Review Excerpts from Bob's 2005/2006 tour of The Producers:
"If Gleason was The Greatest, so is Bob Amaral. Amaral's take on Max is sensational." - Reno Gazette Journal "As Max, Amaral even seems to swell physically. When he swaggers through "The King of Broadway" ... he establishes Max's character and his world in a stroke. His big number after the scheme falls apart, "Betrayed," is a tour de force for Amaral..." - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"Amaral has a deft élan, slyly underlining jokes with his polished timing and pointed asides. His enduring Bialystock always has hope." - Sacramento Bee
"Amaral is on full tilt throughout the show, running madly, falling over furniture and nearly getting into fistfights. All the while he is belting out tunes. It's a wonder the talented actor does not pass out." - The Star Newspapers "Although Zero and Gene aren't around, Amaral and Taylor and the rest of the crew do Mel Brooks proud with one raunchy, anarchic tour-de-friggin-force." - Metro Times "Amaral effectively captures Bialystock's bigger-than-the-room personality." - Salt Lake City Weekly "Amaral is a wonderful choice, filling quite adeptly the massive shoes left for him by Nathan Lane." - San Francisco Independent "Amaral's Max - dark and sly, gregarious, with the throaty chuckle of a Borscht Belt comedian after a couple of cocktails - had the audience in his dressing-gown pocket by the second scene, when he sings the snappy "We Can Do It."... Amaral's boisterous good-naturedness is so engaging - and his comic timing so precise - that by the end, he claims Max as his own." - Fresno Bee "Bob Amaral plays Bialystock with vaudevillian gusto as he carries out his delightfully devious scheme with his partner, the meek accountant Leo Bloom. Amaral is a gifted physical comedian who must have borscht in his veins. Forty years ago, he might well have been a featured player on ``Your Show of Shows,'' the Sid Caesar TV comedy show on which Brooks was a writer in the 1950s." - Mercury News |
|
"Bob is a kind of a Jackie Gleason incarnate. You'll see it in his eyes, his movements, his voice. He's got that great, great attitude and style. Fabulous. And he sings beautifully, dances brilliantly, and he was born to do the part."
We'll start at the end of 2009, where on November 1st I ended a seven-month run with the Gazelle Company of Lion King. It was a fond farewell to a long and very happy time with my three Lion King families - at least for now. I will always cherish my time with such a diverse group of talented, expressive people from all around the world. They say you never really leave Lion King, you're just let out on parole, because you'll be coming back sooner or later. I had the opportunity to spend a couple of weeks in L.A. visiting and catching up with old friends -- not to mention taking advantage of a bit of down time before my January adventure, which we'll get into a bit later. Last Thanksgiving we had a long-overdue reunion with our old director from my Army days. Vic Colletti and his beautiful family, whom I hadn't seen in some 25+ years, were gracious enough to let us join their very wonderful, very festive and very Italian celebration. We got to spend time with Vic, "the Girls" and their families, and also revisited some beautiful and memorable places from our past. We were happy to spend Christmas in Massachusetts with my Mom and extended family. It's always good to get back to my roots -- and some great seafood. On January 18th, 2010, I had both my knees replaced. It's amazing all the fun, hands on people you meet at airports around the country when you have Bionic Knees. Now we're talkin' about a good time. The first couple of weeks were pretty brutal, but once I got home and started working with a great P.T., whom I saw three days a week for about three months, things really started to look up. Recovery is slower than one would like, but the outcome is well worth all the hard work. My recovery went so well that by July I was back on the boards in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat", play Jacob/Potifar at North Shore Music Theatre with yet another young, energetic and extremely talented group of kids. Miss you all. Now J is the one who has been working her cute little tush off. She is now Co-Director of the Montessori Institute of Milwaukee, and last summer began a 3-summer stint as Director of Elementary Training for the Montessori Institute of Atlanta. Atlanta in the summer - for three summers!? What was she thinking? Christmas and New Years this year were spent close to home because four days before the Holidays J had pretty major oral surgery. She looked like a cross between a very scary mutant elf and Cindy Lou Who. Currently, she is toughing it out, lecturing every day with a lisp that would give Daffy Duck a run for his money. You should hear her say "sufferin' succotash!" That's it for this year. J continues to love her work and I hope to start booking some hot jobs! Maybe something in Atlanta for the summer??? Hope your year is filled with Joy, Good Health and Adventure.
-Bob
| ||||