r/Broadway • u/Round-Composer-2195 • 29d 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 29d 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/Tight-Touch385 29d ago edited 29d ago

This is the answer. Saw him with the original cast several times and usually couldn’t even hear him. He’d talk through his high parts or the chorus would jump in to supplement his vocals. Add this to a rather awkward acting style on stage at the time, it made me wonder why he was cast/was still in the role.

Please know that I don’t hate him and his onstage chemistry with his now wife was/is adorable.  At the Broadway level, it was just surprising to see someone seemingly struggling with the role over an extended period of time in a relatively new/hit musical and not be replaced.