Musical junkie that I am I really wanted to enjoy this but I found it to be more impressive than enjoyable.
Certainly the staging, the costuming, the lighting were superb in that inimitable and undefinable Tim Burton style. I enjoyed the performances of the cast, the songs were appropriate if not particularly memorable.
But...something didn't quite work for me. I don't know if it was the subject matter or something else but I don't particularly want to see this again. Nor, unlike Rent, am I particularly interested in seeing a live performance.
Dubbing cuts both ways...
Oct. 16th, 2007 08:23 pmOh and Eponine** in Les Miserables...
*who among other things played the lead role of Hitomi Kanzaki in the superb Vision Of Escaflowne.
**She also has a gorgeous singing voice.
To say that I was surprised to see it listed as one of "The Canon: 50 Essential Film Musicals" in The Rough Guide To the Film Musical by David Parkinson is something of an understatement. So I skipped ahead to that review and got even more surprised by some of the content. Quote and comments beneath the cut...
Musical Quiz - The Remaining Answers
Jul. 20th, 2007 02:52 pmHere are the remaining answers:
2. But I was, as many young barristers are,
An impecunious party.
This was the Judge introducing himself in Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial By Jury
3. Isn't it nice to know a lot!
And a little bit not...
Red Riding Hood, I Know Things Now, from Sondheim's Into The Woods (and there are certain people out there on my friends list who I'd expected would see this and immediately get it. You know who you are... :) )
5. We just log on and dreams appear
The Ga Ga Kids (ensemble basically), Radio Ga-Ga from Elton's superb We Will Rock You. (This one was hard because several of Queen's lyrics, especially Radio Ga-Ga, were rewritten to fit the story).
I may put another quiz together this weekend but then again I might not.
Musical Quiz - 1st Answers
Jul. 14th, 2007 06:18 pm![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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The answers that have been picked so far are;
1. John, "Bui-Doi", Miss Saigon
4. Mr Bumble, "Boy for Sale", Oliver!
6. Fantine, I Dreamed a Dream, Les Miserables
7. Christine, Phantom of the Opera, Phantom of the Opera
I didn't expect 3 to be missed, but 2 and 5 are less surprising.
Think of it as a challenge. :)
Musical Quiz
Jul. 13th, 2007 11:25 pmInspired by stephen_dedman's comic quizzes. :)
Lines from songs from various musicals I have seen performed live. Sometimes more than once. And if I've seen them they shouldn't be too hard right?
Name the song, the singing character (which may be the ensemble), and the musical.
1. Conceived in hell, and born in strife
2. But I was, as many young barristers are,
An impecunious party.
3. Isn't it nice to know a lot!
And a little bit not...
4. Only seven guineas.
That or thereabouts.
5. We just log on and dreams appear
6. But the tigers come at night
7. In sleep he sang to me, in dreams he came
This evening I watched Rent, the movie of the musical by the late Jonathon Larson.
The movie format... didn't quite work for me. There was something removed. Absent. A lack of connection somehow. A sense of sterility.
Despite this there are moments where the confronting story reaches a level of high tragedy that did really move me.
On the DVD I checked out the alternate ending which I think recreates the way the stage play would end. And it worked better.
Definitely one to see live if I get a chance.
PS: A Seasons of Love music video is available here.