Archive for Musicals.Net Musicals.Net |
| Eppie-Sue |
Olivier Awards performanceOkay so. The London cast and the tour cast are going to perform "One Day More" (to the tour orchestration...) at the Olivier Awards together this Sunday. Which means the ensemble will be twice the normal size.We talked to a few cast members today, and it seems like there is a bit of a problem regarding the principals... According to some of them, Earl, Katie, Gareth and Jon can all not make it from the tour, and then it kind of shone through that Enjolras might be a bit of a problem, as David is on holiday and Mark and Killian are doing a gig that evening. So we might see Owain Williams...?! And it all seemed very unclear and, obviously, exciting. Considering it's the Oliviers, this should have been planned long in advance, I think... But apparently it wasn't. Oh, and to end this with a lovely quote from Antony: "For all I know, I could be on as f*cking Enjolras!" That would be a sight to behold. |
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| riverdawn |
It would indeed! *lol* Anyway, it all sounds quite messy... and exciting. I hope some video of this performance shows up somewhere afterward. 
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| l'ivrogne transfigur� |
I heard about that - it will be interesting to see which prinicpals they pick for each part (where they have a choice, at least.)
Here it says that Gareth will be there - but I assume that's just speculation on their part, based on his being a member of the tour cast? |
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| Eppie-Sue |
Yeah, I assumed as much. They don't really have a choice, do they, if it's true that Earl, Katie, Gareth and Jon, and of course David and Nancy aren't there. Would have loved to see Earl and Katie on stage with the London cast again, I have to say. And I would have loved to see David and Nancy be part of it, obviously, especially as they represent, IMHO, the stronger side of the London principals... Ah well, it's just one performance. And it will be great to see an ensemble of 50 marching in ODM. |
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| mm10 |
Sounds as though it will be very impressive - looking forward to it.  What a shame they don't televise the Oliviers anymore but at least we can watch on the net
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| l'ivrogne transfigur� |
This seems to suggest Gareth is singing - and it's been linked on his Twitter as well | ||||
| Eppie-Sue |
Then the London cast doesn't know anything. As usual 
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| l'ivrogne transfigur� |
Does anyone know roughly what time they'll be on, or whereabouts in the ceremony?
I'm out for the first hour and a bit, and I don't want to miss it... |
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| Eppie-Sue |
It looks like they'll be on around 9.30 pm already... sorry. |
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| Quique |
Re: Olivier Awards performance
Eww. They should just download the ODM midi someone posted here recently and use that. It'll sound better. |
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| Eponines_Hat |
Re: Olivier Awards performance[quote="Quique"]Eww. They should just download the ODM midi someone posted here recently and use that. It'll sound better.[/quote Funny coz it's true! 
ETA - anyone else cringing at Giles' jokes? It's just painful! |
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| mm10 |
Why was Les Mis not in the running for most popular show if it was voted for by the audience 
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| Eppie-Sue |
Because no one voted for it?! There was a list and only these five (there are five nominees now, right?) made it through. Les Mis didn't. Antony complained about that, too xD "Britain's most popular musical YEAH RIGHT WHY DIDN'T YOU VOTE FOR US THEN?!"
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| riverdawn |
Well, it was available for voting, but I'm assuming that in the nominees they just listed the top 5 winners. That Les Mis didn't even make the top 5 is sad, but given who won, well, not that surprising. | ||||
| mm10 |
Yes no surprise Wicked won but suprised Les Mis wasn't in there - would have thought it had a stronger following than WWRY - or even Billy Elliott for that matter. | ||||
| Eppie-Sue |
I'm sure there are more people who like Les Mis, but the fanbase isn't organised at all compared to the others.
... So when Alistair said they'd be on at 9.30, he meant... 10.30?! |
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| flying_pigs |
How was it?
I'm hoping it will be on youtube soon-ish! |
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| Eponines_Hat |
oh god.. did anyone else think that was just one big mess?
Interesting to see that there was more tour focus than london.... and we did get Jonjolras. I think David needs to take Jon aside and teach the man how to march. It's just not very... Enjolraic. Is he dancing or marching or what? |
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| riverdawn |
It was kind of nice, actually.
I mean, no Nancy and no David was definitely not great (Jon Robyns was kind of so-soish IMHO), but I thought it was a nice way to end the evening. |
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| Eppie-Sue |
It was... interesting. I don't know. It was... I think it's good that my expectations weren't too high...?!
BUT OMG THEY SHOWED BITS FROM THE EPK BEFORE AND PLAYED BITS FROM THE EPK AUDIO That was unexpected. Never thought I'd see David's Final Battle hands all over the Oliviers.
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| riverdawn |
Yeah, the marching was not good. |
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| mm10 |
Who was Enjrolas I didn't recognise him | ||||
| Eponines_Hat |
Jon Robyns who was a fabulous Marius in 08/09 and is now an underwhelming Enjolras on the Tour. Lovely, guy, though. I always giggled at Jon's marching but it seemed to fit OK when he was Marius! |
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| flying_pigs |
Who were the principles? | ||||
| l'ivrogne transfigur� |
Well, it was certainly interesting.
I was watching with a REALLY slow connection, so it was really jerky and kept skipping parts. Nevertheless, I was squeeing all the time, but that's just because I get super excited seeing Les Mis anywhere like this. I loved the bits of the EPK they showed - and we got to see some of the tour EPK. And the recording of David's ODM in the background at one point as well
It's interesting that they decided to double some parts - even though it involved an understudy Cosette. Why, then, did they not double others, I wonder? I lol'd when there were two Marii on 'my place is here...' Yeah, Jon really wasn't very good - rather weak, and his cravat was in a mess for most of it. The London cast seemed more prominent in the ensemble, with Gavin and Antony at the front, and Dylan, Laura, Martin, Jeff and people could all be seen clearly as well. |
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| Eppie-Sue |
They had both for every role (tour u/s Cosette, sorry, her name escapes me) except for Javert, and, well Eponine and Enjolras. Hence people asking where Nancy was xD and "that's not Thaxton" all over the place on twitter. I am amused.
I thought it was horribly underwhelming and not well done at all.
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| riverdawn |
As far as I could tell we had the two Mariuses and the two Cosettes (from London and from the tour), HPJ as Javert, Bowman (if I'm not mistaken) as Valjean, Rosalind James as Eponine, the London Thenardiers, Jon Robyns as Enjolras - and since it was One Day More there was no obvious Fantine, of course (though they may have been in the ensemble. I didn't notice). Am I missing someone? On Edit: oh, right, there were in fact two Valjeans. Managed to forget that. |
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| mm10 |
Thanks - apart from JOJ and GG I wouldn't know anyone from the tour. Really need to watch it again too much to take in first time - hopefully they will put highlights up soon |
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| l'ivrogne transfigur� |
Oh I forgot to mention the bit featuring Susan Boyle and Simon Cowell alongside footage from the EPKs, the TAC and other stuff... Grrrr | ||||
| Eppie-Sue |
Yay for the footage of the TAC with David and Alistair's counterpart bit from One Day More, though. That made me happy. they could have had Helen as Eponine there, you know. with u/s Cosette from the tour... ETA: My favourite bit must have been Jon adjusting his cravat. And Jon's marching. I really like Jon, but that killed me. It all seemed very... random... |
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| mm10 |
I'm glad they did that - after all the speculation both here and WOS that they would select either/or from both casts - to me the whole point of having both casts was that there would be 2 of each, makes it more of an event. Shame they didn't have Javert or Eponine (does Earl not have an understudy?) Can see why they would only need one Enjrolas (apart from the fact that there was only one available ) since he is the centre point
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| l'ivrogne transfigur� |
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. As I say ... it was an experience. |
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| Eppie-Sue |
It's a bit odd that they didn't put David Lawrence (is that tour u/s Javert?) and Helen up there, too, but in the end they just needed a Cosette for Gareth's Marius, I suppose.
And having two of some characters and only one of others made it even more dissembled I thought... I mean, yes, I like the idea in general, but if David had been available, what would they have done with Enjolras' part?! All very strange. They could have made Jon a third Marius!
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| l'ivrogne transfigur� |
There was a tweet saying that there were three Marii on stage, and the only one they liked was playing Enjolras. Or something to that effect. So clearly, he'd have been more wanted there!
Some of the tweeting going on was, in fact, very amusing though. There were all the Where's Nancy? WHERE'S THAXTON? posts. Then the ones who clearly didn't have a clue. And the 'SWOON Gareth' and 'Gareth Gates PHWOAR' posts next to the 'Gareth looks constipated' ones... |
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| Eponines_Hat |
I can't help but wonder what they would have done if Nancy and David had been available. There seemed to be a focus on tour principals. I think I would have thrown my Macbook accross the room if Nancy and David had been forced to take a backseat to Jon and Rosalind. (and TWO shiny vests on ONE stage?  )
This might be a tad controversial, but I think they need to stop doing ODM for promo performances. I think it is meant to be epic and showcase all the characters, complex plot etc... I just don't think it does the show justice. Out of context it comes across confusing, the tour orchestrations they persist with are tinny and rushed and the marching is all a little weird on a well lit stage. Dont ge me wrong - i LOVE the show - but if the point of these kinda things is to get more people into the show (as well as celebrating the show's success) I wonder if there are better options. I can't help but feel that JOJ singing BHH yesterday might have been more effective than the attempt at epic-ness last night. That said, it was kinda a nice touch to have the London and tour casts on together. |
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| Eppie-Sue |
That. I mean, they might have been able to have two Eponines on there... but you can't have Enjolras there twice, can you?! Strange to think about it...
Yes, I completely agree. I mean, I'm glad they don't just make it about one character and one performer, but it's difficult to pull it off like this. I would much prefer to see them sing "Do you hear the people sing", actually, especially for its anthem-like nature, but I wonder if they would favour three ensemble members (Combeferre, Courfeyrac, Feuilly) over having the leads on stage. It would be more effective, I'm sure. If they ever do anything like this again within the next three months, just send David, Gavin, Mark, Antony and the ensemble + cart + flag there. Seriously. And you could put "Lamarque is dead" before that.
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| beyondthebarricade |
Oh I can't seem to find any videos of it on YouTube... Someone should post it up soon. Really. I didn't run all the way home for nothing.
It sounds really exciting! I'm missing out so much here! 
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| Eponines_Hat |
YES! I had been thinking of even ATEOTD being better, but you are right - DYHTPS would be soooo much better. well, "Lamarque is dead" would be the best, but only with DT or Mark oh and I can't believe Susan Boyle got a feature on the show 
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| Eppie-Sue |
The performance has been uploaded to YouTube. (sadly, not the intro clip they used ) The beginning wasn't too bad, actually, and aw, Alistair is lovely!
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| Elbow |
Just watched it.
Oh my God. Oh dear. |
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| Eppie-Sue |
Told you so. |
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| beyondthebarricade |
Well that certainly is interesting.
First off, I agree, what was WITH Jon Robyns' march? He looked like he was doing some sexy shoulder shaking dance- except he didn't quite pull it off. The vest, somehow, looks screwed up, like he's just using it as a by-the-way item. I think he looks quite scruffy, frankly. I don't personally have a problem with Gareth Gates as Marius, but somehow I wish they had shown more of Alistair. It's not like Alistair's disastrously bad or anything, in fact, he's pretty good. I don't know if they wanted Gareth Gates' appeal as he was on Pop Idol or something of that sort and all that, but it really looks quite biased, like they're giving all the lines to him and none to Alistair. Also, Alistair and Emily look pretty redundant, standing there, just hugging each other after Tour!Marius and Cosette's lines. They should pay more attention to the London cast. And I don't want to turn this into some tour bashing post, but I think, if they could have used Tour Understudy Cosette, they should have put Helen Owen or Daniella up. Because Rosalind... has room for improvement. But that's just my point of view. Other than that, I expected more, but it was quite thrilling, seeing 50 of them march up and down. But I would have preferred to see them march in the normal V shape instead of all over the place. It looked messy, but I guess that's the best they could do, considering space constraints. Still an experience, overall. |
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| Eppie-Sue |
I agree that Helen should have been in there, too, but Rosalind did a good job considering they apparently want her to sing this her way. Personally, I think she's a great singer, even though she sounded off when I saw the tour, but her voice doesn't work for Eponine - the style doesn't work for Les Mis in general (q.v. Escoffery, Baruwa). And I am sure they probably only have the tour u/s Cosette (for God's sake where is my programme? I can't recall her name to save my life) to have her there next to Gareth. I mean, both casts did a great job, considering this was... not very well planned. As much as I like him, I'm not a fan of Jon Robyns's voice at all, and this is the perfect example why I think he was miscast as Enjolras, but again, I really think they all did the best they could. It sure must have seemed like a great idea, but the general concept is just a bit strange. Honestly - what WOULD they have done had everyone from every cast been available?! |
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| l'ivrogne transfigur� |
Leigh Rhiannon Coggins, I think. | ||||
| riverdawn |
Fallen off the stage?
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| mm10 |
It's been removed already!!! Could they not have waited I'm only just home, what a dissapointment 
Don't suppose anyone saved it?? |
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| beyondthebarricade |
Oh so that's why. I kept on getting the feeling that her singing was oppressed, and that she wasn't showing her personality. Yes I heard some clips of her and I do agree her voice isn't suited for Eponine. It's too... one-sided? I can't think of how to describe it. Flat? It doesn't really show the whored out street rat Eponine, yet the vulnerable side of her which some other performers are able to bring across. I hate to be saying this, because I think the tour u/s Cosette should be good in her own right, but she came across as very obnoxious and desperate in the Olivier's video. It's just something I noticed. Like if I remember correctly, at the end of her ODM line she kept on grabbing on to Gareth, instead of an innocent Cosette who thinks her life has started when she finally experienced love after being in a convent for her whole life. I don't know. Just my opinion. One last thing. The flag came in... way too early. |
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| Eppie-Sue |
I don't think that was the problem. But it got all tangled round the pole. xDDD That's what you get for letting one of the tour do that job. And no, that's no tour bashing or anything. They don't do a lot of flag-waving there. And their flag is pathetic, compared to the Epic Flag here in London. Especially the new one. As Joe and Killian and Mark H weren't there, why didn't they let Greg do that?! Flag-waving isn't easy, people. Really. Oh and...
Aw, let's not be harsh, they can't show personality in a performance like this. And as for Eponine... I don't expect any musical performer to bring that across, as musical!Eponine is completely different from book!Eponine. And I might ridiculously embarrass myself here, but "whored out" is a bit over-the-top now anyway, isn't it!? Also, her voice is great, but she's riffing when singing, especially in On My Own, and that just doesn't work for the character or the musical. It's very R'n'B and... Les Mis just isn't R'n'B. At all. |
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| beyondthebarricade |
Okay. I admit. I was a bit harsh and expected to judge Cosette from 2 lines. Well, actually 6. But I just felt she could have given a more innocent, starry-eyed expression. I actually think Rosalind James has a fairly nice voice, but it's a bit too dark for an Eponine. She's a good singer, but wrong casting choice. I know that the Eponines in the musical and book varies, but some Eponines give that very scum of the earth type of attitude but secretly wishes she could be with Marius. But I'm in no position to judge that, I'd have to watch the tour first. And yes. I don't know what she did. It sounded quite jazzy to me. Not a good interpretation. No no. |
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| The Very Angry Woman |
Doesn't look like it's been uploaded by anyone else since, either. Come on, someone! |
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| mm10 |
There is a 9 minute highlights clip on the official london theatre website and the last 50 secs or so is Les Mis - still it's better than nothing. Maybe they will put it on Lesmis.com it did say more videos to follow |
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| Eppie-Sue |
this has been mentioned by someone on WOS... this site is really interesting, especially their facebook... | ||||
| HannahM |
Thank you! |
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| mm10 |
LondonLesMis have posted the Oliviers video on Facebook
I knew it would turn up eventually!!! |
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| Eppie-Sue |
Ugh, great. That is exactly while everyone was being so quiet about the link that I posted earlier. Now let's see how long it will take until it's taken down. Maybe we're lucky...!?
ETA: Not referring to you mm10, it's about the fact that londonlesmis is posting it openly on facebook, considering it was taken down from YouTube very quickly before. |
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| mm10 |
Did you - where?
But surely it's an official video? ETA: - in reply to your edit, well yes that's why I assumed it was legal when it's taken this long to turn up |
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| l'ivrogne transfigur� |
... scroll up a bit. | ||||
| mm10 |
Yes I get it now - the penny's dropped! |