Tribute to talented Mr. Tveit...

So Aaron Tveit, lets see...

In BroadwaySpace.com's 30 Under 30 and named the "hottest guy on Broadway" as well as Link Larkin in Hairspray, Fiyero in Wicked, Gabe in Next to Normal, Peter Orlovsky in HOWL, Tripp Van Der Bilt on Gossip Girl, and of course, Frank Abagnale, Jr.  in Catch Me if You Can.

But, I am not here to tell you about all the wonderful things Aaron Tveit has done, that's what IMDB/IBDB are for, and no, I am not here to tell you all about how incredibly good looking he is either. I am going to tell you all how talented he is and be outraged at the fact that he was robbed of a Tony nomination, not once, but twice!

Aaron Tveit's "head" from the Booth Theater, Next to Normal

About two years ago Aaron Tveit was in this phenomenal show called Next to Normal, maybe I've mentioned it in a previous post... He played the role of the dead son. The dead son that has to get you to like him within the first few scenes, that has to get you be on his side for most of the show, the dead son that you don't want to go away no matter how much hell he causes in his family or the amount of pain he puts his mother through, almost driving her to suicide. While he's doing all of this he has to reel the audience in and make them feel like he's still a "good guy". In that roll he had to climb up and down the stairs and react in the background of almost every scene and was legitimately on stage for the entire show. He has these tremendously tiring (or so they seemed) and powerful numbers that really moved the story forward. I truly find it incredible that Aaron Tveit didn't even get a nomination for that extremely pivotal role.

Aaron Tveit, Alice Ripley and J. Robert Spencer
Next to Normal, "I am the One"

Now, two years later, Aaron Tveit is starring in Catch Me if You Can as the lead, Frank Abagnale, Jr. A lot of people say that his performance "doesn't require enough" or isn't "emotionally draining" but honestly, he's on stage 90% of the show. And maybe in the beginning it seems like a feel-good TV special, but just as I said before, it's all about the escape of a kid who doesn't want to deal with his unfair reality. I think the whole flashy feeling of the first act all plays into the performance: Frank Abagnale wishes that his life was just a fun filled TV special, but during "Man Inside the Clues" we see how lonely Frank really is and when he falls in love with Brenda we see how much he longed for real company. Throughout this entire performance, Tveit has to evoke pity in the audience while being a con-man/antihero and putting on this flashy performance while going through so much pain, being merely a kid in search of family. 

Aaron Tveit and Kerry Butler
"Seven Wonders"

Aaron Tveit
"Live in Living Color"

Also, his last number "Goodbye" is incredible, it's basically Tveit's "Don't Break the Rules" (Norbert Leo Butz's show-stopping number). 

Finally, Aaron Tveit is an extremely solid triple threat actor, who can do both screen and stage acting flawlessly. Anyone interested in seeing some of his other work I advise "A Girl Walks Into A Bar" the first feature film made for the internet, so you can watch it on youtube for free. Really good movie.