Les Misérables

OK, I figured I wanted to throw in my two cents [and then some]
about the new movie based on the much loved musical,
Les Misérables.

Let me start off by saying that I have actually read the book
by Victor Hugo, that the musical is based on.

I was 21 when I read it, so it has been a little while.
[And yes, I'll admit that I basically skimmed through the
countless pages all about the Paris sewer system.]

And as a teenager I listened to both the London & Broadway Cast recordings.
[Although I listened to the Broadway cast more, mainly because I had it
on CD and the London cast on cassette.]

And when the 10th Anniversary came around, I watched it a bunch of times
and of course, added the CD to my collection.

I have many fond memories of listening to Les Miz songs
with my cousins and brothers and performing lip syncs to them.
[Or actually sing them, for those brave enough to do so!]

My brother Todd and cousin Kenny performing The Confrontation.

Bring Him Home

Good times, good times!

And yes, I have seen the 1998 movie version.
[I saw it in when it first came out and have it on DVD.]
I enjoyed it and thought the roles were well cast.

However, I've only seen the 25th Anniversary concert once.
[But would watch it again, when and if I get the chance.]

And after all that, you'd think I've seen the musical a number of times.
But you'd be wrong! I've never seen an actual live performance of it.
SHOCKING, I KNOW!!!
And it was even playing on Broadway when I went to New York in 2007!
[Don't know how I managed to miss out on that opportunity!]

So, I'm sure it comes as no surprise that I was quite excited
when it was announced that the musical version
was finally being made into a movie.

And even more excited when it was announced who would be
Jean Valjean.

I LOVE me some Hugh Jackman!

I was lucky enough to catch him in action when he had some
live performance shows in San Francisco in May 2011.

What an AMAZING performer! What an AMAZING show!

So there was no doubt in my mind that Hugh would make
a fantastic Valjean. And he definitely did not disappoint!
I felt he really put his heart and soul into his performance.
I especially loved his performance when he sang Suddenly,
the one and only new song written for this movie.
It was such a sweet and tender moment.

The hair and make-up people deserve the Oscar
for making this attractive hunk of a man...less attractive.
[Especially at the beginning and end of the movie.]

I also knew that Anne Hathaway would make a wonderful Fantine.

And not just from watching the previews of the movie with her
singing I Dreamed A Dream. [Which always got me all teary-eyed.]

While many doubted her singing abilities, I knew she would do just fine,
because she proved she had pipes in Ella Enchanted.

And if she was willing to butcher her flowing locks of hair
for this role, I figured there was no way she wouldn't put
everything she had into her performance.

 Russell Crowe on the other hand, I had some mixed feelings about.
[And I know many others have expressed their own doubts, as well.]

I mean, he was in a band called 30 Odd Foot of Grunts,
so I knew he could sing...
but just wasn't sure what kind of singing voice he possessed.
I figured he more than likely did not possess the strong, powerful baritone
that I was accustomed to hearing from others who have portrayed Javert.
So I tried to keep an open mind and tried not to compare.

His singing voice took some getting used to, but in the end, I grew to like it.

I had no doubts about the acting between him and Hugh Jackman, however.
I thought they both did a fantastic job and played off each other well.

::Slight Spoiler Alert::


It's common knowledge that Javert commits suicide by throwing himself
into the Seine River, but they managed to work a dramatic twist into his death.
[The only part more disturbing than that, was Valjean's journey with Marius
through the Paris sewers. EWWW!!!]

I was also uncertain about the performances of
Helena Bonham-Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen as the Thénardiers.
I mean, these characters are already over-the-top and I was afraid
they might take it too far! But they held back and provided
just the right amount of comic relief.

I usually skipped over any of the Thénardiers songs, when I listened
to the soundtracks. I just didn't really care for them that much, as well
as the language used during their songs. So I was a bit surprised to have
Master of the House stuck in my head the other day!

I thought that they did a wonderful job casting the roles
of Gavroche and young Cosette.
They both looked and sounded their parts.

As for the casting of the Friends of the ABC....

I must say I was surprised how rather plain looking they were.
I figured with this being a big Hollywood movie, that there
would be some nice eye candy to gaze upon.

Aaron Tveit as Enjolras was definitely the prettiest of the bunch
and had the best voice, too, in my opinion.
Made me wonder why he wasn't chosen to play Marius.

Which brings me to my biggest disappointment...

Seriously?
If you were Cosette would it be love at first sight
when you walked past him?
[Especially if Enjolras is right by him?]
Sorry, but that would be a big NO from me.

I just think there are hundreds of actor/singers out there
who would've been much better suited for the role of Marius.
[In both appearance and vocal talent.]

Actually, when watching the movie I thought his voice was okay,
but as I listened to the soundtrack a few times, his voice sounded weird to me.
I couldn't put my finger on it, until I saw a few others compare him to...

Kermit the Frog!

Éponine was well portrayed by Samantha Barks,
who had previously played the character,
including in the 25th Anniversary performance.
[Which I'm sure gave her an edge over any others
in contention for the role.]
A role which easily could've been given to any
Hollywood starlet or Pop/Country singer.

The one thing I noticed though was that the songs Éponine performed,
didn't really sound much different than past versions of the songs.
For example, On My Own. While she did a lovely rendition of that song,
she missed out on the opportunity to make it her own and have it
really stand out, the way Anne Hathaway did with I Dreamed A Dream.

Her extremely abnormal teeny-tiny waist was rather distracting.
I mean seriously! Look at it!

Amanda Seyfried looked the part of the older Cosette.
I thought she had a pleasant enough singing voice,
hitting the high notes better than I expected.
But just as the case with her true love Marius,
when listening to the soundtrack, I noticed her voice
at times sounded a bit like...

a bleating lamb.


I also noticed while watching the movie that it seemed like
quite a few of the musical numbers were shortened or
the lyrics were different than what I was used to.
After seeing the movie, I bought the MP3 version of the Highlights album.
[For only $5.00, thanks Amazon!]
The album included a couple songs I didn't really consider to be highlights,
like The Final Battle and sadly missed some true highlights,
like Do You Hear The People Sing?
As I compared the length of the songs from the movie to their
Broadway counterparts, many were a minute or two shorter.
Why?!?

I'm realizing this all sounds like I didn't like the movie, but I really did enjoy it!
[And I want to see it again.]

I thought the cinematography was excellent.
The sets and costumes still had that musical theatre feel to them.

But the biggest difference between this movie and seeing a live performance
was that you could see the faces and expressions of all the characters.
[Which in the case of Marius and his many freckles,
was not necessarily such a great thing!]
I mean, unless you're in the first 10 or so rows of the theatre,
you really miss out on that part of the actors' performances.
I felt it added to the drama and emotion of the piece.

The biggest surprise for me however was the casting of the Bishop.
[I'm sure I must have read about it at one point in time, but completely forgot.]

When he first appeared on the screen, I let out a gasp of surprise!
[And yeah, I'll admit got a bit teary-eyed.]

It's Colm Wilkinson!!!

For those of you who don't know, he is the Jean Valjean!
He performed as Valjean in both the London and Broadway casts,
as well as for the 10th Anniversary Concert.

So it was pretty cool to see him bestow his blessing, so to speak,
as the man who gives Valjean the opportunity for a new and better life
and to greet him as he leaves this world, as well.

I ended up not needing tissues as much as I thought I would.
Apparently at least one person in the audience needed lots of tissues,
but when they blew their nose, it sounded more like a fart! Eww!

However, I did end up needing a couple tissues during the finale.
And while the movie is over 2 1/2 hours long, once it was nearing the end,
I wasn't ready for it to end...I wanted more. [An encore, at least!]

So yes, while the movie had some minor flaws,
the good definitely outweighed the not-so-good.
But the story remains the same and in the end that's what matters most.

A Ghostly Tale

When I found out that there was a writing contest 
to win tickets to attend a performance by Duncan Sheik 
with the San Francisco Symphony, performing selections
from the musical, Whisper House 
at the Davies Symphony Hall, 
you know I had to give it a shot!

I had already attended a performance.
(WHICH WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!)
So, of course, I wanted to be able to experience it again. 

The rules of the contest were this:
You had to use song titles from Whisper House in your story.
(I believe the minimum amount was five titles.)
There wasn't much time before your story had to be submitted,
so I worked on it right away and finished it that day. 

Here is my tale... 
(The song titles are in italics.)

Whisper House Ghostly Tale

On a warm summer night, 
at the Campground of Earthbound Starlight,

the children all gathered round the campfire, 
as the counselors began to tell their ghostly tale…..

“We’re here to tell you,” they began, 
"A tale that happened in this very spot, many, many years ago."

A family by the name of Snell, once lived on this here land. 
There was a father and mother, two sisters and a brother. 
The boy was the youngest, at 7 years of age. 
This is his story to tell, this is the tale of Solomon Snell.

One day Solomon and his sisters, were playing in the woods. 
Hide and seek was their game of choice. Solomon counted to 100, 
as his sisters went to hide. Solomon looked in the usual 
hiding spots, to no avail. He went deeper into the woods, 
searching for his sisters. Soon he no longer knew where he was. 
“You’ve really gone and done it now,’ 
Solomon thought to himself, “You’re lost.”

He sat against a tree and began to cry. 
As he was crying, he heard a voice ask, 
“Dear boy, why are you crying?” 
Solomon looked up and there in front of him was a woman, 
wearing what appeared to be a wedding dress.

“I’m lost,” Solomon told the woman, “I can’t find my way home.”

The woman told him not to fear, 
she would help him find his way home.

Solomon followed as the woman walked through the woods, 
singing a sad song. Soon, the surroundings started to look 
familiar to young Solomon, and he heard the faint cry 
of someone calling his name.

“It’s my sisters!” Solomon exclaimed, “They’re looking for me.”

He cried out to his sisters. When they were in sight, 
he turned to the woman to thank her,

but she was nowhere to be found!

His sisters embraced their dear brother and asked him, 
“Where were you? You forgot to play your part! 
You were supposed to be seeking us, not us seeking you.”

“I got lost, but then a woman in a wedding dress found me 
and led me back home.” Solomon told them.

“Where is she?” they asked. Solomon replied, 
“I don’t know, she vanished.”

“I Don’t Believe In You and your tale!” his sisters replied.

But Solomon knew that his tale was true, 
and now we sing, “How about you?”


So are you wondering if I won the contest???
Would I write a blog post about it if I hadn't?

Sondre Lerche - Dallas 2011

Sondre Lerche
House of Blues - Cambridge Room
Dallas, Texas
November 10, 2011

This was my second time seeing Sondre Lerche
and my second concert since moving to Dallas.

I got there early so I could snag a spot right against the stage!

Which I "lost" after the horrible opening act,

when a 6 foot guy and his date somehow squeezed in front of me!

To make matters worse, said guy had an a loose thread

on the back of his sweater which taunted and annoyed me all night!

[But apparently not enough to yank it right off him!]

Set List

When The River

Domino

Private Caller

On The Tower [by request]

Two Way Monologue

Dear Laughing Doubters

Coliseum Town

Living Dangerously

Faces Down

Sleep On Needles

My Hands Are Shaking

Airport Taxi Reception

*ENCORE*

Phantom Punch

Modern Nature

Private Caller

Sondre mainly performed songs from his latest self titled album,

but also sang some older fan favorites, as well.

Sondre chatted and joked with the crowd.

And of course, he sounded absolutely AMAZING!

One of my favorite moments was when he stepped away
from the microphone while singing Coliseum Town.
Unfortunately, this magical moment was interrupted by
the very loud band that was playing in the other room.
However, it was still VERY enjoyable!
The video is below, you can thank me later.

Coliseum Town

I LOVE these photos! They make me smile.
I just wish I could remember the story behind them!

Dear Laughing Doubters

Introduction to the Two Way Monologue Suite

My Hands Are Shaking

Time for an ENCORE!

 Modern Nature Sing Along

After the show, he autographed his latest CD.

We talked for a bit.
I told him I had recently moved here from California
and the last time I saw him was two years ago in San Francisco.
Sondre told me that's one of his favorite cities
and he recently went on vacation there. [So jealous!]
Made me feel a little homesick.

I thanked him for the nice surprise of performing
'Dear Laughing Doubters', which is a new favorite of mine.
We joked about and wondered how he missed out on having
a song in the latest Steve Carell movie, Crazy, Stupid, Love
since he had songs in two previous movies of his.

We posed for a photo, before saying farewell.
Hope it's not another two years before I see him again,
because he puts on a SENSATIONAL show!

Teenage Dream Come True

Record Store Day - April 16, 2011
Rasputin Music - Berkeley, California

I have been a Duran Duran fan since I was a young girl.
When I was in elementary school,
I had a friend who was obsessed with John Taylor,
which was probably my first introduction to Duran Duran.
I remember secretly watching their videos on MTV.
[Particularly Wild Boys and A View To A Kill.]
During my teenage years, my bedroom walls were covered
with posters and pictures of the band.

So when I saw that Rasputin's in Berkeley was having
an in-store autograph signing with two members of the band,
John and Roger Taylor, I was SO there!

If I was able to go back in time, to tell my 13 year old self
that one day in the future, I would be meeting two members
of my favorite band, I seriously doubt I would have believed myself!

I arrived a couple hours early and anxiously waited for
my teenage dream to come true! The line was long,
but thankfully not as long as I expected it would be by the time I got there.

I squealed with excitement [as did several others], when we caught
a glimpse of the guys as their car drove slowly down the street.

When it was 1:30, I thought the line would start moving, however it felt like it took FOREVER for the line to finally get a move on.
I felt like Inigo Montoya from my favorite movie, The Princess Bride.
"I do not suppose you could a speed things up?"
 

But once I finally got inside the store, my excitement went into overdrive!
Which was then dampened a bit when it was announced that time allowed
only one item to be autographed...and I had brought three items! Bummer!
However I had an idea on how I could get two items signed.

As the line inched closer and closer, to the point where I could see them,
I wasn't sure if I'd be able to contain my excitement.
[That usually leads to a bad case of the giggles.]
I was so giddy, I felt as if I had transformed into the teenage version of myself.

At last, my turn arrived and there I was, standing right in front of John Taylor!
SQUEE!!!

I somehow managed to keep my cool and was able to speak coherently.
I said "Hi John!" and handed him the Notorious album to sign,
telling him it was the first album I owned.
John smiled and asked me my name and signed the album cover.
I know we talked about something else, but tragically,
I can't recall what else we said!

Then I said hello to Roger and I handed him their latest CD to sign.
After signing it, Roger gave me a smile as he quickly passed it
over to John for him to sign.
I smiled back and thanked Roger for that kind [yet sneaky] gesture.

There were a million and one things I would've loved to say,
but alas, all I really had the chance to say was thank you and
tell them how wonderful it was to meet them.

I wasn't ready for this more-than-likely-once-in-a-lifetime moment
to end quite yet, so after leaving the store, I hung around outside,
along with a group of other fans with apparently the same idea,
of hoping to catch another glimpse of the guys before they left.

Now I just need to meet Simon and Nick!