Profile for HumATune

I saw a Community Theater production of Dreamgirls where they had a “narrator” character that would appear onstage to announce the music groups during the Apollo scene and throughout the show. For some reason the actress who played the narrator decided to talk like she was J.J. from “Good Times” and walk around with a stooped posture. (During the curtain call she was standing up straight and walked off the stage that way, so it was not a medical condition.) Then after Lorell and Jimmy’s last ...

Errrr.... http://tinyurl.com/czoe99p

Yes, I misspelled Colm Wilkinson. That's what I get for typing while tired and not proofreading. Carry on with your bickering; I shall pop some popcorn and continue to read this thread. :)

Just got home from seeing the film. I really enjoyed it. My biggest quibble is that they should have lowered the key for Hugh Jackman's "Bring Him Home" because it was rather painful. I mean he sang "What Have I Done" and "Who Am I" in lower keys. A friend of mine thought the problem was that he was belting the whole time instead of using head voice/falsetto. But overall I thought Hugh gave a moving performance. Russell Crowe isn't the best singer, but on film with his acting, he makes it wor...

They couldn't give her a blonde wig? I mean the show is called LEGALLY BLONDE...

I find her painful to watch because her face is so expressionless when she sings. Yes, this is television, where facial expressions should be subtler than live theater, but even for television her face is rather blank-looking.

Eric I see your point about Ivy being unreliable, but instead of the show taking that angle, they go with "Karen is this amazing talent that has something Ivy does not". I think a lot of people's beef is with the show telling us Karen better than Ivy when a lot of us just don't see that.

I can actually see Hilty as the Baroness. We know she can play icy and she would be able to hit the high notes.

I cannot root for a character that I find boring, even if that character was wronged by someone else. Surely you've watched some show/movie or read some book where you didn't care for the designated good guy. They should either have gone with someone like Laura Osnes for Karen or directed Megan Hilty to suck.

We saw Karen sing several Marylin numbers throughout the season, especially in the finale. Also it's absurd to think I have to agree that Karen is better because the director on the show tells me to. Tom1071, what I got from your initial argument is that we shouldn't root for Ivy because she's a terrible person. My answer to you is why not? We like who we like. It's not real life. I find Ivy a far more interesting character than Karen. I watch SMASH to be entertained, not to root for the "goo...

Or maybe it's just that the character Ivy sings and acts circles around Karen in the role of Marylin. I'm not going to root for the "good girl" Karen to get the part if I find her bland in the role. Just because Ivy is a bitch, doesn't mean she isn't talented. There are plenty of actors whose work I enjoy, even if the actor her or his self seems to be a jerk. Finally Derek himself is also a jerk, but plenty of people don't seem to have an issue with him being the director. (I don't either.)

My biggest issue with McPhee is that she is not convincing as a the next big Broadway star that the show wants us to see. McPhee is talnted, but very clearly a pop singer doing Broadway tunes. Yes, I realize she studied theater, and that people can cross over, but she's not convincing as this amazing Broadway talent. And then we've got Megan Hilty who is pure Broadway. They really should have cast someone like Laura Osnes in the Karen role, or directed Megan Hilty to be terrible or something....

^I don't know if that would be an issue. First, Bonnie & CLyde is a historical show, and second it doesn't end well for the leads.

I actually had a dream once where I was watching a high school production of SHREK. The guy playing Shrek had a pig snout costume piece painted green as the nose and it fell off. I can see this actually happening.

Here you go... https://www.facebook.com/rachelpottermusic/posts/10151038178965736

I wrote some notes on the production after seeing the revised version in Los Angeles in 2000. Here are some of my thoughts from that write-up: "Well I’ve heard that the tour is quite scaled down from the London production, and I must admit the scenery wasn’t that impressive. It wasn’t bad, but certainly it wasn’t the impressive sized sets one would expect and the burning scene wasn’t very dramatic at all. I expected the entire stage to be aflame in this dramatic climax (as the story calls for...

Everyone makes good points, about why Eponine is more interesting in the musical than Cosette. I used to be an Eponine fangirl, but as I've gotten older, I've come to appreciate Cosette as well. I got over the unrequited angst thing, and as a result Eponine is less interesting to me now. I'm far more interested in Eponine's "street rat" qualities than the fact that she loves Marius, and as a result I'm rather picky about my Eponines. I also do not think Cosette deserves the hatred she gets fr...

Cosette could have been a more interesting character in the musical had they given her more to do. It is a thankless role. I do like On My Own, but the Eponine role only works for me if the actress doesn't play Eponine sugary sweet/like some sort of martyr. I've actually enjoyed more of the Cosette actresses I've seen than the Eponine actresses.

I liked the production overall when I saw the tour, but yes, the music was too sped up in parts. I especially missed the dramatic pause before "I Dreamed A Dream"; it was a bit jarring when the the song started immediately after "At the End of the Day". Still, the story itself is moving and I enjoyed myself. I do hate those MIDI-like orchestrations, though.

I'm sad Teal won't get a second solo. Her voice would have wrapped perfectly around "If You Only Knew".