Sound of Music (2013 version)

On December 2013 "The Sound of Music" was revised into a live version of the play production. This production has country star, Carrie Underwood portraying Maria. I, like many others, grew up with the 1965 version with Julie Andrews.

Carrie Underwood did a good job, there were times in "Do-Re-Mi" where she was out of breath, but she was able to hit the high note at the end of the song. In the song "Lonely Goatheard," she did get out of breath a bit, but her yodeling was done wonderfully. Her acting was ok at first, but then she really got more comfortable after "Climb Ev'ry Mountain." The thing to keep in mind is that she is not a professional stage or movie actress, and this was done live. Also she is not Julie Andrews (who is?), or even Sierra Boggess, who sounds almost like Julie Andrews. Carrie Underwood did a good job, all singers are different.

Ariane Rinehart and Michael Campayno in the song "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" were highly impressive, especially their dancing. Former stage Maria, Laura Benanti, portrayed the Baroness and did a great job in the song "How Can Love Survive?." The entire cast did a good job, but I was not that impressed with Stephen Moyer as Capt. Von Trapp, I just didn't like his voice at some points. Of course the actress who did a fantastic job in her role was broadway actress, Audra McDonald, as Mother Abbess.

Oklahoma (1999 version)

I watched "Oklahoma," the 1955 version, for the first time when I was in the fourth grade. In 1999, the stage version was revised on screen. This version stars Hugh Jackman as Curly, Josefina Gabrielle as Laurey, and Shuler Hensley as Jud.

This TV movie is where Jackman got his start as an actor, while he may not be Gordon MacRae, he still did a good job singing wise. Having only seen the movie I thought he could have done better with "Surrey With the Fringe on Top" acting wise. In the scene where Curly was fighting Jud, Jackman looked like Wolverine, so I thought that was a bit interesting. Other than that he did a great job overall. Josefina Gabrielle did a great job as Laurey. She had a great voice and did a fantastic job dancing in the dance scene, she was actually the fist actress to portray the role to do her own dancing in this scene and not use a double. Shuler Hensley did a great job as Jud. He had a great voice, great emotion, he nailed the role. The entire cast did a great job, and they all danced very well too.

Les Miserables (2012 movie) review

            With “Les Miserables,” coming back to the Broadway stage in the spring, let’s

look back to when the movie based on the musical came out. On Dec. 25, 2012, the movie “Les Miserables” went to theaters, and in spring 2013, it came out on DVD. This is the first of any of the movie adaptations that was based on the musical with a mixture of the book by Victor Hugo.

The move cast includes Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, Anne Hathaway as Fantine, Russell Crowe as Javert, Amanda Seyfried as Cosette, Helena Bonham Carter as Madame Thenardier, Sacha Baron Cohen as Thenardier and Eddie Redmayne as Marius. In addition, West End actress Samantha Barks reprised her role as Eponine.
            The singing for this movie was all done live, no pre-recording, which was, in my opinion, the best decision for this movie. My only problem with the movie was Crowe’s singing. Samantha Barks blew me away with her singing and acting; she really improved since portraying the role since the 25^th anniversary DVD. I have to admit, I was really nervous about the choice of Seyfried as Cosette, since the character is a high soprano, but she surprised me and did a great job. In my opinion, Redmayne sounded like a younger Michael Ball (original West End Marius). Carter and Cohen could have done a better job; I had higher expectations for them.
            I agree with this reviewer for his opinion, specifically on Crowe. He did a great job summarizing the plot as well.

CATS movie review

            In 1998, the movie “CATS,” based on the musical, went straight to VHS, and in 2001, it came to DVD. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s beloved musical, based on the book, “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” by T.S. Elliot, is Andrew Lloyd Webber’s third musical made movie. In this movie/musical the one song that will melt anyone’s heart is “Memory.”
            The movie has many actors and actresses which include famous West End actress and singer Elaine Paige as Grizabella, John Mills as Gus the Theater Cat, Ken Page as Old Deuteronomy, West End actor John Patridge as Rum Tum Tugger and original “CATS” Jellyorum, Susan Jane Tanner reprising her role. The entire cast is made of people who can do expert dancing and singing, the only exception being Grizabella, Old Deuteronomy, Bustopher Jones, and Gus the Theater Cat.

I grew up watching this movie; it was actually the first Andrew Lloyd Webber movie I ever watched. When I was a kid I would dance to it. As I grew older I learned to appreciate the dancing, make-up and costumes for this movie as well as in the musical itself. That being said I love this movie, great cast, great singing, great dancing and an overall great movie for all ages.

I highly agree with this reviewer, because of the positivity that is given for this wonderful, timeless classic.

Phantom of the Opera (2004 movie) review

In 2004, the movie “The Phantom of the Opera” came to theaters, and then to DVD in 2005. It is not the first time there has been an adaption of the book by Gaston Leroux, but it is the first to be based on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical.
The movie cast has Gerald Butler as the Phantom, Emmy Rossum as Christine and Patrick Wilson as Raoul. While Butler only had two voice lessons before taking on the role, Rossum had been singing since she was 7 years old and got the role for the movie at the age of 16. Wilson had already been on Broadway productions such as “Oklahoma,” and he was the only of the three main character actors to have seen the play.
Because Gerald Butler is good-looking, he was widely criticized for portraying a “sexy Phantom,” his singing was criticized as well.
Growing up with this movie since the age of 12, I like it. I thought Gerald Butler sang really well. Emmy Rossum is an inspiration to me for taking on a demanding role at a young age. When I listen to Patrick Wilson now, it is clear he had the more trained voice of the three.
Fun fact: Ramin Karimloo (the original “Love Never Dies” Phantom/25^th anniversary Phantom) had a cameo as Christine’s father in the movie and was playing Raoul in the musical at the time.
Usually I tend to somewhat agree with “The Phantom Reviewer,” but this is the one case I do not. I do, however, agree about the deformity, which looks like a burn.

Love Never Dies (Australia version) review

Last year, the Australian version of “Love Never Dies” came to DVD and cinemas. It has the same title and most of the same songs as the original London cast, but with some changes such as the lyrics, the set, the costumes and of course, the cast.

The story of “Love Never Dies” takes place 10 years after “The Phantom of the Opera” and takes place in America in a park called Coney Island, where the Phantom, who goes by Mr. Y, is running his own park called Phantasma. Christine is married to Raoul and they have a son named Gustave, who has a mysterious parentage.

The cast had Ben Lewis as the Phantom, Anna O’Byrne as Christine and Simon Gleeson as Raoul. While the set was better than the London set, Lewis and O’Byrne were not. Ben Lewis‘ voice was too deep and his eyes were always wide and creepy, he was scary and the Phantom is supposed to have somewhat calmed down by this play. He also did not sing “The Beauty Underneath” like a rock song, but rather sang it just to sing it. Anna O’Byrne has a beautiful voice, but her acting was not the best. As Christine, she acted like she was still afraid of the Phantom, though Christine is actually still in love with him.  Christine is wearing a peacock dress in the song “Love Never Dies” which made no sense. The ending was disappointing because there was no blood when Christine got shot, and the Phantom’s deformity is not shown anytime throughout the entire play.

I for the most part agree with the “Phantom Reviewer” in his part one review and somewhat in his part two review. I do not like the trashing of the song “Love Never Dies” or a few others, but I do agree like most “Phans” that the story line is somewhat out there, but I like it. I also agree with what was said about using Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess instead.

Glee Season 5 Premiere

The “Glee” season 5 premiere aired on Fox on Sept. 26. The cast performed songs by the Beatles, and it was the first of a two-part premiere episode. Glee fans, known as “Gleeks,” who watched the premiere have opinions on the episode. However, this season itself will be different without Cory Monteith, who died this summer and had been a regular on the show since its first season portraying the character Finn.

Mourning Cory

“I personally think they should have started the season off with the dedication to Finn.” Meagan Shotwell, a “Glee” fan from Fort Sumner, New M., said that the premiere was good, but wanted a different focus.

Shotwell said that if the season had started off with the tribute to Finn, then people who have never watched the show, or heard of Monteith’s death, would know of the character.

“It would have been a good goodbye slash info thing on his death.”

Shotwell also thought that if the tribute episode would have been better for the fans that have been watching the show since its first season so that it would have been an easier goodbye.

“We have been waiting for closure for a while and the wait is just getting harder for some,” Shotwell said regarding the tribute episode.

She then said that in two weeks, for the tribute episode, “Gleeks” will finally have that closure.

“It will be a goodbye to Finn as a character and Cory as a person.”

A Great Premiere Episode

Sierra Volz, a “Glee” fan from Branson, Mo., said that she personally loved the episode.

“I loved the morals throughout the entire episode. It was very inspiring,” she said.

Volz said the reason that it was so inspiring is because the character named Rachel Berry was a little more humble after her performance, and she did not jump at her chance to let the producers and directors choose her for their Broadway show “Funny Girl” right then. The show also continued to show its respect for the homosexual community in the episode, with Blaine’s proposal to Kurt.

Volz is also happy with the new couple on the show, Artie and Kitty.

“It really shows that no matter where you may be on the social ladder, genuine people will always disregard that,” she said.

Volz added that she can see the characters developing more, and is also anxious to see how they depict Finn’s departure.

“I think that it will have a huge effect on all of them, but especially Rachel. I’m sure that there will also be many other events throughout the season to develop each character,” she said.

Regarding the departure of Finn, Volz believes that it will have an effect on every character, because he was a huge part in most of the character’s lives, and at least a small part in other character’s lives.

“Depending on how they depict his departure, I think it will change a lot of their views on life in general. I also believe the season will have a ‘Do it for Finn’ kind of vibe,” she said.

New Characters are not the Best

Alyscia Morante, a “Glee” fan from Irving, Texas, thought the premiere episode was OK. She said that she did not feel like the plot line has gotten any better. She did like, however, that Rachel cannot get everything that she wants, and that the number that they did in the diner was pretty cool. She also liked how Kurt’s dad dealt with everything regarding Kurt and Blaine’s engagement.

“I love how supportive he is,” she said.

Concerning the plot, Morante said that she did not like a lot of the things that have happened after the main characters from seasons one through three went to go and move on with their lives. She said she did not like how the plot went with the new characters that were introduced last season. While she said she liked the new characters, she just had to get used to them.

“I thought Ryder’s dyslexia was an interesting turn. I feel like they kind of just used the same story line and changed bits and pieces here and there,” she said.