How did James Barbour Do as the New Phantom?- Page 6

[BWNUT]

Posted: 3/18/15 at 8:35pm

Right on the nose, Traviata. Thanks. Ramin was really struggling that night.

[abbagirl]

Posted: 3/18/15 at 9:21pm

Re: the "catch," Norm stopped doing it at some point, when I saw him again towards the end of his run several times it was no longer in, and has not been in for James either. I wonder why?

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 3/18/15 at 9:37pm

That's unfortunate. ): Norm did the catch back in June when I saw the show. I guess Equity eventually told them that it's still not allowed?

[jkl011]

Posted: 3/18/15 at 9:45pm

When I saw Greg Mills he did not do the catch either, so I think it was just a Norm thing. If I remember correctly, they got rid of the catch because Hugh Panaro hurt his back doing it, and then I guess Norm was strong enough so they had him start doing it. But that is strange that he stopped mid-run, maybe it got physically hard on him as well.

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 3/18/15 at 9:54pm

The catch has always been out of the Broadway production, even with Michael Crawford in the role. I think it was originally an Equity ruling that banned it, but don't quote me on that.

[jkl011]

Posted: 3/18/15 at 10:03pm

Oh ok, I thought they had it in the Broadway production originally, my bad. That's weird that they had Norm do it, then.

[Justin D]

Posted: 3/19/15 at 11:17am

I'm always on the fence about the catch.

On one hand it is a nice touch, but when seen (usually in London) because of the nature of knowing that you have to catch someone in 3,2,1. It almost always looks as though the actor starts to 'catch' before christine even starts to faint.

On the other hand, I have seen Phantoms not do the catch but react quite nicely to her fainting, reaching out to her, trying to catch her and not getting there in time, etc. Howard even use to do this really sweet thing with Christine's hair when she is on the ground, the down side though is that yeah, shes on the ground, underground, in the dirt and wetness that the floor of his lair probably is. And some Phantoms I;ve seen dont even seem the slightest bit worried that she just fainted.

Pity it was not possible for him to sort of scoop her up after she faints and place her in the boat.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 3/19/15 at 11:23am

What? Are they still using Norm's pictures?

I think it's one of the newer, blue variations of the logo taking up one of the spaces where a full Norm pic used to be.

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 3/19/15 at 3:15pm

"On the other hand, I have seen Phantoms not do the catch but react quite nicely to her fainting, reaching out to her, trying to catch her and not getting there in time, etc."


While I do like the catch, I have to agree. It's always funny when Phantoms visibly reach and freak out like, "Oh **** she's fainting THIS ISN'T WHAT I HAD PLANNED DOWN SHE GOES."

Posted: 3/19/15 at 4:08pm

It was good to see the video of Barbour doing Bring Him Home live again sue1863. And BWNUT got to see this

Does anyone know of any trading sites that might carry a video of Barbour's La Miranda Valjean? Or even just audio? We just don't have enough of his recordings, mostly its the Jane Eyre you see or occasionally Beauty and the Beast. Oh and Assassins of course. If I could find a rare recording of anything with him it would have to be his Bill Sykes opposite Brian Stokes-Mitchell's Fagin in Oliver! From the Irish rep theater. That would be the clash of the titans of bass-baritones.

As for using Norm's pictures, they will have to show more Barbour eventually, and I think it will be a good thing when this happens. Most people are curious about him, that is how this thread came into existence. You will galvanize more people to go if you give them a glimpse of something tantalizing. The focus should be on the wider picture now, and not his detractors. Most theater goers are fine with him, this is what the ticket sales show as well as the sensational audience responses we're getting from everyone who went. They wisely announced his casting side-by-side with the link to his Music of the Night from Bring Me Giants, and it was helpful, and if you look at the comments in that video on youtube most of those people seem pleased and open.You don't have to sell Barbour to people, his talent will do the talking for you. We know about his voice, let newcomers see his presence now, how striking and imposing he is as he dons the mask.



Updated On: 3/19/15 at 04:08 PM

[sueb1863]

Posted: 3/19/15 at 8:07pm

Glad you liked the BHH vid! :) There's another video of him with some of the cast rehearsing One Day More in street clothes. I think that's all the Barbour Les Miz I've seen out there.

As far as Barbour material goes, he's also on the cast recordings for "A Tale of Two Cities", and he's in the concert DVD for that show as well. There are lots of ToTC videos of him in that show on YouTube.

It'd be cool if he could get the Valjean role - his La Mirada reviews are fantastic - but it'll just depend if he wants to stay on Broadway and if the role is open. Things seem to be going very well for him in Phantom so far, and it looks like the producers are ignoring the protesters, who are hopefully realizing by now that Barbour isn't going to be fired.

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 3/19/15 at 8:28pm

I don't remember if this has been mentioned on the thread before, but he is also easily the best thing about the Dracula studio recording (which, funnily enough, also features Norm Lewis in a couple songs as Van Helsing).

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 3/19/15 at 9:42pm

I can't believe they don't even have a picture of Barbour outside the theater. Do they think that not having publicity shots of him will hide their controversial casting decision? He's reportedly great in the part, he's not going to "do anything," and the people upset about his casting are fading into the background so just stand behind your casting decision and post some friggin pictures of your leading man, Macintosh. Geez.

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 3/19/15 at 9:54pm

It's as if they think putting up one or two pictures of the guy in costume will start a violent protest outside the theatre. Most people passing by the Majestic won't even recognize Barbour; they'll just glance over and say, "Oh, look. There's the Phantom."

Posted: 3/20/15 at 4:48am

Yes, Tale of Two Cities is a good recommendation Sueb1863. He is Sydney Carton. This is my favorite Dickens novel, and after seeing so many film great actors portray this character, I believe I like Barbour's concert performance best, though Dirk Bogarde is in my thoughts often too.

I think I have heard all of the cast albums with Barbour, Dracula, Assassins, Tears of Heaven, Tale of Two Cities, Jane Eyre, + both his albums Broadway in concert and Bring Me Giants. And the Gift- Live from Tiffany. So I've got to branch out into trades now, and I've just located his Camelot with Michael York. Does anyone know if a non-professional recording of Barbour doing the complete stage show of Tale of Two Cities exists and can be traded? I also do have a question about his albums, how do you go about getting quantities of Bring Me Giants today? I have some friends who are interested in it, but the mp3s aren't on itunes and you can't get a CD on Barbour's website. Every now and then you can get it second hand on Amazon, but the condition of it will vary, the price may be inflated, and worse the singer doesn't see any of the money you're paying in this case. Is it totally out of print now never to return?

Re: Barbour Les Mis. I think he would want to stay on Broadway if the opportunity presented itself. He has spoken about how insecure the industry he works in is by nature, this is something true for any actor-- not even him specifically. Knowing that being an actor is a career of uncertainty I think he would want to take advantage of whatever good opportunities are available to him immediately after. If he continues his run to good reviews, completes it and the box office is stable then he'll be in a better position than ever before really. Norm Lewis reminded us that getting the role of the phantom is like winning the lottery. Barbour should strike while the iron is still hot. Even if not Les Mis, he could get something on Broadway.

Let us hope Les Mis is even still open by the time Barbour finished his POTO run. I'd be more worried about that one overtime, than about Phantom. I think both Drew Sarich and John Owen-Jones sang the score way better than its being done today, and it only carried the last revival two years.

Everyone is right about not using Barbour's photos, this is silly. I think the photos also add a sense of finality to things. Then nobody would be able to continue to live in fantasies about how the power of trolling will make producers breach a legal contract with an artist who fulfilled all of his responsibilities to them.

[sueb1863]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 6:32am

Nothing would surprise me after seeing one protester on Twitter threaten to kill Barbour. I'm sure the theater's gotten its share of crazy threats if they don't fire Barbour and they don't want some nutball defacing or damaging their property.

They probably think that if they put up a Barbour picture a protester will plaster it with damning printouts or graffiti. Maybe they'll put something up for the summer, things should have cooled down by then.

[Justin D]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 11:31am

Vandalism is a good point that I have not thought about, both in vandalizing the photos on the marquis and using the electronic photos to make some nasty memes. Some people when they get a bee in their bonnet just don;t stop.

[RockStarNYC]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 8:23pm

Hey folks. Don't normally post here but figured I'd chime in. Have been to see Barbour as the Phantom at the Majestic. In my opinion, this is his best role yet and judging from his social media posts, he seems to be enjoying it. fwiw, I saw the show Thurs and there is a photo in the Playbill of him in Phantom garb. Quite nice.

[Pauly3]

Posted: 3/20/15 at 8:45pm

Speaking of rare - or at least relatively unknown recordings by Barbour, he was involved in a new project called "Serrano The Musical" before getting the call to do POTO. A recording of a song he performed (Rosanna) is still on the website: https://www.plays411.net/serranothemusical/index.html

The show is currently playing at the Matrix Theater in Los Angeles thru 3/29. I haven't seen it, but it has received solid reviews.

[sueb1863]

Posted: 4/1/15 at 9:25pm

Just bumping this because two videos of Barbour in the La Mirada production of Les Miz have turned up, and I thought I'd try the new video insert function and post them here for those who might be interested:

Hey, it worked! :)

 

Updated On: 4/1/15 at 09:25 PM

[BWNUT]

Posted: 4/2/15 at 1:14pm

Thanks sueb. Take me back to that electric night when I saw it live.  He was just so at ease and made it look effortless. One of the best sung and acted Les Miz  I've seen. 

Updated On: 4/2/15 at 01:14 PM

Posted: 4/2/15 at 3:23pm

Sueb you just made my day, week and month! Thank you for hunting down amazing videos. They are saved to my computer forever. Barbour really is never the same as an actor in a role twice, Frollo, Valjean, Dracula, Sydney, Phantom, Bill Sykes, Rochester, the Beast, Czolgosz, Lancelot, Frank N' Further,Officer Lockstock. He is a man with a thousand faces, and that is what you need to be able to do justice to all three stages of Valjean's life in the show. And he is the only great bartione Valjean that I have ever heard, the keyword being great. Again BWNUT is so lucky, I'm green with envy you got to hear him in this enviornment.

This is beginning to descend into a Barbour appreciation board, more so than an analysis of his phantom so I hope AHLeibross doesn't mind our Valjean posts too much but... I have something else from him Les Mis to share. I stummbled upon purely by accident a yahoo group with a FULL audio recording of a Barbour Les Mis, just there for the taking.  I downloaded it and I think some of the Barbour fans on this thread might want to too. I've only listened to the first Act so far but he is astounding! I think his high notes are really good, better than many tenors in the role. I knew Barbour was great, but he just really schooled me on this, I learned that even some of the voices can sing this score properly. His voice is so versatile  he sings with so much support . Its really been a pleasure discovering more of his roles. He really can do anything he wants to.

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/music_theatre/conversations/messages/30452

I basically think yahoo is a despicable place, particular their answers community and the news. But now I remember it does have its useful side and why I still have an account there.

Updated On: 4/2/15 at 03:23 PM

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 4/2/15 at 11:42pm

Just watched the Who Am I video, and all I can say is holy s**t! He's a bass-baritone and sang that B natural like it was nothing. HOW IS THAT VOCALLY POSSIBLE? He must be a mutant. Simply amazing.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 4/3/15 at 12:41am

Holy HELL.  It really seems like it is effortless with him.  Amazing. Thank you SO much for those videos.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 4/3/15 at 1:56am

I don't think there's an agenda behind not having photos of Barbour outside the theater. Why spend the money when, once you put the mask on the actor, it could really be anyone? And Barbour's isn't a star face that would sell the show in any event.