I find Ruffelle's voice to be achingly annoying... not having seen her or Lea Salonga, but just hearing the recordings (and the 10th anniversary DVD) there is no doubt, for me, that Lea Salonga is the better Eponine
I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.
oh my Good lord...i have seen SOO many Eponine's over the years... here are my faves! in order
1) Sarah Berry 2) Diana Kaarina 3) Sutton Foster 4) Andrea McArdle 5) Dana Meller (she was a really aweome understudy!) natalie toro and lea make the honorable mention list.
Lea Salonga. I liked her darker portrayal of the character, which reflected the book more.
BlueWizard's blog: The Rambling Corner
HEDWIG: "The road is my home. In reflecting upon the people whom I have come upon in my travels, I cannot help but think of the people who have come upon me."
I'm sorry, for some reason Frances Ruffelle looks Asian to me, that's why I wondered if she had played Kim in London. I think she brings a lot to the role of Eponine, love her so much. On the Tony clip audiences really seemed to love her and the reviews of Les Miserables that I've read (Especially the New York Times) singled her out. I know she's played Roxie Hart twice in London, I hope she comes do the role on Broadway.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
I'm personally a Lea advocate, but I've been in love with her since I was four-years-old. I'm loyal to Princess Jasmine. I like her strong, angry portrayal of Eponine. I'm more inclined to believe that someone like that could survive all of the crap she has thrown at her than say Sutton or Frances. Frances grew on me after a little while, but our Eponine (I was in the school edition last year) tried to emulate her-- and it was absolutely terrible. Only Frances can sing the way that she sings and make it sound good.
In my humble opinion, Lea totally owned Eponine. She was the only one who was able to project an Eponine who was feisty yet vulnerable at the same time. There must be a reason as to why she was the one who was invited to perform at the 10th Anniversary and not the others. But then again, it's just my opinion so don't hate. Updated On: 1/9/06 at 11:20 PM