Archive for Musicals.Net Musicals.Net |
| Eppie-Sue |
... I totally didn't write that. No-uh. You're making this up. See, it says "Th�nardier" in the original post now. Pfh. As if I'd confuse Th�nardier and Javert. In the middle of the night. HEH. The rest of the review will follow asap. (but probably tonight as I'm out today) |
||||||
| beyondthebarricade |
Okay, I'm seriously getting worried at all. I mean, when I went to stage door in December, there was nobody there at all. Apart from a group of Nancy's friends who were waiting for her to come out (how sweet!), seriously, I think I was the only fan waiting there.
I'm thinking there are a lot of girls in the summer. In winter it was like 40 degrees and I was the only idiot standing there, waiting for Nancy and David I gave up after waiting 15 minutes and Thaxton still hadn't showed up. How long does he normally take to come out? I suspect he does a lot to his hair before coming out. |
||||||
| aquirkofmatter |
I thought you had seen Sophie as Mme. T? Oh well, must've been Elbow or someone else... Still, you're more likely to see them right now, get down to Queen's as much as possible while the weather's crap! 
The Bamatabois on tour has nothing on George; I hope he never leaves! I've seen Greg cover it a couple of times and it's definitely not the same. Master of the House sounds great, absolute chaos! Although I can't help thinking that Mark would've been better suited to hoity-toity traveller and Killian as second traveller... but I love Killian's 2nd traveller, so that might be why! I love that the cast has so many great - and completely reliable - understudies 
|
||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
... did you go after the matinee? I've said it already, don't expect them to come out after the matinee.
Uh-huh. That must be it. 
It's ridiculous when there are twelve girls like yesterday who just all perk up as soon as the see him in the stage door, and when you try to have a normal talk. Because, lo and behold, he told me he went and saw the tour in Cardiff and we were actually in a conversation, but girls just came and interrupted and went "Do you mind taking a picture with me?" bitches, he was right in the middle of a sentence. it's no f'ing obligation. ETA:
Yeah, I've seen Greg and Simon as Bamatabois, and it really isn't the same. I mean, they were good. But George is just amazing. |
||||||
| beyondthebarricade |
I didn't! It was after the evening show, which was about 10.35 I think? I was in two minds to go, so I got there around 10.40, but I don't think he could have come out in the first five minutes. Nobody would, least of all DT.
Gosh I feel so jealous of you. I mean, you're literally know the whole cast. And there are some girls who have no idea what Les Mis is all about, they think it's about abused children or something, and then they watch the show because of "Oh My Gosh! I Dreamed a Dream is such a nice song!" (yeah you should be able to figure out who it's because of now) and they watch the show and fall in love with Thaxton because "He's so hawt!" or some crap like that, and they don't anything. Honestly, twelve girls?! Oh I'm never going to get to talk to him D: Damn I sound like a fangirl too. |
||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
Nah... some of them take their time. Him, too. We've hung around for 20 minutes before, not actually expecting anyone anymore, and then it just turned out they were in no rush... I mean, especially if they don't expect anyone at the stage door, they don't really have a reason to hurry (if they don't need to catch a train or are going somewhere). Yesterday was a bit extreme. As is the ridiculous fangirling on the ITV video on YouTube. I've got nothing against fangirls at the stage door, as long as they're respectful and realise that there are fans who don't ask for a photo and an autograph but just happen to be able to have an actual conversation. It would have been fine if they wouldn't have interrupted or had just gotten things over with before we actually started talking, I mean, I can wait. You don't just go over to people in a conversation and interrupt. Ah well, it was fine anyway. Got to exchange random sentences between autographs and photos 
|
||||||
| beyondthebarricade |
MY GOSH I MUST HAVE LAUGHED AT THE "THE GUY IN THE CENTER IS VERY SEXY" THING FOR AT LEAST 10 MINUTES. Who even says these type of things? CENTER. Does it hurt to find out he's called Enjolras?
Oh fan girls are annoying alright, there are a few girls in my school who are like "Fans" on the Les Mis Facebook page and they hardly even know the main character's called Jean Valjean. And those stupid "OmG I am sO Lyk Eponine cuZ da guY In sKo0l duz n0t lYk mI backk!" I literally get an eye sore reading that, and I'm not even talking about the contents.
So does David Thaxton talk to people he doesn't recognize? Or does he only talk to you because he's seen you like what, a hundred times? |
||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
I'm speshull. ... kidding. No, I'm not. It's just a question of what you actually talk about. Obviously they all talk to people they don't recognise, that's what it's actually about. I'm the weird one, the rest are regular, normal people at the stage door. Which, obviously, I was, too, before I started coming excessively often. I believe the first thing I ever said at the stage door was "Um, sorry? Sorry!? Are you David Thaxton!?" and from that point on it was just gushing about the book. Ah well.
|
||||||
| kemathenga |
Joe Evans talked to us and he was very friendly. But of course we approached him with "You were Marius, weren't you?" and Martin Neely gave us a very friendly smile. Our problem was to recognize them without wigs and costumes but I got the impression they wouldn't mind talking at all. Not like the soccer players we have around here who barely look at you (they're the only celebrities I'm a bit accustomed to, LOL).
It was after a matinee and we spent around half an hour at the stage door so we actually say some of them coming BACK and it's all my fault we didn't talk to more of them, I need so much time to build up courage enough to approach them. 
|
||||||
| beyondthebarricade |
Well I was freaking out so bad my dad had to like take Nancy away from her group of friends! And I practically forced my mum to chase after Antony Hansen. She thinks he's gay, so undoubtedly she was mad. Hansen was like walking away and I was like "GO, mum! ASK HIM NOW!" And oh, when I met the Jonas Brothers it was like "OHMYGOD HI". But that was four years ago, phew.
Oh God, I'm either going to say something like "WHOA OMG YOU'RE DAVID THAXTON YOU ARE AWESOME I LOVE YOUR VOICE (and your legs and jump and everything else) ARE YOU LEAVING IN JUNE PLEASE DON'T LEAVE!!!", or, "Hhhh...i" Either way, I'm going to mess this up horribly. Oh and I remembered, I saw a fangirl conversation on YouTube and they were all like "HEY I'M ADDING DAVID THAXTON ON FACEBOOK ARE YOU?" and then they whine when he ignores their request. |
||||||
| aquirkofmatter |
Did he get to finish his sentence? Out of interest, what did he think of the tour? |
||||||
| KatyRoseLand |
Since this thread really is for anything and everything, I thought I'd let people know that Jonathan Williams, Martin Neely and Gina Beck, amongst other people, are going to be performing at Snappy Title: From the Heart on 21st February at the Pigalle Club in London- if you might be interested in coming, PM me 
|
||||||
| riverdawn |
Yeah, I'm also curious as to whether he got to finish the sentence about the tour. | ||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
PEOPLE. THIS IS CRAZY.
Elbow and I just saw the show. People off: David Thaxton, Martin Ball, Martin Neely, Jeff Nicholson, Gavin James, Greg Castiglioni, Lorraine Bruce, Helen Owen Killian was covering four tracks, including being Combeferre and Courfeyrac at once, and Brujon on the side, he was the Pimp, he was basically everyone. After Valjean's Revenge, Markjolras addressed him as "Combeferre, you take the watch!". George Miller was Grantaire, Jonathan Williams was Foreman, Second Traveller, he got to do "SHOOT THE BASTARD!" and all that. And here's the crazy thing... Emily is going off tonight and Simon Bowman might as well. I have no idea how they are going to pull that off. No idea. I think I'll go. mad times. |
||||||
| riverdawn |
Sounds like fun times at the Queen's.
|
||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
Okay, so it's just Emily who went off, apparently Bowman is staying on for the evening show, at least that's what Antony and Mark said. So crazy. And I need to say this, Mark (Dugdale, but Hedges, too) was AMAZING. And so was the ensemble, especially the guys, who covered like mad. Never seen anything like it.
I'll write more later. (I know I keep saying that, but I really have to unfreeze first. And eat.) |
||||||
| Elbow |
Ohh. That sounds interesting. I went to the matinee today. If yesterday was understudy madness, today was understudy mahem. Review to follow shortly
Edit - Totally didn't notice there was another page to this thread. |
||||||
| Elbow |
Double post, but meh.
Right, the show today
As it has already been pointed out loads of people were off and there was only one swing, because Mark Hedges was on for Thenardier (OHMYGODHEISAMAZING) and Greg is on holiday. So naturally good old Killian the super swing was running about literally doing EVERYTHING. And with Thaxton, Gavin, Jeff and both Martins being off too, it was a tiny cast. It was one of the funniest shows I have ever seen. Luckily only Lorraine and Helen were off for the girls, so Brenda and Katy covered for them. It was fine and not overly noticeable up until Master of The House, I thought. In the prologue they just had one less prisoner, one less guard and one less� policeman person who comes in with Javert. Mark Hedges had to sing Jeff�s line in the prologue even though he was on for Thenardier. Dugdale, who of course was on for Enjolras, covered most of his normal track for the first part of the show, ie, he was the policeman in the bishop scene and such, so nobody was covering Thaxton�s usual beginning track for the most part because there just weren�t enough people. Thomas as the Bishop was wonderful. I really like Thomas. He was supposed to be not well, but you wouldn�t have noticed. In At The End of The Day we noticed there were more women than there were men in the scene, which was odd, and never happens! Jonathan was on as the foreman, and he was the welshest foreman I have ever heard! He added extra words in like �Who did keep herself so pure and clean� � there was another one too, but I can�t actually remember. Lovely Ladies was pretty much the same as usual, other than the confusion of having Antony in Gavin�s track for that bit, so he was Fantine�s first� customer. In the Runaway cart scene we suddenly noticed there was no policeman and therefore nobody to sing �Don�t go near him Monsieur mayor!� and to keep everyone back but, lo and behold, Killian appeared, and was rather inexplicably wearing a strange brown cape costume thing. I have no idea why. But it was hilarious. The court room in �Who Am I?� was odd too. And funny. I was quite amused because Simon Shorten was holding the� the bar thing at the front, which I�ve never seen him do before. And usually there are two other guards/policemen either side of the bit (yes I am ever so technical) where the judges are stood. This time, there was one policeman one side, I can�t actually remember who it was because when I looked at the other side, I had such a laughing fit I couldn�t concentrate on anything else. Dylan was just stood on the other side wearing� again, another costume that I have never seen in my life. It looked like it was grey and baby blue, and there were tights involved. What ever it was, it wasn�t very official looking and he was stood there with such a stern look on his face. Master Of The House was fantastic! Mark Hedges as Thenardier was brilliant and so camp. He did everything so well and he has an excellent sense of comic timing. The audience were laughing a lot. Don�t get me wrong though, he wasn�t playing it for laughs in a cheesey way or anything, he was really creepy, but little gestures and facial expressions he did, it was pure genius. Poor Joe Evans was sat on his own at the table. Usually there�s Dugdale, Neely and Jonathan there too but not today. Jonathan had to play the second traveller, which was funny. He said he had no idea what he was doing since he�d never played the role before but I�m pretty sure no one would have noticed. Killian was in Gavin�s track at that point and he was very good. The vomiting was very loud and very over the top. In a good way. Mark and Rachel were great in The Bargain. So great that it caused Bowman to corpse, quite noticeably. He had to cover his face with the wallet. Look Down was oddly bare. There was no Claquesous (for the whole show) so there were only three in the gang. Killian was Brujon (while doing about 12 other things) and Simon Shorten was Babet AND the Pimp. I laughed really loudly in The Robbery at Mark singing �Brujon, Babet� CLAQUESOUS�?� Because he actually sang it like that, really loud CLAQUESOUS! Then he realised there was no Claquesous and it turned into a bit of a question. He said that that totally flawed him and he fluffed the line after that, but I genuinely didn�t notice and I think he pulled it off quite well, I imagine the casual viewer would not have noticed the lack of Claquesous. The ABC Caf�/Red and Black was very empty. No George student, no Jeff student and no Courfeyrac! Having no Courfeyrac was the weirdest thing. Killian was covering both Combeferre and Courfeyrac, dressed as Combeferre. So at the beginning of The ABC Caf� he had two lines. Mark Dugdale was very strong today, vocally and acting wise. Well, he usually is, but he was extra on the ball today. Do You Hear The People Sing? Was so funny, Killian had to sing Combeferre�s line and then run through the little archway and come out the other side for Courfeyrac�s line. Brilliant. One Day More was awkward. Not because of the lack of people, but Simon Bowman�s voice broke completely. It had been a bit shakey for the whole show but on his big �One day more� it just cracked. If it had been a normal show, I think he would have gone off, but he didn�t have an awful lot of choice today. So� the barricade scenes (I�m just reviewing the stand out different bits because if I went through the whole show we�d be here all night) Right� - Simon was the loudhailer. - Antony brought Javert back on stage - Jonathan did �Shoot the bastard!� because he realised about 2 seconds before the line that nobody was going to do it, because Killian had hold of Javert and, well, there was no one else. He also said that he nearly sang �shoot the fucking bastard� which personally I think would have been fantastic
- Mark sang �Combeferre you take the watch� which he said he decided to do totally on the spot because� well, because there was no Courfeyrac. Killian did the gun banging as Combeferre, but I think Jonathan at that point would have been prepared to be called Courfeyrac, because I was watching him and he was getting really angry about Javert and was fiddling about with his gun and aiming it, and I think had Dugdale noticed, he might have said �Courfeyrac you take the watch� to him. - Obviously, Killian sang both of The Final Battle lines, which was odd. But worked. - I will also point out again, good God Dugdale was strong this afternoon. Brilliant. Mark Hedges in Dog Eats Dog was so creepy and so good. I loved it. The Wedding Scene, of course they were a couple.. Wait, 2 couples down? Killian and Dugdale as the waiters were entertaining. They did a little extra twirl at the end. I think that�s everything. I think. Not sure though. I have a feeling Bowman might be off Monday though. His voice really didn�t sound so good. It kept breaking. Poor Bowman.[/i] |
||||||
| flying_pigs |
That seriously sounds like the most amazing show ever!
Ahhh Killian, he really is a super-swing! Often saying two alternate lines at the same time! The stage must have looked so empty! |
||||||
| Fiwen9430 |
That sounds amazing, thanks for the review. I was thinking that the snow might affect things a bit but didn't realise that it had stopped so many people getting in! | ||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
It wasn't the snow at all, apparently... I mean, I think Jeff, Gavin, Greg and Lorraine are on holiday, Mark (Dugdale) said that the rest just all lost their voice at the same time (as did Bowman during the performance) except for David who's off because of his neck.
And yes, Thomas said something about how he would actually have been off as well, but kind of needed to go on, as he was the only person in the house who knew The Bishop. Normally, he said, if he was off, too, "they would probably get Thaxton on" (as he understudied back in 05-07), but that - obviously - wasn't an option either today.
I LOVE Jonathan's Welsh Foreman. He did the funniest "RIGHT MY GIRL" ever. I died. And the courtroom scene, with Dylan holding up the bar for the judges in his... schoolboy costume xDDD and oh my God Killian. He was everywhere, literally. Any line that needed to be sung, it was him. xD I think Mark (Dugdale) almost giggled as Killian made his entrance as Combefeyrac. Or Courferre. Or however you want to call him. And DYHTPS was crazy. I think Elbow and I just stared and giggled, completely amazed. I'm very impressed by Jonathan's mad convering skills. Especially realising no one was going to do the "Shoot the bastard!" and then just going for it and his hair was all funny in MotH.
My God, Mark D was so energetic. It was almost hilarious, if he hadn't been so AMAZING. lovely. It's been two months since I last saw him, I think, and he was just wonderful. Miles and miles better than almost every pre-08 principal. Honestly. Just vocally, as I haven't SEEN them xD Mark Hegdes was very much "Gollum" in DED. Which worked so, so well.
Ah, they all did such a fantastic job. And Bowman really wasn't in any condition to go on tonight, I wonder if that has gone well. about yesterday:
Yes. We actually managed to talk very intervallic, being interrupted at times, but he just came back after the photos. From what I heard it was "mental" and "very different" and "cool". And then I asked about Jon (OBVIOUSLY), and he said he had been great, but it had been weird watching his former Marius play his very own part and just sit there, not doing anything. "It made me so EXCITED to come back!" |
||||||
| flying_pigs |
Hehe, DT's such a fanboy! | ||||||
| riverdawn |
Ah, man, that sounds like the most hilarious show ever! I'm so sorry I missed it.
I wonder what it would have felt like for someone seeing it for the first time, though.
|
||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
It was a great performance, really. I mean, the stage was a bit empty at times (Fantine's Arrest, Look Down), but they managed so well! And Elbow and I kind of initiated a standing ovation at the end, even if it meant standing alone until the whole cast came to the front... But at the end, we finally got there.
Oh, and in case anyone's interested: 
That's yesterday's understudy sheet. I don't know how they fit "Cosette by A J Callaghan" on there for the evening show. Will have a look on Monday, it will probably still be up. Bloody hell. We've got... first understudy for Mme Th�nardier and Enjolras... and second u/s for Th�nardier, Bishop, Grantaire and Foreman. I have no idea what would have happened if any of them had been off sick. Mark Dudgale for example - Killian is second u/s Enjolras. |
||||||
| kemathenga |
Sounds like Killian is nearing sainthood (polylocation, being in more than one place at the time is a sure sign of saintliness in the catholic church) .
|
||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
xD
I was just thinking... Antony and Dylan are on holiday next week, at least that's what Antony said, if I remember correctly. So we definitely need a Feuilly and a Joly. If Simon Bowman is off on Monday, we also need a Lesgle. Gavin and Jeff will probably be back, no idea about Greg, if he's on holiday one or two weeks. But Thomas might be off sick, if what he said at the stage door in any indication. If it's about lost voices, who knows what's up with the two Martins. And David is another question. ... Killian as Courfeuillylesglejolyparnasse?! |
||||||
| kemathenga |
I wouldn't put it past him according to your reviews but there are ways to deal with lost voices. As an ordinary choir-member I had to rely on Bronchipret and gallons of herb-tea with honey the last time but I know our directors have other stuff up their sleeves including cortisonif need be.
|
||||||
| aquirkofmatter |
I think whoever wrote that list kept going because they thought it was hilarious... if there was space you might've had "Whore by Katy Hanna" if there was room!
One visit last cast I had u/s Valjean (Jonathan), Javert (Woody) and Thenardier (Greg), but they didn't even put Keith on the sheet as u/s Foreman/Grantaire [which is wrong, because he was awesome!] |
||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
Ah... there are five ensemble parts that have actual, regular understudies and are (now?!) always mentioned on the u/s sheet, I think
Grantaire (Jeff and George as 'understudies') Bishop (Greg and Thomas as 'understudies') Factory Bitch (I've only ever seen Katy as u/s) Factory Foreman (Martin N and Jonathan as 'understudies') Bamatabois (Simon S and Greg as 'understudies', I think) Killian goes on as Foreman if there's no on else there (saw him when Jonathan was on as JVJ and Martin N and Jeff were off), David mentioned something about the possibility of Killian!Grantaire, too... and seeing as it only makes sense, I'm going to go with what Thomas suggested and say that David is probably 'third understudy' Bishop and Bamatabois, as he's played/understudies those roles before. But that would mean a really, really small cast. |
||||||
| pastaeater |
Saint Killian - I love it!!
Sorry to hear that DT is still having problems with his neck - does anyone know what is wrong? |
||||||
| beyondthebarricade |
Wait wait hasn't Thaxton broke his neck before?
And I thought that sometimes when a production is really desperate they call the people who have played the role a few years ago like an emergency standby? Do they do that? Oh ignorance. |
||||||
| flying_pigs |
Umm, I don't think his neck is broken, pretty sure he's just having a bit of trouble with it!
And they have done that before, like in Phantom of the Opera, I believe they had to call Amanda Jane Callaghan to come and perform Christine. And I think it happened a few years ago in Les Mis to a Cosette/Fantine?! |
||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
o.O *cough* No, most definitely nothing broken. That would be... completely different. But yes, it's been there before.
Yeah, they call people who have played the roles in previous years, they did that in summer (?) 2008, Mark D told me... It was a similar situation to the weekend one, David off sick for a week, Jon (Robyns) on holiday, then Drew Sarich managed to get a concussion before the show, bumping his head on something, and I think Jimmy Johnston lost his voice. Greg and Mark H, who were understudies last year, too, were off sick, too, apparently, so they called in Chris Vincent from the years before. In the end, Earl Carpenter was the only regular male principal on stage, and Matthew Gent's, Mark's and Jonathan's tracks (at least) had to be covered by Killian, I suppose. And, apparently, if they're really desperate, the resident director might have to go on stage as a random passer-by/policeman/student/whatever is required. But, technically, there would be no need to call in someone from another show who has played Bishop or Bamatabois before in the current situation. It's a good thing those roles have make-up like woah. And wigs. |
||||||
| Orestes Fasting |
Yes--in 2003, Helen French was principal Cosette and also 2nd understudy Fantine, and there was one performance where they had to get Sarah Lane to fill in as Cosette so that Helen could go on as Fantine. I imagine that in a really odd situation, they could recruit the Marius, Enjolras, Cosette, or Eponine principals to fill in for Act I ensemble roles, especially if they've done them in the past. They're all hanging out in the ensemble without any lines, so if the cast is super-reduced it'd probably be more useful for Thaxton to be the bishop (or a constable) than Random Gawking Passerby #3. But... dude, that'd have to be a really weird situation. And wow, the London understudy system is complicated. |
||||||
| flying_pigs |
Really? How so?
I always thought it was really simple, lead is off so first understudy goes on. If lead and first understudy are off then second understudy goes on? And if all three are off...well that's just bad luck and one the swings usually goes on! |
||||||
| Orestes Fasting |
Well, yeah, but they have the whole system of ensemble understudies and principals occasionally understudying for other principals, which just strikes me as a head-breaking mess. Say Enjolras is 2nd u/s Javert and has to go on, and Grantaire is u/s Enjolras, so they have to put on an u/s Grantaire and get a swing to cover that person's ensemble track... you get these strings of understudies that just break my brain. Bway revival and (as far as I know) the national tour were much simpler. You had principals, two understudies for each principal in the ensemble, and swings who covered all ensemble absences (including understudies going on). If there were more absences than swings, the dance captains wrote a combo. |
||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
Um, there are no principals understudying for other principals in London. At all. It works just like what you described - all the understudies are in the ensemble (or swings), when an ensemble member gets to go on as understudy, a swing covers his or her track (except for the five big ensemble roles that have actual understudies like Foreman and Grantaire). That's all...
OH and can I just say...? THERE ARE NEW POSTERS ON THE TUBE. As in real, actual posters that even relate to the current cast. With a picture. Looking a bit like this: 
only, you know, poster size and with the unavoidable "Dream the dream" slogan. BUT STILL, I WANT ONE. After they had that picture all over the place for the tour, it was about time it appeared in London. And I don't just mean really small on buses. Ah, and the flyers? Still the Baruwa ones. Which is a bit ridiculous after more than 18 months... |
||||||
| beyondthebarricade |
Ha the poster! It has last year's David Thaxton photo. I think there may be some Susan Boyle supporters who buy the way are fangirls (who think that DT- you know, the guy in the center- is sexy) who will go and watch the tour now that Thaxton's photo is displayed all over the tube because they will hope to see him in the tour. Instead they get Jon Robyns, who, don't get me wrong, is a great Marius and has a wonderful voice, but he isn't as oomph-y as DT.
And does Thaxton take the Underground? It'll be horribly awkward if he's rushing for a train and sees these huge elongated posters of him everywhere. |
||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
... before anyone goes "GO AND PLAY IN YOUR FANGIRLING THREAD" again... maybe we should do that.
And I'd think it would be more awkward to arrive at the WMC in Cardiff and see that picture everywhere, as I have heard it's displayed there, too. They really should make tour ones, all the websites about the tour also have this one. It's a bit of a joke how the tour has the London picture, but London still has the 2007/08 leaflets and picture on the facade. (and the posters aren't huge. )
That said, I really want to see Daniella as Eponine... she has only been on once, as far as I know. And I don't particularly like to see Nancy off, but I've seen Helen quite a lot recently, and I can't imagine Daniella in the role, so that would be interesting. |
||||||
| beyondthebarricade |
Where were the Underground posters? Was in on the escalator, or in the corridor? Thaxton's posters are in all the newspaper advertisements as well, so it must be quite awkward for him to see his poster everywhere. Anyway, on the picture of him during the slow-mo for One Day More in the current souvenir program, what happened to his hair? It seemed particularly greasy. So do all the pictures in the program. But they all (including him- of course) still look cool.
Yes. The flyers still have Baruwa, along with that huge cardboard thingy in front of the Queen's Theater. If DT leaves in June (which he probably will), will they change that (if they do at all) do a picture of whoever the new Enjolras will be? Or will they at least give him a chance to be on the front of the Queen's? |
||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
*cough* wrong thread. seriously, there is a reason why I made a new thread for this, people were getting annoyed.
Saw the new poster next to the escalators at Marble Arch and on the exit from Tottenham Court Rd. And I haven't got a clue what on earth the photographer thought he was doing with the August brochure, no idea how you can screw it up so royally. Everyone's are shite. The new photos (from December with the new cast members) are much better, the lighting, everything. And the Baruwa thing was put up after Baruwa left, which I think is the most ridiculous thing about this. Who knows what will happen in June. |
||||||
| beyondthebarricade |
Okay I know this all belongs in the general Fangirling thread now, but yeah whatever. No the December program was crap to, the picture of Thaxton on the synopsis page looks crap. His hair was like greasy and pulled back and his face looked-- wrinkled?! As for the barricade picture of with the "Damn their warnings damn their lies, they will see the people rise" caption, Alistair looked like this lovesick fool. Poor Brammer. Also, what was with the last page of the program- the one with the all the international productions? It's a West End program for a reason, y'know.
And when you next see the cast at the stagedoor, can you please please please ask them who's staying as who's not? Even if they give hints, it's still something. |
||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
I meant the new photos that were added to the brochure in December. Obviously, most weren't replaced. But the ODM picture and all the ones with new cast members in general, that were added in mid-December I believe, are much better than the old ones. (And yes, all the other ones stayed. And yes, they're incredibly odd, but that's really bad photographing and -shopping. Especially on the slow-motion one. Tough luck.)
And I won't bug them about who's staying and who isn't. It's still fairly early, auditions are in late February/early March as far as I know, and they're probably not allowed to say much anyway. And if they tell me, that doesn't automatically mean I can go and post it on the forums, see!? |
||||||
| beyondthebarricade |
Okay I'm sorry. It just sucks living halfway around the world where everyone knows Les Mis as Less Miserable, or more commonly, 'Susan Boyle's musical'. Because seriously, any theater singer can sing better than her, and her Memory was shaky. They were plain judging her on the contrast between her looks and her voice, and just on one particular performance for one song. I mean, Rebecca has to play Fantine on most days, and when I went to the Queen's on December 14, an idiot went 'Hey they should have gotten Susan Boyle to sing I Dreamed a Dream!'
Sorry about that rant, I was just freaking pissed off with everyone thinking of Les Mis as SuBo's show. I don't hate SuBo or anything. I think she really deserved her big break but I just can't seem to stand those people who seem to think Les Mis is the longest running musical in the world solely because of her. At any rate, the picture of Alistair holding Emily's hands was just beautiful. I love Emily's hair. Though it's a wig. Oh I wish June would arrive sooner than later. I want to see it so badly. |
||||||
| MizH |
When I was there in July, I overheard someone at the interval say "Susan Boyle sang that song better." I love Rebecca's IDAD, so I was a bit annoyed!
Edward Baruwa is my favourite Enjolras. Not a lot of people liked him, but I did. |
||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
Doesn't matter who it is, I think it's a bit sad to have flyers with people who left 18 months ago. And to put up a picture on the facade after the guy has left doesn't make sense to me. And to keep it on when you've got the same Enjolras in two years makes even less sense.
And I guess you get used to the Boyle comments... and maybe this cheers everyone up, very recent reviews from ticketmaster.co.uk
Makes me happy. |
||||||
| Orestes Fasting |
What was Helen French then? Because she's the Cosette who went on as Fantine in 2003, and the audio has her listed as the 2nd understudy Fantine. I mean obviously they aren't doing it in this cast, but I assume that means it sometimes happens in London. And the understudies-for-ensemble-roles thing is just weird. Why not just put a swing on?
|
||||||
| Elbow |
Yay! Although I am personally not the hugest fan of Rebecca's Fantine, I cannot deny she is hugely talented and it is nice to know that more "casual" fans appreciate her and don't just go to Les Mis and go "Well she wasn't Susan Boyle". |
||||||
| kemathenga |
And I thought I was joking saying to my daughter today that sooner or later somebody will get up at IDAD and say "hey, that's Susan Boyle' song". *sigh*
What we are facing here is the Boylenization/Bohlenisierung of society. Where are the barricades when we really need them?
|
||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
So, Elbow and I had a look at the understudy sheet, as we were in the neighbourhood () and, obviously, Lorraine is on holiday, Emily is off (I hope her eye is okay, didn't sound too good on Saturday) so it's AJ as Cosette, David is still off, so it's Markjolras, and, apparently, Jeff is off, too, Martin Neely was listed as Foreman.
|
||||||
| flying_pigs |
Still a lot off, but at least the swings will probably have an easier job covering! | ||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
Well... that depends. They've definitely got to cover Mark D's, Jeff's, Antony's and Dylan's track... and I have no idea who else is off in the ensemble and if Greg is back from his holiday. But yes, it's definitely easier than on Saturday, when it was Killian technically covering... at times Mark's, at times David's, Gavin's, Jeff's and Martin N's track alone (except for when other ensemble members stepped in, e.g. as Bishop/Foreman/Grantaire). | ||||||
| beyondthebarricade |
Actually it isn't really Susan Boyle's fault, it's just the annoying pop fans who didn't have a clue what Les Mis was before she sang on Britian's Got Talent. But she did some good stuff, like causing a surge in Les Mis' popularity over the last years. The only bad thing is that they're attracting all the wrong fans who only know I Dreamed a Dream and they like sleep through half the show and notice one or two barricade boys then they go and clog up the stage door squealing.
But what happened to Emily's eye? As for David's neck, is it better? Or even okay? |
||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
Emily got poked in the eye as far as I know, and couldn't really see very well anymore... ah, I thought I had mentioned that. Yeah, that's why she left after the matinee on Saturday. No idea how bad it really is, here's hoping. Same goes for David's neck, if it had been okay, I bet he'd have been on stage last night... But I really have no idea. |
||||||
| beyondthebarricade |
Whoa okay. That's kinda serious. Hope she gets well. Oh and David broke his neck right? How did that happen? And didn't he break it before? Gee why is everyone having some kind of injury. And Bowman? Has his voice, uh, recovered? | ||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
Bloody hell.
Sorry, do you read any of the replies that are made to your posts? And do you have any idea what a "broken neck" means? You don't break your neck twice and have any chance of recovery. Hell, you don't even break your neck once and recover, normally. It's not BROKEN it's just some kind of issue. And how would we know what it is? And I don't know if Bowman's voice has recovered as I didn't see the show. We only looked at the understudy sheet and he, apparently, performed. So there you go. |
||||||
| beyondthebarricade |
Okay, fine. I'm not thinking straight okay. So don't go snapping on me because I have a freaking headache right now and I can't think straight. Sorry. | ||||||
| Hallie |
Its just a guess but it might be a muscle problem...I pulled the muscles in my shoulder a couple of years ago and now, at times, both my shoulders get painful and are basically useless but its not all the time so that could be what the neck injury is too. Something could trigger it every now and again and that might be why he has to take time off.
What ever it is, I hope he and everyone else in the cast who is ill gets well soon : ) Xx (",) xX |
||||||
| Katfeyrac |
He's back on tonight. |
||||||
| riverdawn |
Good to hear that he was back on. I hope someone was there to review it (yes, I have now joined the ranks of those who live vicariously through the forum).
Also, I have to say that while I totally fangirl the JUMP, it may not, strictly speaking, be wise for someone with neck problems to leap off a barricade 8 times a week.... :-/ |
||||||
| flying_pigs |
And now for something completely different...
I may be being really stupid here but is one of the men in this advert Killian? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF2IaDQa2c8 |
||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
So, um, I kind of went to night in a spur of the moment decision to actually go and waste the last hours before my exam tomorrow morning. I should feel bad about it, but I totally don't because...
I GOT A LEAFLET. YES. I saw it lying right on the edge of the stage from Dress Circle, got really excited during the Rue Plumet scenes (and I mean REALLY excited) and rushed down and snatched it in the interval. I'm so happy. I finally got one. And they are HISTORICALLY ACCURATE. it says (in really pretty font)
I love it so much. <3333 As for the show, it really wasn't... the strongest one I've seen. there was nothing exceptional about it but the fact that there was something wrong with the foil of one of the spotlights right below A 36 in Dress Circle and it made a LOT of noise. It was really annoying, especially during the quiet moments, so in Lovely Ladies I got up and pointed it out to the FOH guy and a guy from the... technical staff and it got better from MotH on... and was almost gone in the second act. But Fantine's Death was awful with that rattling noise. Hm. The cast... there were quite a few people off: Nancy was off sick (with a cold), Lorraine still on holiday... and the ensemble was missing Natalie, Jeff, Antony, Dylan and Jonathan. Quite a lot. All the swings were on and covering, Katy in Natalie's and Helen's track, at times, Brenda in Rachel's track... Killian in Dylan's and Jeff's track, Greg was on for Antony (and Dylan... in the first act) and Mark H for Jonathan. PHIU. And Jeff at times. It was a bit confusing. Anyway. Emily was amazing tonight, I really, really liked her, especially in AHFOL. David could definitely have done with some more days off, I believe, but it was ... business as usual (yes, Jump and all). There was a great moment in "Lamarque is dead" when he lost it a bit at "WE will kindle the flame". Heh. Martin Ball still sounded hoarse, I think he must have been one of those that found themselves without a voice last week... Rebecca was good, especially considering there was a LOUD RATTLE throughout all her songs. Helen as Eponine was much, much better than I remembered her, especially in OMO. I still don't like her portrayal and her ALFOR, but she was so good. Rachel Bingham, I think, is feeling the strain the shouting as Mme Th�nardier has on your voice... HPJ and Bowman as usual, Alistair was adorable. I believe the audience loved it. There were a lot of very... loud girls at Curtain Call. ETA: Yep, the Jameson advert has Killian in it. |
||||||
| flying_pigs |
Yay, you finally got a leaflet! My aim is to hopefully have one magically fly into my lap!
Thanks for the review! I've decided I prefer Helen's voice but Nancy's acting as Eponine! |
||||||
| riverdawn |
Ha! I love that the leaflets are so detailed and specific!
It's the same kind of lovely attention to detail that has every member of the ensemble wearing a different hat in the group scenes and all that. Brilliant! Unfortunate about that rattling thing. Thanks for the review! |
||||||
| pastaeater |
Loving the Jameson advert!
The attention to detail with this production is fantastic, isn't it? With a lot of shows I'm sure the "leaflet" would just be a blank piece of paper. |
||||||
| beyondthebarricade |
Yeah, that's true. I think someone told me in Hairspray (I'm not exactly sure if it was the musical or the 2007 movie), where Corny Collins' cards on which the winner of the Hairspray competition's name was "printed on" was actually blank. Don't know if it's true though. Oh and did the previous Enjolras' Jump down the barricade the way Thaxton does? I don't remember. |
||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG
Killian!Javert. As in, now. in 30 minutes. Live. At the Queen's. I'm freaking out so badly. Don't fret, Elbow and I are seeing the show. I'm dead. DEAD. ... and broke. |
||||||
| aquirkofmatter |
I'm not even in London and I'm excited!! [and jealous...] Proper review definitely required. From both of you. Enjoy
|
||||||
| flying_pigs |
:O :O :O :O :O :O :O :O :O :O :O :O
Possibly one of the most exciting things to happen at Les Mis for a while! |
||||||
| riverdawn |
Awesome!
Can't wait for the review! |
||||||
| kemathenga |
what about the others he uses to play?
The show should be over in about one hour. We're waiting for reviews! 
|
||||||
| l'ivrogne transfigur� |
Well, Killian's a swing, so he doesn't have his own track (except loudhailer guy?) Also, I'm afraid it's 2 hours. Remember you're an hour ahead of us.
|
||||||
| beyondthebarricade |
I'm horribly jealous. Is this his first time?
And full review (please go stagedooring) is a must! |
||||||
| kemathenga |
@l'ivrogne.
ahh, of course, you're right, we're one hour ahead. I passed by a St.Kilian's church today and thought "gosh, that was quick".
|
||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
Sorry, I think Elbow and I just literally screamed for the past hours, so you guys had to wait. And she's seeing him again tonight I'M SO JEALOUS but I have an exam tomorrow. And I'm going to fail, but hey. At least I've got my priorities right.
SO. I'm going to try and review, but let me just quote David and say KILLIAN IS AWESOME. Oh my God he was so good. He was incredible. I'm terribly in love. It's not even an "omg he is an amazing understudy" kind of incredible. He is fantastic. A bit more experience, maybe let him get a bit older than 25, and he needs to be principal. |
||||||
| Eponines_Hat |
OMG I am so jealous of you! Any idea if he is on tomoz? |
||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
probably not as it looks like Jeff will be back. At least Jonathan said he might be... he's been off sick.
OMG Killian. |
||||||
| pastaeater |
Please please please a full review of Killian/Javert....I think he is just amazing...... | ||||||
| KatyRoseLand |
*Squeal* Killian as Javert?!?!? Jealous!! Can't wait to read your reviews
More information about Snappy Title: From the Heart which I mentioned earlier can be found on www.newmusicals.org.uk by the way, in case anyone's interested. |
||||||
| Eponines_Hat |
Ok, thanks! Might call box office and find out tomorrow before I get a ticket. I really hope he is on - must see St. Killian in action! Although Jeff is always great, too |
||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
So. I'll try and put The Awesome into words.
Today, Elbow and I saw the best second understudy in... ever. in the history of the universe. omfg. Killian!Javert is... amazing. He sounds a bit like Earl, without the bit of skipping Earl's voice sometimes did/does, so, overall, he sounds even more amazing. His voice has just the right tone for Javert, he has complete control over what he's singing, how he's stressing it, every note was perfect and piercing when it should be, Stars was breathtaking (the audience went MAD), the Suicide was marvellous and captivating. Probably one of the best versions I've ever seen. But it were the "unimportant bits" that stood out to me - all the random dialogue lines, everything, it was absolutely perfect. Not an odd moment in there, not letting something slide past or ignore the impact a certain word and note can have, just because it's not in one of the big numbers. Oh and he was frightening. A bit too pretty but frightening. Killian is quite good at The Evil Stare, too, so that was interesting. His acting was great, and I think it would get absolutely amazing if he got more experience. He never seemed insecure at all, which wouldn't have been good, what with being Javert and all, but OMG IT WAS HIS FIRST TIME ON AS JAVERT who could have blamed him? But he was completely aware of everything that was going on around him, nodding at the other policemen in Fantine's Arrest, waving them away, looking to see which crime prisoner 24601 had committed, all that kind of stuff. He had it all down PERFECTLY.
He totally outsang Bowman in The Confrontation. He was AMAZING. He didn't just SING "Stars", he acted the shit out of it. I was so impressed. He made me care for Javert, he was confident, he was perfect. Oh man. I am madly in love. Oh, and there was a bit of a muck-up in Confrontation xDDD Elbow was in Dress Circle and could see it a bit better than me, but it looked like Bowman randomly fell down and they had to wrestle to pull it off well. Ah shucks. omgkillian. ETA: And who knew it before us? That's right, David "I just think that he will be really, really, really amazing" Thaxton. Speaking of whom, their similar facial features killed me once Killian!Javert had made it to the barricade. xDD Oh, and Antony, who is on holiday, came in to see Killian and WHOOPed after the Suicide. He was so sweet, he ran up to us in BB, when he had spotted us (probably because we had jumped out of our seats as Killian bowed) after curtain call and we gushed for a minute. xD And curtain call itself was CRAZY. David lost it a bit when Killian bowed and the cast applauded, I believe there was a bit much bouncing up and down, completely hyper. And we had thought about getting flowers and throwing them on stage, but alas, we didn't find a shop in time.
ETA 2: it might seem like I'm just totally biased and blown away because he's "only" second understudy. No. The audience was clearly thinking the same. And I need to see him again. I believe that, vocally, he's my favourite of all the Javerts I've seen. He's incredible. And I need to see him as Enjolras, the only second understudy that hasn't been needed yet this season. ETA 3: And, really, I was just incredibly happy to see Killian alone on stage getting the most enormous applause for Stars. It was wonderful. He really deserves it, and normally the swings - the ensemble in general - don't get the recoginition they deserve. Hell, some of the principals don't. So that was awesome. |
||||||
| flying_pigs |
After Liverpool FC crashing out of the FA Cup, this review has really cheered me up!
I really value your Les Mis opinions Eppie-Sue so if you say Killian was amazing, I believe you! I'll probably never get the chance to see him but I'm glad two of you did! |
||||||
| pastaeater |
Thank you SO much for this review.
You are absolutely right - he totally deserves the applause for the massive amount of fantastic work he does as a swing that I suppose largely goes unrecognised by the audiences. I just wish I had seen him. 
|
||||||
| aquirkofmatter |
Nancy even twitter-ed about it! He must've been good... she doesn't often talk about the show/the cast
|
||||||
| Elbow |
Basically - AMAZING. I will write more, but for the moment, I found this, which speaks more than words I should say - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-16ecKX0NA | ||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
<3 | ||||||
| aquirkofmatter |
What Eppie-Sue said: <3
I'm pretty sure I fell in love with his voice by the time he got to 'darkness'. Thank you! |
||||||
| riverdawn |
Wow! That is just... wow!
He sounds incredible. And very very mature and... Javerty! He has such a lovely voice! Wish I could have seen the whole thing... |
||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
Looks like there will be more up from the performances...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNqudQ7vqVc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJK2CMare8c I WILL RUNN HIM OFF HIS FEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET. and yes, the matinee audience really was that fantastic. |
||||||
| Eponines_Hat |
Just... wow...
<3 I am literally speechless. Amazing. |
||||||
| beyondthebarricade |
I HAVEN'T SEEN/HEARD ANYONE THIS GOOD SINCE PHILIP QUAST.
Wow. That is just... amazing. WHY IS HE ONLY A SWING D: And did you meet him at the stagedoor? Pleasepleaseplease tell me you did. |
||||||
| flying_pigs |
....I think I'm in love! | ||||||
| l'ivrogne transfigur� |
I'm going tonight. Does anyone know who'll be Javert-ing? | ||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
Well, Jonathan said Jeff might be back. I don't think it will be HPJ.
Enjoy! |
||||||
| MizH |
He sounds really good, I'd love to see him. Is it me, or does he sound a tiny bit like Earl Carpenter? On a completely unrelated matter, I love Martin Ball as Thenardier! |
||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
Yes, his and Earl's voices sound fairly similar, but Killian's is a lot steadier at times... I think I wrote that in the review, too. It's great, though. And he didn't do any of the stuff HPJ has started doing: say "TAKE HER" to the policemen in Fantine's Arrest, run as he arrives at the Final Confrontation... it's such an awesome moment to have JVJ emerge from the sewers with Marius and Javert is just standing there, all calm and dangerous.
ETA: Jeff will be on as Javert for the next days. |
||||||
| riverdawn |
He really is incredible. I'm so glad this audio is up.
His voice has a truly lovely tone and color. I hope he has a very long and very very successful career. I really really wish I could have seen this. By the way, was it the dark haired Gavroche or the blond one? (I'm just curious if I can already recognize them by their voices)
On edit: By the way, did anyone get to talk to Killian after this? If not, then when you do get a chance to talk to him, please make sure he knows how many people think he was incredible.
|
||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
We talked to Killian afterwards and gushed at him like WOAH. and told him how everyone around us was amazed by him. And I think from the applause alone he will have gotten an idea. It was extraordinary.
And there are two blond and two dark haired Gavroches, Jamie is the brown-haired one that was at the ITV thing, too... easily my favourite. he's wonderful. Although I don't think there will ever be a Gavroche like Tristan, who left at the end of October. He was perfect.
|
||||||
| MizzieFan |
Wow, Killian is really wonderful. His voice is incredible and oh - I wish I could hear more from him!
And I hope hope HOPE he will be on one day as Enjolras. Killian!Enjolras, that would be really interesting, wouldn't be? And Eppie - Sue, thank you so much for all your lovely reviews, you have no idea how much this means to us, who can't unfortunately see the show live
(and I am new to the boards, I hope I will like it here, heh!) |
||||||
| Eppie-Sue |
Heya, welcome to the board. And thank, I'm trying. I might actually review a bit more than just Killian's performance from yesterday...
He has to be on as Enjolras at one point, I would really like to see that, he will be phenomenal. Because the only problem people might have had with his Javert is that he looked a bit too young?! Automatically. So that would even work in his favour, what with "His twenty-two years of age appeared seventeen". It helps that David and Mark both look younger than they really are, too. Can't believe Killianjolras is the only second cover we have yet to see. Or, well, everyone has yet to see. I'm completely blown away by these amazing understudies. Some roles actually have three people that would all deserve to be principals, theoretically. Especially with Enjolras, if you think about how bad the casting for the principals in recent years was. And now this. How lucky are we, really? It's almost a shame that both Mark and Killian are there now, when it's not even a question who should be principal, and not a bit earlier or a bit later, and then as principals. |
