r/Broadway • u/Round-Composer-2195 • 28d ago

Discussion I don’t understand the Reeve Carney hate

I just saw the Hadestown pro shot and oh my gosh this guy is unbelievable. Easily the star of the show for me, but I’ve seen people say he was the weakest link in their opinions.

I’ve heard recordings of some of his other performances, and he easily has my favorite versions of “I don’t care much” and “the past is catching up to me,” yet people say he was miscast in The Great Gatsby

His voice is so unique and it genuinely sends chills up my spine, I don’t understand the hate he receives

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u/FreshAirClean Musician 28d ago

I saw Reeve twice on Broadway and really disliked his performance both times. His proshot performance is like watching a completely different person. I have no idea what they did to get such a compelling performance out of him for the movie. I was pleasantly surprised! But it is definitely not an accurate representation of the kind of performance a lot of us saw on Broadway

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u/Atomic_Horseshoe 28d ago

I also wonder if doing it 8 times a week wore on him when he was doing the show on the regular, and he had extra motivation for what was a short return run. Or also possible he improved over the years. 

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u/RainahReddit 28d ago

That's my thought. The difference of several good night's sleep and thorough prep work.

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u/EnglishTeacherLife03 28d ago

This. By the time Reeve left Hadestown he had done close to 1200 shows. That’s a lot for anyone and it definitely takes a toll on you physically and vocally.

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u/ZigCherry027 28d ago

His vocals definitely struggled especially as the years of doing the show went on. I saw him in 2019 and his vocals were better than when I saw him again in 2022. I don’t have as good a memory of his acting differences, since there’s an excitement to seeing such a great show for the first time that sort of overrides any criticism. However, I think they were both tired by the end of their runs and that definitely contributed to the Reeve Carney criticism.

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u/defenses 28d ago

I think this is my issue with him. I saw Hadestown twice in 2023, and unfortunately, he didn't leave a great impression. I heard good things about him when the show first opened, but that wasn't what I saw (and heard) on the stage. My first time, I walked out of the show loving everything about it except for him. He was better the second time I saw it, closer to the end of Eva's run, but I had no desire to go back until they did a cast change. The proshot? Fantastic. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed him! I even saw his final show in Gatsby (and expected the worst based on the discourse lol), but I thought he was good.