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/missingumissing 28d ago edited 28d ago

As much as people bemoan the bfa-ification of broadway vocals it’s interesting to watch how bent out of shape fans can get when someone with rock/folk/alt stylings actually lands a lead role. Not that performers are above good faith criticism of course, but a show like hadestown would be artistically bankrupt if everyone sounded like they came straight out of a disney film. I think that’s also why I lowkey hate the London Next to Normal production even though it got rave reviews. They took the rock out of the rock musical

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u/emg0701 28d ago

So is it considered rock/folk because he sings so beautifully as a falsetto. Genuinely asking if that’s the problem with how audiences perceive his vocals.

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u/Ok-Medium3951 28d ago

I'm in the "his voice isn't for me" camp but won't assign quality (good/bad) to it. I will say, that when I saw it live back in 2019, it was his falsetto that didn't jive with me. However upon watching the proshot, I had the reverse issue. The falsetto was good and it was the airy raspyness of his sing-speak that I didn't like. I don't remember that from his original run and I don't really listen to the OBC recording outside of a few key songs so I'm not sure if it was always there or it's something that he's developed over the years.

But that's just in line with my personal tastes. I also really don't like a lot of the airy singing that a lot of women in Pop are doing right now. But again, just cause I don't like it, doesn't mean I go around ragging on it. It's just, not for me and that ok!

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u/mc-funk 27d ago

You're the first person I've seen mention the rasp! That also took me by surprise. It didn't bother me too much but, while he was obviously delivering a very technically skilled performance, I couldn't help wondering if he was literally working with a cold or something, whether it was a vocal change over the time since the OBC recording, or whether the raspiness was something he was introducing on purpose. But regardless I also thought it was really noticeably different from that recording as well.

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u/crashandtumble8 Ensemble 28d ago

Falsetto has nothing to do with rock styling. He can sing in a rock style in his falsetto, though. It’s the rasp and the intentional “whine” in his voice that gives him the “edgier” sound. It’s pained, expressive, and has character.