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smokeyspotlight

how do you see eponine being portrayed ideally???

i think a gutsy approach personally. she needs to be very tough and only show her weakness around marius.
her voice needs to not be clear and sweet and too pretty or pronouced- i feel frances did this very well- slightly soulful, husky yet strong.
Colle

I suppose I would say that my ideal approach to how Eponine should be protrayed is a mixture of toughness and sadness. Vocally, may be not that pretty, but not totally ear piecing either. Over pronoucation, I think, is ok if the actress is trying to bring out Eponine's toughness, anger, or trying to make the voice not sound that pretty; like Lea does.

I have to respectfully disagree about Frances' voice, I felt there were times that she got a little on the whinny side.
smokeyspotlight

there is no doubt that lea was an absolutely fantastic eponine- but the articulation got on my nerves slightly. (and when i loose my way i close my eyes and he has found me)- she was a little too big on the whole diction thing (in my opinion). her facial expressions were fab though.
frances has recieved alot of critisism for sounding whinny- but i think that eponine is a teenager and not a well brought up one- whinny may not be the wrong sound for her!!!
i agree with the whole tough but sad thing though
The Very Angry Woman

smokeyspotlight wrote:
frances has recieved alot of critisism for sounding whinny- but i think that eponine is a teenager and not a well brought up one- whinny may not be the wrong sound for her!!!


Eponine is not a horse.
smokeyspotlight

alright then love, whiney. that better!!?!
Bex

i think Eponine is just your average teenage girl who has a crush on a boy under it all.

I tink the ideal way of showing ths would be when she says...

EPONINE
'Ere, wotcher do with all them books?
I could have been a student too!
Don't judge a girl on how she looks.
I know a lot of things, I do!

MARIUS
Poor Eponine, the things you know
You wouldn't find in books like these.

EPONINE
I like the way you grow your hair

MARIUS
I like the way you always tease

EPONINE
Little he knows!
Little he sees!

she's becoming more and more obvously flirty...yet she still get no where with him. i think this is one of the more crushing parts for eponine.

P.s. Lea is possibly one of the most annoying Eponine's ever! what's with the over exageration of every singel word? Kaho is the best eponine.

Pps. TVWA i am sorry in advance for all the spelling errors i have made but id like to say that some of us have dyslexia.
oh what a rumpus!!!

lea is good- but thats it. why is everone so into her? eponine was portrayed as a disney character with her. very clean, nice/pretty sound, everything well pronounced. RUBBISH!
Eponine is dirtier than that- my friend was in the show and covered the part and told me that she was directed to play her like a clumsy love sick girl. characteristics of a one-winged sparrow. loud mouthed, unafraid, and not sweet.
The Very Angry Woman

oh what a rumpus!!! wrote:
lea is good- but thats it. why is everone so into her? eponine was portrayed as a disney character with her.


Because the TAC is extremely familiar and accessible. Had they picked another Eponine, people would've been just as "into" her as well.
Orestes Fasting

Eponine is one of those roles where I don't have an 'ideal' interpretation of her--if the actress can convince me, all set. But I would be interested to see an Eponine who wasn't 100% right in the head, like book!Eponine. And kinda soft-voiced, but still slightly harsh and rough around the edges and trying to look more presentable when Marius is around and failing.

One thing I really liked about Frances Ruffelle on the OLC was how she put on a bit of a Cockney accent in some songs. I think she could've kept it for OMO though--when she's talking to herself and having an emotional moment, that's when Eponine would be more likely to slip into her natural way of speaking, and she'd cover it up more around Marius. But that's making LM a bit too much into My Fair Lady, I suppose. Think it would be neat to see more people play with her accent though.

The interpretation of her I don't like is as a straight-up lovelorn teenage girl, because there's more to her situation than that. I also don't like Eponines who are too pretty-voiced and generally glammed up.
Superstar83

Out of the Eponine's I've seen live, I really dig Shonagh Daly's portrayl. Spunky, but bitter. She was good, though she really over did the smiling in ALFOR. Remember - even though you're happy, you are still dying. Look a LITTLE pained at least. And don't wriggle around too much, you aren't a worm. So many Eponine's ruin ALFOR for me with the acting, even if they were great in other scenes.

I think my favourite Eponine of all time is Sutton Foster. She played her as a bit clumsy and it works wonderfully. I love watching her in the vid I have, wish I could have seen her live.

But then there's Jane Horn, who I also love...she played her as REALLY bitter and not cute, but tough mixed with a real vulnerability and you could still feel very sympathetic for.

There are so many different ways to play Eponine and make it work, but if it was me? I'd go for bitter and tough, but ever so slightly mischievous. Cutesy Eponine's or Eponine's that seem a bit too carefree I generally don't like. Look at her life, she has to have at least a bit of toughness about her IMHO.
Aimee

The Very Angry Woman wrote:
smokeyspotlight wrote:
frances has recieved alot of critisism for sounding whinny- but i think that eponine is a teenager and not a well brought up one- whinny may not be the wrong sound for her!!!


Eponine is not a horse.


Sorry, I couldn't resist.
smokeyspotlight

why oh why the over acting of eponine. shonagh daly's performance hurt my feelings. saw the show the other day and did not appreciate the voice, or the acting. was not convinced- cannot understand why out of ALL of those who audition for the part every year, and with ALL the talent out there did they pick her.
She wasn't awful. thats the best i can give her.
and 4 da angree women- i give a speshal messeg. get owt of the correcsion mode and git invowled wid da subjex we are disgussin!!!!
Moci

smokeyspotlight wrote:
why oh why the over acting of eponine. shonagh daly's performance hurt my feelings. saw the show the other day and did not appreciate the voice, or the acting. was not convinced- cannot understand why out of ALL of those who audition for the part every year, and with ALL the talent out there did they pick her.
She wasn't awful. thats the best i can give her.
and 4 da angree women- i give a speshal messeg. get owt of the correcsion mode and git invowled wid da subjex we are disgussin!!!!


Out of interest, do you not write properly because you have difficulty with it, or because you can't be bothered? Whenever I read one of your posts I feel as if I'm reading something by a twelve year old obsessed with texting.

EDIT- because my quoting ability died.
smokeyspotlight

i made one spelling error in one of my first posts and was made to feel like a twelve year old, so that last part was to the person who continues to mock my spelling. the last part was a joke, if i make a spelling error then its because my spelling obviously isn't very good. does that answer your message? pathetic!
Moci

smokeyspotlight wrote:
i made one spelling error in one of my first posts and was made to feel like a twelve year old, so that last part was to the person who continues to mock my spelling. the last part was a joke, if i make a spelling error then its because my spelling obviously isn't very good. does that answer your message? pathetic!


Where did I mention spelling?
smokeyspotlight

so its my grammar that you are criticising then? no offence but i don't understand what you mean.
my advice to a sad person like you, who obviously has no interest in discussing les mis, is to not read my threads, as they obviously irritate you so much. whoever you are moci- i feel for you!
Moci

smokeyspotlight wrote:
So it's my grammar that you are criticising then? No offence, but I don't understand what you mean.

Pretty much yes, I just find that you make plenty of good and interesting points about Les Mis, yet they get lost in the fact that it's quite difficult to read without capital letters etc.
smokeyspotlight wrote:
My advice to a sad person like you, who obviously has no interest in discussing 'Les Mis', is to not read my threads, as they obviously irritate you so much.
That's the one, you've caught me out, I'm actually a troll who hasn't discussed Les Mis at all in the 1000+ posts I've made. Rolling Eyes
smokeyspotlight wrote:
Whoever you are Moci- I feel for you!
Thankyou for your concern, it's made me feel all warm, fuzzy and cared for inside.
smokeyspotlight

well, i guess that certainly told me didn't it?! well, good, thats sorted then. we both know where we stand with each other, i will continue my fight against CAPITAL LETTERS and you will continue your journey of sarcasm and we'll be just fine.
anyways.... les mis. .....good show huh?!
Moci

smokeyspotlight wrote:

Anyways.... 'Les Mis' .....good show huh?!


Yup.

Anyway, I don't know if it'd really work, but I'd love to see a really bitter Eponine, who interprets 'On My Own' as a showstopper sung by a girl who's going mad, consumed with the idea of Marius, so when she gets to 'I love him, but only on my own', you reckon she is going to do something that will claim him as hers, no matter what it takes.

I'd also be interested in seeing Laura Michelle Kelly's version, who I understand was so nasty to Marius that 'A Little Fall of Rain' was a total revelation for him.
The Very Angry Woman

Moci wrote:
Anyway, I don't know if it'd really work, but I'd love to see a really bitter Eponine, who interprets 'On My Own' as a showstopper sung by a girl who's going mad, consumed with the idea of Marius, so when she gets to 'I love him, but only on my own', you reckon she is going to do something that will claim him as hers, no matter what it takes.


Nicole Riding was very close to that portrayal -- at least when I saw her during her short stint as the regular Eponine in the summer of 2003.

I get the feeling had she performed with a different Marius (I saw her with Scott Hunt, who, while adorable, was a total space case) she would've taken it even further. She spent most of One Day More extremely angry at not just Marius, but herself, for ending up in such a hopeless situation.

Nicole was fantastic. I'm not sure she's in "the biz" anymore, though.
Superstar83

Jane Horn played a VERY bitter Eponine, but sadly I don't think many people have seen her because she was only an understudy. But she's wonderful in the vid I have. She played her tough and bitter, yet witsful and vulnerable and it worked really well. Wish I had the know how to rip and share vid clips, because I would if I did.
Fantine

Shonagh was kind of rough too. I liked it.
Colle

The Very Angry Woman wrote:
Moci wrote:
Anyway, I don't know if it'd really work, but I'd love to see a really bitter Eponine, who interprets 'On My Own' as a showstopper sung by a girl who's going mad, consumed with the idea of Marius, so when she gets to 'I love him, but only on my own', you reckon she is going to do something that will claim him as hers, no matter what it takes.


Nicole Riding was very close to that portrayal -- at least when I saw her during her short stint as the regular Eponine in the summer of 2003.

I get the feeling had she performed with a different Marius (I saw her with Scott Hunt, who, while adorable, was a total space case) she would've taken it even further. She spent most of One Day More extremely angry at not just Marius, but herself, for ending up in such a hopeless situation.

Nicole was fantastic. I'm not sure she's in "the biz" anymore, though.


I believe I would have enjoyed seeing Nicole, I have liked the sounds I have heard of her. Here is a link: http://lesmis.cafemusain.com/cast/riding.html
Nicole is the only Eponine I have heard spit at Thenardier during "Plumet Attack." At least I think Thenardier was who she was spiting at, I couldn't tell for sure because I have only heard a sound of her.

Probably the most anger/bitter Eponine, I have seen on stage was Rona Figueroa, I remember that she shouted at Marius during "Eponine's Errand."
The Very Angry Woman

I've heard that clip before, and that's not a spit. That's Michael Hayward-Jones being especially rough with her (it was nice that he went completely no-holds barred for once, at the end of his time with the show).
LesMisForever

Moci wrote:


Anyway, I don't know if it'd really work, but I'd love to see a really bitter Eponine, who interprets 'On My Own' as a showstopper sung by a girl who's going mad, consumed with the idea of Marius, so when she gets to 'I love him, but only on my own', you reckon she is going to do something that will claim him as hers, no matter what it takes.

I'd also be interested in seeing Laura Michelle Kelly's version, who I understand was so nasty to Marius that 'A Little Fall of Rain' was a total revelation for him.


I do share this opinion with Moci. It is basically closer to the book. And that is why i prefer Lea. She sings with some anger.

Laura Michelle Kelly was actually my first ever Eponine Moci, but because it was the first time i don't remember the individual performances (apart from Michael McCarthy, who impressed me big time).
Colle

The Very Angry Woman wrote:
I've heard that clip before, and that's not a spit. That's Michael Hayward-Jones being especially rough with her (it was nice that he went completely no-holds barred for once, at the end of his time with the show).


Thank you, Very Angry Woman, for confirming what that sound was, like I said it was hard to tell.
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