Punctum Project, Installment 46
(what the heck is the Punctum Project? read me!)
March 2020 - Broadway Lindsay Heather Pearce, Brittney Johnson (s/b), Sam Gravitte Michael McCormick (the Wizard)
What:
SAM HAND THINGS!!
[Fiyero flexes his hand a la Mr Darcy and then stares at it after Elphie touches him for the first time; he later picks up Glinda's hand to stare at the ring]
How come:
(shhhh if I put them both in one gif it totally counts as just one thing, ok?)
anyway.
after the glory that was Ryan (and a solid reprise from Kyle Dean) the vibe in our household was very much "ugh, another NEW fiyero?? bet he's just gonna boring and bland like almost all of the others"
and like... we weren't wrong, but we were very wrong?
because Sam IS kind of a boring and bland Fiyero, but in the absolute best way possible. he's a Nice Young Man. he's the kind of Fiyero you bring home to meet your parents. he's thoughtful, and considerate, and kind of shy about that but not so shy about it he pretends it isn't true to try to seem cooler
sometimes there's this sense that everyone's just kind of sleepwalking through Lion Cub or going through the motions such that even the yelly parts don't feel exciting; instead of chemistry we get "well they sure are standing next to each other." and so to see Sam WORK at it, apply himself and go that extra step, made me very endeared to him. and then he paid that off in act 2 in a wonderfully unexpected way
BONUS:
"Glinda? You gonna help me out here? No? Guess I'll just go fuck myself then."
a lot of times I find it grating and over the top when Wizards try to pull focus and go all MST3K on this moment, but Michael's such a master at it I can't be mad
ANY Michael boot is worth paying attention to him during the reunion scene, because if you catch sight of him at all you can see him get super invested like it's his personal tennis match/soap opera, it's hysterical
