Chip Zien

In Howard the Duck (1986), Chip Zien's voice suggests an attitude that the duck's face struggles to express. Ed Gale is among the performers credited as Howard, with Zien supplying the voice, and even simple exchanges expose the limitations of the costume. We were frustrated by how much effort it took to read a character we could already hear. This is a poor comedy, but the performers deserve better than to be blamed for the suit. His sarcastic delivery gives us something to listen for when the construction becomes distracting.

Musical theatre gives a fuller account of his strengths, particularly his warmth as an anxious everyman or paternal figure. He originated the Baker in the Broadway production of Into the Woods (1987), then Mendel in the Broadway premiere of Falsettos (1992). His long associations with composer Stephen Sondheim, writer-director James Lapine and composer-writer William Finn centre on work that asks for more than vocal competence. Zien's gift is to give audiences somebody to recognise while handling a demanding score. We value that ability to keep the person distinct within an ensemble.

Supporting screen parts have continued alongside the theatre work, including Mark Rothenberg in Paul Greengrass's United 93 (2006) and Stan in The Beast in Me (2025). He was still taking central stage roles in Harmony (2023), playing Rabbi Josef Roman Cycowski. That part again required the vocal assurance and emotional commitment on which his stage reputation rests.

The reservation is that an expressive voice cannot repair everything around it. In Howard the Duck, Zien cannot make the face respond or settle the film's relentless changes of tone. Lea Thompson gives the friendship at its centre some welcome warmth, and there is pleasure in seeing a physical creature occupy space beside the actors. Those virtues do not make the jokes work often enough. We would start with the Baker and Mendel, and leave the duck to the curious.