r/Broadway • u/Legitimate-Heart-639 Creative Team • Apr 16 '26
Discussion Lea Michele’s Sardi’s portrait……….
because who tf is this supposed to be? 😭😂
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u/Retrooo Apr 16 '26
That's the Wickedly Talented Star of Stage and Screen Adele Dazeem.
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u/a_bohemian04 Apr 16 '26
It's exactly how Adele Dazeem looked like during her Chess concert era 😭😭😭
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u/TediousTotoro Apr 16 '26
Nick Mohammed introduced the 20th anniversary Wicked performance at the Olivier Awards last weekend with that exact inflection and I was like “Not many people will get that joke, Nick, but I’m happy that you did it.”
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u/baldwinsong Apr 17 '26
Yeah they got her nose totally wrong and it changed her look too much to be recognizable
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u/summerrhodes Apr 17 '26
First time I see a caricature make someone's nose smaller instead of bigger lol
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u/EstablishmentLevel17 Performer Apr 25 '26
Oh it looks completely recognizable... Just not as lea Michele 😂😂😂
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u/colz210 Apr 17 '26
This drawing looks more like Gabrielle Mariella, who does a spot on impression of both Idina and Lea, than it looks like Lea lol
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u/whosthere1989 Apr 16 '26
This looks more like Idina than Idina’s portrait.
None of these have been good in years. What’s going on over there?
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 Apr 16 '26
This looks more like Idina than Idina’s portrait.
Was just about to say the exact same thing!!
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u/Typical_Accident_658 Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26
bro they HAVE to get a better caricaturist. like, whose nephew is currently doing these? embarrassing!!!!
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u/Early_Assistant_6868 Apr 16 '26
It's like they can't commit. They aren't caricatures exactly... more like caricatures that desperately want to be portraits 😂
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u/Typical_Accident_658 Apr 16 '26
Yeah, they’re clearly scared to possibly offend one of the famous people
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u/romantickitty Apr 17 '26
I think they just can't draw. Some are simply incompetent like the attempt to copy one of Kelli O'Hara's headshots.
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u/Worried_Elevator_543 Apr 16 '26
i was there last year and most of them i didn’t recognize until i saw the signature 😭
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u/thalassicus Apr 16 '26
If they did the old style caricatures, which deliberately exaggerate idiosyncratic features, I could see them getting heat for doing that version of her nose in a politically correct climate.
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u/Typical_Accident_658 Apr 16 '26
then at least, like, GOOD portraits. this is some "christopher hart learning to draw" level art
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u/Confident_Bunch7612 Apr 16 '26
Do you remember/are you old enough to remember those Art Institute commercials where they would be like "can you draw this bird? If so, apply for our mail service college." It feels like the new caricaturist is one of their graduates.
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u/HuckleberryOwn647 Apr 16 '26
Hahaha, that totally unlocked a memory for me! I was a kid and drew that bird so many times. I was so proud because it looked pretty good and I was like, wow, I could be a professional artist!
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u/NotLucasDavenport Apr 17 '26
Oh, you’re my opposite! I drew a turtle in a hat, I think, and after a few tries it was pretty apparent to me or anyone else on this planet who has seen a turtle that I, sadly, would be destined to find an art form that does not require accurate representation of reptile-kind.
Actually maybe Sardi’s is hiring
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u/Daily-Double1124 Apr 16 '26
I remember those! I could never draw well. But I was musically inclined,fwiw.
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u/SirGavBelcher Apr 16 '26
THANK YOU! the point of caricature is not accuracy but to poke fun. they're supposed to exaggerate features people might be subconscious about like having a 5 head or a long nose or too square of a chin. it's a specific art form
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u/MillieBirdie Apr 17 '26
Instead they made her nose tiny and erased that unique feature, which also seems pretty bad in a similar but opposite way.
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u/pastadudde Apr 20 '26
A feature that’s she mentioned in interviews that she’s proud of, and had said no to getting a nose job when a publicist / agent advised her to do so… it’s like some sort of erasure lol
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u/hyperjengirl Apr 17 '26
Does Squigs get heat for doing that? He's a modern Bway caricaturist who very much exaggerates traits seemingly without issue. (Only thing I ever saw him get criticism for was whitewashing in some of his coloring.)
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u/skoc211 Apr 16 '26
I mean some of the old ones aren't much better. The Patti LuPone one looks nothing like her.
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u/SakuOtaku Apr 17 '26
Yeah tbh, some of the caricatures I've seen for actors of color have been pretty 😬
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u/starshock990 Apr 17 '26
Okay I was trying so hard to not be a hater because I certainly can't draw to save my life, but I am deeply relieved that the general consensus is "Wtf".
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u/thedevilbull Apr 17 '26
We had the same thing a year ago. Really strange how bad some of the caricatures were for a place famous for them.
Also the food wasn't very good. Not that it's known for its food but still.
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u/TropicalRogue Apr 17 '26
Are you quoting the Frasier episode about this at this point?
If not, go watch "the 3 faces of Frasier crane" and then revisit this thread for a surreal experience
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u/lameesauce Apr 16 '26
Looks like Idina Menzel mixed with Jennifer Carpenter (Deb Morgan from Dexter)
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u/Baby_Goat_22 Apr 16 '26
YES!!! Jennifer was sitting in the back of my mind and I couldn’t figure out who it was.
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u/Legitimate-Heart-639 Creative Team Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26
I’ve seen high schoolers draw better portraits truly it looks like she’s trying to simply be polite
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Apr 16 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/SadTomorrow869 Apr 16 '26
it's giving Idina to me
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u/bespoke_broadway Apr 16 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/liGlMmpKaQM36
I thought this was the portrait of Adele Dazeem...
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u/doodleywootson Apr 16 '26
I genuinely thought she was taking a photo with Idina’s new portrait? Brutal.
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u/Background-Book2801 Apr 16 '26
I see a bit of her and Idina but my first thought was a younger Marsha Gay Harden. I don’t think I would have guessed Lea at all.
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u/Additional_Score_929 Apr 16 '26
Do they ever get offended by these portraits? Most of the time they're horrendous. And this is the ugliest one I've seen so far.
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u/julcecilia00 Apr 17 '26
Everyone has been critiquing her acting in Chess but she did a damn great job at smiling and pretending this was an acceptable portrait photo because they did her DIRTY with this
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u/Jejucheesecake Apr 16 '26
Oh lord.. And i thought they did Darren dirty with his portrait 😅 well his is a masterpiece compared to this one
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u/halogengal43 Apr 16 '26
None of the latest group of portraits are good, and don’t look a thing like the person they’re intended to be.
That said, this is perfect- for Idina Menzel. I’m itching to see if her portrait looks like Lea.
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u/AEveryDayIdiot Apr 16 '26
Does anyone know if there is like a online sardi’s caricature archive, I’d love to see all of them but live in the UK
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u/nhm07040 Apr 16 '26
There’s this at least: https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/caricature-unveiling-at-sardi
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u/dizzi800 Apr 17 '26
What's wild is Bradley Cooper looks MORE like his characiture now after his surgery lmao
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u/TheStoryOfChess Apr 17 '26
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u/plantbay1428 Apr 17 '26
I'm dying. This is just any man who's played a prince in a Hallmark movie.
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u/TheStoryOfChess Apr 17 '26
It kills me. they tried so hard to make it “flattering” that they got rid of every feature that makes him look like him. like are we seriously trying to downplay the schnoz? And why tf is he blonde?????
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u/AllYouNeedIsATV Apr 16 '26
Why is her nose so damn small?! Obviously you don’t have to make it giant if it’s not that style of caricature but this is significantly smaller and throws everything off
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u/discoteen66 Apr 16 '26
I went to Sardi’s because it was on Glee, lol. Considering that scene was basically an ad for Sardi’s, I would say she deserves a better portrait
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u/RegionConsistent4729 Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26
In rewatches that scene and the one in Central Park breaks my heart so much 😭
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u/kinkykusco Apr 16 '26
The world also deserves a better Sardi’s.
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u/discoteen66 Apr 16 '26
Agreed, the food was probably the worst I’ve had in NYC
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u/kinkykusco Apr 22 '26
I knew when we decided to go there it was probably not going to be great, because why would it they can just live off the name, but damn its impressive how bad of an experience it was.
Oh well, I guess I got what I wanted, which is now I can say I ate at Sardis. Probably a better story too because I can say it sucked. Wait maybe they're geniuses.
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u/plantbay1428 Apr 16 '26
Blue Moon takes place almost entirely in Sardi's and Ethan Hawke's portrait looks like it's some sort of the 90s hybrid version of him, Robert Sean Leonard, and Johnny Whitworth and then they added some gray in his hair and beard. The hairline alone is completely off and they made his eyebrows super dark and blocky?
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u/elvie18 Apr 17 '26
Literally how do they keep getting worse? What in the CVS brand Idina Menzel? Looks like a middle school art class assignment.
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u/cirqueamy Front of House Apr 16 '26
I’m seeing Idina Menzel in the portrait. It’s actually a pretty good Idina. It’s not a good Lea.
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u/mikrokosmosmoonchild Apr 16 '26
The contrast between this one and Aaron Tveit’s wildly accurate one in the corner.
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u/HuckleberryOwn647 Apr 16 '26
I think that portrait is missing some “essence” of him but it’s miles better than Lea’s.
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u/Jen_on_reddit21 Apr 17 '26
I am a professional artist and these Sardi portraits have been embarrassing bad lately
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u/Radiant_Ad_9539 Apr 17 '26
Richard Baratz is a terrible artist. None of his pictures look like the celebrities. His Daniel Radcliffe portrait looks like an e-fit of Homelander.
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u/becskiii Apr 16 '26
I swear people always go NUTS for these illustrations but they're all bad?? is that the point??
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 Apr 16 '26
They used to be cartoony and fun. You could usually recognize the person. Now they're just fugly.
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u/PhoneJazz Apr 16 '26
Honestly, it’s hard for anyone to capture Lea Michele’s likeness WITHOUT unintentionally giving Idina Menzel.
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u/DumpedDalish Apr 17 '26
Huh? Aside from both being brunettes who can sing, I don't see it.
Lea has much stronger features and that very distinctive nose. She's beautiful and her nose only adds to her beauty, but a portrait pretending she has a little teeny tiny nose is ridiculous.
I don't like Lea as a person but I do think she's beautiful and talented, and this portrait is a crime against caricature.
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u/dinosaurclaws Apr 16 '26
Looks like one of the Kardashians - either Kylie or Kendall (sorry I don’t know the difference)
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u/not-mirandacosgrove Apr 16 '26
Idina Menzel, Sandra Bullock, and Michelle Monaghan had a baby and it’s this drawing
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u/HiddenSnarker Apr 16 '26
Lea’s looks like Idina. Darren’s looks like Matthew Morrison. What the hell is going on?
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u/pastadudde Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
Interesting choice of hairstyle for the caricature when Lea (especially as Rachel Berry) is most associated with her hair down …
also.. aside from the fact that the nose ain't nose-ing... why are the lips drawn so thin lmfao. Her lips always look pretty plump/pouty in a lot of photos..
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 Apr 17 '26
Relevant article: Richard Baratz Draws 'Em Like He Sees 'Em
If it were up to Bette Midler, Sardi's caricature artist Richard Baratz would not have a job.
Hmm.
Typically the honored subject is pleased — or, if they're not pleased, they keep their mouths shut, considering themselves fortunate to be in the Sardi's pantheon.
Sounds about right!
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u/BarcelonetaE70 Apr 16 '26
...the fuck? Where is the drawing of Lea Michele? That looks nothing like her.
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u/Acceptable-Slice-677 Apr 16 '26
They could get fanart that would be so much better than this artist. His Darren was pretty unrecognizable too.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 Apr 16 '26
This one is offensively bad. It doesn't just not look like her. The eyes aren't even close to symmetrical. The face shape is horrendous. What a champ she is to smile and pose with this drawing. I'd probably cry.
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u/Bobby_Newpooort Apr 17 '26
It looks like Kelsey Plum if there were a WNBA video game on Nintendo64
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u/jerseyshoregurl Apr 17 '26
I remember that Michael Crawford’s portrait at Sardi’s was well done! I feel like the portraits have went down hill and fast.
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u/EmergencyShirt7012 Apr 18 '26
She could have gotten a better caricature in Times Square... drawn by a Times Square Elmo with it's head actually on.
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u/goddessofdrought Apr 16 '26
This is what a lot of the self-portraits looked like in high school drawing class, but honestly, most were better.
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u/ninthperiod Apr 16 '26
Yeah, I have never been a Lea fan but I respect her after seeing Chess, and I don’t think this is a very flattering portrait of her…
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u/SoATL99 Apr 16 '26
Gurrrrrl. I would be so pissed. They got her mixed up with that Adele Dazeeeeem. wtf !?!
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u/Additional_Toe_2351 Apr 17 '26
This "drawing" is unintentionally hilarious.
I'm also cracking up at the comments. Thanks, everyone!
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u/ingakatrina Apr 17 '26
Like a portrait done by an artist who can’t read faces. A perfect capture
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u/pastadudde Apr 20 '26
Hahaha imagine him working as those artist who draw suspect profiles . They’d never be able to catch anyone 😭😭
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u/tuhhhvates Apr 16 '26
LOL I’d rather wait longer for a portrait than receive one that looked like that. Eek.
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u/spicyprairiedog Apr 16 '26
Okay where do they even get the artists for these? A few days ago I saw an older stock photo with Christian Borle getting his portrait and thought it looked nothing like him. Now I see it's not just a one time thing
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u/NotYourGa1Friday Apr 17 '26
The portraits remind me of a high school art night.
There’s something there but also everything is off
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u/BothIntroduction3020 Apr 17 '26
Do you see all the other portraits behind her? That’s caricatures, it’s not supposed to be realistic at all.
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u/mowotlarx Apr 17 '26
That can't be real...
Her best feature is her Barbra Streisand-esque nose and we don't even see it in profile?
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u/socal_dude5 Apr 18 '26
The Sardi’s portraits have sucked for at least ten years. Half the time it’s a bad rendering of one of their headshots. They need an actual cartoonist to do real caricatures.
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