Dear readers,
Sorry it’s been so long since I last reviewed a show. I’ve been so busy. If you follow me, you know that I was super stressed what with lock-in, IBET, and some super irritating people. But I found time to write this. I’ve been listening to shows a lot. Kind of. But I got behind on reviewing and then it seemed daunting to try to catch up. I’m like 13 days behind! (Thirteen! Every thing switches. Thirteen!) and so I decided that rather than write 2 line reviews that nobody cares about, I’d tell you what shows I’ve been listening to and then call it even and pick back up tomorrow. During lock in I listened to Hair, October 18th 2009 with Nicole Lewis as Dionne. Nicole was nowhere near as strong as Dionne should be. But as usual the rest of the show was good. I think I was watching Wall-E while listening, so, oops. Also during Lock-In I listened to In the Heights, January 18th, 2010. I fell asleep during it. I don’t know why but I always get bored and lose focus during Pacienca y Fe. Why is that? It’s a good song. What seems like forever ago I listened to American Idiot 4/3/10. And loved it. You know, it’s funny that the show has so little dialogue and I love that! More often than not dialogue is what I skip, but with American Idiot I’m skipping what? Johnny’s intro, the part before Boulevard of Broken Dreams and that’s like it. Also I listened to Legally Blonde 8/21/09. Whoever Elle was, I didn’t like her voice so much. And Hair 2/22/10 which I was impressed by the show in general. Also a long time ago I listened to Chase as Moritz (8/7/09) which was really good, but Song of Purple Summer was the true star with harmonies that could kill you. Rock of Ages 12/6/09 was all the way back when I first got strep! I liked the Sherrie and hated Tom. I finished Rock of Ages the Friday of my balcony scene before I even got to school (I missed the bus) and then I started with Marvelous Wonderettes 6/7/09 which was cute and fun. The week before that I listened to the Chicago OCR and Broadway Miscast to shake things up. Neither one really drew me in. All the way back on April 12th I spent the entire day searching for the next Elle Woods. Yep, I watched episodes 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 in one day. I had a lot of fun and wanted to be Elle Woods by the time I was done. That left me on a Legally Blonde high, I snapping constantly and cheery and crazy. We even taught Saemi how to snap! She doesn’t have it yet. And with the rest of my time I’ve been listening to the American Idiot OBCR which I am sadly obsessed with. Oh my god, I love listening to it and rocking out. What’s not to love? The voices are amazing and so is the music. Rebecca Naomi Jones is a freaking god! Honestly, American Idiot is the 2010 Hair. Last year I had Hair to constantly listen to and obsess over. And I think I’ll be rooting for AI the same was I rooted for Hair last year. I’ve also made a lot of exercising playlists, because I have to go to the gym thrice a week. One playlist had Totally Fucked, Bitch of Living, So Much Better, Whipped Into Shape, Ohmigod You Guys, Hair, Black Boys and songs like that. Then I made a playlist that would be exactly 15 minutes (the amount of time I bike for) that had So Much Better, Totally Fucked, Three Five Zero Zero, I Don’t Care and maybe something else. But then I found the true key. Know Your Enemy. Seriously, all I need is Tony Vincent and I’m biking over 100 RPMs. So I calculated how long it was and how many times it went evenly into 15 minutes. According to my calculations, if I bike for 10 seconds and then press play I will listen to it exactly 7 times and be done right on time. I biked 4.32 miles in 15 minutes! That’s hella fast. The only downside of American Idiot is it makes me a little more hateful and angry, while Hair makes me love and Legally Blonde makes me perky and SNAPS!!! Did I mention Glee yet? Both of the last episodes suuuucked. Okay, with the Madonna one the only thing I liked was 4 Minutes. It’s a good song and it didn’t have Lea. Groff made me smile in that episode too. But then last night, no Groff to really speak of and it was so awfully preachy. I don’t like preachy. But you know why it’s preachy? To cover for the fact that they have no real plot to speak of. So hey, let’s make Mercedes have weight problems and Kurt have Daddy issues. I don’t care. Really, I have daddy issues and I don’t care. As Barney Stinson taught us, Daddy issues help you get laid.
So I think I’ve gotten all caught up in my life of musicals and shows. What next? I miss Next to Normal so I think after Bio is over (In 12 minutes) I will listen to the OBCR.
And I’ll leave you all off with a thought. Can you imagine that in 15 years Next to Normal, Spring Awakening and American Idiot will be old and possibly be considered classic? Can you imagine what shows will be around in 20 years. And don’t you tell me that Broadway will be gone, because that’s not going to happen.
Much Love,
ATUGIRL.
Showing posts with label jonathan groff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jonathan groff. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Day 142-4/10/10
Show: Hair
Date: 7/30/08
Cast: Caren Lyn Manuel, Patina Miller, Jonathan Groff, and the normal revival cast
Type: Audio
Oddly, Groff does not sound all that different from Gavin. Which is weird, because I thought opposites attract. I really like Patina, she’s a little less extreme than Sasha. And there was also something I liked about Caren. She sounded so mature, yet like she really did like Berger. I didn’t like how Easy To Be Hard started as Berger was saying “I hate yellow.” There were other things that seemed a little different, which I loved. It shows that they really made it setting appropriate (They made some changes in lines to go for a theatre instead of an outdoor area) and they also just really make it all special.
Date: 7/30/08
Cast: Caren Lyn Manuel, Patina Miller, Jonathan Groff, and the normal revival cast
Type: Audio
Oddly, Groff does not sound all that different from Gavin. Which is weird, because I thought opposites attract. I really like Patina, she’s a little less extreme than Sasha. And there was also something I liked about Caren. She sounded so mature, yet like she really did like Berger. I didn’t like how Easy To Be Hard started as Berger was saying “I hate yellow.” There were other things that seemed a little different, which I loved. It shows that they really made it setting appropriate (They made some changes in lines to go for a theatre instead of an outdoor area) and they also just really make it all special.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Day 87-2/14/10
Show: Spring Awakening
Date: 8/27/07
Cast: Jonathan Groff (Melchior), Lea Michele (Wendla), John Gallagher, Jr. (Moritz), Skylar Astin (Georg), Lilli Cooper (Martha), Blake Daniel (Ernst), Brian Charles Johnson (Otto), Christine Estabrook (Adult Women), Lauren Pritchard (Ilse), Phoebe Strole (Anna), Stephen Spinella (Adult Men), Jonathan B. Wright (Hanschen), Jennifer Damiano (u/s Thea)
Type: Audio
Pretty decent show. Groff sounded wonderful. Lea was decent. John sounded maybe a little too spazy. Skylar was excellent in Touch Me. Lilli was excellent in Dark I Know Well. Lauren was great in Blue Wind but I realized her acting isn't exactly great. JBW was not strong to me, I know some people say he's great but I'm not impressed. Phoebe may be one of the few Anna's who make me really like the character. Blake was great but sounded a little nervous. And Jenn was a decent Thea. She had some spunk to her.
Standout songs were Bitch of Living, Touch Me, My Junk, Totally Fucked, and Song of Purple Summer
Date: 8/27/07
Cast: Jonathan Groff (Melchior), Lea Michele (Wendla), John Gallagher, Jr. (Moritz), Skylar Astin (Georg), Lilli Cooper (Martha), Blake Daniel (Ernst), Brian Charles Johnson (Otto), Christine Estabrook (Adult Women), Lauren Pritchard (Ilse), Phoebe Strole (Anna), Stephen Spinella (Adult Men), Jonathan B. Wright (Hanschen), Jennifer Damiano (u/s Thea)
Type: Audio
Pretty decent show. Groff sounded wonderful. Lea was decent. John sounded maybe a little too spazy. Skylar was excellent in Touch Me. Lilli was excellent in Dark I Know Well. Lauren was great in Blue Wind but I realized her acting isn't exactly great. JBW was not strong to me, I know some people say he's great but I'm not impressed. Phoebe may be one of the few Anna's who make me really like the character. Blake was great but sounded a little nervous. And Jenn was a decent Thea. She had some spunk to her.
Standout songs were Bitch of Living, Touch Me, My Junk, Totally Fucked, and Song of Purple Summer
Friday, January 22, 2010
Day 64-1/22/10
Show: Spring Awakening
Date: 8/18/07
Cast: Lea Michele, Jonathan Groff, Gerard Canonico, Johnny B Wright, Gideon Glick, Lauren Pritchard, Remy Zaken, Phoebe Strole, Jennifer Damiano, Matt Doyle, Skylar Astin
Type: Audio
So this is a performance that I’m quite used to. It’s all over youtube and it’s good quality so I’ve used it in a lot of my videos and dream casts. Mama Who Bore Me was decent, I can definitely respect Lea’s strength in her voice. Although that’s pretty much all I like about her voice-the strength. And Groff’s Melchior is ever-wonderful. It’s a little different with Gerard’s than it is with John’s. With John…it’s sort of like the friend who everybody has that has super strict parents who don’t let them know anything about sex, or babies and whatnot. Well, John’s not asian, but the principle applies. I’m not sure if I’m making my point properly, so I’ll restate it. What I mean is that Groff’s Melchior and John’s Moritz are very much equals, but Melchior has the upper hand in some ways. I’m still not explaining myself well, so I’m going to resort to real life examples. Moritz is like Katherine, Melchior would be like me. Now, I’m smarter and I’m better in school and I’m better at talking to guys and all that and I share my knowledge with Katherine. (Was that a run on sentence or what?) But with Gerard, Moritz is like a seventh grader in a freshman in a freshman/sophomore split class. My point is that Groff adapts well to Gerards in a way that it still works and Gerard still takes on a very real character that is both relateable and understandable. Bitch of Living was great, but seriously, what is wrong with Marianna? I mean, I totally understand not calling Brian, Gabe, or even Anthony back? But why would you not return Matt/Otto’s call? She’s an idiot. Okay, it’s hard to focus right now, I have guys on either side of me talking over me and I swear I’m going to kill one of them. Or both of them. Can’t they move? Okay, My Junk was good despite Lea. I’m not trying to be mean, but she stands out in a bad way. Jenn, Remy, and Phoebe all sound like cute young girls and Lea does not. But I do really like Jenn’s Martha. Touch Me was many kinds of wonderful. Especially Matt. His voice is so pretty :D I’m retarded. Although I don’t like Lea’s voice, it works pretty well duetting with Groff. I don’t know why, maybe Groff just has a chameleon type of voice, maybe he adapts to whoever he’s with but he always seems to sound good. Jenn’s Martha, she sound’s really angry and a little bit spiteful in DIKW and I think that realty works. She’s haunting in a different way. Lea really just makes the Beating Scene lose a lot of its meaning, because I sort of want her to be hurt. Matt sounds so pretty in the Reprise. It’s interesting to hear him sing the same words, but make it sound so completely different. This is one of Gerard’s early Moritzes and it still completely OWNS And Then There Were None. Totally Fucked was wonderful, Groff really explodes in this song. Those You’ve Known didn’t quite fit together, Lea’s voice didn’t sound quite right with Gerard’s. Song of Purple Summer was gorgeous. Lauren’s voice is wonderful.
Also something that I thought of: I didn't like the Adult Men, he used no characterization and every thing sounded exactly the same
Date: 8/18/07
Cast: Lea Michele, Jonathan Groff, Gerard Canonico, Johnny B Wright, Gideon Glick, Lauren Pritchard, Remy Zaken, Phoebe Strole, Jennifer Damiano, Matt Doyle, Skylar Astin
Type: Audio
So this is a performance that I’m quite used to. It’s all over youtube and it’s good quality so I’ve used it in a lot of my videos and dream casts. Mama Who Bore Me was decent, I can definitely respect Lea’s strength in her voice. Although that’s pretty much all I like about her voice-the strength. And Groff’s Melchior is ever-wonderful. It’s a little different with Gerard’s than it is with John’s. With John…it’s sort of like the friend who everybody has that has super strict parents who don’t let them know anything about sex, or babies and whatnot. Well, John’s not asian, but the principle applies. I’m not sure if I’m making my point properly, so I’ll restate it. What I mean is that Groff’s Melchior and John’s Moritz are very much equals, but Melchior has the upper hand in some ways. I’m still not explaining myself well, so I’m going to resort to real life examples. Moritz is like Katherine, Melchior would be like me. Now, I’m smarter and I’m better in school and I’m better at talking to guys and all that and I share my knowledge with Katherine. (Was that a run on sentence or what?) But with Gerard, Moritz is like a seventh grader in a freshman in a freshman/sophomore split class. My point is that Groff adapts well to Gerards in a way that it still works and Gerard still takes on a very real character that is both relateable and understandable. Bitch of Living was great, but seriously, what is wrong with Marianna? I mean, I totally understand not calling Brian, Gabe, or even Anthony back? But why would you not return Matt/Otto’s call? She’s an idiot. Okay, it’s hard to focus right now, I have guys on either side of me talking over me and I swear I’m going to kill one of them. Or both of them. Can’t they move? Okay, My Junk was good despite Lea. I’m not trying to be mean, but she stands out in a bad way. Jenn, Remy, and Phoebe all sound like cute young girls and Lea does not. But I do really like Jenn’s Martha. Touch Me was many kinds of wonderful. Especially Matt. His voice is so pretty :D I’m retarded. Although I don’t like Lea’s voice, it works pretty well duetting with Groff. I don’t know why, maybe Groff just has a chameleon type of voice, maybe he adapts to whoever he’s with but he always seems to sound good. Jenn’s Martha, she sound’s really angry and a little bit spiteful in DIKW and I think that realty works. She’s haunting in a different way. Lea really just makes the Beating Scene lose a lot of its meaning, because I sort of want her to be hurt. Matt sounds so pretty in the Reprise. It’s interesting to hear him sing the same words, but make it sound so completely different. This is one of Gerard’s early Moritzes and it still completely OWNS And Then There Were None. Totally Fucked was wonderful, Groff really explodes in this song. Those You’ve Known didn’t quite fit together, Lea’s voice didn’t sound quite right with Gerard’s. Song of Purple Summer was gorgeous. Lauren’s voice is wonderful.
Also something that I thought of: I didn't like the Adult Men, he used no characterization and every thing sounded exactly the same
Friday, January 15, 2010
Day 57-1/15/10
Show: Spring Awakening
Date: 5/18/08
Cast: Jonathan Groff, Lea Michele, Blake Bashoff, Blake Daniel, Matt Doyle, Brian Charles Johnson, Skylar Astin, Remy Zaken, Phoebe Strole, Lilli Cooper, Emma Hunton
Type: Audio
So, I'll forgive Lea for sounding so irritatingly polished. If I were to be nice, I'd just say that she's probably the strongest singer. But she's not right for the role. When she speaks, there's not believable way that she's a 14 year old girl. It reminds me of Lost in Yonkers, the grandmother takes care of Bella even though she's all grown up. That's a little more extreme, but the principle of the matter. I've been finding Christine terribly annoying in the stork scene. MWBMR was quite powerful, Lea's strength in her voice is quite a help here. I think all the other girls have been stronger than others in the same role, maybe not including Emma and especially Lilli. I really enjoy Groff's singing. He always looks like a sweet guy, but his voice is powerful with still effortlessness. I love how in ATK you feel his passion. This was a brilliant show overall, despite Blake. Touch Me was wonderful to listen to. So was My Junk, Matt was fantastic in it. The audience for this show was also fantastic. Constant cheering and excitement is actually great to listen to, although the screaming makes some bits hard to hear. There wasn't just enthusiasm for Groff and Lea, but for everyone. Matt got tons of Cheers in My Junk and Totally Fucked. And Word of Your Body Reprise was wonderful. Groff was great and Lea wasn't terrible, and they have pretty good dialogue with each other. And Whispering was also quite good. Totally Fucked got so much applause, there was a second track made for just the applause.
Lea's speech was wonderful and truly made me tear up.
Date: 5/18/08
Cast: Jonathan Groff, Lea Michele, Blake Bashoff, Blake Daniel, Matt Doyle, Brian Charles Johnson, Skylar Astin, Remy Zaken, Phoebe Strole, Lilli Cooper, Emma Hunton
Type: Audio
So, I'll forgive Lea for sounding so irritatingly polished. If I were to be nice, I'd just say that she's probably the strongest singer. But she's not right for the role. When she speaks, there's not believable way that she's a 14 year old girl. It reminds me of Lost in Yonkers, the grandmother takes care of Bella even though she's all grown up. That's a little more extreme, but the principle of the matter. I've been finding Christine terribly annoying in the stork scene. MWBMR was quite powerful, Lea's strength in her voice is quite a help here. I think all the other girls have been stronger than others in the same role, maybe not including Emma and especially Lilli. I really enjoy Groff's singing. He always looks like a sweet guy, but his voice is powerful with still effortlessness. I love how in ATK you feel his passion. This was a brilliant show overall, despite Blake. Touch Me was wonderful to listen to. So was My Junk, Matt was fantastic in it. The audience for this show was also fantastic. Constant cheering and excitement is actually great to listen to, although the screaming makes some bits hard to hear. There wasn't just enthusiasm for Groff and Lea, but for everyone. Matt got tons of Cheers in My Junk and Totally Fucked. And Word of Your Body Reprise was wonderful. Groff was great and Lea wasn't terrible, and they have pretty good dialogue with each other. And Whispering was also quite good. Totally Fucked got so much applause, there was a second track made for just the applause.
Lea's speech was wonderful and truly made me tear up.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Day 31-12/20/09
Show: Spring Awakening
Date: 12/18/06
Cast: OBC, Robi as Ernst
Type: Audio :(
My gosh, somehow even though this was 8 days after the beginning it seems as close to perfect as a live performance could be. I'd say the gorgeous quality makes it seem even better. Lea surprisingly did not irritate the living crap out of me. She still sounded overly polished and precocious but I didn't cringe as much as I did last time. And wow, Johnny sounded so much younger and so wonderfully awkward. I imagine him as a kid who's been help back and is just pathetic, but sweet and sad. I realized that I haven't heard Lauren in pretty much forever. Because when I first heard her in Mama Reprise I realized I'd been missing a lot. She tears that song apart. When she comes into Dark I Know Well it adds this haunting that it requires. It seems effortless, like she's really just singing thoughts. Her Blue Wind has a haunting sadness and her dialogue with Moritz almost seems sad with a hope and some sentimental amusement. Her Song of Purple Summer was also beautiful, but the whole ensemble was really what made it good. Groff was good as Melchior. I can't say I buy it, but he sings wonderfully and you can tell he gives the character all he can. Some people weren't bred for a role, but he does pretty well. Phoebe and Remy were both very cute, and man they sound so young! Lilli was good, nothing sticks out that I remember. No one sounds like Gideon's Ernst, but I did quite like Robi's he has a regular/lowish pitched voice but he tunes into this innocence for Ernst which works great. JBW wasn't too bad although I'm still not a big fan. Touch Me pretty much just killed. Brian and Skylar both sounded amazing and just everyone together with all this perfection was soooo WOW. Same goes for Totally Fucked
Date: 12/18/06
Cast: OBC, Robi as Ernst
Type: Audio :(
My gosh, somehow even though this was 8 days after the beginning it seems as close to perfect as a live performance could be. I'd say the gorgeous quality makes it seem even better. Lea surprisingly did not irritate the living crap out of me. She still sounded overly polished and precocious but I didn't cringe as much as I did last time. And wow, Johnny sounded so much younger and so wonderfully awkward. I imagine him as a kid who's been help back and is just pathetic, but sweet and sad. I realized that I haven't heard Lauren in pretty much forever. Because when I first heard her in Mama Reprise I realized I'd been missing a lot. She tears that song apart. When she comes into Dark I Know Well it adds this haunting that it requires. It seems effortless, like she's really just singing thoughts. Her Blue Wind has a haunting sadness and her dialogue with Moritz almost seems sad with a hope and some sentimental amusement. Her Song of Purple Summer was also beautiful, but the whole ensemble was really what made it good. Groff was good as Melchior. I can't say I buy it, but he sings wonderfully and you can tell he gives the character all he can. Some people weren't bred for a role, but he does pretty well. Phoebe and Remy were both very cute, and man they sound so young! Lilli was good, nothing sticks out that I remember. No one sounds like Gideon's Ernst, but I did quite like Robi's he has a regular/lowish pitched voice but he tunes into this innocence for Ernst which works great. JBW wasn't too bad although I'm still not a big fan. Touch Me pretty much just killed. Brian and Skylar both sounded amazing and just everyone together with all this perfection was soooo WOW. Same goes for Totally Fucked
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Day 13-12/2/09
Show: Spring Awakening
Date: 4/16/08
Type: Audio
Cast: Jonathan Groff (Melchior), Lea Michele (Wendla), Blake Bashoff (Moritz), Emma Hunton (Ilse), Skylar Astin (Georg), Lilli Cooper (Martha), Jonathan B. Wright (Hanschen), Gerard Canonico (u/s Ernst), Brian Charles Johnson (Otto), Phoebe Strole (Anna), Remy Zaken (Thea), Kate Burton (Adult Women), Glenn Fleshler (Adult Men)
It's clear no notes in Mama Who Bore Me are difficult for Lea, but she doesn't sound young at all. There's this professional tone that comes through, and here I can SERIOUSLY hear it and it really bothers me.
For some reason my list says this is Kate, but it's totally Christine. The stork scene was...same old. I've kind of gotten tired of this scene, it's not really all that funny to me.
Mama Who Bore Me sounds fierce. Those wonderful harmonies, I can hear a little of Lea and Lilli especially.
Groff is great, especially in All That's Known. I'm not a fan of Blake's Moritz and I really dislike it with Groff, he and Gallagher had such chemistry.
I like that Gerard's Ernst isn't as high pitched as some of the others. One kind of funny thing was Skylar sort of fumbling with Grossebustenhaulter which made it all the funnier.
The girls scene and My Junk are really cute, but I can't stand Lea in them. Lea's line in My Junk is totally not believably a teenage girl. While the rest are so wonderfully convincing. Anna and Thea are definitely the most familiar characters, and I love the way Remy and Phoebe portray them. Remy gives Thea this spunk, it really shows when she says "we've all got our junk" she kind of says junk like ju-unk which gives a lot of personality. And Phoebe plays Anna as so sweet and very daydreamy. If you remember my criticism of Gabby's Anna being snobby and as if Wendla wasn't cool for not coming to the wedding, the way Phoebe says "orchids and chrysanthemums" is it's her dream wedding or something. And her voice is just gorgeous in her My Junk lines, and like I said the "spend the day wondering what you do..." emphasizes her girly daydream quality. Lilli also plays her part wonderfully, I find the way that she plays along with the rest while having her own desires is really nice. I really like that she likes Moritz based on more than just his looks.
I'll always find the Georg/Hanschen part of My Junk funny, but it's so much funnier when you're actually seeing it.
The journal scene is always very different depending on Melchiors. I like how Groff's take sort of scoffs at the world how it is. It works well with how he's so old (that sounded weirder than intended) and the way he talks to Moritz is like his protege, there's definitely that mentor/mentee admiration.
Touch Me started off great with Groff, then was immediately brought down with Blake. I have to admit, I didn't really even realize it was Gerard as Ernst because I've never found Ernst's solo as amazing as other people's. Brian was great, although whenever I hear or see him I kind of imagine Max!Otto. Skylar was also really good, but what I loved was that you could slightly hear the girls with their harmonies and it was absolutely gorgeous.
The Melchior/Wendla conversation was fine, Word of Your Body was lovely on Groff's part but Lea's voice was irritating me.
The Passed scene was also fine, but it kind of sounded like Blake said "actually heaven must feel like this"
I really love the way Anna and Thea tease each other, it's really cute and believable. Also Lilli does an excellent job confessing her secret, the girls react much better here than they did in the tour recording.
Dark I Know Well was great, Emma and Lilli sounded wonderful together.
The journal scene I find really powerful. Because of the relationship Melchior has with Moritz here, you can understand Melchior's anger at what happened. He's really having this world that he dislikes hurt him, which understandably angers him.
With Groff and Lea both being way too old for the roles, the conversation between the two almost isn't so bad. But wow, when Groff test-swings the stick, you seriously can hear it slicing the air. Reminds me of when I used to whip my violin bow. The beating itself was very disturbing, very loud and lots of yelling. Some odd grunting on Groff's part. Lea's crying was really loud, I'm not sure how I felt about it.
Blake's part of And There Were None is super hard to hear because of the instruments overpowering him. Probably for the better.
I found the harmonies much more interesting in Mirror-Blue Night and I Believe than what was actually happening.
I Believe definitely has beautiful harmonies, especially the girls. I was pretty sure I could hear Eryn a little.
The Guilty Ones was a little hard to hear, as was Don't Do Sadness I think because of the proximity to the band. I'm not a huge fan of Emma's acting, I think she makes Ilse seem a little weird, but her voice is just gorgeous.
Left Behind was awesome, Groff really sings with this sadness in his voice and the harmonies you could hear were beautiful.
Totally Fucked was fucking awesome, Groff always says the opening line with a wonderful punch it's great.
As I said before, I really enjoyed Gerard's Ernst because he doesn't have a very high pitched voice like the actual Ernsts often do. The dialogue before Word of Your Body Reprise was kind of hard to hear.
Gerard sounded great in WOYBR. I'm just going to say this: I don't like how JBW sounds in it. It sounds like he's saying "gawna." I find it so irritating. But this may be my favorite WOYBR that doesn't have Matt in it. Not because of Gerard, and definitely not because of JBW but because of Phoebe! The information for this audio says that you can hear her, but it's not just that you can hear her but she sounds absolutely gorgeous! Seriously, breathtaking. Love that girl.
I'm not a fan of Whispering, I partly think it's kind of a boring song. And also-especially here-Wendla's acting more than she's singing. I mean you can sort of tell that Lea's trying to cry and act upset and it doesn't sound as good as it could perhaps.
Although Groff is good at seeming distraught, his "no"s sounded a little bit constipated.
Those You've Known was decent, Song of Purple Summer was so beautiful. You can hear several people separately. I know I heard Phoebe, Eryn and BCJ. Maybe others as well.
That was fun, see you tomorrow with Addams Family!
Date: 4/16/08
Type: Audio
Cast: Jonathan Groff (Melchior), Lea Michele (Wendla), Blake Bashoff (Moritz), Emma Hunton (Ilse), Skylar Astin (Georg), Lilli Cooper (Martha), Jonathan B. Wright (Hanschen), Gerard Canonico (u/s Ernst), Brian Charles Johnson (Otto), Phoebe Strole (Anna), Remy Zaken (Thea), Kate Burton (Adult Women), Glenn Fleshler (Adult Men)
It's clear no notes in Mama Who Bore Me are difficult for Lea, but she doesn't sound young at all. There's this professional tone that comes through, and here I can SERIOUSLY hear it and it really bothers me.
For some reason my list says this is Kate, but it's totally Christine. The stork scene was...same old. I've kind of gotten tired of this scene, it's not really all that funny to me.
Mama Who Bore Me sounds fierce. Those wonderful harmonies, I can hear a little of Lea and Lilli especially.
Groff is great, especially in All That's Known. I'm not a fan of Blake's Moritz and I really dislike it with Groff, he and Gallagher had such chemistry.
I like that Gerard's Ernst isn't as high pitched as some of the others. One kind of funny thing was Skylar sort of fumbling with Grossebustenhaulter which made it all the funnier.
The girls scene and My Junk are really cute, but I can't stand Lea in them. Lea's line in My Junk is totally not believably a teenage girl. While the rest are so wonderfully convincing. Anna and Thea are definitely the most familiar characters, and I love the way Remy and Phoebe portray them. Remy gives Thea this spunk, it really shows when she says "we've all got our junk" she kind of says junk like ju-unk which gives a lot of personality. And Phoebe plays Anna as so sweet and very daydreamy. If you remember my criticism of Gabby's Anna being snobby and as if Wendla wasn't cool for not coming to the wedding, the way Phoebe says "orchids and chrysanthemums" is it's her dream wedding or something. And her voice is just gorgeous in her My Junk lines, and like I said the "spend the day wondering what you do..." emphasizes her girly daydream quality. Lilli also plays her part wonderfully, I find the way that she plays along with the rest while having her own desires is really nice. I really like that she likes Moritz based on more than just his looks.
I'll always find the Georg/Hanschen part of My Junk funny, but it's so much funnier when you're actually seeing it.
The journal scene is always very different depending on Melchiors. I like how Groff's take sort of scoffs at the world how it is. It works well with how he's so old (that sounded weirder than intended) and the way he talks to Moritz is like his protege, there's definitely that mentor/mentee admiration.
Touch Me started off great with Groff, then was immediately brought down with Blake. I have to admit, I didn't really even realize it was Gerard as Ernst because I've never found Ernst's solo as amazing as other people's. Brian was great, although whenever I hear or see him I kind of imagine Max!Otto. Skylar was also really good, but what I loved was that you could slightly hear the girls with their harmonies and it was absolutely gorgeous.
The Melchior/Wendla conversation was fine, Word of Your Body was lovely on Groff's part but Lea's voice was irritating me.
The Passed scene was also fine, but it kind of sounded like Blake said "actually heaven must feel like this"
I really love the way Anna and Thea tease each other, it's really cute and believable. Also Lilli does an excellent job confessing her secret, the girls react much better here than they did in the tour recording.
Dark I Know Well was great, Emma and Lilli sounded wonderful together.
The journal scene I find really powerful. Because of the relationship Melchior has with Moritz here, you can understand Melchior's anger at what happened. He's really having this world that he dislikes hurt him, which understandably angers him.
With Groff and Lea both being way too old for the roles, the conversation between the two almost isn't so bad. But wow, when Groff test-swings the stick, you seriously can hear it slicing the air. Reminds me of when I used to whip my violin bow. The beating itself was very disturbing, very loud and lots of yelling. Some odd grunting on Groff's part. Lea's crying was really loud, I'm not sure how I felt about it.
Blake's part of And There Were None is super hard to hear because of the instruments overpowering him. Probably for the better.
I found the harmonies much more interesting in Mirror-Blue Night and I Believe than what was actually happening.
I Believe definitely has beautiful harmonies, especially the girls. I was pretty sure I could hear Eryn a little.
The Guilty Ones was a little hard to hear, as was Don't Do Sadness I think because of the proximity to the band. I'm not a huge fan of Emma's acting, I think she makes Ilse seem a little weird, but her voice is just gorgeous.
Left Behind was awesome, Groff really sings with this sadness in his voice and the harmonies you could hear were beautiful.
Totally Fucked was fucking awesome, Groff always says the opening line with a wonderful punch it's great.
As I said before, I really enjoyed Gerard's Ernst because he doesn't have a very high pitched voice like the actual Ernsts often do. The dialogue before Word of Your Body Reprise was kind of hard to hear.
Gerard sounded great in WOYBR. I'm just going to say this: I don't like how JBW sounds in it. It sounds like he's saying "gawna." I find it so irritating. But this may be my favorite WOYBR that doesn't have Matt in it. Not because of Gerard, and definitely not because of JBW but because of Phoebe! The information for this audio says that you can hear her, but it's not just that you can hear her but she sounds absolutely gorgeous! Seriously, breathtaking. Love that girl.
I'm not a fan of Whispering, I partly think it's kind of a boring song. And also-especially here-Wendla's acting more than she's singing. I mean you can sort of tell that Lea's trying to cry and act upset and it doesn't sound as good as it could perhaps.
Although Groff is good at seeming distraught, his "no"s sounded a little bit constipated.
Those You've Known was decent, Song of Purple Summer was so beautiful. You can hear several people separately. I know I heard Phoebe, Eryn and BCJ. Maybe others as well.
That was fun, see you tomorrow with Addams Family!