ANTONIQUE IS EXTENDING!!! — Page 2

For what it's worth, she could very well love the show and still not be the best Mimi it's ever had. Loving a show doesn't make you the best performer in it, you know? I don't think it's fair to say that you know she isn't back because of her love of the piece just because you don't like her performance. You're right to say that if her solo career was really taking off, she probably would be doing that and not returning to Rent over and over, but fallback job and something you like don't have to be mutually exclusive. In winston's defense, I also don't think it's fair to ignore degrees of friendship. I don't know winston and for all I know, s/he could be making this up completely, but giving him/her the benefit of the doubt for the moment, s/he didn't say they were friends, but rather friendly -- and those are two very different things, as well as an important distinction for someone in the situation to recognize. And even though winston didn't say they were friends, I also have to throw in that I think rigid criteria for friendship is ridiculous, because there are many varying degrees

She's not my favorite Mimi, nor is she my least favorite. Vocally, she was totally on the night I saw her, but I disagreed with some of her characterization choices.

Also, some of the spelling mistakes in this thread made me laugh.

---

Updated On: 3/29/07 at 02:11 PM

siamese dream, you speak like you know everything, but shut others down when they do the same. Antonique is in fact working on her album and that it what she will be returning to after she is done with RENT. She has made it clear that this is only a one month thing, and that she has no desire to stay as long as the producers want her to stay. (Which is June)

And why are you so defensive when people say they enjoy her Mimi? What does it matter to you if other people enjoy her? You're not oh Holy one, and people don't have to like the same things that you like. And Antonique happens to be very talented and her voice is amazing. Sorry you can't see that, your loss.

Honestly, there were isolated things that I REALLY loved about Antonique's Mimi. She has a really distinctive -- you could even say grating -- voice, but the power that she has on some of her higher notes is just chill-inducing (in a good way). The end of her "Goodbye Love" when I saw her was the best I've ever heard it done. She's the only Mimi I've seen live other than Jaime, whom I much preferred overall, but she's not bad, and certainly not as atrocious as people make her out to be. I can definitely see why people would like her performance in the show, not just at the stage door.

Updated On: 3/29/07 at 03:57 PM

Craww,

You really can't say that pretty friendly means that she and I for example know each other's numbers or anything like that. If I had left out the word pretty and just said friendly then it would have gotten across clear to you that we have spoken a bunch of times after the show and she knows who I am. But, people see this litle things differently so the way one person might have said it and ment it might be different then how the person reading it or hearing it took it.44

---

This entire post is basically just reiterating what Craww said, but for what it's worth, as she said, I wasn't contesting the fact that she loves the show (although she might not, I obviously don't know). I was simply saying that she obviously loves something (in this case, being a recording artist) more than playing Mimi in Rent, which is COMPLETELY fine. However, it's a little too coincidental that her recording career was going nowhere when she decided to go back to Rent. In short, I don't think it's this absolutely pure love of the show that motivated her to come back so much as she probably needed a job. Is it POSSIBLE? Sure, but also unlikely considering her current job situation.

And I agree that there are varying degrees of friendship, but winston would have to be what I consider a very close friend (i.e. someone who calls you on the weekends) to speak authoritatively as to whether she truly loves the show, as Craww already pointed out. Again, it's completely possible that she does indeed love the show, but I'm not about to accept that she does simply because someone who knows her from stagedoor interaction said so.

Also, I don't believe I was defensive over people enjoying her perfomance. I simply asked munk why he did, because I'm legitimately curious. I have no idea how that qualifies as being "defensive."

I think siamese dream's point about how winston would only know for sure if he were her friend is because it's seriously doubtful that Antonique would tell a hardcore Rent fan at the Rent stagedoor that she hated doing Rent. However, she would be more honest about her true feelings about the show with her friends and family.

Also, I agree that Antonique would not be back if her album was progressing along as successfully as winston has implied. I'm not saying she has to have a release date to make it official, but doing Rent for 2 months means that until April 29th, she won't be able to record anything. A two-month moratorium on recording is not the action of someone who's progressingly swimmingly and 100% dedicated to their music career.

I find it interesting that 6 months ago, everyone was posting their relief that Antonique was leaving and now that she's back, people are rudely denouncing others' opinions for disliking her. I've seen about 8 different Mimis and she's maybe halfway down the list. Not the worst, but there have been so many better Mimis in the past that I have to question the judgement of anyone proclaiming "Best EVER!"

---

Updated On: 3/29/07 at 05:53 PM

Ohgawd. This thread is so Wicked.

Would the 14 yr olds please go outside and play?

---

When I saw her, her voice was cracking all over the place, and she did not blend well with the music or other cast members. She had the right emotions, I think, but her voice didn't really do it for me.

---

Siamese,

there was a good point in my life about a year or so ago when I was fully obssed with RENT. I was not like one of those teenybopper fangirls you see but nontheless I still saw the show a lot. Antonique was Mimi for a majority of the 33 times I saw the show. Being that I have seen it 33 times she recgonizes me and is is really nice to every espicaolly the regulars. I mean she does know my name. Hell, half the cast does because I have been there so many times. I have had conversations with her after everyone who was stage dooring had left. Nothing really major or personal just stoppng and chatting for a bit. That is what I mean by friendly. She knowswho I am she greeted me with a warm smile and a HUGE hug and we chatted for a bit. That was it. It wasn't like we ended up dating or anything like that.

And if anyone wants to laugh at me for seeing Rent 33 times then go right ahead I could care less.

---

Keep in mind, the first person to call "7th Grade!" is likely just as stuck in arrested development as the people they're criticizing. Otherwise, the comparison would not occur.

winston89, we understood that the first time you said it. The point is still that you're no more qualified to speak for Antonique's motivations than we are.

Anyway. Oh well. I'll try and remain 55% optimistic. A 6 percent benefit of the doubt for you, Ms. Smith.

I can't believe anyone could put Yassmin in the same category as Scary Spice, while praising Antonique. If all records of Antonique's performance are bad, and multiple people on this thread have said her performance wasn't good when they saw it live, you can't call her a great Mimi if she's only "on" for 1 out of every 10 performances. She's supposed to be good 8 times a week and maintain the same consistency in her performance that all the other actors manage to without such extremes.

I agree, lawyerman, and I know we're in good company with people whose opinions I hold in esteem. She's my favorite Rent performer to date. Last I heard, she was in LA, but I don't know what she's doing there professionally.

---

skittles, I agree with you. Yassmin was one of the most talented and versatile actors to ever be in the show, and there is certainly no comparison between her and Scary Spice.

I've always thought that Antonique was a strange casting choice (not that there haven't been many of those!) as Mimi. She is a vocal powerhouse most of the time. The two things which have always bugged me about her performance are her lack of true acting skills - she is at two extremes, her Mimi is either giggling and smiley or she's sobbing her eyes out. That isn't how you act a role. Vocally, Antonique can be a powerhouse but it becomes a negative when she's performing the role of Mimi in Rent as the 'Antonique' show. She is not in the role to showcase her vocal agility, she is in the role to sing the role as it is written. She rarely does that.

Antonique is one of those castmembers who is very much into the stagedoor element of being in the show. She is sweet to fans and as a result, most fans adore her. This is fine but it shouldn't affect one's perception of her performance onstage as much as it obviously does with many of her fans. It works the same in reverse, too, and if someone isn't interested in hanging around at stagedoor listening to fans gush and fawn over them and take the same pic for the 20th time, then they shouldn't be taken to task for that decision either.

As for why she's back, I would hazard a guess that it's because they needed her to fill in and she needed the work. Sometimes it's as simple as that.

I'm glad you guys enjoy Yassmin and I actually used to her as one of the best, but this was before I knew how high broadway standards are. Looking back now, Yassmin's performance was energetic and very dance heavy, but a LARGE obvious component of RENT is singing. First of all her voice didn't carry, wasn't strong, and had a absolutely nothing impressive about it. Secondly her "all the scars of the never's and maybe's" scared me since she growed and screamed, actually I thought her scream/growl thing was a pathetica attempt to raise energy of the crowd, that of which was usually dead at that point.

Antonique won me over by her vocals, and I stayed at the stage door because I was astounded by her performance. I think that she played the more low-key, experienced, mysterious Mimi, that of which I love to see. I'm actually astounded that someone would ever say she won her fans over by being nice at the fan door. I have numerous Mimi's that of which I thought were ok, who did go to the stage door, and was hated by the majority of fans. Actually Krystal Washington stopped going to the stage door.

But I respect all of your opinions, and hey, this is just mine!

---

Updated On: 4/1/07 at 09:02 PM