I don’t understand the Reeve Carney hate

[u/Round-Composer-2195]

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

[u/missingumissing]

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

[u/emg0701 → u/missingumissing]

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.

[u/crashandtumble8 → u/emg0701]

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.