SMARTASS/ROMANTIC
Cross-posted from my tumblr: an essay I vomited up this morning contrasting Dan's portrayal of Finch vs. Darren's portrayal. also known as THINGS I HAVE A LOT OF RELATIVELY UNNECESSARY FEELINGS ABOUT.
From the moment Finch first speaks, rising from the orchestra pit and delightedly announcing, I can!, you can pretty much already tell the difference between Dan Radcliffe's portrayal of this vibrant role and Darren's embodiment of the same. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking they're going to do it exactly the same - they're both very young stars, both small of stature but enormous of presence and talent, whose career paths have taken some amusingly similar twists and turns, and who are appearing in Broadway musicals for the very first time in the shoes (and bowties) of Finch. But the great thing about theatre is that it's pretty much designed for each role to function differently for each actor that plays it; and so never mind that they're both short, dark-haired 20somethings who can list Harry Potter on their resumes. Dan was one Finch, and Darren is another, and there's one crucial difference between them that ultimately colors their entire performances.
(Not the bowties. Though Dan's blue, Darren's purple and Nick's eventual teal green is certainly a nice touch.)
Dan's turn in the role was extraordinary. I was thrilled to finally see him in a part that allows him to utilize so much of the wit, humor and comedic timing that he obviously possesses when he's not acting - he certainly plays an incredible Harry, but Harry's a character who suffers through a lot of serious hardships and (especially in the films) can often be quite broody. Real life Dan is much brighter, a true snarky British charmer, and he definitely pulled some of that into his portrayal of Finch, regardless of the fact that the character himself isn't British. There was an undercutting edge of an ever-so-slightly dark smart-alec running through the whole thing, and it strengthened and reinforced the sharp go-getter superiority that Finch can easily express: he knows more than you, and he knows he does, and just watch him capitalize on that in a way that leaves you running in circles. Dan's Finch knew exactly what he wanted and went for it. His How to Succeed manual was a tool, almost a weapon; each sure-footed step he took to the top only ever looked unsteady and coincidental if he wanted it to. He hung onto the key assets of a very keen eye and a lot of sass, and you believed every step of the way that he would make it to the top. The joy was in watching the other characters fall before him, celebrating his triumph along with him, and seeing the journey that took him there unfold.
This is not to say Darren did any better or any worse than Dan, just - different. The magic of theatre, right? Just like real life Dan brought a lot of his biting wit into his Finch in a way big fans might have expected, Darren was able to incorporate a lot of what his enthusiastic fanbase probably recognizes as his calling card as well: his boy-next-door sweetness and goofball demeanor that often betray his deep-thinking, analytical mind underneath. Where dan!Finch was solid and almost cutthroat - but, through his always-ten-steps-ahead planning, never in a visibly sinister way - darren!Finch is absolutely a romantic, and not in the pop-culture boy-meets-girl sense but in the true sense of having a romanticized perception of life in general. His opening I can! is Finch-flavored bright-eyed and bushy-tailed; the young window-washer reading that book knows that he wants to be "successful" because it will help him ensure some kind of stability and have an ultimately better life, but he doesn't quite understand what that actually means. Because he doesn't need to! He just knows he's going to do it, and once he's put his mind to it, we should never worry about ability to get it done - he is still smarter than the rest of them, with no small streak of show-offishness, which is why he can manipulate the book to work in his favor where other men would doubtless have blundered, and he's quick on his feet to adapt, change, and work with the nonsense life throws at him. But that doesn't mean we don't worry anyway. So the great thing about watching Darren's Finch was that, unlike the surefire success of Dan's Finch, there were a few fleeting moments when you were very afraid it might all completely fall to shit. The joy was in actually making it to the top along with him by the end, and celebrating each little success just as much as he did.
Identifying it with these two not-totally-accurate-but-at-least-easy-to-say labels - Dan as the smartass and Darren as the romantic - instantly shapes all of the other differences between the two performances. The I can! is just the tip of the iceberg, one fun glistening moment; another, in even stronger contrast, is the last significant occurrence of what I like to call the "troll-face sting," wherein Finch gets hit with a spotlight in a moment out of time for the other characters and lets the audience in on the joke of him pulling the wool over everyone else's eyes yet again. Much like the rest of these beats in the show, Dan used this last moment (the discovery that Wally Womper, the chairman of the board, began his career as a window-washer just like him) to have a private chuckle with us, revealing that, just like always, he's been miles ahead of everyone else and had known about this all along, banking on it to save his ass. Darren's Finch, meanwhile, has been feeling genuinely screwed, worried that he's finally lost his footing and is doomed to go plummeting back to square one; and so when the spotlight hits him in this moment, he's so ecstatic to have an "in" for the whole situation to maybe yank himself back out of the hole that he nearly collapses to the floor in relief. (I'd read an article that mentioned this difference before seeing Darren in the show, so I was a bit prepared for this to be a fun distinction, but that article really undersold how dramatic Darren's reaction was in this sting. Too perfect - so quintessentially Darren, while at the same time slotting flawlessly into his performance thusfar, which just goes to show how seamless his blend had become. And I only saw it at the fifth show!)
The smartass/romantic dichotomy also visibly transforms their relationships with the other characters. Darren - being slightly taller, slightly more whimsical, slightly more used to playing the romantic lead - had much more visible chemistry with leading lady Rosemary (though Dan and Rose Hemingway have nothing but wonderful things to say about each other, and have clearly bonded strongly through his run). I remember watching the show with Dan and being genuinely surprised when he rather abruptly decided he was into her; Dan's Finch wasn't necessarily oblivious when it came to romance, per se, but rather couldn't quite make it fit into his otherwise meticulous plan to take over World Wide Wickets (and surely, eventually, the world). They were precious together but only because you knew by the nature of how these things work in theatre and fiction that they were "supposed to be." Darren - though working from the exact same script, which I'm pretty sure is just written in a way that Finch falling for Rosemary is mildly awkward no matter what you do - managed to spin his romance into something just as beautifully accidental as half the other fortuitous things he achieves in the show's greater storyline. Meanwhile, in a befitting parallel, Dan clearly had a much easier time playing opposite John Larroquette's J.B. Biggley, as his Finch prioritized his business connections and the guidelines of the book over any sort of romantic attachments. The banter and the foil dynamic between them was what made the original run of this revival so extraordinary to watch - they were a nearly flawless pair. Darren and Beau Bridges, meanwhile, didn't quite spark so beautifully. Any number of factors could've contributed to that (Beau has been widely regarded as Not Quite As Good as John, to name the most obvious), but I think it once again boils down to the whole smartass vs. romantic thing. Darren's Finch was always meant to be the romantic lead in his own life; Dan's Finch ultimately ended up seeing "adorable perfect wife" as just another element of the perfect package of success he was striving for the entire time.
I should note that the smartass/romantic dichotomy, through the lens of the above inter-character chemistry, also shone pretty brightly in the two actors' most breathtaking musical numbers. Dan absolutely sparkled on the big, roof-shaking song-and-dance-fests like Grand Old Ivy and Brotherhood of Man, as even people who haven't seen the show could tell you. He was in his element surrounded by the other guys and bursting at his seams with energy. Darren, meanwhile, probably broke a million hearts singing Rosemary and I think actually stopped time with his gorgeous rendition of I Believe In You. To my regret I worry that Dan might've suffered a little on these softer, clearer numbers because of the handicap he already had upon entering the game: he had to not only speak but sing in his artificial American accent, which I imagine is much harder to sustain when being light and romantic than when booming out loud and proud into the entire Al Hirschfeld (or on the Tonys, or in the Macy's parade). Conversely, singer-songwriter Darren doesn't quite have such powerhouse Broadway lungs on him, which could only work in his favor on the more contained numbers but didn't quite give the fortitude to his Brotherhood of Man that I think most people were hoping for. (This is not to say that either of them did NOT completely bring down the house with absolutely every song that they sang. Come on, look at these two, they're both freakishly talented performers, let's be real - they're both starring in the same show on Broadway, for god's sakes.)
So idk, what kind of Finch do you prefer? The smartass or the romantic? Do you think either of them could have benefited from having a little bit more of the other's strength infused into their performances, or are you satisfied with the magic of theatre allowing them to spin Finch differently? (Hint: I pick option B.) Do you think Darren felt obligated to switch it up just a little bit after Dan was so immensely successful? Do you think Nick will take either of these tacks or a third direction altogether? (Hint: All these questions are rhetorical and I'm not really looking to start a dialogue about this considering I am obviously very firmly rooted in all my opinions about the show seeing as I just wrote a giant essay about them.)
Ultimately I gotta say I'm just excited for once to see Dan, free of Harry, get permission to be funny and Darren, free of Glee, get permission to actually have a soul.
From the moment Finch first speaks, rising from the orchestra pit and delightedly announcing, I can!, you can pretty much already tell the difference between Dan Radcliffe's portrayal of this vibrant role and Darren's embodiment of the same. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking they're going to do it exactly the same - they're both very young stars, both small of stature but enormous of presence and talent, whose career paths have taken some amusingly similar twists and turns, and who are appearing in Broadway musicals for the very first time in the shoes (and bowties) of Finch. But the great thing about theatre is that it's pretty much designed for each role to function differently for each actor that plays it; and so never mind that they're both short, dark-haired 20somethings who can list Harry Potter on their resumes. Dan was one Finch, and Darren is another, and there's one crucial difference between them that ultimately colors their entire performances.
(Not the bowties. Though Dan's blue, Darren's purple and Nick's eventual teal green is certainly a nice touch.)
Dan's turn in the role was extraordinary. I was thrilled to finally see him in a part that allows him to utilize so much of the wit, humor and comedic timing that he obviously possesses when he's not acting - he certainly plays an incredible Harry, but Harry's a character who suffers through a lot of serious hardships and (especially in the films) can often be quite broody. Real life Dan is much brighter, a true snarky British charmer, and he definitely pulled some of that into his portrayal of Finch, regardless of the fact that the character himself isn't British. There was an undercutting edge of an ever-so-slightly dark smart-alec running through the whole thing, and it strengthened and reinforced the sharp go-getter superiority that Finch can easily express: he knows more than you, and he knows he does, and just watch him capitalize on that in a way that leaves you running in circles. Dan's Finch knew exactly what he wanted and went for it. His How to Succeed manual was a tool, almost a weapon; each sure-footed step he took to the top only ever looked unsteady and coincidental if he wanted it to. He hung onto the key assets of a very keen eye and a lot of sass, and you believed every step of the way that he would make it to the top. The joy was in watching the other characters fall before him, celebrating his triumph along with him, and seeing the journey that took him there unfold.
This is not to say Darren did any better or any worse than Dan, just - different. The magic of theatre, right? Just like real life Dan brought a lot of his biting wit into his Finch in a way big fans might have expected, Darren was able to incorporate a lot of what his enthusiastic fanbase probably recognizes as his calling card as well: his boy-next-door sweetness and goofball demeanor that often betray his deep-thinking, analytical mind underneath. Where dan!Finch was solid and almost cutthroat - but, through his always-ten-steps-ahead planning, never in a visibly sinister way - darren!Finch is absolutely a romantic, and not in the pop-culture boy-meets-girl sense but in the true sense of having a romanticized perception of life in general. His opening I can! is Finch-flavored bright-eyed and bushy-tailed; the young window-washer reading that book knows that he wants to be "successful" because it will help him ensure some kind of stability and have an ultimately better life, but he doesn't quite understand what that actually means. Because he doesn't need to! He just knows he's going to do it, and once he's put his mind to it, we should never worry about ability to get it done - he is still smarter than the rest of them, with no small streak of show-offishness, which is why he can manipulate the book to work in his favor where other men would doubtless have blundered, and he's quick on his feet to adapt, change, and work with the nonsense life throws at him. But that doesn't mean we don't worry anyway. So the great thing about watching Darren's Finch was that, unlike the surefire success of Dan's Finch, there were a few fleeting moments when you were very afraid it might all completely fall to shit. The joy was in actually making it to the top along with him by the end, and celebrating each little success just as much as he did.
Identifying it with these two not-totally-accurate-but-at-least-easy-to-say labels - Dan as the smartass and Darren as the romantic - instantly shapes all of the other differences between the two performances. The I can! is just the tip of the iceberg, one fun glistening moment; another, in even stronger contrast, is the last significant occurrence of what I like to call the "troll-face sting," wherein Finch gets hit with a spotlight in a moment out of time for the other characters and lets the audience in on the joke of him pulling the wool over everyone else's eyes yet again. Much like the rest of these beats in the show, Dan used this last moment (the discovery that Wally Womper, the chairman of the board, began his career as a window-washer just like him) to have a private chuckle with us, revealing that, just like always, he's been miles ahead of everyone else and had known about this all along, banking on it to save his ass. Darren's Finch, meanwhile, has been feeling genuinely screwed, worried that he's finally lost his footing and is doomed to go plummeting back to square one; and so when the spotlight hits him in this moment, he's so ecstatic to have an "in" for the whole situation to maybe yank himself back out of the hole that he nearly collapses to the floor in relief. (I'd read an article that mentioned this difference before seeing Darren in the show, so I was a bit prepared for this to be a fun distinction, but that article really undersold how dramatic Darren's reaction was in this sting. Too perfect - so quintessentially Darren, while at the same time slotting flawlessly into his performance thusfar, which just goes to show how seamless his blend had become. And I only saw it at the fifth show!)
The smartass/romantic dichotomy also visibly transforms their relationships with the other characters. Darren - being slightly taller, slightly more whimsical, slightly more used to playing the romantic lead - had much more visible chemistry with leading lady Rosemary (though Dan and Rose Hemingway have nothing but wonderful things to say about each other, and have clearly bonded strongly through his run). I remember watching the show with Dan and being genuinely surprised when he rather abruptly decided he was into her; Dan's Finch wasn't necessarily oblivious when it came to romance, per se, but rather couldn't quite make it fit into his otherwise meticulous plan to take over World Wide Wickets (and surely, eventually, the world). They were precious together but only because you knew by the nature of how these things work in theatre and fiction that they were "supposed to be." Darren - though working from the exact same script, which I'm pretty sure is just written in a way that Finch falling for Rosemary is mildly awkward no matter what you do - managed to spin his romance into something just as beautifully accidental as half the other fortuitous things he achieves in the show's greater storyline. Meanwhile, in a befitting parallel, Dan clearly had a much easier time playing opposite John Larroquette's J.B. Biggley, as his Finch prioritized his business connections and the guidelines of the book over any sort of romantic attachments. The banter and the foil dynamic between them was what made the original run of this revival so extraordinary to watch - they were a nearly flawless pair. Darren and Beau Bridges, meanwhile, didn't quite spark so beautifully. Any number of factors could've contributed to that (Beau has been widely regarded as Not Quite As Good as John, to name the most obvious), but I think it once again boils down to the whole smartass vs. romantic thing. Darren's Finch was always meant to be the romantic lead in his own life; Dan's Finch ultimately ended up seeing "adorable perfect wife" as just another element of the perfect package of success he was striving for the entire time.
I should note that the smartass/romantic dichotomy, through the lens of the above inter-character chemistry, also shone pretty brightly in the two actors' most breathtaking musical numbers. Dan absolutely sparkled on the big, roof-shaking song-and-dance-fests like Grand Old Ivy and Brotherhood of Man, as even people who haven't seen the show could tell you. He was in his element surrounded by the other guys and bursting at his seams with energy. Darren, meanwhile, probably broke a million hearts singing Rosemary and I think actually stopped time with his gorgeous rendition of I Believe In You. To my regret I worry that Dan might've suffered a little on these softer, clearer numbers because of the handicap he already had upon entering the game: he had to not only speak but sing in his artificial American accent, which I imagine is much harder to sustain when being light and romantic than when booming out loud and proud into the entire Al Hirschfeld (or on the Tonys, or in the Macy's parade). Conversely, singer-songwriter Darren doesn't quite have such powerhouse Broadway lungs on him, which could only work in his favor on the more contained numbers but didn't quite give the fortitude to his Brotherhood of Man that I think most people were hoping for. (This is not to say that either of them did NOT completely bring down the house with absolutely every song that they sang. Come on, look at these two, they're both freakishly talented performers, let's be real - they're both starring in the same show on Broadway, for god's sakes.)
So idk, what kind of Finch do you prefer? The smartass or the romantic? Do you think either of them could have benefited from having a little bit more of the other's strength infused into their performances, or are you satisfied with the magic of theatre allowing them to spin Finch differently? (Hint: I pick option B.) Do you think Darren felt obligated to switch it up just a little bit after Dan was so immensely successful? Do you think Nick will take either of these tacks or a third direction altogether? (Hint: All these questions are rhetorical and I'm not really looking to start a dialogue about this considering I am obviously very firmly rooted in all my opinions about the show seeing as I just wrote a giant essay about them.)
Ultimately I gotta say I'm just excited for once to see Dan, free of Harry, get permission to be funny and Darren, free of Glee, get permission to actually have a soul.