It's A Norbert Leo Butz Smackdown!

Mike Daisey and Playgoer take two pretty much opposing viewpoints on Norbert Leo Butz not being completely off book by the time he took over the Bobby Gould part in Speed-The-Plow.  The back story is this (and it comes from this article in the Times). Norbert Leo Butz has been rehearsing Speed for a couple of weeks and is not completely off book. In his first performance, he had a script on stage with him and in subsequent performances has needed multiple prompts to get through the show.  

Here's Playgoer's take:

It's really, really tough for an actor to go out on stage like this. You think going out off-book is vulnerable already! But this, especially when your cast mates are long off book, must feel very exposing. But I must say I admire Butz' humility in letting his process show, if you will. (He was off book in Act I, I should note. And by now probably the whole thing.) Yes, sometimes we've seen actors go out like this who just clearly don't know what they're doing. But everyone in the NY theatre knows what a consummate pro Butz is.

Garrett then points to Butz' own description of how he gets off line (it involves audio recordings of the lines on an iPod).

Mike, as you might imagine, has a somewhat contrary take, one I'm somewhat sympathetic too although not as inflamed about as he is:

Still on book? Seriously?

Give me a fucking break.

Mr. Butz has a week to prepare before a week of rehearsals, and he is STILL on book for performances? Not just that prompting is present, but being needed repeatedly, and reading from a script? During a Broadway performance?

That is pathetic, unacceptable, and faintly ridiculous.

I will say from my own experience that when I act the bulk of the time spent learning the lines is actually in the rehearsal room. It's the trying things over and over again in lots of different ways that cements the lines in my mind rather than a lot of outside-of-the-room studying (I'd put my personal ration at about 70/30, although everyone is different).  As a director, I tend to have the entire script more-or-less memorized (maybe to about 85%) by the time the actors are supposed to be off book. Frequently, by the time we get to tech I know the show to about 98% of its lines. But I also have a somewhat freakish memory.

Anyway, it may be that Butz is, like me, someone who needs to rehearse for a couple of weeks to get the lines right. At the same time, Mike is right that professional actors (which Butz is- one of my favorite musical theater actors, actually- and I am not) develop tricks and tools for learning lines in a hurry.  Anyone whose worked on a workshop or a summerstock or rep knows the demands of learning (and in workshops re-learning and cutting) scripts very very quickly.

It's more surprising given that it's a Broadway show that they'd put an actor on stage who didn't know all of his lines for people paying over 80 bucks a ticket.  Perhaps they rushed getting him out there, which is the producer's fault, not his.

But I also sympathize with something that I think underlies Mike's comments on this whole thing (and Mike, if I'm misrepresenting your feelings about this, please let me know!) the whole coverage of the Butz/Macy drop in has been deeply strange.  Jeremy Piven left the show (exciting and weird story!). With Piven leaving, audiences who had already bought tickets are allowed to demand their money back.  The producers smartly chose two interesting and well-known enough actors to keep some swath of their advance sales from doing that.  Good on them.

But it hardly makes either Norbert Leo Butz or William H. Macy heroes, which is how they're being discussed in the press. They're famous, well compensated last-minute fill-in actors.  This is what actors do, it's part of the theatrical life.  Something breaks, theatrefolk turn it around quickly. Sometimes, actors have to do it on the fly in the midst of a show, because the wrong prop has come out, their costar has gone up on their lines, a piece of scenery breaks etc.  These are thrilling moments in live theater, sure, but it seems weird to treat Butz and Macy like they saved America in WWII for doing their jobs. I'm excited they're joining the show because I like both of them as actors (like I said, Norbert Leo Butz is one of my favs, and I actually saw Macy in a tour of Oleanna before he was famous and he was terrifyingly brilliant) but in a way, their part of the story is the most everyday. . It's hardly a mitzvah to agree to appear on Broadway without having to do a lot of the advance press and marketing bullshit and get paid to do a really fun part that everyone's now paying attention to since the previous guy was a douchebag who left.

It's only a favor if you think doing a play at all is a favor, and that we should be greatful that Macy and Butz, are condescending to appear in the show (TO BE CLEAR: I don't think this is how Macy and Butz are approaching it, I'm talking again of the press coverage).  That kind of self-loathing gets my hackles up.

(of course for marketing the show, it's fucking brilliant. my hat goes off to whoever pitched all of the articles about Speed that appearing everywhere.. How do we make it seem awesome that our lead actor doesn't know his lines?)

Comments

[99]

Though I'm rarely one to be especially kind to actors, especially major stars who haul in a bunch of bucks (which fits Piven, Macy and certainly Butz), or even to care too much about the vicissitudes of Broadway, I kind of come down on the side of putting him on not fully off-book and that that's what makes him a "hero." Such as there are. Listen, of course all actors have tricks to get themselves off-book and everything, but I think you're right Isaac: most of those tricks are put in place in the rehearsal hall. NLB is kind of a big star and probably pulled out of a bunch of other smaller things to do this on really short notice. Yes, there are theatre gigs with short turnaround time, but not one that he's been doing lately (or Macy for that matter, but Macy's got a longer lead time). It is ballsy to go out on stage, in a three-character play where you're playing the central character without the benefit of rehearsal. And the producers are wise to captialize on it. People love stunts, they love tricks, they love to watch it all almost crash and burn. That's part of the fun of live theater, or, really, of any live event.

It's totally every day and it's totally their job, and we should still cheer them along. The way we cheer along with Mariano Rivera when he comes into a game that had a big lead and is now teetering on the brink because the wheels came off of the star pitcher and he loads the bases, but gets that last out. Yeah, he's doing his job, but his job is exciting. (Okay, got my obligatory sports reference and I'm out!)

[isaac]

Ha! Good point, 99. My goal was not to piss on NLB's wheeties or anything (as I said, I like the guy and I think it's great he's coming in and, if I could afford it, I might even go see him in it) I just don't know how *grateful* to WHM and NLB we should be as opposed to excited, enthused, on their side etc.

[Playgoer]

Quick correction, I believe, Isaac. Seems to me Butz was only on stage script in hand after ONE week's rehearsal, not two.

And I concur Butz & Macy are no "heroes." And I'm sure they're handsomely compensated. But there's a difference between heroes and just "good sports" or just expressing admiration. If you're getting the feeling some of the press is calling them heroes (and I'm not sure which you're referring to) maybe it's because they sure ARE heroes to the producers! Who are surely the main source for these kinds of stories, as usual.

Finaly: thanks for alerting me to Mike D's point. But aren't both you and he leaving out something, um, glaringly relevant to his commenting on this? Namely, that Mike Daisey--fab performer that he is--NEVER goes out on stage "off-book."
Yes, it's an outline, but still, is this not analogous?

(That piece of paper of his has even gotten him in some trouble, I recall...)

[Playgoer]

PS. Mike, I kid!

It's just hard for me not to think of that when reading you diss Butz.

But perhaps you can take this opportunity again to describe your process, your relation to your on stage notes, and why you don't see that as "on book".

[Mike Daisey]

"Quick correction, I believe, Isaac. Seems to me Butz was only on stage script in hand after ONE week's rehearsal, not two."

He had a week from being asked til rehearsals started, and then a week of rehearsals. That is two weeks.

"Namely, that Mike Daisey--fab performer that he is--NEVER goes out on stage "off-book." Yes, it's an outline, but still, is this not analogous?"

Not really--I don't use a script of any kind, so there's no real corollary. It'd be more accurate to say that I'm off-book forever, from inception, but basically the analogy falls apart either way.

Besides, I intentionally didn't draw on my monologue experience--I've played the role he's playing as a traditional actor, and I know, from experience, how much work is needed to make it happen. He should have been more diligent.

[James Urbaniak]

Man, Daisey really poured cold water over the guy. So to speak.

[Mike Daisey]

Ba-dum PAH!

Yeah, I was pretty harsh. I think I'll do a follow-up, as I think I should clarify that I am being harsh because it is called for--it's standards. But I do hope he kicks ass, and that he does a great job.

[RLewis]

I think the rush to get Butz in seats is really a shame. I've followed u/s Jordan Lage's work since our nyu days, and he's as fine an actor as you'll find. The need for name cred' is such a bitch, and ya wonder why we'll never have a rep' company on Bway.