Les Miserables Review 11/4- Page 2

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 11/5/06 at 3:39pm

people act as though Daphne was found in an alley and has never been on the stage before. You freaking go play the role if your so much better. the woman has 2 tony nominations. i am so sick of hearing how awful she is.

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 11/5/06 at 3:39pm

Updated On: 11/5/06 at 03:39 PM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/5/06 at 3:41pm

You freaking go play the role if your so much better.

I hate this reasoning. Just because I don't have a "DDS" suffix after my name doesn't mean I can't complain about my dentist.

[aspiringactress]

Posted: 11/5/06 at 3:41pm

That is a stupid argument, theatredude, it really is. People are allowed to criticize a performance without being performers.

It's saying shut up if you don't have the training to be a better politician than George Bush.

Welcome to America.

[TomMonster]

Posted: 11/5/06 at 3:41pm

Thanks, Lizzie. That's what it feels like.

BSoBW2: That mini connection just doesn't feel like enough to me. The scene still feels too contrived and theatrical (not like many other parts...hehehe).

Thanks for your input, though!

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 11/5/06 at 3:43pm

Well, I didn't write it.

:)

Yeah, it's just theatrical. Guess there has to be a happy, theatrical ending to the show.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 11/5/06 at 3:44pm

You freaking go play the role if your so much better.

That's the worst justification for not being able to speak one's mind that I've ever heard. So, I can't criticize anyone in theatre because I personally am not willing to go on stage and give the role of Fantine a try, even though I openly admit I'm not a singer? If people are paying money for a ticket, they have every right to criticize the performers on stage as they see fit, provided that they remain respectful. I don't condone posts along the lines of "she sucks, I couldn't wait until she died," which admittedly is in the vein of the original poster's post, but I cannot fathom how a post such as the one made by jakebloke is out of line. As any performer does, Daphne accepted the role knowing that people were going to give their opinions on it. The potential of receiving an overwhelmingly negative reaction is the chance one takes when accepts a role.
Updated On: 11/5/06 at 03:44 PM

[gumbo2]

Posted: 11/5/06 at 3:50pm

Everyone has their opinions, there's no reason to shove them down anyone else's throat. A lot of people seem to dislike her performance, but not everyone. The beauty of actually seeing a show is to decide for yourself how you liked it, so let's not assume that one person is right and one person is wrong.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/5/06 at 3:53pm

shove them down anyone else's throat.

Help, I'm being attacked by the cliché monster!

[Neverandy]

Posted: 11/5/06 at 3:56pm

"she sucks, I couldn't wait until she died,"

I think this is a very apropos way of describing how someone feels.
Fantine dies in the show and then doesn't sing solo again for a good 2 hours. If she is as bad as she is described I probably would be waiting for her to die too.
I don't think anyone was saying that they wanted Daphne herself to die.

Updated On: 11/5/06 at 03:56 PM

[Unknown User]

Posted: 11/5/06 at 4:11pm

Neverandy, I just feel that there is probably a more eloquent, mature, and descriptive manner to express one's opinion than that. However, as I've said in a previous post, since people are apparently saying that they "couldn't wait until she died" during intermission, perhaps it's not so horrible to post it on here as well.

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 11/5/06 at 4:15pm

I have no problem with someone critcizing a performer. it just gets really tiring after a while hearing the same thing over and over again. no one really will care about my opinion, but there is a way to be critical and there is also a way to be out right rude to someones performace.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 11/5/06 at 4:17pm

it just gets really tiring after a while hearing the same thing over and over again.

Well, more than one person is going to see the show and give an opinion on it. I really don't know what to say - it's just the way these things called "message boards" work.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/5/06 at 4:27pm

it just gets really tiring after a while hearing the same thing over and over again.

All that clicking over and over again must get really tiring, too.

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 11/5/06 at 4:33pm

what?

[alexg456]

Posted: 11/5/06 at 4:37pm

for those who don't like daphne...
you're basing it solely on her voice. Belting beautifully DOES NOT equal GOOD ACTING. How about reading Daphne's interview... she did much research on the character of Fantine. Fantine gave up everything for her child and went through so much. She shouldn't be sounding beautiful at all. She freakin dies. She's a broken soul.

So, by that rationale, since most people on stage die at the end, they should NOT be singining beautifully. Certainly Valjean shouldn't be singing Bring Him Home as well as he does, because he aged and shouldn't have the same voice as when he was young.

No one cares about Daphne's research. She could have written the book instead of Hugo for all we know. If she acts well -- great. Let her have a part in a PLAY. But, this is a MUSICAL, and the audience expects actors on stage to have the best voices anywhere!

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 11/5/06 at 4:39pm

alex I find that so much more of a fair review than many other people have given her. atleast you have some support rather than saying "she sucks, I couldn't wait until she died,"

[TomMonster]

Posted: 11/5/06 at 4:42pm

I wouldn't mind Daphne using a "character" voice during her performance--it was her lack of pitch and phrasing that drove me nuts. And that is NOT a part of her character.

People in the theatre actually "groaned" when she returned in Act II, the night I saw it.

Oh well, press week has started so hopefully, she'll get it together.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/5/06 at 4:44pm

People in the theatre actually "groaned" when she returned in Act II, the night I saw it.

I heard that from two different people who saw it last week, too.
(Two different performances.)

Updated On: 11/5/06 at 04:44 PM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 11/5/06 at 4:57pm

I enjoyed her very much, too.

She's on stage for 20 minutes. Granted, she sings one of the most recognizable songs in the score, but people have to realize that this isn't the Les Miz they saw 7 times 10 years ago. If the production team thought she sucked, they would have let her go already.

[KQuill]

Posted: 11/5/06 at 5:19pm

This board is comprised of a lot of people who want to see themselves as "theater savvy", so we tend to bash things that are "cool" to think are "horrible".

I think Phantom is the best example, because the majority of people here dislike Phantom, yet it has been running for almost 19 years. So now go ahead, fire away at me for that; no one likes to be told they are closed minded - and I think this notion is subconscience.

I think this is happening to a degree with Daphne. First of all, everyone here who sees the show has the preconveived idea that everyone hates her before going in. Secondly, I think i have seen only one or two people actually analyze what makes her so "horrible" - and I have totally respected those people even though i disagree - but im so sick and tired of these cheap insults, completely void of any thinking, that are present in most so called "reviews".

Want to sound "theater savvy"? Sound like you actully know something about the technical aspects of singing and acting.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/5/06 at 5:22pm

You might like this: http://talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/d.php?id=323750

[KQuill]

Posted: 11/5/06 at 5:26pm

lol love it...
Updated On: 11/5/06 at 05:26 PM

[TomMonster]

Posted: 11/5/06 at 5:27pm

Yeah, seems really savvy...

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 11/5/06 at 6:05pm

How was Aaron Lazar?