1) What’s your favourite musical ever?
It is SO hard for me to pick because I love musical theatre so much, but I’ll
go with Memphis! I love the story, the songs are fantastic and everything about
the West End production was just jaw dropping. Especially the costumes!
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| Memphis - Photo credit Johan Perrson |
2) What comes to mind when you hear the
word Musical?
Happiness! Performing in a musical is my absolute favourite thing to do, and if
I could I’d spend my every waking moment in the theatre seeing shows. For me
there is nothing better!
3) Have you ever seen a musical on the West
End or Broadway?
I have seen many. I’m fortunate enough to be asked sometimes to review West End
shows for my theatre blog, and I also spend a lot of my free time in London
seeing all the exciting new things that the West End has to offer. I also
caught a couple of shows in New York when I visited for the first time, earlier
this year. However, a lot of the best musicals which I have seen have been in
London’s fringe theatres or in regional theaters.
4) What is the next musical you want to
see?
Oooh, there are SO many, but I think I am most excited for School of Rock which
is opening this October on the West End! I am obsessed with the cast album and
the movie is a classic from my childhood. I think it’s going to be great.
5) What musicals have you seen live?
There is no way I could possibly list them all… last year I saw over 30.
6) What is your favourite song from a
musical?
This is also a tricky question as I have SO MANY! But You and Me (But Mostly
Me) from The Book of Mormon never fails to put a smile on my face.
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| Book of Mormon West End cast - Photo credit Johan Perrson |
7) Who is your favourite musical theatre
actress?
Probably Willemijn Verkaik, a Dutch musical theatre performer who has played
Elphaba in Wicked in Germany, the Netherlands, America and England, which is an
amazing feat. Plus she is also the German voice of Queen Elsa in Frozen. I just
think she is fantastic!
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| Willemijn Verkaik - Photo credit Govert de Roos |
8) Who is your favourite musical theatre
actor?
Gavin Creel! He has the most wonderful vibrato. He has starred in some amazing
musicals like Thoroughly Modern Millie, Hair, The Book of Mormon and most
recently in She Loves Me on Broadway. Definitely worth Youtubing!
Gavin Creel - I Believe
9) What is the best musical movie you have
ever seen?
Ooh! This is a controversial choice, but I might go with Mamma Mia! I really
didn’t like the show when I saw it on stage, but the movie really somehow
managed to capture the essence of fun which is inescapable in most stage
musicals, and present it on screen. Plus it seemed like all the actors were
having a fantastic time, and although some of the vocal performance weren’t the
best, I loved the way the actors took their roles and injected them with so
much cheesy, over the top characterisation! Plus, who doesn’t want to look at
that gorgeous Greek scenery for a couple of hours?
10) Which book would you turn into a
musical?
Good question! There’s a book called The Seventh Door by Norman Leach. A girl
watches her six sisters being taken away one by one by their King. They marry
him, and then mysteriously die. When the seventh sister is eventually summoned to
marry the King, she uses her imprisonment as an opportunity to explore his
castle. She discovers a load of creepy, mysterious and sometimes frightening
things, and in the end she of course has to fight for her life against….someone!
It’s not a very well-known book, but I’ve always thought it has the potential
to be amazing on stage. I love the feminist undertones in the novel, and I
think there is room for a load of extraordinary musical numbers!
11) Which musical has the best soundtrack?
My favourite cast album is probably the Legally Blonde OBC. Every song is just
a joy to listen too.
12) Take your favourite musical and put
together your own dream cast.
Another really tough question! A lot of my favourite musicals have had perfect
casting. For example, The Book of Mormon and Memphis (two of my favourite shows
ever!) both had completely flawless original West End casts and great
replacements too, and I wouldn’t change a single person. However, I would like
to see American Idol Finalist/ Academy Award Winner/ Broadway Star Jennifer
Hudson as Felicia in Memphis (maybe if they made it into a movie?)
13) Who is your favourite musical composer?
Jason Robert Brown. His music is so clever and ever popular!
14) Which musical made/makes you cry?
HA! More like which musical doesn’t make me cry! Most recently I cried at
Titanic: The Musical at the Charing Cross Theatre. And I cried at Memphis all
11 times I saw it! But I’ll never forget my second visit to see Miss Saigon on
the West End, when I cried literally nonstop for the whole show. It was so
visually stunning and the cast was amazing. I just couldn’t stop myself!
Thanks so much for asking these questions!
Charlotte
Twitter - @Oddjazzshoes
Instagram - @Oddjazzshoes
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