Top 10 Favourite Elphabas from Wicked!

Since I posted the one about Glinda, I decided to do one about my favourite character from the show!

1) Current & London's longest running Elphaba, Rachel Tucker! I saw her a couple of years ago & she was amazing, especially during Defying Gravity & No Good Deed. Her acting skills are also so believable, portraying her as a very misunderstood & a rather sympathetic young, green woman, especially during Act 2, but is also perfect with her comedy timing, like in Popular! Her vocals are also very powerful & was perfect in pitch during her solos, even in For Good.

2) Original Broadway & London Elphaba & Rent & Glee star, Idina Menzel. Her voice is so powerful & amazing, especially during Defying Gravity, but also shows a softer side to her voice during I'm Not That Girl, as well as with her acting skills, showing a consistently determined & likeable character throughout.

3) Broadway & US tour Elphaba & final Broadway Maureen in Rent, Eden Espinosa. Also appearing as Elphaba in an Ugly Betty episode, she sounded amazing opposite Megan Hilty, with her voice being fantastic during Defying Gravity & I'm Not That Girl.

4) London Elphaba & first ever black principal to play Elphaba, Alexia Khadime! She definitely is one of the best Elphabas vocally, especially during The Wizard and I & Defying Gravity! She was also really funny during some scenes of Act 2 & showed emotion during I'm Not That Girl.

5) Australian & Universal Studios Elphaba Jemma Rix! Her voice sounds so good, especially during The Wizard and I & No Good Deed.

6) Broadway Elphaba Teal Wicks! Her voice is so phenomenal & powerful (added to the fact her name is a shade of green which makes her born for the role), & is an amazing actress, especially while singing I'm Not That Girl & No Good Deed, & is has a perfect pitch during Defying Gravity.

7) London & Broadway Elphaba Kerry Ellis, mainly because of her powerful voice during Defying Gravity & No Good Deed.

8) London standby Ashleigh Gray. I saw her final performance as a standby a couple of years ago & she was amzing & worth so much more than a standby, because her voice was so amazing & powerful during No Good Deed, with that massively long note at the beginning while yelling 'FIYERO!' & Defying Gravity during the bit when she sings 'IT'S MEEEEE!'. She also actually made Elphaba funny during the cat-fight sequence when she did her little cackle after Dianne slapped her, & her acting was amazing & emotional throughout.

9) L.A tour Elphaba Marcie Dodd, with her voice being so powerful during No Good Deed & her acting skills being really good throughout & especially during the cat-fight scene.

10) Broadway Elphaba Shoshana Bean (who covered Idina Menzel's final performance), who's just phenomenal throughout, especially when she sings Defying Gravity & her acting skills are amazing, making Elphaba sympathetic & independent yet likeable.

Moulin Rouge Review!

I know this film's over a decade old, but I consider it a modern musical classic for our generation.

Stars: Ewan McGregor, Nicole Kidman, Jim Broadbent, Richard Roxburgh, John Leguizamo


Set in 1899, penniless English writer, Christian moves to Montmartre amidst the Bohemian revolution & befriends a group of Bohemians, including the eccentric Toulouse-Lautrec, who's writing a musical called Spectacular Spectacular for Harold Zidler, the owner of the Moulin Rouge nightclub & brothel. The star courtesan of the Moulin Rouge, Satine meanwhile, is the object of the Duke's affections & is also a potential investor for the Moulin Rouge, but accidentally starts to fall in love with Christian, whom she mistakes for the Duke at their first meeting. To cover it up, the group of Bohemians brief Spectacular Spectacular to the Duke to convince him to invest for the Moulin Rouge, with the plot being akin to that of Satine & Christian's foreshadowing forbidden love, under the pretence of the two rehearsing. However, as betrayal & secrecy start to kick into both the play & Satine & Christian's affair, they must find a way to hide & fight for their love for each other.

Based on the operas la triviata & la boheme. this juke-box musical has all the ingredients for a good film & musical: amazing & memorable cover versions of songs (i.e. Your Song, Lady Marmalade, Diamond Medley, Like a Virgin & Tango de Roxanne!), a moving, gripping & amazing plot, with my personal favourite part being the Elephant Love Medley, with some great comedy touches (especially the brief & Kylie Minogue's cameo as a green fairy from an absinthe bottle!), beautiful acting by Ewan McGregor Nicole Kidman (which should've won the Oscar for Best Actress!), fantastic design & style to the film, which comes with exquisite costume designs (especially Satine's red dress & diamond dress!) & actors who can actually sing (with the exception of the dubbing used on Zidler during Like a Virgin). One other part I love is how the play Spectacular Spectacular is both a play within a play situation & a metaphor for Satine & Christian's love for each other, especially used with the song Come What May (the only original song in the film), which is one of my favourite love songs ever! Overall, this film is just amazing & one of my favourite musicals & love stories ever!

Top 5 Favourite Glindas from Wicked!

1) Smash star & Broadway & L.A Glinda, Megan Hilty. To me, she's the funniest Glinda ever, especially during Popular (who couldn't forget her final Broadway performance of Popular!), with all the crazy things she does, but shows a hidden side to Glinda with her friendship with Elphaba, as well as making her funnily selfish & vain, when she's Galinda. She's definitely made her the archetypal dumb blonde daddy's girl!

2) Original Glinda Kristin Chenoweth, mainly because of her sweet voice, which sort of reminds me of a mouse, and I loved her in Pushing Daisies & Glee, which is an added bonus! I also love how the show gave her the opportunity to show off her soprano range, which is very powerful indeed!

3) London Glinda & West End veteran, Dianne Pilkington. I saw her in London a few years ago (Ashleigh Gray's final performance as a standby) & I thought she was hilarious, and made me laugh my head off in Popular & the cat-fight scene, & I was surprised with how deep her normal voice is to have such a pretty soprano one, even if she sounds like a child, which is what Glinda acts like for virtually all of Act One!

4) US tour Glinda, Annaleigh Ashford, because she also makes me laugh, like Megan Hilty (especially the 'I'm OK' bit in Popular!), making her officially a dumb blonde & I also liked her Sex & The City cameo & as Margot in Legally Blonde on Broadway!

5) Current London Glinda & previous Christine in Phantom, Gina Beck. She definitely bring operatic qualities to the character, while making you laugh with her personality, as well as her prettiness showing she isn't as dumb of a blonde as you think .

Anastasia Review!

I've just heard about the 29 hour reading for a stage version of the film coming up with Angela Lansbury & Aaron Tveit, so I decided to review the film because it's always been apart of my childhood.
Star rating: ****
Cast: Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Angela Lansbury, Christopher Lloyd & Hank Azaria

Taking place in 1920s Russia, an orphan named Anya doesn't know anything about her family from when she was eight years-old, with her only clue being a necklace, given to the Grand Duchess Anastasia by her grandmother, who disappeared after Rasputin, curses the Romanov family & causes a siege who kill all the family, except for the dowager empress & the missing Anastasia. After Anya decides to go to Paris to find her family, con-man Dimitri & his friend Vladimir decide to con the dowager empress to get the 10 million rouble reward for the return of Anastasia. After the two men meet Anya, they convince her that she may be Anastasia & she should pose as her so she can go to Paris to find her family & so they can get the reward, despite the fact she's the actual Anastasia, who Rasputin is now trying to kill.


The songs in this are amazing, especially Journey To The Past & Once Upon A December, Anastasia's ground-breaking solos sung by Broadway star Liz Callaway, featuring Angela Lansbury herself & Jim Cummings as Rasputin's singing voice was good during In The Dark Of The Night which made me laugh because of all of the dancing and singing bugs with Bartok, who Hank Azaria makes me laugh as. Throughout I kept on thinking 'WOW! THIS WOULD MAKE AN AMAZING MUSICAL/STAGE SHOW!' (I especially thought this during Once Upon A December & Paris Holds The Key To Your Heart, which Broadway legend Bernadette Peters sings!)

Despite this, the historical inaccuracy has diminished the original true tale of this mysterious duchess & her royal family, reducing it to a modern fairy tale for young children. Because of this though, it's what makes the story of this film so entrancing & magical for people of all ages, especially women with the spunky & independent Anastasia, who Meg Ryan portrays well in. John Cusack was also good as the cocky & handsome con-man Dimitri, especially when  it came to the romantic comedy between him & Anya, who at first despise each other, to the point where there's already an attraction between them.

This would be my dream cast for the musical:
Anastasia: Sierra Boggess or Samantha Barks
Dimitri: Aaron Tveit or Hadley Fraser
Dowager Empress: Angela Lansbury
Vladimir: Earl Carpenter
Sophie: Wendy Ferguson
Rasputin: Tim Curry

Mamma Mia Film Review!

Cast: Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Julie Walters, Christine Baranski, Dominic Cooper

Star rating: ****
Based on the juke-box musical bombarded with classic songs by ABBA, set in a fictional Greek island, 20 year-old Sophie is engaged & soon to be married to fiancée Sky, but doesn't know who her father is, who she wants to walk down the aisle with. She soon discovers she has 3 potential fathers, Sam, Bill & Harry, after finding her mother's diary while she was pregnant with her. When she finally meets her potential fathers, after secretly inviting them to her wedding, Sophie & her mother, Donna's worlds are turned upside-down, since Donna's been a single mother for 20 years while owning a hotel with little money & being a former member of group Donna & the Dynamos with friends Tanya & Rosie, who arrive in Kalokairi for the wedding.

The film is just amazing, with classic ABBA songs which will make you & your family sing along, with songs including Dancing Queen, Lay All Your Love On Me (which is a personal favourite of mine), Waterloo & Money, Money, Money. The actors were also just as exquisite, with Meryl Streep definitely being a knock-our in The Winner Takes It All & Amanda Seyfried sounds so pretty during I Have A Dream. However, I personally think to myself why the hell Pierce Brosnan was cast because he cannot sing at all & his voice was just awful, especially during I Do I Do I Do. Julie Walters & Christine Baanski are hilarious as Rosie & Tanya, especially during their first scene on the boat to the island & singing Super Trouper at Sophie's hen do, as well as Rosie singing a hilarious rendition of Take A Chance On Me to Bill.

Overall, this musical film will make you laugh & smile throughout, as well as singing along to ABBA classics & is definitely one for all the family.

Top 5 favourite Phantoms!

Hi, I've decided to reveal to you my top 5 favourite Phantoms cos to be honest, there aren't any that I hate vocally or acting wise (except for Gerard Butler).

1) 25th anniversary Phantom, original Phantom in Love Never Dies & London's youngest ever Phantom when he was 28, Ramin Karimloo! His voice always manages to seduce me & he has brought different qualities into his interpretation to the Phantom which I haven't seen in any other actor before him. I saw him in Love Never Dies twice & he was the only good  thing about it, to be honest, and he left me in tears  when I went to the concert at the Royal Albert Hall at the end of the performance & seduced me during Music of the Night & I think he's so nice & lovely because I've managed to meet him twice: once after an evening performance of LND & at a CD signing a few months ago for his début album. 

2) Current UK tour Phantom & London's longest running Phantom, John Owen-Jones. The 41 year-old Welsh actor has an amazing voice & acting qualities for the Phantom, especially during the Final Lair scene after he lets Raoul & Christine go, after watching his final performance on YouTube before he returned in 2010. Also, he was clearly a favourite with fans because during the encore of the 25th anniversary concert, he was the one who everybody seemed to have loved more than the other Phantoms who were on-stage with him while singing with Sarah Brightman. 

3) Original Phantom & Some Mothers Do 'ave 'em star, Michael Crawford. When I first heard him sing, I was quite shocked with the quality of it, considering he has a rather high voice for a man with a baritone range, especially after watching the original music video for Music of the Night. I also think if it weren't for him replacing Steve Hartley as the original Phantom, I don't think the show would've been as successful as it is now, because to be honest, I didn't like Steve Hartley because he sounded too rock to be the seductive Phantom.

4) Broadway Phantom Gary Mauer AKA the Phantom whose wife played Christine with him on-stage. His voice is just magnificent & his version of Music of the Night was amazing & he really brought his emotion in his performances opposite his wife, Elizabeth Southard especially during the Final Lair scene & the Journey scene.

5) Original Australian Phantom, Anthony Warlow, mainly because of his powerful & flawless voice, after listening to & watching videos of him in the stage production & he was amazing at the 25th anniversary concert, especially when he sang his bits of Music of the Night & the title song with Sarah Brightman, as well as with the other Phantoms who were with him.

Phantom of the Opera 2004 film Review

Since I talked about the film in the Dreamgirls review, I'm just gonna do one anyway.

Rating: *

Starring: Emmy Rossum, Gerard Butler, Patrick Wilson, Minnie Driver, Miranda Richardson, Jennifer Ellison

This film adaptation of the classic Andrew Lloyd Webber musical is in one word: HORRIBLE! It's a disgrace to any other adaptation of the classic beauty and the beast love story, only focusing on spectacle rather than the rather amazing plot. Set in Paris, 1871, a deformed man who lives in the underground of the Opera Populaire falls in love with Christine Daae & helps her become a star after Carlotta, the diva of the opera walks out on the night of a gala performance with the Vicomte de Chagny, who happens to be Christine's childhood sweetheart. They both start to fall in love again, but, believing he's her Angel of Music, Christine begins to feel a passionate love for the secluded & socially unaccepted Phantom & has to choose between the two men of her life. 

This film is horrible! The direction isn't what it's cracked up to be & the writing had to be redone, as I believe it wasn't focused on the actual plot, but rather trying to succumb people to see it just because it's an Andrew Lloyd Webber show & therefore it didn't matter what was in the film itself. There were numerous differences between this and the musical which I couldn't stand at all & they had to cut some of my favourite scenes (i.e, before the Don Juan performance with Raoul & the managers & the Phantom scaring the policeman in the pit & the second notes scene). Also, the actors were awful (with the exception of Minnie Driver despite the fact she didn't sing, which made me think 'WHY THE HELL DON'T YOU GET SOMEONE WHO'S FUNNY AND CAN SING INSTEAD OF GETTING A HOLLYWOOD ACTRESS?!' and I also loved it when she yelled 'I hate my hat!') like Gerard Butler portraying the Phantom as if he was in a bad high school play & while he can sing, his voice is completely wrong for the seductive Phantom, which made it really awkward in the classic song 'Music of the Night'. Emmy Rossum, who was 16 at the time of filming, was alright with her acting, but her singing just wasn't right for Christine & I didn't like her voice in general. Patrick Wilson made a drippy suitor out of Raoul.....yet again another actor who has played Raoul like that & his singing was OK, but lacked emotion! Miranda Richardson also confused me with her consistent French accent compared to the others, but then again, just shows she's a method actor in her characters' nationalities & their accents!

Also, one thing I must add which I hated was the clear errors in the film which weren't even considered to be changed or re-done i.e mouths not matching the lyrics or positioning of someone/something or camera crew seen in shadows, unless it's the Phantom's secret entourage(!)

However, I must admit I like some of the costumes used in the film, *cough Christine's Think Of Me dress & nightgown, cough* & the details into creating them, but that still doesn't draw me away from the reasons why I hate this film & why it doesn't do any justice to the really amazing show which you can go & see in London or anywhere which you can then think 'Oh, thank God I never bought this film because this is much better than that load of crap!' Or just buy the 25th anniversary concert of the show on DVD because I went there & it puts this film to shame & thank Lord Lloyd Webber himself for realizing afterwards how rubbish this film really is!