Les Miserables: Red, Black and Barks

via tobiasmastgrave


via movieposter

Unlike many people who love musical theater, I don't hold movie versions to the same standard.  That is, I don't expect to have the same experience from a movie that I would with live theater.  There is no way to compare the two, nor should we (in my opinion).  I believe that both should create in us a strong emotional response even if they go about it in different ways.  On Broadway, we are blown away by a strong and powerful voice and an equally strong acting performance.  As you may know, acting  from a stage and acting for a camera require different techniques.  What am I getting at?  Only this:  I LOVED the movie version of Les Miserables because it did what a movie version of the musical should do.  It told the story in a stunningly effective way even while keeping the musical score.  The acting performances are up-most here, the music secondary, or, supportive.  The opposite is true in theater.  It drives me batty to hear people compare the movie to the Broadway version!  Were you moved by how the movie told the story or not?  Do you believe that it is artistically faithful and that the music worked to support all of that?  Anne Hathaway will never be big on Broadway, yet her sympathetic portrayal of Fantine is wonderful and true to the requirements of a movie.  Don't even get me started on Hugh Jackman's success as Jean Valjean.  Now, if you want to hear me complain (just a little) I will say I was a bit disappointed with Russel Crowe's performance.  Sorry, but he seemed a bit stone- faced for all the internal turmoil of the character.  I know he did it on purpose; it just didn't work, especially during Javert's suicide song.  Good God man!  Show some emotion!  

via demookie

I'm not saying that some of the stars of Broadway wouldn't do well in movies--I'm sure many of them could adapt; which brings me to my subject (finally!): Samantha Barks.  She is a true example of one bright, new, Broadway star with a big voice and [movie] acting ability!  She blew me away as Eponine.  I also just saw her on TV (not in person, darnit-all)  in the 25th anniversary concert of Les Miserables.  She is currently touring with OLIVER!   This young woman (22, from the Isle of Man, UK) has a tremendous career ahead of her.  

Image via Glamour Samantha Barks 

Image via Amanda Seyfried, Anne Hathaway, and Samantha Barks.

These fabulous lyrics allude to my next source of inspiration: "Red, the blood of angry men.  Black, the dark of ages past.  Red, a world about to dawn.  Black, the night that ends at last."

{another side note: the best CD to get for your car? The 10th anniversary concert of Les Miserables.  That's where it's at in terms of musical cast}

I don't want to go off subject too much...but I have to mention that I have done a little research on the Lyricist Herbert Kretzmer, (because I believe the words of  Les Mis to be deeply compelling and I wanted to know more about the man who wrote them).  He is a South-African born English Journalist, besides being an award winning Lyiricist.  One fabulous career is not enough for some people, I guess.  He wrote for the Daily Express as a feature writer and then became Senior Drama critic for the same publication, holding that post for 18 years.  The man as been to 3,000 opening nights!  (source) He adapted Les Miserables, when asked by Cameron Macintosh, from the French version of the musical by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg.  He extended it from 2 hours to 3! 

  

If I've lost you I am very sorry...back to Red and Black! 

google via pinterest


image via DGV via pinterest .  Originally pinned from Debbi Drybala.


via christineringenbach


cococozy.com


lifestyle


mydesignchic


littlelovables


au.lifestyle



buckscountyproperty



themaisonette


James Abbott McNiell Whistler via Wikimedia


centsationalgirl


Jonathan Adler via Cococozy

Hope you are inspired by these images of classic and chic red and black.  I usually shy away from any pairing this strong, but I am loving these spaces and I definitely want to wear more red and black.

P.S.  I can belt the heck out of "On My Own!"  Bet only a few people know that about me:)

Phantom of the Opera

I recorded a documentary on the original London production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera a little while back, and just got around to watching it.  It is an interesting behind the scenes look at one of the most popular Broadway shows of all time, with interviews from the original cast and crew.  Phantom was the first real Broadway show that I had ever seen; I was probably 18 or 19 years old, and I went with  my friend Josh and a couple of his friends.  We got all dressed up (Josh even brought me red roses), drove down to the Pantages theater in L.A., and had dinner at some Chinese restaurant before the show.  I remember the feeling I got when the lights went down and the show started.  It was breathtaking; I was hooked.  The show was amazing; I especially loved the scene where the Phantom takes Christine across the stage on a boat.  This is one of the things I love about theater; this is just a simple little boat on wheels rolling across a stage that has a fog machine running, and there are some strategically placed candles, but from the audience it really looks like the boat is on water.  It is easy to believe that they are really in his underground lair beneath the opera house.  It is also easy to sympathize with the Phantom, and I think a lot of audience members (probably mostly women), walk away from the show on his side.

The behind the scenes gossip in the documentary is crazy; there were so many hitches and glitches with the practice runs leading up to the opening that everyone involved thought that the show would tank.  For a little while there was even a rumor that the show had evoked a real phantom in the theater, there were that many things that went wrong.  Thanks to the dedication of the cast and crew, the first show after the previews, which was attended by a number of celebrities and even Princess Diana, was perfect.  Also, considering Sarah Brightman's popularity now (she was the original Christine in the play, and married to Andrew Lloyd Webber at the time), it's interesting to think that at this point in her career, many critics were quick to say that she was not that talented and had only gotten the part because of her marriage to Webber.  Regardless of what critics thought, the audience accepted her then and now.
Alli and I got to go see Phantom (her first time) while we were in London.  It has been playing at Her Majesty's Theater since 1986, even through renovations of the theater in 1992.  It was even more magical the second time, and watching this documentary is making me want to go see it again.  Preferably in London.

Alli, all dressed up, before we went to
Her Majesty's Theater for the show.
She was so little!!

Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman 

at the 1988 Tony Awards singing "The Phantom of the Opera"