Profile for michellek45

I like all of these actors individually, but I'm not really sold on them as these characters. Both Swenson and Karimloo read way too young for me to see them as Javert and Valjean, regardless of their actual ages. Swenson also has a very boyish singing voice, so unless he tries something completely different I feel like he'll sound out of place. Nikki M. James reads much too old for Eponine, which really screws up Marius and Cosette as well. If they cast age-appropriate actors for Marius and ...

Anyone bored and wanting to chat?

Can't believe no one has mentioned "Walking Among My Yesterdays" from The Happy Time yet. It's at the top of any favorite song list for me. After that, I'd put "Married," "Marry Me," "Cell Block Tango," and "Go Back Home."

Patash, it really is worth seeing her in Cinderella. Like you had that moment in South Pacific (which unfortunately I never got to see), there's one in Cinderella during "Ten Minutes Ago." She really nails the confusion and excitement you would have if your dream suddenly came true, and it managed to sell me (an admitted "love at first sight" nonbeliever) on the romance that the show hinges on. I would highly recommend it, especially if you're already a fan.

I don't know anything about Michelle Williams, but I definitely agree that Carey Mulligan would be a great Sally. I'm sort of disappointed that Alan Cumming is the Emcee again- I'm sure he'll be brilliant, but I would have liked to see a new take.

I'd love to see her in a LaChiusa musical- he writes exceptional songs, especially for sopranos. His shows are usually darker and complex; it would be something completely new for Laura. Of course, he has to write a new show first...

Anyone up for a chat? We haven't had one in awhile.

I think you're right, darquegk, that turning Pippin away from being an inherently theatrical performance won't work on the film. It's rare that you get the sense on film that the actors are performing to the movie audience, which is kind of the whole point of Pippin (on stage). Maybe Pippin is the audience that the Leading Player's troupe is performing for?

I really hope that we get a Pippin movie, but this guy's interview doesn't make me think that he's a good person to adapt it.

Not the best performance I've ever seen, but I think Rachel Bay Jones' performance in the Pippin revival was amazingly strong, nuanced, and underrated. I honestly think that the way she makes you love Catherine is integral to the overall success of the revival.

I would say that, in addition to being one of the best male duets in theater, "Lily's Eyes" from Secret Garden would count as a showstopper. Especially in the sense that it doesn't really move the plot, but it's more about exploring the characters' feeling.

MisterMatt, I think you're right about the fact that in terms of violence, Hunchback and Lion King are pretty close. But there is a lot of (barely) underlying sexual imagery/themes in Hunchback and, for whatever reason, people consider that much more offensive than violence, at least in the US.

I think the film is old enough and forgotten enough that most of its main fans are older, who saw it when they were little. I don't think this is one of the classics that parents are still showing their kids, like Little Mermaid or Lion King. That said, I think Disney would be wise to pull the same thing they did with Peter and the Starcatcher: put their name on it so as to attract those die-hard Disney fans, but not really market it as a Disney property so they can go in a different, less fa...

Jason Robert Brown's best musical was Parade, and I don't know if he'll ever top it. Pasek and Paul's music, while technically good, lacks whatever that spark is that makes you connect to it and feel engaged by it. That said, I thought Dogfight was incredibly dull. I also feel similarly about Sondheim, though there have been some moments in his shows that really captured me. I cannot stand the trend toward rock/pop musicals with tiny little 4-5 piece orchestras, the drum set being the only ac...

Also I have to say, after listening to Jerry Mitchell talk about the conveyor belt choreography for hours on Sirius XM, I was very underwhelmed by the use of them. Creative idea, but rather dull execution.

Haven't seen Kinky Boots, but nothing I have heard, listened to, or watched has made me enthusiastic about it. I've run through the cast album at least three times, and I just can't see the appeal. But honestly as much as Matilda was robbed, Danny Troob was ridiculously robbed. His beautiful orchestrations for Cinderella are miles above the electro-pop orchestrations for Kinky Boots.

South Pacific is my favorite, but I have soft-spots for both Cinderella and Pipe Dream, which I think have excellent scores brought down by their books (and lyrics, in the case of Pipe Dream).

Wow my whole childhood is a lie. I have thought it was spelled "Brandi" since I was like 6 years old.

I love Laura Osnes; she's probably my favorite young actress working in musical theater. She's shown range in both her singing and her acting, and she even managed to make Hope Harcourt stick out for me. Her Cinderella was more well-rounded, I think, than Andrews' or Brandy's (I have never seen Warren, but I grew up with the Brandy version), and her voice sounds like it was tailor-made for the role. Her reaction to the Prince's opening lines of "Ten Minutes Ago" is one of the best "holy cow m...

Really interesting discussion. Like most others, it seems to me like this Kinky Boots love came out of nowhere. I can only truly compare the scores, since I've seen Matilda but not Kinky Boots, and after listening to that score I don't think I will. I can't stand instruments that sound like they were generated by a computer, so I was biased against Kinky Boots pretty quickly. Though that banjo in "Take What You Got" was a bizarre orchestration choice. Other than that, the lyrics in Kinky Boot...