|
|
Post by fagin on Apr 16, 2010 5:29:38 GMT -5
Just thought I'd start a thread to discuss theatre in all shapes and forms. Because, as a great man said, all the world's a stage.
What are your favourite play(s)?
Actor(s)?
Are you into musicals; if so, which do you like?
What's the most recent play you've seen?
What plays have you acted in?
As who?
What play do you want to act in or see next?
Any dream roles?
You don't have to answer all or any of the questions; those are just some ideas for discussion. I'll get the ball rolling...
My favourite plays at present are Richard III and The Mousetrap.
My favourite actor at present is Antony Sher.
I'm a huge fan of musicals and am in the process of writing my own! My favourites are CATS, Oliver!, Sweeney Todd and The Sound of Music.
The most recent play I watched was King Lear.
I have acted in:
Agatha Rex (based on Antigone) as Eunice, the Head Hall Monitor
Beauty & The Beast (musical) as Chorus/Villager
Grease (musical) as Frenchy
and, most recentley
Oliver! as Fagin
As well as various school assemblies and Nativity plays at church (I was Mary a few years back, a Wise Man's page and the Inkeepers wife in other years).
Next I would love to actually see Richard III on stage. And act in it. ^^
And here are my dream roles, in no particular order. :3 (italics indicate I have played the role)
Ebenezer Scrooge- A Christmas Carol/A Christmas Carol: The Musical
Jacob Marley- A Christmas Carol/ Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol/A Christmas Carol: The Musical
Bogle- Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol
Fagin- Oliver Twist/Oliver!
Nancy- Oliver Twist/ Oliver!
Grizabella- CATS
Hunyak - Chicago
Mrs. Boyle - The Moustrap/Three Blind Mice
Ensemble - Sweeney Todd
Richard, Duke of Gloucester - Richard III
Buckingham - Richard III
Clarence - Richard III
Puck - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Mrs. Birling - An Inspector Calls
The Fool - King Lear
Edmond - King Lear
Lady Bracknell - The Importance of Being Earnest
Lady Catherine de Bourgh - Pride & Prejudice
That's it for now...XD
|
|
|
|
Post by benvolio on Apr 16, 2010 9:01:27 GMT -5
I think my favorite plays of all time are Noises Off, The Importance of Being Earnest, See How They Run, Shear Madness and Henry IV.
...wow, that's a lot of comedies.
My favorite actors are probably Helena Bonham Carter and Rik Moranis- how's that for variety?
My absolute favorite musical of all time is Les Miserables; I also love Assassins, Phantom of the Opera, The Woman in White, West Side Story, Into the Woods, Sweeny Todd, and many MANY more.
The most recent play I watched was Henry V, about a week and a half ago.
I have acted in:
Stargirl as a character I can't remember the name of, since it was so long ago 
Sunday in the Park with George as one of the Celestes
Les Miserables as Jehan
HMS Pinafore as a sailor
The Mystery at Twicknam Vicarage as Mona Thumpington-Fffienes
A Streetcar Named Desire as Eunice
The Importance of Being Earnest as Miss Prism
|
|
|
|
Post by fagin on Apr 16, 2010 10:36:26 GMT -5
You've just reminded me...I recall reading an extract from Earnest waaay back when I was in Year 7 (Grade 6, in the American education system methinks). I read Lady Bracknell and had a lot of fun with it, although it was a very short extract. XD
"A handbag?"
I still say that all the time today for no reason. And good gracious, we've both played Eunice's! How's that for co-incidence?
I also love Helena Bonham Carter; especially her potrayls of Bellatrix Lestrange and Mrs. Lovett. What did you think of her Lovett, being a fan of Sweeney? Did it live up to your expectations, or exceed them?
I'm currently reading Henry V; haven't gotten very far mind as I'm buried with work, but I'm enjoying it very much thus far. It helps that my copy was found at a thrift store and is old, somewhat tattered and embossed; very intelligent looking reading material! XD
|
|
|
|
Post by benvolio on Apr 16, 2010 16:02:51 GMT -5
That reminds me- did you ever see this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVAdY_CtSl0It's more like HBC's portrayal of Mrs. Lovett shoved my expectations off to the side. I lovedlovedLOVED the acting. Her voice surprised me a bit. I hadn't heard her sing before, and I wasn't expecting everything to be an octave above where it normally was. I liked it, but it felt a little jarring. (Not that that's a bad effect, considering Sweeney Todd.) www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/details.aspx?id=183 is the production of Henry V that I saw. On the whole, I liked Henry V better as a character in his father's play, but the play was fabulous. The Crispin Crispian speech was incredible! =) |
|
|
|
Post by edie on Apr 16, 2010 16:11:57 GMT -5
My favourite plays currently are The Ladies of the Corridor, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Clothes for a Summer Hotel, and The Lion in Winter; my favourite actors are Robert Preston (so much, apparently, I can't even remember his name ), Guy Pearce, and Katharine Hepburn. I like at least one song from a lot of musicals, but ones that I enjoy in their entirety are Cabaret, A Little Night Music, The Rocky Horror Show, and Sweeney Todd. I thought Helena Bonham Carter looked good and sounded fine in the movie version, but my life aspiration is to be Angela Lansbury, so she paled in comparison there. And Mister Depp can't compete with George Hearn, sorry to say. The last play I saw was The 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee. It was more amusing then I thought it would be, and I enjoyed watching it. Plays I've been in include: Jane Eyre as Bertha Rochester Alice in Wonderland as the Cheshire Cat Peter Pan as Michael (I flew!) The Importance of Being Earnest as Gwendolyn Fairfax This Property is Condemned as Willie Oliver Twist as Nancy (Nonmusical version, though Oliver!'s good stuff) Moon Over Buffalo as Charlotte Hay A Midsummer Night's Dream as Puck And I'm currently cast in The Taming of the Shrew as Katherina. Should be awesome. I also do backstage work, like stage managing and costumes. Not nearly the same as actually performing, but it helps my friend fashioned me a "stage manager's beating stick" out of the leg of a chair and some gaff tape. |
|
|
|
Post by benvolio on Apr 16, 2010 16:46:50 GMT -5
Oh, I forgot about Rocky Horror! It's a classic. =D
My boyfriend is in a production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee- he said he liked it before rehearsals started, but he's sick of acting like a little kid by now.
|
|
|
|
Post by cuervo on Apr 16, 2010 17:02:43 GMT -5
All righty..I tried replying to this thread this morning but I ran out of time So basically, i agree with Puck's answers. I love Cabaret, Sweeney Todd and Rocky Horror Picture Show as well. Other plays I really enjoy are Romeo and Juliet (duh), West Side Story, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, Annie, The Lion King (saw it when I was little, it touched me so much I had to go back. It's been so long), A Christmas Carol. Now, there are many movie versions of musicals I've watched but I haven't quite seen it live, such as Hairspray and Young Frankenstein. Those movies were actually amazing, and you honestly can't beat Gene Wilder, but I'd love to see them be performed live. I HATE RENT. IT IS TERRIBLE, AN INSULT TO THE THEATRE WORLD. I hope you burn Jonathan Larson!! (hehe) I LOVE JOHNNY DEPP. And yes I love Helena Bonham Carter too You know what, I don't get these Sweeney fanatics who rip on the film. There is a collosal difference between stage and film...and it's just a different interpretation. Honestly, I've seen George Hearn and Angela Lansbury at it via Youtube and they are FANTASTIC. But you know what? I love what Johnny annd Helena did as well. It is different. I love that they didn't try to do a big grand broadway thing out of it, they took a different route and that made it all the more interesting for me. Now, my personal acting career is embarrassingly short, because I haven't thought seriously about taking it up until last year. When I was nine, I played Genevieve (the dog) in a producton o Madelaine. That was cute. Also, a few summers ago at my camp the staff and LTPs (leadership training program) put on best of broadway show for the campers. I was in a few of the scenes (it was my suggestion that we opened with Wilkommen from Cabaret, which we did), including the Annie scene. Most recently I was in Romeo and Juliet and I did some odd jobs there (I got to bust a Cap-ulet!) along with playing Friar John. After working so closely on that production, I was inspired to take up Mercutio here I dream of portraying: Mrs.Lovett - Sweeney Todd Anthony - Sweeney Todd (LMAO) Mimi - Rent (if only I wasn't SO white...) Maureen - Rent Ensemble - Cabaret Ghost of Christmas Past or Future (just so I can be all bad ass doom) - A Christmas Carol Benvolio - Romeo and Juliet (I auditioned for him...nope, didn't get him. But that's okay, our Benvolio was AMAZING) Magenta in Rocky Horror Picture Show One of the auctioning girls in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum Olivia in Twelfth Night (man I don't like her as a character but I'd love to play her) Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz...or better yet, Wicked. But i still haven't gotten around to seeing that one either, or reading it. |
|
|
|
Post by ÉPONINE THÉNARDIER on Apr 16, 2010 19:32:02 GMT -5
My favorite plays (straight) are Remember the Wind (a one-act), Dearth of a Salesman (local work of genius), and I also really like Over the Tavern. I'm not sure many of you have heard of these because I'm pretty sure they were all written by local thespians and aren't widespread.
I love Kristin Chenoweth, Bernadette Peters, Helena Bonham Carter, and Idina Menzel. ^.^
I am completely crazy about musicals. Literally, I have song references for pretty much everything, and it drives my younger brother crazy! My favorites are Les Mis, Into the Woods, Wicked, the new Shrek musical, My Fair Lady, Chicago, and Phantom of the Opera. And lots more! =)
I recently went to see Chicago at the local college. It was pretty different from the movie in the sense that it had virtually no script. I kind of missed that. :/
Okay, this is a long list:
The Prince of Egypt - Young Miriam
Cinderella - The Evil Stepmother
Charlotte's Web - Edith Zuckerman
Rapunzel - Sir Nauseum
Alice in Wonderland - Lobster
Titanic: A New Musical - Marion Thayer
The Nightmare Before Christmas - The Mayor of Halloweentown
The Comedy of Errors - Luciana
The Wiz! - Munchkin Triplet / Poppy Dancer / Citizen of the Emerald Citizen / Winkie
The Tragedy of Richard III - Third Citizen (Felicia)
Next on my list is Les Mis, and I really hope to be Eponine or Fantine. =) I may also do some one-acts in the fall, and next spring I will do Shakespeare again (the possibilities are As You Like It, All's Well That Ends Well, and The Winter's Tale.
Eponine or Fantine! Galinda in Wicked, Red Riding Hood or Cinderella in Into the Woods.
|
|
|
|
Post by edie on Apr 16, 2010 20:23:22 GMT -5
Might I assume Dearth of a Salesman is different from Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman? If so, quite the allusion. And I'm envious that your theatre group managed to wrangle a performance of Nightmare Before Christmas, since that's been one of my favourite movies since I was fourish. Speaking of Burton, I wasn't trying to attack his Sweeney Todd, because that's really what the movie is: Tim Burton's Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd.  So it'd be ridiculous to expect Broadway from it, which I don't. I love the look of it, and I think Anthony and Joanna in particular made their characters more interesting then I've been familiar with. It's just I prefer HBC and JD in some of their other work, and really do love AL and GH. It's like Rocky Horror: I may appreciate what Tom Hewitt did in the revival, but I adore Tim Curry as Dr. Frank N. Furter. Which leads to many arguments betwixt me and my Hewitt idolizing bestie, sadly. Oh, and Liv—who's your boyfriend playing? |
|
|
|
Post by fagin on Apr 17, 2010 8:47:33 GMT -5
Wow, I'm so happy to get such a great response! It's always great to meet fellow thespians! -hugs you all-
@liv: Youtube doesn't work here, I'm afraid. D: But I'll take a look at your Henry V link! ^^
@edie: OMG. You played Nancy? And Puck? -squeals like a fangirl- Tell me all!
@mimi: A FELLOW CHRISTMAS CAROL FAN! -tacklehugs- You can be the Ghosts to my Scrooge, yes? XD
@sarah: I absolutely adore The Prince of Egypt! -squeals- The music is just so beautiful. Although I have to say my favourite song is one of the more dramatic pieces; The Plagues rather than When You Believe, although I love that too. I love the whole score! :3
|
|
|
|
Post by ÉPONINE THÉNARDIER on Apr 17, 2010 14:55:56 GMT -5
^.^ Yes! Stephen Schwartz is my absolute favorite composer! He did Wicked and Enchanted and Pocahontas too. <3 I did The Prince of Egypt when I was about five. XD And I really like the Plagues too. The orchestration is sooo amazing. Thus-saith-the-Lord-Thus-saith-the-Lord! *sigh* That's why I love Schwartz so much, because of his orchestrations. |
|
|
|
Post by benvolio on Apr 17, 2010 16:09:07 GMT -5
Ooh, I didn't know he did Pocahontas! That makes him about ten times more awesome than I thought, which I would have thought was impossible. To Nessie: Aww, that's too bad. It's a remixed version of Edith Evan's saying "a haaaaandbaaaaag". It's on the guy who made it's myspace too, if you can access that: www.myspace.com/steevesfax To Edie: He's William. He was kind of sad about it; he really wanted to be Leaf. |
|
|
|
Post by cuervo on Apr 17, 2010 17:36:31 GMT -5
OOOOH I forgot the Prince of Egypt! I Love the movie but I never saw the play...and of course in a production of Alice in Wonderland I'd want to be involved :3 Haven't seen any of those on a stage either. Also, I'd like to be one of the droogs in a production of A Clockwork Orange. ||ADMIN NESSIE||: Hahah sure thing I've never really gotten fully into Dicken's other works, but I plan to. I just can't envision A Christmas Carol being topped. |
|
|
|
Post by edie on Apr 18, 2010 1:21:48 GMT -5
Nessie—Indeedy I have. I played Nancy last winter, and it was a lot of fun. I got to have a moderately decent Cockney accent, do stage combat, and die on a cot whilst staring into the audience. My costume was amazing, and the makeup person insisted on dusting blush on my bosom, which was disconcerting. Our Fagin stole the show, though, as I'm confident you stole yours. Puck was a while back, summer before eighth grade, but I'm pretty sure I was just as manic I've chosen to play her here. Just, y'know, more PG. Liv—Oh, man. I hope he starts enjoying the role again, because William was one of my favourites when I saw it. Though I admit Leaf Coneybear is a really fun character. Stephen Schwartz is amazing; my current musical fixation is The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Which is an actual stage production, but only in Germany. So I've decided that needs to change soon, 'cause I would love to play Clopin. |
|
RICHARD PLANTAGENET
Elite
Richard III
"Why, I can smile, and murder whiles I smile."
Posts: 725
|
Post by RICHARD PLANTAGENET on Apr 18, 2010 6:11:53 GMT -5
@liv: I'll see if that works; it sounds hilarious. =P
@mimi: OLIVER TWIST. READ IT. -cough- Twist and Carol are tied for my top favourites, although I loved The Old Curiosity Shop as well. ^^
@edie: Sorry to sound macabre, but how did you die? Funny I should be on my Richard account asking that question. XD Our Nancy and Bet went to town with the makeup too; Bet scared my mother (though not as much as I scared her, she literally shuddered and backed away the first time she saw me with the beard on!)
I'm so jealous of all of you that have had the chance to play Shakespearian roles; hopefully my chance will come next school year when I move to Scotland and attend Dollar Academy; methinks they'll do some of the Bard's work. ^^
|
|
So it'd be ridiculous to expect Broadway from it, which I don't. I love the look of it, and I think Anthony and Joanna in particular made their characters more interesting then I've been familiar with. It's just I prefer HBC and JD in some of their other work, and really do love AL and GH. It's like Rocky Horror: I may appreciate what Tom Hewitt did in the revival, but I adore Tim Curry as Dr. Frank N. Furter. Which leads to many arguments betwixt me and my Hewitt idolizing bestie, sadly.
