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Rubins-Vega as Fantine! — Page 2

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#26

re: Rubin-Vega is HORRENDOUS as Fantine!

Posted: 11/26/06 at 6:26am

Um, the Fanile?

"I think it's terrible that you would title your thread so unbelievably tactlessly. Grow up. I'm fairly certain Daphne visits this site and to see this thread up is hurtful, rude and childish. Express your opinion if you like, but REALLY! a little bit of educated opinion and tact if you don't mind."

What's wrong with the thread title?
"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611
#27

re: Rubin-Vega is HORRENDOUS as Fantine!

Posted: 11/26/06 at 7:17am

i have to admit that daphne is possibly the worst fantine i have ever heard. ruthie henshall is hell of a lot better at the role than daphne. ruthie henshall is the best fantine i have ever heard. she rocks!!!! y couldnt they have had ruthie back in the role? ruthie is the perfect fantine. how could they have picked daphne for the role.
#28

re: Rubin-Vega is HORRENDOUS as Fantine!

Posted: 11/26/06 at 9:29am

yeah i was so shocked by daphne's performance because it was so bad! ahhhhh...i'm really confused how she got the part.
#29

re: Rubin-Vega is HORRENDOUS as Fantine!

Posted: 11/26/06 at 9:53am

I respect your opinion, but here's mine:

Yes, it'd be lovely to see a pretty blonde hair and pure looking Fantine belting out to the rafters about her miserable life. But I too think it's more appropriate for a woman on her death bed, dirt poor with no where to go should look nervous and have a little tic (her hand motions), and on living in a country that's a ticking time bomb to be a bit more aggressive and sickly. Therefore, through my interpretation of the role, her casting is wonderful. Daphne's acting is so raw and so moving.
"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
To Kill A Mockingbird
#30

re: Rubin-Vega is HORRENDOUS as Fantine!

Posted: 11/26/06 at 10:18am

I cannot agree more! I saw it last Wednesday, Nov. 24th. I sat in the center of the front row. Although I was never an admirer of her voice, I went there with an open mind. I really wanted to like her. Maybe she is reinventing Fantine? - this I asked myself. NO!!! She butchered the role. When Ruthie Henshall (as well as most other previous Fantines) sings "I Dreamed A Dream," it soars and sends chills down your spine. When Daphne sang it, I felt an unexpected gastro-intestinal contraction and an urge to vomit! I took my boyfriend to the show. He never saw it before and I did not say anything about my opinion of Daphne. He gave me a look of puzzlement and could not believe that amid the abundance of talented actors who have been and want to be on Broadway, Rubin-Vega was cast. The people behind me actually laughed - which I thought was very rude.

In fairness to Daphne, she is doing her best in the role. Sure her acting is adequate, but this is a musical and is probably one of the very best ever written. The actor should be able to sing well, at the very least!

One thing really irritated me: Fantine's line that goes "even a whore who has gone to the bad can't be had by a rat" - Daphne delivered it as if she was being a "wise-ass" or in a sarcastic tone. Remember that Fantine was forced by circumstances to become a prostitute. She gets really infuriated in that scene. She should sound violated and really angry. Daphne even smiled saying it. Also, her accent does not gel with rest of the cast. Let's just say she sounds like ghetto Fantine from the block!

WAKE UP CAMERON MACKINTOSH!!! WAKE UP ALL OF YOU WHO ARE BEHIND THIS PRODUCTION! I do not understand why Cameron, Claude-Michel and the rest who would go all over the world to find the perfect actor for a part (as in the case of Lea Salonga as Kim in Miss Saigon)would cast Vega in this role. This is incredibly unjustifiable!
#33

re: Rubin-Vega is HORRENDOUS as Fantine!

Posted: 11/26/06 at 10:34am

How many threads about this do we really need?
"You just can't win. Ever. Look at the bright side, at least you are not stuck in First Wives Club: The Musical. That would really suck. " --Sueleen Gay
#34

re: Rubin-Vega is HORRENDOUS as Fantine!

Posted: 11/26/06 at 10:39am

While we are at it, why not Hasselhoff as Valjean ?

Yikes - did I just say that ?

I will give her credit for trying it but did not care for her in the role
Poster Emeritus
#35

re: Rubin-Vega is HORRENDOUS as Fantine!

Posted: 11/26/06 at 11:37am

I still say that part of the problem is that people go in expecting Fantine to look an act a certain way. I don't think it is that her portrayal is bad or wrong, just that it is unexpected. Coming from someone who had never seen the show before (and yes, granted, I am a fan of DRV's) I thought her portrayal of Fantine was amazing. Now having heard other versions of the song, I found them lacking emotion. Personally, I prefer Daphne's version. But then, maybe that is because it is the first version I heard.

I do think, however, that there are enough threads bashing her performance. I'm not sure why it was necessary to start a whole new one.
"I wrote a book: "How to Be Popular". Now I've put together a top ten list of how to help you: -Elphie, everyday... shower. I mean, who knows? Maybe some of that green is gonna come off! -Deodorant Elphie. No body likes a stinky witch! -I think we've covered the hair, we'll get to that. -Clean underclothes. That's all I'm gonna say. -Look at your posture. That's no way to be popular! -Bed made, room straightened. We've done that. -Colors blended. Oookay. -But the most important thing to have, to make yourself popular, is to keep your beautiful smile." ~Kristin Chenoweth in her last performance of the song "Popular"
#36

re: Rubin-Vega is HORRENDOUS as Fantine!

Posted: 11/26/06 at 1:11pm

I am so sick of having to see these childish and unnecesary titles. When someone has something new to bring to the conversation, please, share it.

#38

re: Rubin-Vega is HORRENDOUS as Fantine!

Posted: 11/26/06 at 1:19pm

"I think it's terrible that you would title your thread so unbelievably tactlessly. Grow up. I'm fairly certain Daphne visits this site and to see this thread up is hurtful, rude and childish. Express your opinion if you like, but REALLY! a little bit of educated opinion and tact if you don't mind."

Daphne has been in this buisness long enough to know to not go on the internet and search for her name.

#39

re: Rubin-Vega is HORRENDOUS as Fantine!

Posted: 11/26/06 at 1:26pm

"I still say that part of the problem is that people go in expecting Fantine to look an act a certain way. "

For me, it had nothing to do with what she looked or acted like. It was just her singing. It just seemed like she was a little kid. She was hard to understand and kind of annoying. I had seen productions of the show before, though not on Broadway, and still she just didn't seem right for the part.
#41

re: Rubin-Vega is HORRENDOUS as Fantine!

Posted: 11/26/06 at 1:34pm

I'm not usally a Rubin-Vega fan, but I really liked her as Fantine. She sounds lke she's dying, and she sounds like she's miserable (as most of the characters in Les Mis are...). She's pouring her heart out on the stage, but she's not supposed to sound perfect. Daphne puts raw emotion into it, and really acts the role. She makes Fantine into something new; she doesn't just sing a couple of pretty songs and die.
#42

re: Rubin-Vega is HORRENDOUS as Fantine!

Posted: 11/26/06 at 1:54pm

I still say that part of the problem is that people go in expecting Fantine to look an act a certain way.

Oh please. You can stop with the psychic abilities any time now.
"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt
#43

re: Rubin-Vega is HORRENDOUS as Fantine!

Posted: 11/26/06 at 2:31pm

oh c'mon Lizzie, I expect better coming from you. She's just giving a theory on what she thinks the problem is. I am no psychic, but I bet that you even can recognize that as being at least part of the problem.
#44

re: Rubin-Vega is HORRENDOUS as Fantine!

Posted: 11/26/06 at 2:49pm

I've seen clips of her and promo ads and she doesn't thrill me. I don't think she's a bad performer because I have seen bad actors. But shouldn't Fantine be younger? Also, we don't want to have the same typical Fantine but maybe this was the wrong direction for it. Anyway, I haven't seen the show yet, so I guess I'll find out when I go next month.
2008 European Tour
London: Les Mis, Lion King, Sound of Music, Joseph, Hairspray, Billy Elliot
France: Le Roi Lion, Cabaret
Germany: Der Konig der Lowen
Holland: Tarzan & Les Mis
#45

re: Rubin-Vega is HORRENDOUS as Fantine!

Posted: 11/26/06 at 3:23pm

I was hoping she would suprise me and not be as terrible as reported, but no luck. She really was terrible. I mean i still think she is a great performer but she was so miscast, about 10 years ago she could have been an good eponine. During intermission and after the show all I heard people talking about was how bad they thought she was. I heard around 5 people make a comment about how glad they were that she died. On a brighter side i thought she acted the role really well.
#47

re: Rubin-Vega is HORRENDOUS as Fantine!

Posted: 11/26/06 at 4:17pm

I have to agree wholeheartedly with Alextroy...DRV may have looked the part but once she opened her mouth to sing, OY VEY. "I Dreamed a Dream" is iconic, and to have her do what she did to it verged on desecration of a musical theater landmark. Alex, were you in the front mezz with me last night? As soon as the intermission lights came up, total strangers around me started talking about DVR's performance.

I have to give her credit, though, for soldiering on in spite of the negative buzz. DVR may be a very talented actress and a gifted singer, but she is utterly wrong for that role. Even Celia Keenan-Bolger, whom I absolutely love, seemed miscast. So let's blame the casting director.

It was nice to see Drew Sarich again...wow can that guy smirk.
#48

re: Rubin-Vega is HORRENDOUS as Fantine!

Posted: 11/26/06 at 5:02pm

Yah, I saw LM, on Thankgiving Day (the day of a million coughers) and I didn't mind her I Dreamed a Dream, is her Death Bed song that really sucks...is way too high for her range.
As a side note, I wish they had taken this opportunity to cut some of the show, it was just way too long.
"Observe how bravely I conceal this dreadful dreadful shame I feel."

Updated On: 11/26/06 at 05:02 PM

#49

re: Rubin-Vega is HORRENDOUS as Fantine!

Posted: 11/26/06 at 5:15pm

When you reinvent a part, people are bound to compare you. And in this Broadway day and age of casting those who can sing higher and belt for longer, people are bound to dislike Rubin-Vega. Personally, I prefer a soul behind my singers, and Daphne certainly provides that in a part that has been simply retred for years and years.

I don't know anyone who saw this for the first time and didn't like her at all.
"Fundamentalism means never having to say 'I'm wrong.'" -- unknown
#50

re: Rubin-Vega is HORRENDOUS as Fantine!

Posted: 11/26/06 at 5:43pm

This topic is really old news and in DRV's defense, she didn;t cast herself, so lay the blame where it belongs, on another note, the unfortunate resurgence of CAMTHOM prohibits all of us from having an opinion

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