Frenchie Davis and SOL

[ozone20]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 11:49am

Hey does anyone know if Frenchie hits the High note at the end of her SEASONS solo? she didnt when i saw her. But then i saw her on her very opening night so maybe she hadnt adjusted.

[thetheatrekook]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 11:54am

no. they make an exception for her (all the other soloists have HAD to be able to hit the note (whether they always did or not is a different story).) i've seen it three times in the past month and she's never hit the note.

[shameless]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 11:56am

I saw her last spring, I think, and I don't remember her not hitting it, so I'm gonna say yes, she does. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

Oops, well, there you go. I'm wrong.

Updated On: 12/16/05 at 11:56 AM

[MusicAndPassion]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 12:00pm

She does not. Instead, she puts everything she has into the ending. It's not like she tries to hit the note and goes flat, she just puts all she's got into the line "measure your life in love" and she does it amazingly.

[ozone20]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 12:03pm

i love frenchies voice and i loved her singing SOL. but curious to know why an exception was made for her. is she really that big a draw?
Updated On: 12/16/05 at 12:03 PM

[peach]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 12:07pm

ozone20 - I think she is a big draw. When I saw her last year, she gave me chills - brought the house down with that voice. I don't care if she doesn't hit the note. She sings this song beautifully - more beautifully than many others I've seen sing it (who probably did hit the note!)

[ozone20]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 12:12pm

oh i dont doubt that she sang it beautifully. i LOVE her voice . i saw her in the show on her opening night and need to see it again to see how she's progressed. i 'm sure she is amazing. i also saw her solo act and she blew me away. i'm thinking her performance of it is more of a draw than her name though. alot of people outside the circle dont know who she is.
Updated On: 12/16/05 at 12:12 PM

[ShuQ]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 12:41pm

Anyone that's got her singing...PLEASE PM me.

[peach]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 12:44pm

ozone20 - I'd agree with that. Her name probably isn't that big a draw - unless you are a hardcore AI fan.

But I was floored by her performance. I think the walls shook! (I saw her in March '05).

[anne3]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 1:04pm

I've seen her hit it, once... So she can, but usualy chooses not to.

[timote316]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 1:20pm

I didn't realize at the time that she didn't hit it, but she finishes the song beautifully. The note she does it fits in very nicely, just as effective.

Personally, I think she is great for the show. She doesn't do too much, but she brings down the house with what she does do.

[thejcm]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 1:37pm

I don't think that they require all SOLoists to hit the high C. (I think that's what it is). Karmine and Yassmin Alers have both done the solo and neither hit the note, instead just holding out one very long beautiful note, granted they were understudies...maybe it's just full-time SOLoists who they require the note for.

[Kev]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 6:36pm

a) an exception was not made for Frenchie. Full-time soloist Aisha de Haas and Shelley Dickinson didn't hit the "money" note. Frenchie hits a similar high note at times, but it's in head voice and not nailed a la Gwen, Myiia, Catrice, etc.
b) Frenchie was perhaps *somewhat* of a draw back in summer 2003. Now she's just another face in the Rent cast that people *may* recognize upon seeing the show. definitely not a "big draw"

[Kelsey]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 6:39pm

I don't care if an exception was made of not - Frenchie sings "Seasons of Love" like no one else. She's absolutely amazing.

[chealion313]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 6:51pm

The last time I was at Rent, she was playing Joanne and totally floored me...it was great getting to see her do a little more in the show than I'm used to seeing.

[FabalaYero85]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 6:57pm

She brings the house down because half the audience only knows that one song and was waiting all night for it. Frenchie's solo varies from night to night and I honestly dont know what the big deal is about her. Plus this is like the 4th thread about her this month. what gives?

[apdarcey]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 8:13pm

"but it's in head voice and not nailed a la Gwen, Myiia, Catrice, etc."


um.. are you saying that gwen et al. didn't hit the high c in head voice? because that's just wrong.

[Kev]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 9:04pm

that should have read *a softer head voice. those divas I mentioned obviously had more power behind their money notes. that said, I love me some Frenchie and enjoy the sassiness she brings to her solo.

[justpeachy]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 9:07pm

I saw her last March, and I don't recall her hitting the high note..but I thought her voice was absolutely fabulous.

[Cenoern]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 10:32pm

Crystal Monee Hall is much better than Frenchie as a soloist... *siiiigh*.. and she hits the note... :)

But I love Frenchie too, I've seen her about 7 times and I believe she's hit the note once or twice. Whether or not she does is irrelevant, because she finishes the song incredibly well.

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 12/17/05 at 1:20am

I love Frenchie's voice, but I actually do not like how she sings the SOL solo.

[FosseBoi]

Posted: 12/17/05 at 1:33am

Is there anyplace on line I can hear her? Can anyone PM me a recording? When I saw it this summer I missed her and got her understudy, so was awsome! But I REALLY wanted to see her!

[jimmirae]

Posted: 12/17/05 at 3:33am

I wanna see Miss Frenchie Davis in an all black version of "Gypsy"!
I just know that woman has a "Big Mama Rose" in her!!
And Tamayra can be Gypsy!!

[OrdinaryJukebox1]

Posted: 12/17/05 at 8:36am

Yeah, and I'm totally waiting for an all white version of "Raisin in the Sun" with Michael C. Hall, Tyne Daly, and Idina Menzel!!! That would rock!!!!

I saw Frenchie's understudy, who sang the SH*T out of that solo! High note and all...I was sad I didn't get to see Frenchie, but I wasn't too let down.

-Vincent

[jaso_n]

Posted: 12/17/05 at 9:16am

I have two audio files of her singing SOL and she hits "the note" in both of them. PM me if you want either one or both.