Luke's Reviews: 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

I have a list.  A list of ten roles that I want to play in a musical one day.  On this list there are classic roles everyone knows such as Charlie Brown [You're a Good Man Charlie Brown], The Cat in the Hat [Seussical: The Musical] (which I'll get to check off the list in April!!!) and Fagin [Oliver!], and more obscure roles that only the devout theatergoers would know such as Ugly [HONK!] and Britt Craig [Parade].  However, on the top of the list is the quirky, eccentric homeschooler with a low self-esteem: Leaf Coneybear [25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee].  This means that, as you may expect, I know everything there is to know about this show, but I never got to see it live until last Saturday, where I thoroughly enjoyed Next Stage Theatre Company's production of:

Now, although I had never seen the show before, I knew everything about it.  I knew what the characters were supposed to look like, how the songs were supposed to sound, what props should be on stage, even how to spell most of the words used in the bee.  So upon walking into the theater I was a bit taken aback by everything unfamiliar, but I was kind of expecting it because I know that no two productions are the same, so I tried to keep an open mind and enjoy this unique take on the production.  And although I think I'm still in favor of the Broadway production (no shock there), there are some things about this production that I really like.  Here are some artistic decisions that I had never seen before, some worked, some really didn't:

ARTISTIC DECISIONS

• Alternate Ending - Through listening to the final songs of the show and some channels of questionable legality (bootlegged Youtube videos) I was able to see the ending sequence of the musical a couple of times and was therefore shocked at the ending before my eyes.  For those of you not familiar with the show (or who have higher moral standards than I), the show ends with a quick epilogue.  Each character stands and gives a brief account of their lives after the Bee in a few sentences.  In these a few were the same (Chip's, Panche's, Rona Lisa's, & Mitch's), some were changed but remained equally hilarious (Logainne's & Leaf's) and some were just not near as good (Barfee's, Marcy's, & Olive's).  Marcy's (which was hilarious originally) was changed into something very awkward and inconsistent with her character and I can't for the life of me figure out why it changed.  As for the other two, their endings were changed largely because of the other significant change in the ending.  SOMEONE ELSE WON!!!  I know, I feel like when a show leads up to a single moment that much, such a drastic change of climax is simply unacceptable.  Whoever decided to make this switch (whether it was in their script or the directors decision) made a mistake, because there was nothing gained from it and plenty lost.
• Say What? -- Perhaps my biggest criticism of the show is that I couldn't hear enough of it.  For some reason, the team decided to do the show without any personal mics, there was only the one at the front of the stage for the spellers and the one on the table for the moderators.  This was a mistake for a few reasons.  The biggest reason is that we couldn't always hear everyone.  Especially when there's one soloist singing above a "back-up" ensemble (Pandemonium comes to mind) the soloist would get a bit lost in the noise because one voice can't hope to over power eight.  In an attempt to avoid this unfortunate occurrence, many of the spellers were forced to sing their songs standing still in front of the mic.  For songs like I'm Not That Smart and Woe Is Me I felt like this was a real hindrance.  And finally, and this is the least important of the three, I felt like it lost some professionalism.  There's nothing I love better to start a show than the overture blaring out of the speakers so loud that you can feel the shock wave from row J.  But in this production you could see that employee on the isle with a laptop hooked up to the speakers on the stage, but she couldn't play them loud for fear of overpowering the actors.  Although this is really a nit-picky kind of thing, I feel like mics would have added. 

•  Intermission -- Now, when I say that intermission was my favorite part of the show it's going to sound like I hated the show, but that's not true at all; they just had the best intermission of any show I've seen in my life!  After the final song of the Act 1, the moderators stepped out from behind the table and informed the audience that there was now going to be a 15 minute snack break for the spellers to refresh and replenish.  We were about to get up and head for the lobby, when we realized that none of the kids were leaving, they had their lunchboxes on stage and fully intended to have their snack break on stage and in character.  If this sounds boring, imagine 6 of the most eccentric kids you've ever seen having just been released from a stressful situation on a stage full of props with no adults, no rules, AND NO SCRIPTS!  IT WAS ABSOLUTELY HYSTERICAL!!  Everything from the intense "chubby bunny" game between Olive and Logainne, to the rebellious touching of the "no touching" sign of Chip, to Logainne  stealing Leaf's shark helmet and running around the stage singing the Jaws theme kept the entire audience in stitches the entire time.  It looked like the cast was genuinely having a fun time and the audience definitely was too.  I'm not sure if this was done in the original production, but it was a genius move by the creative staff of this show, really well done. 

•  The Extra Goodbye -- One of the many things that makes "Spelling Bee" unique is it's utilization of audience participation.  In every show, they invite a few members of the audience to join the cast as "guest spellers" (of which me and a friend of mine were selected).  They have fun making fun of them and giving them ridiculously easy words.  Then after each "guest speller" has been humiliated enough, they hit 'em with an impossible  word or (in my case) a made up word to get them to leave.  Then they get to sing a song about how sorry they are to see us go and we get a juice box and are led back to our seat.  Since these songs make it on the soundtrack, I counted them up and deduced that they're ought to be three guest spellers (since there are three "farewell songs").  So I was surprised to see that this production had four.  My questions were answered when a contestant was eliminated and I heard the all too familiar sounds of Rogers & Hammerstein coming from the speakers.  That's right, this "lucky" guest speller got bid adieu to with the spellers singing So Long, Farewell From The Sound of Music.  Although I probably prefer the songs written for the show, I think this was a nice touch, and the extra speller gave them an excuse to use more comical words on the audience, so all in all I think it was a good decision.  Well done creative team, that's 2 for, and 1 against.
• Jesus, is that you? -- So I knew that Jesus is one of the characters to appear in the show.  The concept, and the dialogue written for this scene is absolutely hysterical; a wonderful addition to the already uproariously funny show.  However, I didn't exactly love the way they played it in this production.  For one thing, Jesus was Mormon (stating "That Joseph Smith guy is really persuasive.  Well, at least it got me out of that Scientology phase").  Now, since there's other offensive stuff in the show I suppose I shouldn't get too hung up on this, but I just don't see the need to put it in the show.  In addition to that, the entire persona of Jesus was different.  What made the original sequence so funny is that Jesus was acting all stereotypical and angelic and saying more modern things, but in this twist Jesus was a businessman preoccupied with his cell-phone and uninterested in the conversation.  The one twist they put on the scene that I did like is having the director play Jesus; that was kind of a neat touch.  But still, all in all, I disapproved of the working of this scene.  That knocks the creative team down to 2-2.

•  Princess Rona Lisa -- This was a gimmick that wasn't necessarily bad, but just unnecessary.  The character of the lead moderator, Rona Lisa Peretti, was, and always is, portrayed as someone very perky and perhaps a tad naive throughout the show.  This, as far as I know, remains relatively consistent throughout all productions, but it was they way they chose to show this that qualifies it to make our list.  At various points in the show, the rest of the cast would dawn animal puppets and cause Rona Lisa to have a "Snow White" kind of feel as she smiled and waved at the birds or petted the bunny rabbits.  This didn't detract much from the show, but it didn't seem to add much to me.  It was kind of confusing having all of the puppets randomly on the stage while they weren't being used, and they really served no great purpose.  I think the show could've done without them, but it really wasn't a big deal.  But it still counts, so the directing team for the show bottoms out at 2-3.

 Although the directing staff has a lot to do with the show, it's far more fun to review the actors.  All the actors in the show did outstanding, so my reviews might get repetitive, but it's my favorite part of each review, so I can't just cut it out.

THE CAST(in order of appearance)

• Traci W. (Rona Lisa Peretti/Olive's Mom) -- I'm particularly grateful for Traci, because it was through her we got discounted tickets (friend of a friend thing, never met her myself), so I went in looking forward to her performance and she didn't disappoint.  I honestly was surprised with how small her role really was, based on the soundtrack, one would think that she was the lead of the show, but in actuality she doesn't have quite as prominent of a role as most of the spellers.  That being said, she did do an excellent job.  Her character remained very consistent throughout the entire show and although most of her songs don't do much for me (not her fault, jut the luck of the draw as Barfee would say), when she finally did get a song I liked (The I Love You Song) she knocked it out of the park.  The rest of her songs were strong, it was clear that she had a strong voice, but they're just kind of boring songs, and I often preferred looking at the spellers reactions that paying much attention to her.  This is not to say that she didn't play her character well, she played it perfectly, she just has the most normal character of the show (which is still pretty cooky).  But she really did do an excellent job.
• Matt J. (Chip Tolentino/Dan Schwartzandgrubenierre) -- This is one character I really don't know what to do with.  Chip has possibly the strongest voice in the original Broadway cast, and yet has the most awkward story line of all of them.  So I tried to come in to this show with an open mind about the character and see how Matt would do it.  He ended up doing really well.  Although his voice wasn't as strong as the rest of the cast (to his credit, he had some of the hardest songs and, like the rest of the cast, no mic), his acting was phenomenal.  As a guest speller sitting on the stage with the cast, I was sitting next to him, and he was just so funny!  He had a soft spoken voice, but his facial expressions, general body language, and line delivery were spot on.  Granted most of his featured lines (including his solo song) are a tad inappropriate, he still did a really excellent job.  It would've been nice to have a Chip with a stronger singing voice (or at least one we could always hear), but short of that, there was nothing that Matt could've done better.  So kudos to Matt.
• Lindsey M. (Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre) - Lindsey was really great, one of my favorites in the incredibly talented cast.  She was the funnest to watch during the intermission sequence and brought that same energy to all of her scenes.  Unfortunately, the lack of microphones confined her (like most of the rest of the cast) to stand in one place for her entire song, but despite that limitation, she sang it beautifully and did a pretty great job acting it as well.  AND SHE'S ONLY A HIGHSCHOOL  SOPHOMORE!!!  This blew my mind when I found out, because she was right up there with the professionals in her performance.  My only criticism (and this is small) is that she didn't seem to keep Logainne's signature lisp all the way through the show (that or I just stopped noticing it).  But she still hit it on all the key words, so it was hardly noticeable.  All in all, beautiful job.  FANTASTIC LINDSEY!
• Nicholas C. (Leaf Coneybear/Carl Schwartzandgrubenierre) - Nick (mind if I call you Nick?) had a lot to live up to.  As I said earlier, this is possibly my favorite character to ever be on Broadway, so I tend to be very critical of "Leaf's".  That being said, Nick nailed it.  He was so childish throughout the entire show (him and Lindsey were the best at this), he was hilarious with every delivery of every line and lyric, and he added something I have never seen (a sock puppet he always had "on hand" which he would occasionally speak to and who actually spelled the words instead of him).  Since I have seen so many "Leafs", I can say that he didn't quite deliver every line "perfectly", but all in all I must say that he is pretty darn close.  It's also worth noting that he also gave a wonderful performance as Logainne's Dad Carl (for those of you who don't know,  pretty much all of the actors double as a "flashback character" at one time or another).  His physicality, his knowledge of the character, His awesome socks (which he took the time to show all of the guest spellers), and the sublime job hitting the last note of I'm Not That Smart (which still slightly eludes me), all made for a stunning performance!
• Chris D. (William Barfee/Olive's Dad) - Yes of course........Chris.  Chris has, by far, the most extensive resume of the cast, and that really showed in his performance.  His singing was a notch above all of the other, which was clear throughout the show but was really showcased in his performances in The I Love You Song and Second.  His acting during his non-singing moments was also nothing to sneeze at.  Some of his lines seemed a bit rushed at times (which,considering his experience, I imagine was more of a character decision than a mistake) so some of his jokes I felt didn't pack their full punch, but aside from that he did an excellent job.  He was very willing to make fun of and look his nose down at the guest spellers (he introduced himself by squirting hand sanitizer in our hands and stating "you're dirty" to each of us), and did a good job of keeping his character throughout the show.  His foot spelling was not the best I've seen, but everyone does it a little differently, so what I call inferior others may call original.  But all of these minor grievances pale in comparison to his spectacular voice!  Obviously the most trained in the group, he really pulled up every song he was in.  And his moments with Olive in the show (many of which I hadn't seen before) were really sweet.  He did a good job of striking the balance between a bit obnoxious and truly lovable.  So, huzzah for Chris.
• Katie P. (Marcy Park) - I give Katie the honor of probably having the strongest singing voice of all the ladies in the production.  She sat directly behind me when I was on stage, so when all the cast hit the harmonies her voice was loud and clear, and I could tell that she had a well trained voice.  This was confirmed in her delightful performance of I Speak Six Languages.  Although Marcy's character causes her to be not as fun to watch as some of the other spellers, when I did watch her I was pleasantly entertained.  With the exception of a few smiles cracked at Lindsey's (Logainne's) antics during intermission, she kept her character strong the entire show, and her quick personality flop after her discussion with Jesus was beautifully executed.  I really felt myself wishing Marcy had a bigger part 'cause I kind of feel like Katie had more to give us than could fit through her character.  But nonetheless, she did do an excellent job,  and she certainly did live up to expectations.  Go Marcy!
• Danielle G. (Olive Ostrovsky) - In writing this post and reading the program more closely, I find that I have in fact seen Danielle before.  She was nominated for a Shuler Hensley Award a few years ago, and I saw her sing "Home" [Beauty and the Beast] on TV.  Although she's gotten older (and dyed her hair), her talent still remains.  Portraying Olive is no easy task, but Danielle did a commendable job.  From her first line in the opening number I saw the character bursting from her and she never lost it throughout the entire show.  Her highlights include that opening number, her intermission antics (her and Logainne made quite a team), her touching scene with Barfee (aka: fun with anagrams), The I Love You Song (which, as Danielle told us afterwards, she apparently sang "to" my little sister), and Second where her and Chris (Barfee)'s voices blended so beautifully.  But even in the other moments of the show, she captured the insecurity of adolescents flawlessly and really made the audience feel for her from the very beginning.  She was probably the most "cute" of the entire cast (rather this is the product of the actress or the writer is hard to say, but I imagine it's some combination).  Her mousy voice in My Friend the Dictionary sounded so realistic than when she belted out The I Love You Song(which I should probably point out was also wonderfully staged) it made a surprisingly magical moment.  Danielle truly did absolutely excellent and may have even surpassed my expectations.
• Zip R. (Vice Principle Douglas Panch) - First off....his name is Zip.....THAT'S AWESOME!  And Zip would need an awesome name, because he started the show with the cards stacked against him.  Not only did I think his character the most boring of the show (largely because he doesn't sing in the show), and his appearance is Completely different from the original.  However, Zip had more than just a ridiculously awesome name going for him, he is quite a talented guy.  His lines were absolutely hysterical and his sudden mood swing took the audience back a bit.  From the moment he smelled Rona's hair, to the time him and Mitch (I'll get to him in a sec) "step outside and spell some words", to when he finally gets a restraining order filed against him, he was absolutely hilarious!  Zip, your awesomeness goes far beyond your name, you are deeply awesome!
• Alejandro G. (Mitch Mahoney) - As it happens this isn't my first time seeing Alejandro either; or, rather, not my first time hearing him.  For I saw his handiwork in a Center For Puppetry Arts performance last summer.  I saw then in his bio that he had done some live musicals, and so I was pretty excited to see his face in a show this time around.  Now anyone who knows the show must have caught the same disconnect I did after reading the cast list.

The original Mitch Mahoney looked like this:                  But his name is Alejandro, so he looks like this:

•                                      So it makes sense that I was a bit taken aback.  However, it actually worked really well.  They added some cultural jokes (like when one of the guest spellers had to spell "Mexican" and really played the whole thing up, which is good.  Unfortunately, Alejandro's voice wasn't quite up to par with the role (not his fault, when I sing the songs at home I have to leave all of Mitch's songs to my little sister).  His "Prayer of a Comfort Councillor" was a bit rocky, but he fully committed to the character in his performing, so it distracted from the voice a bit.  The other songs Mitch's other songs he is meant to sing as other characters (Logainne's and Olive's dad's) were divided among some of the other guys in the show (Chris and Matt) possibly because the director didn't feel he had the singing chops, and possibly because he just wanted to keep this character the same throughout the show.  Regardless, this led to Alejandro having a relatively small part in the show who really didn't do much.  However, he did deliver some of my favorite lines in the show including his offering to Chip "I'll show you how to sell some candy".  So although he certainly wasn't one of the stronger cast members, he delivered his role without any mistakes, so it didn't take away from the performance at all.

CONCLUSION

Well, now I have one more thing that I can cross off of my bucket list.  I have seen 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.  It wasn't perfect, it had it's ups and downs, but it was an experience I won't soon forget and it has made many of the songs come alive to me in a whole new way.  All in all, it was a wonderful show, put on by a very talented group of actors and actresses, and you can't go wrong with that.

Luke's Reviews: Into the Woods

There have been people who have called Steven Sondheim a modern day Shakespeare.  Although I don't care much for Shakespeare, I find this comparison very accurate.  For Sondheim has brought himself to a level where simply attaching his name to a show insures it's success.  I can honestly say that there is not a single show of his that I know a lot about that I don't absolutely adore.  But of all his legendary masterpieces, I must say my favorite is Into The Woods.

That is why I've made it my life mission to see as many productions of Into the Woods as I possibly can.  I fully intend to see every performance I can of this masterful show and have a wall full of all the programs from the shows.  This is my third production to see live (in addition to the hundreds of times I've listened to the soundtrack or watched the movie), and although it wasn't the best, it was still fun.  So Here is my official review of Kell Highschool's production of Into the Woods:

WARNING:  This is a long one.  I go in detail to every single actor in the show, so maybe grab some popcorn or find your glasses for this one, because it won't be over in a hurry.

THE PRODUCTION TEAM
Although it's up to the cast to make or break a production, The production team is what takes a show from good to great and gives the show a push when things are going slowly.  The production team for Kell's production wasn't really award winning, but it didn't take away any.

• THE SET -- Aside from the unparalleled brilliance of Sondheim's score, my favorite part of seeing Into the Woods is always the set.  I've seen everything from a forest made of books, to a giant tree house-like fantasy world.  Although this set wasn't quite as memorable as that, they did well.  They obviously put lots of time into all the many set pieces.  They had rolling platforms with trees and bushes covering the entire stage allowing the entrances and exits to have an extra flare (they were kind of underused during the actual scenes).  They had three cozy little rooms for the opening scenes of both acts which weren't spectacular, but served their purpose.  They also, like the original Broadway production, utilized a "mini scrim" in a tree to portray Cinderella's mother to pretty good effect, and had a pretty sturdy tower for the Rapunzel scene's and "No One Is Alone".  To me the highlight of the set was a giant book of fairy tales that the narrator opened at the beginning of the show and sat next to during the shows duration.  If ever I was bored by the production (which wasn't often) then I would look over at the book and admire the detail that went into it.  So all in all the set wasn't the best I've seen, because it was very safe and standard, but that sets the cast up in a nice comfortable position to have a wonderful show.

• THE LIGHTING -- Nothing to report.  This is disappointing because the show has potential for some exciting lighting with quick scene changes, magic, earth shaking footsteps, dramatic death scenes, and one supernatural disappearance.  However, with the exception of the entire stage being lit, the single light for the scrim (mentioned earlier) and a moving spotlight for the Narrator, the lights never changed.

• THE STAGING -- The staging was incredibly minimal.  Granted, Into the Woods isn't the kind of show that lends itself to a whole lot of choreography, but a little more might have been nice.  The director seemed to give directions for entrances and exits, and then the actors were kind of on their own on how to move about the stage (both in scene and song), which is ok, but some of the less experienced actors made a few uninformed decisions that I believe could've been prevented with some more specific blocking.

• OTHER -- Costuming was pretty standard, but for characters like the Wolf, the Witch and (to an extent) Rapunzel, standard isn't easy, so it's still pretty impressive.  The Props were well crafted and added to the show.  The highlights included a cleverly made Milky White who actually (quite convincingly I might add) ate the objects and a couple of "wicked awesome" canes for the Witch.  The Audio team could have punched up the mics a little.  Of course, this was largely the fault of a few soft spoken cast members (I'll get to them in a sec), but it still had to be mentioned.  The Orchestra (despite their annoying warm ups before the show), played without a hitch.  They were occasionally a bit behind the singers at the beginning of the songs, but I expect that, once again, the actors must assume most of the responsibility for such occurrences.

THE CAST
Even after a show has been equipped with a magical score, a delightful script, and a functional set, it is up to the cast to make the connection with the audience.  I must say, there were times in the show when they really did draw me in, and other times when they seemed to be just going through the motions.  That is probably my biggest observation of the ensemble as a whole.  They were inconsistent. There were times when they were "blow-your-socks-off-outstanding" and other times when... well....lets just say at other times your socks definitely stayed on.  That's the ensemble, now onto the fun stuff:  The individual cast members.

PRINCIPLE CAST:

• Julia N. (Cinderella) - Like Mimi from RENT or Mrs. Von Tussle from Hairspray, Julia had the misfortune to be cast in a role that I don't particularly care for.  That being said, she did do a very good job.  Her singing was splendid, she hit all of the difficult soprano notes effortlessly, and did a great job blending her falsetto voice and normal voice (which is no easy task).  She (like many other members of the cast) occasionally aired towards the quite side and so many of her lines were lost on the audience (projection's important people), and there were times (specifically in "On the Steps of the Palace") where it was pretty obvious she didn't know what to do with herself (once again, I blame whoever blocked the show), but other than that she did a wonderful job.
• Colin E. (Jack) - Jack is possibly my favorite character in the show, so I am occasionally a bit harsh on the people who play him, this is going to be one of those times.  I feel for Colin because I know first hand that Jack has some tough  songs to sing, but I really think that Colin may have been miscast.  The biggest thing was that he was just two quiet.  We were sitting in the second row and sometimes had to strain to hear him (and he was mic-ed).  When the songs began it wasn't uncommon for him to be drowned by the orchestra and his cast mates.  This was probably most exemplified in his big number "Giants in the Sky".  I got the feeling he hadn't done much theater, because he wasn't much in his character as he sang; he was pacing the stage and focusing on the individual notes (which we could barely hear anyway).  And then, somehow for some reason, the last note of the song (one of the hardest in the song) he hit with a power and volume that he never again matched the rest of the show.  I have no idea what got into him, but for some reason, he belted out that final word in a way that would've made the whole song spectacular if he could have had it from the beginning.  The singing aside, he delivered many of his lines well, but he tended to rush through a lot of them.  Don't get me wrong, he had his moments (including some very memorable scenes with Milky White), but so much of the brilliance of the character seemed to get lost.
• Danny C. (Baker) - I must say, that as far as the principle cast goes, Danny was probably the highlight.  I didn't know what I thought of him at first, because he was really tall (towered over all the rest of the cast) and had a deep baritone voice that I didn't expect for the role of the baker.  And at the very beginning I was a bit worried about him being kind of awkward (not knowing what to do with hands, etc.)  but he really did a fantastic job.  There were several lines that he delivered so well that even if they were throw away lines in the original production, left the audience cracking up.  As the show went on (especially in the second half of act 2) he really started to shine (I think because the more dramatic character and music were more his niche) and his true potential got to shine.  This culminated at his stunningly beautiful rendition of No More (one of my favorite songs anyway) that absolutely took my breath away.  The emotion he had in the song was unparalleled by all the other productions I've seen (including a Broadway cast, highschool cast, and professional regional cast).  And again in No One Is Alone (I think the slower, more emotional songs were a strength of the entire cast) he really delivered a moving performance that helped to carry the second act.  If I were to have a criticism for Danny it would just be to be more consistent.  His powerhouse moments showed us that he had the potential (both dramatically and comically) but at times (especially in the beginning of each act) that potential didn't always shine through.  But all in all I was still really impressed.
• Rachel D. (Baker's Wife) - Rachel had a lot to live up to because the Joana Gleason (the original Baker's Wife) was the only performer in the show to win a Tony for her performance and was always one of the strongest performers in the other versions I've seen.  That being the case she did do a really good job.  Like her stage husband, the beginning seemed a bit dead at times, but as the show progressed, you could see her improving as well (In lieu of this trend I wonder if perhaps they practiced Act II more than Act I).  Since the Baker's voice was so deep and booming, her voice was occasionally drowned out in the duets and group numbers, but her personality and acting certainly wasn't.  Her performance peaked (as it should) at her rendition of Moment's in the Woods.  This song (directly preceding all the depression) led the way into the strong portion of the show (every song from here on was fantastic).  She performed it with the energy and variety of emotion that the song really needs.  It really did take the show to the next level and usher in some wonderful moments.  Good job Rachel.
• Melanie S. (Little Red Riding Hood) - Red has, historically speaking, been one of the funnest characters of the show.  There have been many super talented young ladies who have played it and it's a role filled with fun.  This worked to the advantage of Melanie.  As opposed to other actors who couldn't quite live up the their roles, I thought Melanie did a good (not great) job.  Of course, it should be noted, that doing a good job with Little Red Riding Hood is not easy, and incredibly funny, so she should be commended.  Melanie was one of the few cast members who I think might have been a bit stronger in Act I because when Act II hit she began to play the role as one less innocent and bubbly (her costume reflected this change rather dramatically).  This decision didn't take away from the show, but it did mean that some of the funnier lines (like "you did not Mr. liar!" and "You can talk to birds") weren't delivered to their full potential.  However, her singing voice was top notch and she stayed in character the entire time, so I'm really being a bit picky here.  Her song was spot on, and, with the exception of a few character choices that didn't work with me, she really did play the part very well.
• Noelia F. (Witch) - No one in history ever has or ever will be able to sing like Bernadette Peters.  This is a fact.  That means that comparing anyone (even Meryl Streep who may be playing the role later this year) is unfair.  And most highschools have a tough time casting this particular role (even when hypothetically cast the show with my peers I can't usually find a good fit for the witch) so it follows that I wasn't quite blown away by Noelia.  Like the rest of the principle cast, towards the end of the show (i.e. Last Midnight & Witch's Lament) we could really see her stronger side.  That's not to say she wasn't good in the first act, but she did (like the majority of the cast) tend tend to mumble a bit and remain pretty quite so (as some of our friends in the back of the auditorium mentioned) she was a bit hard to hear (especially in the already hard to understand song Greens).  I was also slightly disappointed to see that a lot of my favorite lines from the movie (including two lines constantly quoted at our house: "Whatareyoudoing" and "WHO CARES?!!?!  THE COW IS GONE!  GET IT BACK!!")  weren't delivered to their full potential.  But every actor has to put their own spin on each character, and if this is how Noelia chose to do that then I respect it.  So, in conclusion (of the character...not the post...you have a ways to go), she wasn't enough to carry the show, and wasn't as good as some of her cast mates, but she certainly did a really good job with the impossible role she was given.

SUPPORTING CAST:

• Jolie S. (Narrator) - Now, the original Narrator (Thomas Aldridge) who was taken from us this past years (you may have seen his face on the Oscar "in memoriam" montage) made me love this character from the moment he spoke the opening lines of the show; and then the student I saw play the Narrator at Northview highschool I last year played the role even better and was by far the best performer of his production (among my favorite highschool performer I've seen).  So Jolie had a lot to live up to, and I was already a bit nervous about her...uh.... femininity.  And although she couldn't live up to her predecessors (don't feel bad Jolie I couldn't either), she did do an excellent job.  As she spoke her lines she seemed genuinely invested in what she was saying.  She did seem to kind of phase out when she was on stage not talking, but when you spend that much uninterrupted time watching (they left her onstage for the entire show), then that's to be expected.  Unfortunately, her biggest scene (one of my favorite in all of theater) where they discuss who to sacrifice to the giant, was staged completely wrong.  Everyone remained completely calm and the urgency and hilarity that should come with the scene was completely lost.  I blame this mostly on the director (or whoever blocked the scene) because one actor (or actress) couldn't really have changed it by themselves, but it was still a bit disappointing.
• Landon B. (Rapunzel) - Don't worry...it's a girl.  Actually, I think I'll give Landon the award for best actress in the production (relative to her role)  I generally don't expect much from the character of Rapunzel (just because it's not really a main character) but she did a really good job.  All of her little "ahhaahahah" segments were spot on (and those take some breath support I might add) and her song with the Witch at the beginning of Act I (Our Little World) which didn't appear in the original Broadway production were a highlight of Act One.  In addition to her vocal performance her acting scene (she really only has one or two) were done really well.  She just kind of lit up the stage when she came on and I am very glad that she was in the cast.  So, thank you Landon.
• Christian S. (Cinderella's Prince/Wolf) - Christian seemed to work backward from the rest of the cast. He was strong in the beginning (As the wolf and his first Prince scene or two) and seemed to actually slow down as the production wore on.  This is a shame, because Cinderella's prince has such potential for being a fantastic role (one of the most common characters to win a highschool award for supporting actor).  He wasn't bad, and the major lines like "When you're talking to your meal", "Worrying will do you no good" and "I was raised to be charming not sincere" he delivered well, but all in all he seemed a bit below par.  Especially in his scandalous scene with the Baker's wife (which wasn't completely his fault...it was also poorly staged) and his dramatic scene with Cinderella at the end (which kind of was his fault, he lacked energy).  Don't get me wrong, he didn't do that bad, but the part is so great and I know so many talented actors who have played or really want to play those roles, that I feel like he let the part down a bit.
• Lafayette L. (Rapunzel's Prince) - First off, I have to mention.  This guy had fantastic hair.  Long flowing locks that I thought added to the larger than life aspect of the character.  As his princely brother, he had a huge role to live up to, but I feel like he did a better job.  He wasn't as clear in his diction or as big in his facial expressions as Chuck Wagner (the original) but he would add new physical motions that I've never seen before that made the character different, but also added a new, unexpected hilarity to the piece.  His singing wasn't great (and definitely couldn't match the booming voice of the original), but he seemed to have fairly good Chemistry with his "brother" and both of the Agony's, though they didn't live up to their full potential, were still some highlights of the show (specifically the original in Act I).
• Abbey O., Mat K., Peyton P., & Abby P. (Stepmother, Cinderella's Father, Florinda, & Lucinda respectively) - I grouped Cinderella's family (except her real mom, who I'll talk about a little later) together because they always appear as a group.  They actually all did a really good job (a step up from the other highschool we saw).  They were good at projecting, their timing was spot on, and they played their characters well.  Most of them (especially he father) had very little to work with, but they made the most of it.  Abbey (the stepmother) specifically impressed me, they were all well cast.
• Giovanni L.  (Mysterious Man) - If by chance I couldn't play Jack in a production of Into the Woods I would definitely lobby for the Mysterious Man, he gets many of the best lines, a great song at the end, and one of the quotes I use everywhere (check my facebook, e-mails, any "about me" I ever have to write) "When first I appear I seem mysterious, but when explained I'm nothing serious".  That's why It killed me that (next to Jack) Giovanni was probably the biggest let down of the cast (sorry to sound so mean).  Now, it's very possible that it's just my bias talking, because I haven't really liked any of the Mysterious Men I've seen (except for Thomas Aldridge's original of course) but it's still a bit depressing.  I mean, the entire cast had problems going too fast or not speaking loud enough, but his problem was just the opposite.  He was always speaking agonizingly slow and clomping, instead of scurrying, around the stage.  I suppose you could look at it as a "character choice" to play the role in a different way, but (to me at least) it really didn't work.  He also threatened to largely bring down the caliber of No More (thankfully, the Baker's brilliance and the fact that the song is largely separated helped).  And, if this is his first performance or something then I may be being a bit harsh, but this is exactly the kind of role I dream of, so it hurts me to see someone doing it so differently from the way I think it should be done.
• Jackie R. (Jack's Mother/ Cinderella's mother) - Jackie is another fine example of the cast's inconsistency.  As Jack's mother, she mumbled, seemed a bit stiff and, though her accent added, struggled to be heard.  But then, for the few moments she played Cinderella's mother it was a whole new story.  She sung clearly with strong vibrato and honestly (in my opinion) did a better job with a harder role.  It's possible she was trying to add too much character to jack's mom (something that I've been known to do in many of my roles) and sacrificed some more practical necessities accidental, but it just seems kind of sad to see talent misused like that.  She two has a couple of rather iconic lines (such as "That's ok too" and the "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhoooooooooooooooooooh" in the middle of act 2) which she didn't seem to play to their full potential.  So, I see that Jackie is talented because of her great moments, but her inconsistency hurt her here.
• Kyle R. (Steward/Granny) - Now, obviously the first thing that'll come to mind after seeing this casting is "Granny's a man!" (*said in the same inflection as Bernadette Peter's "The Giant's a woman!!"*).  But it actually was really funny.  The only issue is that the audience was laughing so hard and he didn't wait for the laughter to die down so almost all of his granny lines were completely lost.  Of course, I knew them all, so it was still funny for me, but it would've been nice to get them out there.  But I was even more impressed with Kyle's portrayal of the Steward.  I never thought of the role of serving any kind of comedic value, but he somehow found a way to make every line he said funny.  He even gave a better deliverance of another often quoted line in our home "shut up old man" than the guy from the movie (Phillip something I think) which is no easy task.  So, all in all, the unexpected charm of the Steward and Rapunzel (especially in Act I while the principle cast was kind of warming up) helped to carry the show.  The only conflict came in One Midnight Gone where the Steward had a line directly after Granny.  They tried to make it work by having him come out in robe and wig and try to take it off mid line, but it really didn't work at all.  They corrected in The Finale by giving Granny's line to the Narrator (who doesn't appear in that song), and that minimized the awkward change a lot.

CONCLUSION

I know that was really long and (with the exception of a few of my more devoted readers), I probably lost most of you.  But if you have stuck with me through this entire thing then i solute you.  What you've learned is that I take Into the Woods very seriously (so if you have a production of it beware of inviting me because I WILL show up and I WILL have high expectations).  But, If you can look past all of my critical negativity, you will see that I did have a splendid night, because even an average cast performing Into the Woods is a wonderful experience for any theater goer.  If you ever get a chance to see any company performer I would implore you to jump at the opportunity, because it will change your life (or at least 3 hours of it).  Look forward to seeing more of my reviews over the comings months (I believe Zombie Prom, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and hopefully Godspell are coming next) and be sure to listen to a Broadway song today!!



wow...that was lame.  I should really have a cool quote to end all of my posts with......if you have any ideas let me know in the comments below, and remember to vote on the poll to the top right of the page.  Thanks!

Luke's Reviews: Hairspray

Regardless of the Christmas song, THIS is the most wonderful time of the year.  From late January to early May highschools all over the country are performing their "Spring Musicals" and I feel like a kid in a candy shop.  I usually make it a point to see four or five productions in these few short months (in addition to performing in as many as I can) and I kicked off the season Friday night when I went to see Pebblebrook Highschool's production of Hairspray.

The School
Now, I've loved Pebblebrook ever since I saw them in a concert back in 2009, then the following spring I saw my first production that they put on (Aida) and was absolutely blown away!  Ever since then I have tried to make an appearance to every musical that Pebblebrook puts on (this was my fourth).  Their shows always have decent acting and good singing, but their real strength lies in their choreography, and Hairspray was no different.

The Show

I have a secret...I don't actually like Hairspray.  I know that it's really popular and stuff, and it's not that bad, but I always thought it got way more hype than it deserves.  Some of the songs are kind of catchy, but it's not powerful enough to move me or funny enough to get me laughing out loud, so it's just average to me.  If you don't know the show, it's basically about minorities (obese people and African Americans) being confident and fighting to have the same opportunities as their pencil then, blond hair blue eyed peers.  Now, this general plot line (the tough life of the downtrodden minority) is not an uncommon one (you can see it in Ragtime, Parade, and even Shrek), but what sets it apart from the others is its a much more cheerful version of this potentially heartbreaking topic.  Almost all of the minorities are used to their oppression so they just smile and dance it off most of the time, so it keeps the show lighthearted.  I think this is why I don't like it too much, it remains very shallow throughout the whole show (beauty within and all that stuff).  But, storyline aside, the music is actually pretty good, especially when it comes to it's high energy ensemble numbers, so it's really good fit for a school like Pebblebrook (who's ensemble is honestly stronger than their soloists).

The Performance

The show was a wonderful experience.  Although I still don't love the show, imagining the Pebblebrook kids perform it in my mind will give the songs more meaning to me and I think they did make me like it a little more than I previously did.  What made the show experience even more enjoyable is the fantastic company I was in.  I was joined by my mother and sister (I got my kid sister hooked on Pebblebrook after Ragtime) and our friends Jennifer (who made the night with her inspiring quote: "I can act and sleep at the same time, I call it crunch week") and Tami Reece.  This was their first Pebblebrook show to see, but they too caught the fever and I imagine will be frequenting it with me for the next couple of years.  But enough about my wonderful company, onto the show!  First, the technical side:

THE CREW

• The set was pretty minimal.  The Anderson Theater at the Cobb Civic Center (where they performed) has such a huge stage (great for Pebblebrook's high choreography shows) which they didn't clutter up with large bulky set pieces.  There was a backdrop of the city that came down when the characters were outdoors, and a few rooms that rolled on stage throughout the show (a living room, jail cell, clothing store etc.) but all in all it remained pretty minimalistic.  I think this was probably a good thing, because I have seen shows where the set crowded out the performance, but the designer of this set decided early on not to make the set flashy or distracting, so it was all pretty average, which is o.k.
• The Costuming surprised me a little.  Mostly because (and forgive my being blunt but there's no good way to say this) Tracy was too skinny.  The show opens with her under a set of covers so we only get to see her face for the first 40 seconds or so.  This kind of builds suspense as if there's going to be some great reveal when she gets out, but she didn't look overweight at all.  I know that you can't expect every actress to play Tracy to be plump, but it's very common to use padding to give the right effect.  Now, as my fellow theatergoers pointed out to me, the entire cast was incredibly fit, so it's possible she did have padding, she's just really thin, but it still kind of took away.  It made it kind of awkward every time a joke was made about her weight (and there were several).  They did try to compensate for this by making her shorter than everyone else.  All of the other girls had stiletto heels and she was naturally shorter than most of the guys, so proportionally, she did look a bit stockier, but I would've appreciated a little more.  As for the rest of the costumes, they were pretty average.  Once again they didn't really stand out, but at least they didn't distract from the show.  But the great triumph of the costume designer was the costumes for Mrs. Turnblad.  That was done perfectly (If you know the show you know why that's a hard role to costume).
• The Staging

THE CAST

• Kelsey B. (Tracy) - She was pretty fantastic.  I'm not going to lie, this girl nailed every note of the entire show.  I was a bit biased against her from the beginning (because of the costume discrepancy), so I was almost looking for her to make a mistake, but she didn't.  She sang every note of the show and never even seemed strained.  She effortlessly danced through the entire show so in character that I really did forget what I was watching some times.  Unfortunately, she was the main character.  This means that although she was arguably the best out there, it was expected, so she wasn't (for me) the most memorable.  But this isn't her fault, she really was pitch perfect the entire show..with one possible exception.  There was a point in the show where she had to take a fall (something that I personally take very seriously), this was done horribly.  I'm pretty sure that was done on purpose (because the strike that smote her was ridiculously horrible as well), so I think the idea was to make it seem really fake, but I would've liked to see some bruised skin...but that's just me.  For all intents and purposes, she didn't steal the show, but she didn't make a single mistake either.
• Hamilton M. (Link) - So this is the third performance I've had the pleasure of seeing Hamilton perform including his role as Tateh,my favorite character, in Ragtime last May.  And like every actor I've seen play Mark in RENT, he wasn't bad, but I had idealized the character so much that he didn't seem to live up the challenge.  Since then I've seen him in "The Heat Is On" (a vocal and dance concert), in which he regained my favor, so I was very excited to see him in a character I was less attached to.  He didn't disappoint.  I felt like he was more comfortable as Link than he was as Tateh and his talent really shined.  His singing was also spot on and he really did get into the character.  Occasionally he would get distracted by something and drop character for a second, but this was very seldom, and never when he was in the spotlight.  All in all he did a good job, but had (to me) a rather boring character, so he didn't stand out too much.  As with his romantic counterpart: no mistake, but nothing spectacular.
• George V. (Seaweed) - As the music for Run and Tell That (Seaweed's big number) began to play, I heard the patron behind us perk up saying "here we go".  Most fans of the show felt the same way.  With exception of the finale, this song is the most loved in the show, and therefore, a lot of pressure is placed on the actor playing Seaweed.  From the very beginning he needs to be exhumed in his character because fans of the show know to watch him from the beginning.  Part of me wonders if this pressure was a bit too much for George (as it would be for almost anyone).  He did seem (especially in Run and Tell That) to play it smaller than he conceivably could have.  He was really great, but I feel like he wasn't able to get completely into it, likely because he was a bit afraid (and no one can blame him).  It's possible this nervousness is what caused him to slur his words a bit and made it a bit difficult to understand what he was singing at times.  Now, this didn't prove to be a big issue, because, as I said, the majority of the audience already knew his songs and were waiting for them, but a bit more diction might have been nice.  This is me being very VERY picky.  I only wish I could perform as well as this young man did, but in order to remain credible I need to point out the good and the bad.  But in case this segment doesn't accurately display this, know that the good far out weighed the bad in the case of George V.
• Nicholas M. (Corny Collins) - Nicholas is another example of improvement.  I saw him in Ragtime also, and he seemed very small, keeping his character a bit one dimensional.  But he really shined as Corny Collins.  He kept the cheesy air about him all the time and never broke character for a second.  He did play the character a bit smaller than he maybe could have, but I accredit that more to the blocking and choreography than to the actor (he was confined to a corner of the stage for a good portion of it).  He was one of my favorite characters, and always perked me up as soon as he came on stage.  Go Nicholas!
• Dana M. (Velma Von Tussle) - Dana had her work cut out for her.  She had (by far) my least favorite character in the show and sang most of my least favorite songs (and reprised it over and over again).  This means that I don't have too many positive memories associated with her performance, but that isn't her fault.  When I put my bias aside and think about her actual performance, she actually did really well.  She didn't have to dance (unlike pretty much everyone else), so there's really not much to judge her by except for her voice, which was actually really good.  No complaints.
• Alexander S. (Wilbur Turnblad) - What is there to say about Alexander?  When I saw the movie I wasn't a big fan of his character (Christopher Walken wasn't much of a singer, and is kind of creepy). So I really wasn't expecting anything from this character.  I was pleasantly surprised.  From the moment he entered the stage, Alex's (you mind if I call you Alex?) character just picked up any scene it was in.  He was full of energy and everything from his accent to his physicality was spot on.  When it came time for his song with the lovely Mrs. Turnblad, Although his singing voice didn't knock me out of my seat, it was a very solid performance and allowed him continue acting beautifully throughout the song.  He was brilliantly cast and did a phenomenal job.  Although the part was small, it was the one I was looking for in every scene. Congratulations Alex!
• Nora S. (Motormouth Mabel) - Now, Nora has been in every Pebblebrook show I've seen (I think she's the only one I can say that about), which means that she was good enough to get good parts even when she was a Sophomore.  And let me tell you, she really did steal the show at Hairspray.  She had a nice little solo in Aida (2010), had a nice comic touch in Fame (2010), really helped to bring the emotion to Ragtime (2011), but really stole the show here in Hairspray!  Now her character doesn't even appear until the first act is almost done, but after that she makes her presence known with charisma and a "blow you out of the water" kind of singing voice.  The highlight of the show (vocal wise at least) was by far her performance in I Know Where I've Been.  At the last note (which she held out strong for a good 20 seconds or so), she received a well deserved applause and even a standing ovation from some.  And although she didn't get another note that big in the rest of the show, from then on the whole audience seemed to regard her with expectancy and awe ready to adore anything that came out of her mouth.  Since it looks like she's finally a senior, this might be the last time I see her in a pebblebrook show, but I wouldn't be surprised if she grows up to be the next Audra McDonnald.
• Mitchell H. (Edna Turnblad) - I saved Mitchell for last, because I think I left the theater with the most respect for him.  He, probably more than the rest of the cast, had a lot of pressure in doing this part.  His character has been played by such icons as John Travolta, and Harvey Fierstein, and, if done wrong, looks corny, insensitive, and even sexist.  However, Mitchell was absolutely splendid in his role. His voice was excellent, he did a fantastic job of singing in character (harder than it sounds), and everything about him just exhumed the character.  As an actor, I also know the struggles he likely went through along this journey.  I'm sure he got teased about the role for a few weeks after casting, I'm sure that practically every number he rehearsed out of costume was insanely awkward, and I'm sure there were plenty of snickers and giggles when everyone first saw him in his costume.  But despite all of this, he delivered a truly fantastic rendition of Mrs. Turnblad and made me personally respect him as an actor.
• The Ensemble - Like most Pebblebrook shows, they're really who make the show great.  As a unit, their dancing was spectacular, their singing was top notch, the acting of minor roles (specific shout out to Maddie Martin as Matron, Matthew Boyd as Sketch, and Taylor Eubanks as Penny) was fantastic, and their vocal conditioning was astounding!  They say that a cast is only as strong as it's weakest member, and if that is true, then Pebblebrook has one of the strongest casts out there.

Conclusion

In closing, I would implore all of my readers (all two of you) to make it a point to support your local highschools theatrical productions this year.  I personally already have 3-4 more highschool performances to attend before the semester is over, and I would suggest you do the same.  If you would like a list of some of the top theater programs in GA, then I'd suggest you look at http://www.shulerawards.org/calendar.aspx .  Or, if there's a specific show you're waiting to see, chances are you can find a list of it's performances nation wide at http://www.mtishows.com/find_a_show.asp .  And, in reference to my first link, This show was entered into the Shuler Hensley Awards where it will undoubtedly win Best Choreography (It has one every single year the awards have existed) and hopefully much more.  Look for that post sometime in May or early June.  And be sure to vote on the poll to the top right of this (I always get a kick out of your opinions).  Thanks for reading!

Les Miserables: The Movie

So, generally I stick to theater and don't branch into the movies, but I thought I'd make an exception to talk about the new Les Miserables Movie.  It's like someone just hit production studios in the head recently and said...MUSICALS!  I'm actually thrilled that the past 10 years or so have just cranked out movies versions of some of the best musicals out there including Phantom of the Opera, Hairspray, The Producers, Mamma Mia, Chicago, and many many more.  But I think Les Miz might be the most daunting task yet (with the possible exception of Phantom).  With pressure like that I'm sure that they'd do everything possible to do it right and not alienate the millions of Les Miz fans around the world right?  WRONG!  Now I hear you saying: "Luke, this movie isn't out, they haven't announced the full cast, you have no clue where they're filming it or how good it's going to be, how can you be so judgmental?"  And you're right, I don't have enough info to know if it will or won't be a good movie, in fact, I think it's going to be a really good movie, but I can promise you it won't be all that it could be.  And how do I know that?

The Cast:

                 JeanValjean: Hugh Jackman

Hugh Jackman                         Colm Wilkinson

So, actually, I'm not too upset about this choice.  He is one of the three Broadway veterans in the principle cast (the other one is even more exciting, but I'll get to that) and the only one with a musical related Tony under his belt.  I've been told he can sing, but I haven't heard anything on Youtube that's particularly encouraging.  He's not bad, but I've yet to hear him really nail a song as tough as many of the Les Miserables ones.  I'm sure he's good, but he's going up against Alfie Boe and Colm Wilkinson.  I'm not sure any mere mortal can even attempt a feat so great.  However, with all this negativity, he's one of the ones I'm more excited about.  Since he's a theater man , he realizes the magnitude of the role (I'm not sure all of the other actors do), and he knows that this will either make or break him.  An interview I read quoted him as saying: "I feel, weirdly, that all the things in my life — particularly my professional life, which has been close to twenty years — have been converging to this point....It just feels like a pinnacle".  With that kind of expectations of himself, I trust that he will work hard, and become synonymous with the role as his two aforementioned predecessors have.

Javert: Russell Crowe

Russell Crowe                                   Phillip Quast

For those of you who don't know, I played Javert this past spring so this role is very special to me, so it's important they find the perfect guy.  All though I'm not thrilled with this casting, I have had some time to think about it, and it's not that bad.  As far as acting goes I think he'll pull it off very well.  He's known for his understated, almost mumbling roles, but I've seen him get worked up too.  I also know he takes his roles very seriously and does lots of research, that's a good sign.  I won't know until I see the movie if he makes the right choices in how to play the role, but I have full confidence in his abilities.  But the big question on every body's mind is "can he sing?".  To figure this out, I googled "Russell Crowe sings" and when I clicked on the first video that popped up (him singing at the Country Music Awards) I saw a comment that said: "like if you are watching this to see if Russell Crowe would be a good jarvet" (I know they can't spell Javert, but lets see if we can make that the most liked comment anyway).  His performance on said video I found mediocre, but then I've never been much for country songs.  But what did encourage me is that they asked him to come sing.  So, even if this song didn't showcase his full vocal potential, he has at least some kind of reputation as someone who can sing.  I don't expect him to steal the show or blow me away, but I didn't expect Johnny Depp to in Sweeney Todd either, so I'm not losing hope quite yet.

Fantine: Anne Hathaway

Anne Hathaway                              Susan Gilmour

This is a role that I'm actually really excited about.  If you read my Jimmy Award post carefully then you might remember that Miss Hathaway did some musical theater when she was younger (and wasn't half bad).  We also got a chance to hear her sing in Ella Enchanted and, although the song wasn't "Fantine-like" in any respect, it shows that she's still got it.  Although I've known she could sing for some time, I'm excited about the rest of the world learning it too.  I think she is the one who's gonna surprise everyone this time.  She's one of my favorite actresses in Hollywood and I think people are going to see a whole new side of her in this movie, and it's going to be an awesome musically inclined side (which is always the best side).  As for the role of Fantine specifically, it's not ideal, but it's not bad.  She appears to be one of the best trained female vocalists in the cast, and that is probably most important for Fantine (because Eponine and Madam Thenardier need to be raw and no one really cares about Cosette).  I think she's going to pull it off nicely and be known for this role for a long time.

Madam Thenardier: Helena Bonham Carter

Helena Bonham Carter                         Jenny Galloway

I'm actually very proud of this choice.  I thought of this before I heard that they were talking to her about the role.  It honestly is perfect for her.  She is going to need to lose her dainty British accent (which I haven't seen yet, but I have confidence she can do) and it will be a stretch for her.  Even her villains are generally relatively refined.  Vulgar and disgusting will be something new for her.  If she goes into this knowing that this movie is not going to make her look pretty (even in a creepy way) just wanting to make a good movie then she'll do great.  I know from interviews that she was a Broadway fan since childhood, and I know from Sweeney Todd that she can sing OK, so we really don't have much to worry about.  Of course, Madame Thenardier isn't the sort of role that wins lots of fame, but it's an important role and I'm glad that the casting directors are taking it seriously.  And may I just add that the Thenardiers are possibly my favorite characters so they better nail them!

Monsieur Thenardier: Sacha Cohen

Sacha Baron Cohen                            Alun Armstrong

This is another one that I was pretty unhappy with at the beginning but I'm slowly warming up to.  Here's why I was (and still am a little bit) upset with this casting.  Olivier winner Alun Armstrong (pictured above) was by far the perfect Thenardier and is a legend in my book.  I see that they didn't want to get him for the movie, they didn't get anyone who's known for the role, I get that.  But that's OK, because I picked out the perfect Monsieur Thenardier.  He has three Tony Award Nominations, an Emmy, is very active in Hollywood and theater, and (with the possible exception of Alan Cumming) is the creepiest guy to grace our stage:  Tim Curry.

Tim Curry                                  Alun Armstrong

ISN'T THAT PERFECT!  What's more, we know he can sing (The man has three Tony nominations), we know he can act (check Wikipedia, he's been in a ton of stuff), and we know that he can terrify the audience by just looking at them.  He's known for doing roles that are grimy and evil (and a few that are cross-dressers or psychotic killer clowns, but we're not going to go into that).  HE WOULD HAVE BEEN PERFECT!!!!!

OK, now that I've got that out of my system...Sacha Baron Cohen won't be that bad.  Granted I don't like most of the things he's been in.  He's most known for his movies centering around the characters "Bruno" and "Borat".  I never saw these movies because frankly they look horrible (vulgar and cheap humor).  So, the only real insight I have to his abilities is is small role in Sweeney Todd (That movie is coming up more than I thought it would....oh they should get Toby to play Gavroche!).  In this movie he played the cockney/Italian blackmailing barber Adolofo Pirelli.  He didn't do a bad job, his singing was pretty impressive (even if the song wasn't my cup of tea).  But he certainly had a comedic sense about him and appears to have some form of vocal training.  And it's possible that having worked with Helena before will make that relationship pop more.  Although he's nowhere near as awesome as Tim Curry would be, I don't think he'll blow it.  I think he'll do a pretty good job.

Marius: Eddie Redmayne

Eddie Redmayne                                    Gareth Gates

Eddie was really the only guy who I had no idea who he was when I saw his name on the cast list...or so I thought.  Over the past couple of days I've thought that his face looked familiar, but google informs me that he hasn't been in any musicals or movies that I've seen.  Then, today, typing this blog, it hit me.  This man won a Tony Award in his Broadway debut in 2010!  Now, before you get excited, he won for best supporting actor in a play, so we don't know if he can sing, but this fact is still very encouraging.  What I remember from the 2010 Tony's was that the plays were almost as interesting as the musicals and his show (Red) was the first thing I looked up after I left the TV to acquire Internet access.  This kid did an excellent job in that show, it was only a two man show so he spent lots of time on stage and displayed a huge variety of emotions.  He also seemed really charismatic in his acceptance speech and all of the interviews I've seen with him.  He captures Marius's conflicted innocence pretty well actually without even trying.  But, as with Russell Crowe, the question on every one's mind is: "can he sing?".  The best I could find online was a poor quality version of him singing opera in college, but even with this I'm hopeful, because most of the people who said they've heard him sing shower him with lavish praise, so I have hope.  I'm excited about this because I feel like he's still young and undefined unlike many of the stars in this show.  He is (possibly the only) one who people don't kind of relate to a specific character, and I think from now on he will be Marius (at least better than Nick Jonas).

Enjolras: Aaron Tveit

Aaron Tveit                                   Ramin Karimloo                                      

This is probably the role that I am most excited about.  I first saw Aaron Tveit when he performed with Next To Normal on the 2009 Tony Awards.  Since then I've scoured the Internet to find videos of him in Wicked, Rent, Hairspray, and most recently, Catch Me If You Can.  He has this absolutely remarkable voice and I'm just so thrilled whenever I hear he's going to be in something else.  And although he would make a good Marius, I think this is a better fit for him.  I think he has a lot of power in his voice, and he's going to blow some minds with this comes out.  I'd implore any of my readers who haven't heard him sing look up songs like "I'm Alive" [Next to Normal], "Goodbye" [Catch me if you Can] or "Someone Else's Skin" [Catch Me If You Can], you won't be disappointed.  This is the caliber of Broadway performer that should've made up the whole cast (although having Hollywood people is a kind of a cool twist) so I'm glad at least he's here to represent the Great White Way and all of it's glory.

Amanda Seyfried: Cosette

Amanda Seyfried                                Tamra Hayden

So, many people (including myself) know miss Seyfried for her role as Sophie in the 2008 movie Mamma Mia.  I thought that her performance there was average and not really note worthy.  It wasn't bad, and the fact she's got her foot in the door of musical movies means that at least some people probably really like her.  Personally, I've never favored the role of Cosette, so someone average in the role isn't a big disappointment to me.  I think she will do well, but I don't think people will leave the theater talking about her (either in a good or bad way).

Eponine: Taylor Swift

       Taylor Swift                             Lea Salonga

So This is the decision that has caused a bunch of controversy and that inspired me to write this post.  It wasn't surprising me that Eponine was one of the last that they casted, because she is universally loved as (probably) the favorite all around character in Les Miz.  This means they have to get the absolute perfect actress to play Eponine so I wasn't worried that they were taking their time.  But when I read that the role had been offered to Taylor Swift I was like:

                                                                                             Illustrated By Jamison Mills

I simply couldn't believe it.  I mean I wasn't incredibly thrilled about the other actresses they were considering (Lea Michelle and Scarlet Johansson) but I thought there was no way that they'd ever choose Swift.  Musical theater fans around the world have been gritting our teeth and not saying too much about the Hollywood-izing of the cast.  It was already obvious that they were packing this movie with stars instead of the best people for the job.  But we said to ourselves, you know, they need to make money, it won't be that bad...but this crosses a line.  They really didn't need more star power in this movie, I've heard of and have seen every single actor/actress in this movie (most of them in multiple things).  If they absolutely had to add Taylor Swift to this movie then she should've been Cosett, because Taylor Swift fans wouldn't know the difference and they wouldn't have alienated the Les Miserables fans so much.  I've heard Taylor sing and she's not completely wretched, but she goes against everything the character is.  Eponine is strong, powerful, kind of innocent, and everyone just loves her from the moment she enters the show.  Taylor has a nasty habit of whisper singing most of her songs, I imagine there's a good bit of auto-tune involved in most of her albums, and as soon as she appears on screen everyone will know who she is and (even subconsciously) translate their feelings about her to the character.  I'm hoping to attend a midnight showing of this movie, and I would not be surprised to hear a chorus of boo's when she first comes on.  Technically I can't find any reports of her actually accepting the role yet, it's only been offered (but she's been auditioning for it for a while so I can't imagine her turning it down) but it's possible that if we make enough noise on the Internet then we can make something happen.  So, although I'm not condoning anything extreme, a strongly worded facebook status might been in order.  So some of my more indignant readers might ask "alright Luke, you think you could cast it better?"  To which I would respond: kind of.  Because I think that the best thing they could possibly do is get an unknown to play the role.  I've seen enough Youtube to know that there are lots of ridiculously talented young actresses who are just waiting to make their mark.  If they got someone to make their acting debut (or at least close to it) in this movie, then she would be so amazing that she would be instantly loved by all and propelled into stardom.  Heck, they could even make a reality series about "choosing the perfect Eponine" for all I care, I just think that the energy and the rawness necessary for the role would best be found in a newcomer.

The Method:

LIVE SINGING.  There have been confirmed reports that director Tom Hooper has decided to have the actors sing live on set.  For those of you who don't know, the standard in a musical movie is to record a song in a studio and then have the actors lip sync on camera.  The advantages to this method is that in dancing numbers, vocal conditioning is less of a big deal, there are less things that can go wrong in a given scene (because now if the singing or the acting is messed up they have to start over), and the singers can have headphones, microphones and the equipment to hear themselves and be heard as comfortably as possible.  The other thing that might come up with this particular cast is, I'm not sure how much digital editing they can do to voices when it's done live. So it looks like they might try to get a more genuine sound.

MINIMAL DIALOGUE.  I didn't expect this at all but I'm really excited about it.  The Les Miserables musical is, like Jesus Christ Superstar or Cats, completely musical (devoid of spoken lines).  And it looks like that won't change much.  Based on what I heard from an interview of Tom Hooper, it sounds like he intends to make it songs strung together by one or two lines here and there (very similar to the stage version of RENT).  I find this absolutely wonderful, there are very few things to me as frustrating as people cutting songs for movies.  They did it some in Sweeney Todd, but the most obvious (to me at least) was in the movie version of RENT when some of the spoken lines actually rhymed because they were taken directly from songs (You OK Honey, and Life Support, and the Happy New Years come to mind).  So I'm really excited that their keeping it mostly music.  And, as in every song, there are going to be certain lyrics that are spoken instead of sung within the song, but I think that's absolutely fine, that's how you make a song your own.

NEW SONG.  In the aforementioned Tom Hooper interview he said something real quickly about a new song Claude Michel Schönberg wrote for the movie.  We have no idea what it is, but it's the kind of news you don't know what to do with.  There has been some buzz over the Internet about it, and I agree with them on two major points.  1 - it's very possible "new song" really means "old song that had to be cut from the original show".  This happens all the time in movies turned musicals (if you watch the old Disney movies you can hear the Broadway songs in the form of instrumental themes), so it's kind of a cool irony that a song cut from a musical might potentially be inserted into the movie.  2 - I wouldn't be surprised if this is a ploy to get an Oscar.  There is an award for "best original song" but all of the Les Miz songs won't be eligible because they weren't written specifically for the movie.  But if they add a song then it will be eligible, and if it's written by the original Les Miserables team, then it's already won in my book.

Conclusion:

It's going to be a pretty good movie, despite my griping, there is a lot I'm excited about, and I'm always thrilled to see musical theater sent out to the masses.  Even if they can't compare the stage version (which they never can) hopefully they draw people to see the show and learn the magnificence and majesty that is Live Theater.  I'm certainly going to go see the movie (hopefully as soon as it comes out) and I have every intention of liking it.  So come December you can expect to see a movie review on this blog.


*UPDATE!!!!


Since the original post there have been some developments in the production that I thought deserved noting.

1. DING DONG THE WHICH IS GONE -- TAYLOR SWIFT IS GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  HALLELUJAH!!!  HALLELUJAH!!! This was the best news I had heard in a long time.   I haven't heard an official reason as to why she didn't take the role, but I believe it's because the internet rose up and showed that we would not have this.  So, on behalf of Les Miz fans everywhere, "THANK YOU BROADWAY GEEKS WITH INTERNET ACCESS!!!"  Now, although Tom Hooper didn't take my suggestion and find an unknown for the open role of Eponine, he did do the next best thing: he got Samantha Barks.  For those of you who don't know, Samantha sang the role in the 25th Anniversary Concert (where she blew Nick Jonas out of the water).  This was a relatively safe choice for Hooper (likely made because they didn't have much time after Swift fell through) but a good one.  Everyone knows she'll be wonderful, and it's one more way to make sure people who were already fans of the show will have to flock to the theater.
2. THE KING IS THE BISHOP -- I am thrilled to tell you that the role of the Bishop will be played by none other than king of the classics: Colm Wilkinson!!!!!  Why do I call him the king?  Well, Colm had a part in Les Miz, Phantom of the Opera, Jekyll & Hyde, and Evita before anyone knew they existed.  Even if Les Miz is what he's known for, he has set the groundwork for so many legendary characters that he's become a legend himself.  And what better way to pay tribute to this living legend than to have him portray the character that inspires Valjean?  The Bishop, though a small role, is very symbolic and sets the course for the rest of the show, I think it's a classy, tasteful decision that I couldn't be more happy with.  There doing something similar in making Frances Ruffelle (the original Eponine) one of the featured "lovely ladies". 
3. REACHING INTO THE WEST END --In looking for a memorable ensemble, Tom Hooper looked in exactly the right place: The West End (England's Broadway equivalent).  If one scrolls the list of the "small roles" they will see lots of names they don't recognize because they have played/are playing replacements or minor rolls on The West End, but there are also many big names including Bertie Carvel (Best Leading Actor Olivier Nominee [ Matilda: The Musical]), Kerry Ellis (Svetlana [Chess: In Concert]), Daniel Evans (Best Leading Actor Tony Nominee [Sunday in the Park With George], Linzi Hateley (Best Leading Actress Olivier Nominee [Joseph...Dreamcoat]), and many many more.  I think it's great the way they're involving so many people with a history in theater (specifically British theater) in this production.  It's cool, because if you look at their resume's many have them have been in some production of Les Miz at some time or another, so this gets to serve almost like one big reunion.