Les Misérables Review!

Let me start this off by saying that if you have not seen this movie yet, please do so now. Right now. Even it's it is 1 in the morning, go. Get your butt off the computer or your iphone and see it!!! Invite your neighbors as well. I shall wait for your return.

Now that that is out of the way, be warned, this review will contain SPOILERS. So if you failed to listen to the above suggestion tis your own fault if you are spoiled, not mine.







Review Time!
So without a doubt I knew that this movie was going to be fantastic. I stayed away from the reviews online so as not to have their opinion influence my thoughts. This is now my 2nd favorite movie of all time, but Les Mis has always been my 2nd favorite book and stage production so it really doesn't surprise me that this is now my 2nd favorite movie. I seriously cannot say enough good things about it. However, I am a little bit more impressed with the stage version but that is no reason to diss on this film.  In fact everything Tom Hooper directed completely did the stage production justice and for that I applaud him. The only people I cannot see enjoying this movie are musical haters and people without a soul or people who love everything about Will Ferrell. (No, I am not apologizing for that last statement.) That is it.

Now I apologize to my readers ahead of time if this just kind of bounces around and all over the place but I am hoping that you understand what I am trying to say. Before we begin here is what Les Miserables is for those who have no idea. Les Miserables is a French novel written by Victor Hugo (the same dude who wrote The Hunchback of Notre Dame) in 1862. The novel was turned into a musical in Paris in 1980 where it ran for 3 months in the Palais des Sports in Paris. After being translated into English, it opened in the West End of London on October 28, 1985 where critics loathed it but fans loved it. The Broadway production opened on March 12, 1987 and was nominated for twelve Tony Awards, and won eight.

Now onto the movie version!

The actors
Hugh Jackman (Jean Valjean aka 24601)- Give him an Oscar. And an Academy Award. And everything. Wonderful, wonderful performance. I cannot even fathom seeing any other film actor as Valjean. He did so well and I am just extremely proud of him in this role.



Russell Crowe (Javert)- I want to give this man a hug, truly I do. He was phenomenal and I have to say that he was the one that surprised me the most. And I am so tired of reading comments about his portrayal of the character and how bad he did. To those people; you know nothing of Javert! Javert is a hard role to portray considering it's complexity and I would like any one of you asshats who are complaining about his performance to do as well as he did. Oh that's right, he got the role and you didn't so you can't prove anything so let us shut up about it and stop hating on the Crowe. Considering that Crowe is not a professional singer, he kicked major ass. His Javert was amazing and for the first time I felt that he was indeed, a human and anyone who disagrees can go jump off a bridge! Truly Crowe was one of the highlights of the film.

Oh and here's a little fact that a lot of people missed in the theatre; when Javert falls in the water you can hear a cracking noise. Pretty sure that was the sound of my heart breaking.='(



Colm Wilkinson (Bishop of Digne)- For those who don't know, he is THE FIRST Jean Valjean. Having him play the Bishop is the best decision ever made ever. Great performer and he did fantastic as the Bishop. I was so happy that he makes an appearance at the end of the movie as well for he is the character that pretty much had the most significant influence on Valjean the most.What was really cool was that throughout the movie the silver candlesticks were shown.


Anne Hathaway(Fantine)- Oh Anne Hathaway, you were so amazing! After I Dreamed A Dream I was tempted to not applaud. She was just incredible in this role. She played the character so well and I thought that she was absolutely astonishing.Her scenes were the ones I found to be some of the most heart wrenching to watch and when a scene or actor can get that reaction out of you, they are doing their job. I am really REALLY wanting Anne to win an Oscar for this, she is deserving of it more than anyone this year.



Amanda Seyfried (Cosette)- She did wonderfully. I knew by the trailer that she was a great choice but her voice completely fits the role and she sounds like a little song bird! At the end you could really feel her characters love for her father as well. I really dislike all the hate Cosette's character get's though. Sure, in the musical we don't get to know a lot of her back-story but if you read the book you might come to appreciate her more. By the way, I absolutely loved the hat she wears! =)



Eddie Redmayne (Marius)- Good casting choice. THANK GOD HE IS NOT NICK JONAS. I've only ever seen him in one other role and this was something new to him and he succeeded and almost made me like Marius a little. ALMOST. Still hate him though but at least in the movie he seemed to feel something when Eponine died and didn't just go (2 seconds later) I HAVE MY LOVER COSETTE'S LETTER! I LOVE HER! without even acknowledging Eponine's death. One thing I really wanted to see that they didn't add in (though probably not his choice) was having Marius throw a rock up to Cosette's window and have her shut it then sing "I'm doing everything all wrong!" during A Heart Full of Love.

ABC Members- Every single one of them did an amazing job. Aaron Tveit (Enjolras) really surprised me and I have to say his portrayal of the character is right up there with Ramin's. Unlike the stage version I actually felt somewhat attached to his character and felt some pretty strong emotions when we didn't see him again until the end.


Samantha Barks (Eponine)- Truly the star of the cast. I knew she wouldn't disappoint. Eponine is one of my dream roles and I have been a huge fan of Samantha ever since the 25th Anniversary concert. Even on film she is the best.


































Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter (The Thenardiers)- I loved them both so much! Most hilarious characters in the show and they got that across very well. I wish they would both receive a lot more credit than they have been given. Truly Helena and Sacha are now my favorite takes on the Thenardiers.


 Daniel Huttlestone (Gavroche)- I loved him so so so much! As soon as he jumped into the carriage I'm just like "You're gonna go far kid." Loved him so much! I knew he would die but that didn't make it any less sad. When Javert put his medal on him I almost lost it.


Isabelle Allen (Younger version of Cosette)- What a great little actress/singer she was. I was so surprised to find out that this was her first time appearing on film, she did so great. I'm literally rooting for her to be in more films, I thought she stole the show.


Natalya Angel Wallace (Younger version of Eponine)- Looked so very similiar to Samantha Barks it was unreal. Although it's a small role she made it her own. "Eponine, come my dear, Eponine, let me see you. You look very well in that new little blue hat!"


Sister Simplice AND Sister Perpetue- BOTH OF THEM were in the movie. I was so very happy when I saw both of the sisters even if in the musical they seem to play a small role and usually only one is on stage. But the movie gave homage to the characters which I liked a lot.


The Extras- You could not have this movie, nor this show at all without the extras. Well done to all of them and a special shout out to Frances Ruffelle who played a whore!




The Music:
Every single song was done in good taste and is deserving of ravenous round of applause. Although a lot of the lyrics were switched around and some of the songs cut shorted (such as A Little Fall of Rain) it is not really that big of a deal and you won't pick up on it unless you are a huge fan of the musical (like myself.) 

Work Song/On Parole- This starts the entire musical out and get's you ready to experience this rollercoaster of a story. However this is not my favorite version of the two songs. Great change in lyrics, but not my favorite version.

Valjean Arrested, Valjean Forgiven- I cannot even begin to describe how wonderful this scene was. I adore Colm Wilkinson as the Bishop so much.

What Have I Done?- Hugh Jackman did an exceptional job during this song. The emotion he put into it was so great that for a second I believed that he was the real life version of Jean Valjean.

At the End of the Day- We are taken to the year of 1823 in Montreuil-Sure-Mer. Fantastic scene. I read that some people were complaining about the extras and how their whispering was unnecessary but it was wonderful and fit the scene beautifully. We meet Fantine and learn that she is working to pay for her daughter after some worker snatches a letter out of her hand because she has no respect for privacy and needs to know every single thing that goes down in Fantine's life. Honestly it felt a little like bullying when the other workers surround and quetsion her.  Monsieur Madeleine aka Jean Valjean comes in to break up the fight, sees Javert then flees as Fantine is thrown out onto the street. Wonderful performance by Hathaway here. 

Lovely Ladies- I was honestly not a fan of the 10th or 25th anniversary's rendition of this song. However the movie does it fabulously and we get to see Fantine get her hair cut/ have her teeth pulled which is truly heartbreaking.

I Dreamed A Dream- This is what will get Hathaway an Oscar, for this song alone.

Fantine's Arrest- The scene where we see that Valjean truly is a changed man.  Breathtakingly beautiful this scene was.

Who Am I/The Trial- Jackman did such a wonderful job with this song, although the close up on his face kind of bugged me for a minute.

Come to Me (Fantine's Death)- CRY CRY CRY CRY CRY!!!! We get to see a type of spirit representing Cosette at this point in the film and it just breaks my heart to know she's not going to make it. Jackman also takes this scene to a whole new level with his character, which is good considering he has became an honest man.

THE CONFRONTATION- By far my absolute favorite song in the entire musical. And they did it splendidly... WITH SWORDS.

Castle on a Cloud- Isabelle Allen is a talented little girl and her version of Castle on a Cloud has to be one of the best that I have ever heard. And of course Madame Thenardier's part was purely evil but I couldn't help but love it because Helena was singing and I'm a huge fan of hers.

Master of The House- I have had this song in my head for days. It was done so well and had everyone in my theater laughing. Why is it that the catchiest song has the one with the worst morals in lyrics?

The Bargain/The Thénardier Waltz of Treachery- Everyone nailed this scene! This is basically how it went down;
Thenardier- (hand gesturing) Come here
Cosette- (shakes head) No
Thenardier- Come on I NEED MORE MONEY. 
Cosette- No no. That's quite alright.
Thenardier- Please pretend that we love each other.
Cosette- NO.
Thenardier- GIRL GET OVER HERE!
Cosette- Fiiineee...

Probably one of my favorite parts of the movie!

Suddenly- This was a new song that they added in for the film and although it is a really nice ballad it was not necessary. Maybe I need to listen to it again to get exactly what he was singing about and maybe I'll learn to love it.

Stars- Oh my God it was soooo freaking good! And I loved how at the end it went into a huge instrumental and we were taken to Paris, 10 years later.

Look Down- Probably my 3rd favorite song of the entire musical. Loved it lots! However I missed the beggar woman and Madeline!

The Robbery/Javert's Intervention- This was a great take on it! I loved how each character seemed to have aged through the years as well!

Eponine's Errand- I am so happy that they didn't cut this scene! "Little he knows, little he sees."

ABC Café/Red and Black- HUGE round of applause for our Barricade Boys! Red and Black is another song that has been stuck in my head for days now and it's not really one of my favorite songs.

Rue Plumet/In My Life- Such an emotional song and I think that every single person carried it out well. 

A Heart Full of Love- <3 Wonderful. There really isn't much more to say about it.


The Attack on Rue Plumet- AHHHHH! It was sooo sooo good! I've always loved this little tune!

On My Own- I shall admit that it blew me away. A bit different than the stage version (not as much belting) but still really fantastic. I want her to win an award so bad.

One Day More- This song was just filmed amazingly and I really can't explain how they did it but it made the song seem more umm realistic? I'm not sure what word I'm going for here but it was good.

Do You Hear the People Sing?- Yes and they were great! I loved how they filmed this scene as well. Completely took me by surprise.

Building the Barricade (Upon These Stones)- Pretty good, although I wish Eponine would have delivered the letter, but can't have everything I suppose.

At the Barricade (Upon These Stones)/ Little People- LOL. I love Gavroche so much in this! But I've always liked Javert as well so it always sucks when they find out he's a traitor and tie him up! Oh and it sucks when Eponine get's shot as well. ='( Besides Gavroche, not a really happy song for some people!

A Little Fall of Rain- No idea why they had to cut this short. Not cool Mr. Hooper! But still, it was quite good.

Night of Anguish- Valjean, at last! You arrive at the barricades! 

Drink With Me- I really am not fond of this song but the way it was filmed gave it something, although I'm not sure what.

Bring Him Home- Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous. Jackman brought it home with this song!!!

The First Attack- Valjean releases Javert. Not really a great song but it is needed for development.

The Second Attack" (Death of Gavroche)- I cannot express how much I wanted to cry during this. WHO SHOOTS  A KID?!?!? Bastard! You could truly feel Grantaire's sadness during this scene.

The Final Battle- This was done beautifully. Toward the end about five or six end up in the attic with Enjolras. The soldiers are downstairs and shoot through the ceiling and suddenly the boys drop dead and Enjolras is left completely  alone. There’s fear and a pounding heart as the soldiers come up and surround Enjolras, and you can see it in his eyes that he knows this is it. And then Grantaire makes his way up the stairs, and takes his place beside Enjolras to die. 

Javert's Suicide- Beautiful. Simply beautiful. I HATED IT! Why does he have to die?!?!? Overall though, it was executed in a beautiful way and we actually get a deja vu experience to Stars when he was walking on the edge of the building.

Turning- They cut out 99% of this song as well. It made me sad because I really enjoy this song a lot.

Empty Chairs At Empty Tables- Redmayne sang it really well but I think they could have added more to the scene.

Every Day- This was breathtaking. But I really REALLY dislike Marius as a character. 

Wedding Chorale- Great scene, always love how Marius punches Thenardier. Surprisingly this is the part where everything becomes clear to Marius! *gasp.* 

Beggar's At The Feast- Liked it better on stage but this was different and I somehow appreciated it.

Valjean's Death- Crying tears!Fantastic and heartbreaking. Amanda’s reaction to the death of Valjean is so tragic and believable. Fantine coming to retrieve Valjean’s soul is beautiful  And  Eponine isn't there. Yeah, I kind of wish that we could have had that cool harmony with Fantine, but that's okay. Instead, Valjean’s spirit walks out of the church where he died to the waiting Bishop, who joins in singing “to love another person is to see the face of God” and it’s just literally the most perfect way to end the Epilogue.

Do You Hear the People Sing? (Reprise)- Great way/ song choice to end the show with. Bravo!


Basically, to sum this review up the movie should win everything.  EVERYTHING. And Tom Hooper included the convent in the film which was only in the book. Hooray climbing the wall convent scene! What really impressed me the most though is that every person sang live, no movie has ever done that before and you can definitely see that making that small change really payed off. Basically this is a one million and a half movie out of 10 in my ratings. Go see it!

Favorite Halloween Movies

Happy Day Before Halloween Everybody!

For a blog post I thought that I should incorporate what some of my all time favorite scary/thriller movies are for this time of the year! Granted, they will not be in any order, these are just some of my favorites.

HALLOWEEN

Story time: My grandmother made me watch the first Halloween movie when I was 8. It scared me to death when the knife went missing from the kitchen. I have watched all 8 since then and let me just say that if you watch 2007 you are wasting an hour or so of your life. Because of my crazy grandmother I don't find many horror films horrotastic today so I guess I should thank her for introducing me to Michael.

I Know What You Did Last Summer

Technically this is the first horror movie I have ever seen and gotten through. One of my friends said it scared her to no end so of course I had to check it out. Absolutely loved it. I also really liked the sequal, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer.

Night of the Living Dead

"They're coming to get you Barbara." My all time favorite horror movie hands down. The 1968 version in black and white.

Sleepy Hollow

Tim Burton. Johnny Depp. Headless horseman. Beautiful costumes. Windmill on fire. I watch this movie every year. I actually wanted to go to the theatre at the time and see it but I was only 8 years of age at the time and because it was rated R that was a no go for me.

The Haunted Palace

My all time favorite Vincent Price film which I think should be considered a classic. If you like Price then I  also recommend House on Haunted Hill, House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, and The Masque of Red Death.

13 Ghosts

Fantastic movie if you are into old school terrors. This is the 1960 version. The 2001 version irritates me. Basically most movie remakes irritate me. One of the surprises I had while watching this was that Margaret Hamilton (aka Wicked Witch of the West) co-stars in it.

Classic Alfred Hitchcock movies- The Birds and Psycho

Both are classics. Hitchcock in general is a classic.

An American Werewolf in London

Saw this on a plane trip to Minnesota. I thought the movie was quite clever. This is what a werewolf is, if you use Taylor Lautner as your werewolf reference you automatically fail.

Dracula (1931)

I really do not think any movie adaptation can compare with the book, they all are pale in comparison. However Lugosi IS the real life image of Dracula.

Scream

Classic and wonderful movie. The biggest movie star is killed off in the first ten minutes, the audience has to expect that anything might happen. 

Nosferatu

This was one of the first silent movies I have ever seen. I think that it is an absolute classic.

Shadow of the Vampire

This movie is a fictionalized account based on the making of Nosferatu. When I first heard about the film I wasn't expecting much but I definetley think that it is worth a watch if you are into vampires/filimg/ or Nosferatu.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

One of my all time favorites. It is a silent film but this is a movie which I would depict as the one that started the entire horror genre.

My favorite not really scary but still great Halloween movies;

Hocus Pocus

This is a Halloween movie that I have to see every year or someone's child will go missing.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

I think that everyone and their mother have seen this. If you have not then please come out from under the rock you are living.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

When I was a kid I was not able to get through this film.Now I could watch it every single day and be happy.  I would recommend this movie to kids 8 and over.

The Corpse Bride

This is not only one of my favorite Halloween movies, but it is one of my favorite animated films in general. Great artwork and great voice cast.



I have probably forgotten quite a few on my list and will curse myself later for forgetting. Question of the day; what are some of your favorite Halloween movies?

Bullying- It Is Never OK

Many of you have probably already seen the video or have read the story about Amanda Todd. For those of

you who haven't, she was a girl of 15 who ended her life because she was bullied and constantly harassed 

every day about her mistakes. She didn't deserve it. Nobody deserves to be treated that way no matter what   they have done. Yes, she is getting a lot of media attention because of her youtube video and maybe because she was a good looking girl, but either way hers is just one of the many stories about bullying and she is one of the hundreds of teenagers who have ended their life because they couldn't handle the torture any longer. I don't necessarily agree with everything she did, but Ms. Todd is just an example.

 In my opinion bullying is a serious issue which I think needs to be addressed more and done something about. True, people talk about bullying all of the time but what are we actually doing about it? Nobody ever seems to take bullying seriously until someone does something drastic (like suicide) and I just find it really pathetic and sad that someone has to take their own life before somebody takes action and says that bullying is not ok.

Frankly when I read stories like this, it pisses me off. Not just when teenagers are bullied but adults as well. What the hell were people doing when all of this was going down? Why didn't anyone step in? Why do people just assume that the person sitting alone 24/7 wants to be alone? Do bullies even really know the person they are bullying? More than likely not. If you do not know someones favorite color you do not know them. Just because someone is different or has done something stupid that gives you absolutely no right to treat them like a piece of garbage or an outsider. 

By the way I would just like to point out that telling someone who is being bullied to 'ignore the bullies' is stupid. It is nearly impossible to ignore the people who are giving you hell everyday. Also, "stick by your friends" is stupid advice as well. What if they have no friends? What then? Some more stupid advice

- Try to be friends with them!- Hell no. Why on earth would you want to be friends with someone who hates you for no other reason than your shoes aren't cool, or something to that effect? 

- Tell them that their behavior is not ok!- They already know what they are doing is not ok. They obviously do not care and have their own issues to resolve.

- Tell a teacher/parent/ etc.- Ok this advice is not bad.It is always a good thing to let someone, anyone know what's going on. But in my case with bullying it just made everything somewhat worse. I'm not saying it could not help because more than likely it can. 

- Don't react to them!- This is ok advice too, but it goes along the same line of ignoring the bullies. It is hard.

Overall if you are being bullied there is absolutely nothing NOTHING wrong with you at all. The bullies are the ones with the problem, not you. They will be miserable human beings all of their life and sadly there is nothing you can do to change what type of evil person they are- it is not your responsibility to. You are a wonderful person, the bullies are cowards- especially if they are people leaving mean comments online. Do not be peer pressured into anything, do not change just to make someone stop picking on you, you are fabulous just the way you are, never forget that. 

And to the bullies; there is nothing 'cool' or 'funny' about what you are doing. Knock it off. You have no idea what kind of life the person lives so shut up, sit down, and mind your own business. I know that some of you do it because you are insecure, but half of the human race is insecure as well so just know that you're not alone out there either. Instead of hurting other people I recommend that you start accepting others the way that they are and say one kind thing to a stranger each day. You'll feel better about yourself and who knows, those kind words may just stop another person from reaching their bitter end.

Understudy

Well I didn't get into the Agatha Christie play- it happens. Granted it has never happened to me twice in a row but it happens to a lot of people going into the acting field so I am ok with it.

I got the call on Saturday from the cool stage manager asking me if I wanted to be the understudy for the three girl characters in the cast and of course I accepted. Who knows maybe I will learn a thing or two when this is all over. Plus Sutton Foster was a Broadway understudy for years and look where she is today. That's right; Bunheads which is a great show by the way and if you have not seen it yet shame on you!
I was also not really disappointed when I got the role as understudy. I mean sure, I would have loved to have been cast in the show but I didn't get cut and like I may have mentioned in an earlier blog post that is the worst feeling in the world to me. Maybe the reason I am so ok with it is because I have been able to see understudies onstage before and usually they are just as phenomenal as the person who got cast could have been. Case and point; I saw The Lion King live, Scar had an understudy. I wasn't sure how I felt about that at first but in my world the understudy WAS Scar. I will never think of anyone else  but him when I see a Scar on stage. The understudy for him deserves an award. And a fruit basket. Of course I have seen a few other understudies onstage as well but usually for things such as a swing in Evita or ballet dancer in Phantom of the Opera.


I was able to see the cast list with my own eyes today and overall I am very happy with it. The three girls who beat me out are all super nice and of course the lead girl was the one I chose so hooray to me for casting correctly, lol. The lady I tried out for went to an older woman but I can kind of see why, I look like I am 12 so maybe it would be a bit hard to make it believable that I am 60 years plus. The guys who were cast are also all amazing, I don't recall one of the names on the list but I'm sure he is cool too. Now the neatest part about me being the understudy; Sweeney Todd guy is the understudy for the five guys in the cast. I was so freaking happy to learn that. The two people who got cut now have a chance to learn things in the world of an understudy. UNDERSTUDY DANCE TIME!

Hopefully everyone stays sane throughout this entire thing so I don't turn into one of these understudy type people;

Seems A Downright Shame

I did not get a part in Sweeney. Why? There could be multiple reasons. But I shall go with the director basically already had his cast picked out before the auditions and if you were ever in even one of his productions then you got a part. I have never been in one of his productions so I was never going to get a role from the beginning.

But if you want some back story as to how these auditions went then I shall tell you.
When I arrived at the theatre on Wednesday I was super nervous which is a strange because usually for auditions I'm more excited nervous than nervous-nervous which probably makes no sense to a lot of you. But this was basically my first 'professional' audition for a musical I have loved for years.

So I walked into the outside room where a guy handed me a five page thing to fill out with things on it such as hair color, what role are you interested in, etc. I already sent in my headshot and resume so I found it strange that I had to go through the resume part again but whatever. During this time I saw a lot of people who obviously knew each other hanging out so I started talking to them and a lot of them seemed nice but the other half seemed like I was a nuisance to their conversation. 0_o I have a word for people like this, I call them 'theatre bitches.' However I wasn't really concerned because before the audition my mom told me that I should not be intiminated by them, especially their looks. I consider myself to be somewhat plain compared to a lot of girls which is either a good thing or a curse when it comes to the theatre world. Most of the girls auditioning were quite pretty and had blonde hair- but I swear most of them had no soul. The four girls that I ended up meeting and becoming friends with were the girl who threatened to kick anyone's ass if they messed with me and introduced me to some of the people there, a girl who should have gotten the role of Johanna considering she was a dead ringer for her, a mother who was trying out for the beggar woman and was really nice to me and was very good, and just an overall nice girl who had such talent and was so nice that I couldn't help but hope that if I didn't get Mrs. Lovett that she would. However with the nice people there comes the mean. One girl who is a patron of the theatre and stars in most of this theatre's plays was a complete theatre bitch. She bragged about how she went to Chicago for improv training and how she thought the musical was dull but how she could give it everything it needed. She also found me and some of the other people there to be just an extra and how she wouldn't talk to us unless we gave her a reason to... basically if we are talented she will talk to us. Eff that. I don't want someone like you talking to me anyway.  I seriously despise people who do shit like this. I don't think I have ever hated anyone so much in my life. Most of the guys auditioning were also really cool and I really enjoyed hanging out with them more than most of the girls. 

Anyways after we filled out our 5 page paper and handed it to a guy, we were taken into the theatre where the director told us that we would all be singing alone in a room  with him and two other people judging us along with an accompanist. Yay American Idol style! Everyone would be randomly picked by the sheets we filled out. 0_0 I have heard a lot about professional auditions and was actually glad when they said they were doing it this way. I had never really done auditions like this before so it was a new experience. 

Everyone was waiting out in the waiting room area and of course the theatre group was hanging out with each other and talking loudly about their accomplishments avoiding everyone else like their life depended on it. But I did meet a few people I enjoyed talking to during this time; a music teacher, the guy who should have gotten Sweeney who was doing vocal exercises, and this 18 year old guy who was just as nervous as me. It's funny because he said that playing on his phone actually helps his nerves and by God it does! Once the door was closed some girls thought it would be fun to be extremely operaish with their voices so everyone could hear them which was apparently suppose to intimidate others auditioning. 0_o.  People were going in and out of the music room one by one, some people leaving, others just sitting in the waiting room trying to intimidate the people who hadn't gone yet (Ms. "I won't talk to you unless you're talented" being one of them. Have I mentioned how much I hated her yet?) One blonde girl who was sick and who I learned afterward that she knows my cousin even told me the following "HA! You should audition with a Sweeney song because they'll NEVER give you a part if you don't!" Orrr I can audition with this piece from Follies because I've been practicing it for weeks and you can go fall in a ditch and break your hip bone. 

As soon as my name was called to be on deck I was practically shaking. However I was lucky to have been up next after the coolest dude there because he gave me some advice before he went in and told me that he wasn't really a singer either. He was legitimately the only person I could relate to there and I gave him a hug. After he came out  he told me good luck and I went upon the stage! Everyone seemed to be supportive in the room which made me 100 times less nervous, and they loved my song selection from Follies (Ha! Take that you evil blonde witch!) I sang a little of it to the accompanist who found the right pitch for me then stood in the middle of the stage and sang it to the director and two others. I thought I did really good despite the fact that my voice cracked a tiny bit on a high note. But overall I did my best with it.

After I sang I met up with Mr.cool dude outside and the girl who was a dead ringer for Johanna. I swear she should have gotten the role, I'm more mad for her than I am for myself at this point. But this family was incredibly nice and I absolutely loved them, including grandpa who didn't audition but was there for support. 


Day 2- 
Go back to the theatre. The second and final day consisted of dancing, stage combat, and improv. We were supposed to do cold readings but I think the improv took it's place which was bullshit for those who have difficulty with improv like ME!

As soon as I arrived I was a lot less nervous and more excited than anything. I met a girl from the capital who wasn't able to show up the following day but she was super nice and we got along quite well.
Everyone stretched before dancing then the choreographer whom I met the day before gave us a routine which we worked on for atleast an hour which was super fun. The thing about dancing for theatre is that it looks stupid unless it is with a group-then it looks great. At the beginning of the dance I moved to the front row because I am only 5 feet tall and it was impossible for me to see the steps over 7 foot tall guys' head. What sucks about this is that after half an hour he moved the 2nd row up to the 1st and vice versa and it remained that way until the end of the dance and I had to move forward at least 25 times to see exactly what was going on. Oh and did I mention that after half an hour they gave us a 2 second or I'm sorry "5 minute" break which lasted 2 seconds where I had to wait in line for the restroom and check my blood sugar until they screamed at us all to get back onstage. I did the last hour or so of this dance with no water in my system what so ever so by the end I was feeling a little light headed, but I survived...barely. But the important thing was that I kept up!

Next up was stage combat. This is where Mr.Stage Combat dude told us to find a partner about our height to do this little stage combat exercise with and that they should be YOUR HEIGHT. Alright, that's cool I can totally be mr. eight year old kids partner for this or Johanna's considering they are both around my height. Nope. Johanna and another girl paired up and the eight year old partnered with his dad who's at least twice the kids height. Oh and by the way, there was an uneven number to be paired up. Guess who ended up with no partner? Guess who cared? Nobody. Apparently theatre is 100 times worse than high school where if you don't have a partner you not only feel like a loser for not knowing anyone, but are more hurt than anything especially when you know you have to do this to be considered for a part? Guess who left the stage area for a moment to go cry? I have never cried at an audition before, I'll never do it again. But truth be told, I doubt my feelings have ever been  hurt more at the age of 21. However one guy who did something directory-ish saw me when I was pretty much finished and asked if I was ok along with the stage manager. I told them I had no partner- they paired me with Johanna and another girl who obviously did not enjoy my being added in. I only got to practice two times before we performed it in front of everyone. And I must say I rocked! Stage combat is freaking sweet. I kind of badly want to take a class for it now.  We also had to do a flippy somersault thing on a mat. I was the only girl who succeeded in doing it correctly. HA! Then I messed up the 2nd time around. Darn.


Before I get off track I have to say that Mr.Stage Combat guy was my favorite person out of every single person I met there and I learned a lot from him. Such as rule number one; SAFETY FIRST! The thing that made this guy awesome was that he explained things in a way you could understand and went around to each group to see what they were doing right and/or wrong and didn't play favorites. Also, I learned that throwing a punch and then doing Superman is not cool. Why? "Because we all know Batman is way better than Superman." YES! Mr. Stage Combat dude you rock. 

When we were done with that instead of cold reading from the script we had to do improv which I didn't understand what so ever. Improv in Sweeney Todd? Don't see it. But we all had to line up in a row based on what gender we were and then be some type of British character. I made myself be a whore because I wanted to stand out from all the rest of the girls who did something similar one after another. And because being a whore just seemed like a good idea at the time. 0_o After that monstrosity we got into groups of ten and those groups sat in a few chairs and pretended to be possessed by eating meat pies. Before the last group went (which was the one I was in) Ms. Patron Theatre bitch calls out "Haha yeah guys come eat my meat pies!" right in front of the director/cast/stage manager, etc. Um you're not Mrs.Lovett yet bitch and you should just not get the freaking role for saying that. Oh well I showed her, because the last group only had 5 of us in it meaning 5 more people had to join us and of course the evil one decided to volunteer or basically not move from the stage after her group was finished. I sat right next to her ON PURPOSE. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer-good motto.

The girls were then told to give the director a curtsy for whatever reason and then everyone could leave. There is this one girl who kept being a frou frou throughout this entire improv exercise. She looked like this during all of it, only 200 times worse than the picture. Yes, it's possible. BLARBLARBLAR LOOK HOW FANCY I LOOK!!!

The director told us that the cast list would be posted tomorrow afternoon on facebook and their website at 12:00 exactly. But he posted it at midnight and my name was not on there no matter how many times I looked at it thinking I missed something. Nope. No name. However my favorite thing about this was that Ms. Theatre Patron Hates Talentless People Bitch got Mrs. Lovett and the choreographer who didn't even audition got Sweeney. WTF. Oh and a 6 foot tall blonde girl is playing Tobias/Toby! After reading this I had a breakdown and finally fell asleep at 4:30 am. In the words of the Sondheim they all deserve to die. Yes I am still bitter and mad. I have no intentions of auditioning for these people ever again no matter what musical or play they're doing. Oh well, there's still the college play which I was planning to go to first anyways. Hopefully I won't get cut again. 

Swing your razor wide, Sweeney! Hold it to the skies! Freely flows the blood of those. Who moralize!

So lately I have been practicing my little heart out for a show that I will be auditioning for very very soon. It is one of the four shows I have always wanted to do- SWEENEY TODD! In case you do not know, I am probably the biggest fangirl of that musical.  I know the show word for word, I know all the songs even the ones that didn't make it into the film, have only seen the movie a billion times, and the recording of the stage production about a million (the one with Angela Lansbury- not Patti Lupone, that version I found to be not quite as good.) This is the one show I have always wanted to audition for and it is basically my theatre dream to be in it. I know I can pull off a certain character who goes by the name of Mrs. Nellie Lovett but I would be happy to just make the ensemble.

From what I can tell this theatre group on facebook seems to be so tight knit- so much so that it is like I barely stand a chance before I even audition considering they have been in the previous shows this theatre has put on before and Mr.Director knows their talent, so that means I have to probably work 100 times more than all of these people to even get a part. And working hard I have been-probably more so than I have for any other musical or play- practicing my accent, singing my song 100 times considering I do not consider myself to be a fabulous singer, and dancing randomly. Not to mention avoiding caffeine and dairy products like the plague and avoiding all songs that do not have to do with Sweeney, except for maybe 1 or 2 times listening to Within Temptation but I doubt listening to something else once or twice will kill me. I seriously want to be in this more than anything I have ever wanted in my life- 6 and a half years I have wanted to be in this. Another thing that I am worried about besides the 'theatre group,' I wasn't invited to audition for this despite the fact that 481 others were. However it says only 20 or so are actually attending and that means I only have to beat out 10 girls for the role I desperately want if all of them are going for Nellie. And I will do my best to do that and will be 110 times better than I can possibly be. Anyways that is all I have been up to; practice, practice, practice!

By the way after doing my research I have to say that my all time favorite Mrs.Lovett is Caroline O'Connor. Check her out, you won't regret it!

I Did A Bad Thing

Today before my college classes started I went to the library to basically mess around on the computers and to check my email and what not. There were no open cubicle things so I sat down near two guys at a table and started my computer. Please note that the computers at my college take atleast 15 minutes to start before anyone can actually sign in on them.
These two guys who I sat by have to be the biggest idiots I had the displeasure of hearing this week. Once I start having faith in the human race people have to prove me wrong on how unintelligent some humans can be. Basically these guys were being loud and obnoxious and rude, saying the stupidest stuff about sports and how "If you don't watch The Super Bowl we can't be 'hangers'." They then proceed to go on about how they want to go to this football game in Chicago to get fried chicken and how they must "score them tix" in order to go. After about another three minutes of this irritatingly loud conversation, guy #1 is spilling all of his secrets to guy #2 on how his girlfriend Minnie is a hoe and how he plans on breaking up with her this week because she's an annoying bitch. Guy #2 asks when he plans to do it and guy #1 states that if he doesn't get sex he'll break up with her tomorrow morning over coffee. LOL.

I believe one of these guys must have noticed me sitting there after that and let me just say that neither one of them were amused. Guy #1 (who we later learn is named Dave) starts yelling at me for absolutely no reason stating "Hey that's where John was going to sit, you need to get off!"
And I was all like: WTF man I have been sitting here for 10 minutes waiting for my computer to work, I'm not moving.

I was then called an ugly mousy bitch by guy #2 and guy #1 decided that they would go find John because they didn't want to be seen talking to me which I believe is lol worthy. Guy #1 then decides before leaving that it would be fun to hit the mouse off of the table and kick my backpack. He was lucky he left. I may have been tired but I don't need to be treated like that.

After the two left the library to find John I happened to notice something; kid #1 forgot to log off of his computer. Kid #1 also forgot to sign off of Facebook while he was acting like a complete ass. Still in a rage I probably did the most horrible thing I have ever done in my life and I don't really feel that guilty about it; I made a wall post for Dave, written by Dave. This wall post said "I'm thinking about breaking up with my gf this week. She is starting to be an annoying hoe. Hope you read this Minnie, it's a warning." I must say I did rather well with sounding like Dave. He was a presumptuous douche in all of his wall posts so I can only assume Minnie will not take kindly to this. Hopefully Minnie does read that and breaks up with him, I have no idea who she is but she deserves better.

Let this be a warning to people out there who plan to screw with me or annoy me; I will ruin your life after destroying it. People need to get something through their heads, I may be the nicest person you've ever come across and seem a bit 'happy' but if you make me mad it is war and war is bad. I can be the nicest person ever or a complete nightmare. If you piss me off in a way that makes me extremely upset I won't burn your car or punch you in the face, but  I can find ways of irritating you if you go across my certain line of irritation.