
"So I'll take over Robin from the same person who you could say kind of inspired me to actually make music something that I would do," he says. "It's a very small world — kind of a full-circle thing".
January 18th made his auspicious Broadway debut. The fandom held its collective breath while Clay sang, danced, yodeled, spoke with an English accent, and hit his comedic marks. After the show more than one bottle of bubbley--real and imaginary was uncorked.
Some comments made by fans:
I knew Clay would be good, I never thought he would be THAT good -- the joy on his face (and his fellow castmates') at the curtain call lit up my heart!! Sir Galahad hugged his arm and patted him on the back (job well done) and the King gave a little special acknowledgment of Clay ... and that was so sweet .. it was a HUGE hope of mine that Clay would be accepted by the cast ... I think he has been ...
**
Oh what a night! I spent the night grinning and laughing out loud and I was not alone. The sold-out Schubert Theater pulsated with cheers for Clay and company.
**
He did it ...OMG HE DID IT!!! It's really hard to explain...that rush? The joy?? The utter just EEEEEEEEEEEEEE I felt last night. I couldn't stop smiling...my cheeks had that feeling you get from grinning so long...and my throat hurt from the laughing and the cheering. But the joy...to feel the joy was bliss. It was contagious in the theater...inside and out. There was a nervousness...but when he took the stage...when his head peaked out that window of the guard tower....it all evaporated into....pure laughter and a heady...OMG OMG he is doing it...he really really is doing it. He was the part. He owned what he was doing. He wasn't Clay Aiken pop star up there. He was the guard and the accent was a joy to hear. The whole theater was so full of energy...you could feel it in the air. Love in abundance...and happy...and laughing...it was amazing.
**
I don't think he messed up one line last night...no random lyric generator...and if he did...you couldn't tell...so if he did it doesn't matter one wit. He found his click. He really really has found his click.
**
Simon used to say...you belong on Broadway like it was some diss to Clay. I used to respond that diss by saying that those that make it to Broadway are only the best of the best. Last night on the stage of the Shubert theater Clay Aiken proved those words to me.
**
The wonderful thing about Spamalot is that it is so irreverant...so bawdy...so out of the character of what someone who has the old notions of Clay Aiken would think that he would do...that his taking on this role is like a break me out of this box move for Clay. You rocked the stage Sir Robin...you nailed it!!!
**
He was as you all know totally wonderful. His comedic timing and his expressions and of course the accent blew me away. I have no words...to describe just how wonderful he was. I just kept laughing, smiling and even a few tears as I was so proud of him. Afterwards everyone was just walking around going OMG!! OMG!! He so totally ROCKED.
**
I thought Clay was fabulous and I consider that a gross understatement! The atmosphere was one of unbelievable anticipation, excitement, and joy and that comes nowhere close to telling you what it felt like. And the fact that I shared this experience with hundreds of my closest Clay Friends and Clay Aiken himself was the straw the stirred the drink. There are no words to describe it really. But if could bottle the atmosphere last night and sell it, I would be one rich woman! I would buy a lifetime supply of that essence and snort it three times a day for the rest of my life.
**
Upon reflection I still absolutely love what he accomplished last night. He was a singer, an actor, a consumate professional, an entertainer and yet still "our" Clay! I loved, loved, loved his different accents! He did an amazing job and is better than some long time actors I have seen! No it wasn't perfect but it was close to "Spot On" In fact since I loved it so much I bought a matinee ticket at 2 am this morning. This post has been brought to you by the fangirliest fan ever and I'm loving it.
**
I laughed. I cried. I am very proud of him. He was adorable. Of I said that. His singing was spectacular. He pulled off the accent. He danced. He leered. He cursed. He was wonderful.
**
This is the most perfect THING for him. This part, this genre, this play, this city. Everything just worked. He frecking Blew.Me.Away. Lord, I want to hop on a bus and go back and see it again tomorrow.
** Clay? Was a wonder!!! I expected him to be good. I didn't expect him to blow my mind. He was so natural, so... born to be on the stage. The best compliment I heard (and I heard it more than a few times) was people asking their neighbour - which one is Clay? He totally fit in up there on the stage. And he's only getting better!!! Incredible!!!
Opening night is finally here. After much preparation for the role: singing, dancing, acting, piano, interviews, and doing press, it is finally time for Clay to show the world not only does he belong on Broadway, but that Broadway is lucky to have him. Only the best singers are on Broadway, something Simon Cowell never seemed to wrap around his tiny pea-brain. It not the place for wannabe pop stars who can't make it on American Idol. It's for the elite-- the best singers, and the best actors. The performers have to bring it night after night; they have to engage the audience; they have to give a performance like it is the only one they are giving. There is no retake for that particular audience. There is no doubt in my mind, that Clay Aiken will bring it as he always does.
Spamalot is more than singing. In fact, singing is rather secondary to the comedic talents required for this musical. I have no doubt that Clay will shine since he is quite witty and has deft comedic timing. People who only know Clay Aiken the singer or Clay Aiken the humanitarian or Clay Aiken the media punching bag, will be quite surprised at his skill as a comedic actor. Mike Nichols, who has had an illustrious career and knows talent when he sees it, would not have cast him otherwise.
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It's been a bonanza of publicity this week with all the press and entertainment shows. Two publicity photos have been released. Here is the first look at Sir Robin:
Clay did a backstage interview and tour for Entertianment Tonight. The YouTube video is below. After watching it one fan said what so many of us are feeling:
"I see a man just brimming with joy, adventure, excitement, and happy anticipation. And beneath that, I see a man at peace. I see someone who is living his dream. Someone who is loved and accepted. I think he's had a warm welcome. I see someone who belongs there. He is simply glowing, and it warms my heart."
Yes, he is and it does.
Last but not least here is Clay Aiken's bio up at the Spamalot Website:
