#firmin overall just not having a good time

[opera-ghost]

#women michele mcconnell / rebecca eichenberger / julia udine

[phantomtrader19]

I was so lucky tonight, i was planning on purchasing my ticket for tonight through TKTS but I actually left it too late and as it was 7:00pm it disappeared from the website so I RUSHED to see if the box office was open and thank god it was and I landed a third row stalls seat for a rather good price!

Tonight was a STELLAR show like just stunning!

My first time seeing Jon as the Phantom and he absolutely exceeded my expectations by a mile, vocally just wow and I knew he would be fine in the acting department having seen him quite a few times as Valjean but he genuinely gave such an amazing performance (specifically STYDI!!) can’t wait to see him many more times!!

Holly was unfortunately off today so I missed her again 😭 BUT Paige was on so that totally made up for it as I was praying I’d get to see her again soon! Even better than she was last time vocally stronger and acting was so nuanced loved loved loved!

I got TWO 2nd covers on as the managers which is so rare! Michael Robert Lowe as Monsieur Firmin was such a standout for me his voice and acting choices were phenomenal!

Tim Southgate as Moniseur Andre was equally entertaining both him and Michael were so powerful in their singing which isn’t really something I notice in the managers scenes if I’m completely honest! I’ve now seen the principal and all covers for the managers now too!

I FINALLY got to see a new Meg, Skye Weiss was on and again such a standout performer she really put her all into her portrayal of Meg which is hard as there’s not a lot to play with!

Matthew Barrow from the ?last original cast? Was on as emergency cover Bouquet, Erin Flaherty was back in the corps de ballet and Connor Ewing from the UK tour and Greece production was on for solely the minute before Don Juan as the chief soldier….very interesting 🤨

Fun little detail was there was only 2 fops for the start of il muto Hollie Aries and Lizzie Wofford which was different but cool!

Overall a BEAUTIFUL show and out of this world cast!

[rhywhitefang]

Blank Rune + Inner Shadow characters ranked by how much you can trust them to babysit your children

Mary Poppins is seething in envy:

- Avery; Hugger of children and literal angel. There’s no better option. No, you cannot change my mind. Your children will come back, happy, safe, and goth. They will form an unbreakable bond devils bargain of friendship

- Jademis: Smart, responsible, and nice. What better qualities for someone to take care of your kids? Not only is she capable, she actually cares about doing her job AND she will probably help your kids with their math homework also.

- Coal: Obviously an amazing choice. Not only does he have common sense and makes responsible choices, they are also fun! I can also see Coal really liking kids which makes him great for this.

- Caravel: On her own? God tier, no question. She takes her job incredibly seriously, gets attached to the kids immediately, and will defend them with her life. She will give them great food but also be responsible and also the kids will love her. Her taste in men is not her fault!

- Kester: He is literally a dad. The only reason why he’s ranked lowest in this tier is for slight overprotective tendencies, but you know what? That’s also a good thing. He would also LOVE tormenting your little ones with his dad jokes :)

- Idokras: This is a really protective person who is really enthusiastic and will do anything to keep them safe. Fun, but also strict enough to discipline them without being too harsh. The kids will have a great time!

Great tier:

- Acorn: Nice, smart, and full of great advice. Has kind of a hands-off approach which is why he’s not in the first tier, but overall a very solid choice.

- Fatima: Why is Fatima so low, you ask? She is across both stories the character with the most solid moral compass.She is responsible. She cares about their safety and wants them to be not traumatised. Perfect! But on her own, she is a bit awkward and “no fun” around kids. However!! If Oxyll joins her the pair of them instantly move up to God tier. 

- Astrid: Astrid is amazing! I don’t even have anything negative to say that put her down, she’s all around great! No complaints! Just not so extraordinary as to put her any higher, but if you chose her as your babysitter, your kids will have fun and learn some wilderness skills.

- Soleya: Probably already makes mad cash babysitting. Smart, responsible, snarky. Shame she’s not the biggest fan of children.

- Sora: Sora is a literal angel. An actual disney princess. A precious flower who is soft and nice and will take good care of your children. She can be a bit of a pushover though!

- Rhy: Canonically a great babysitter. Fun, good with children, and just all around a charmer. Maybe not the great role model, but I’ll doubt you’ll have any complaints about him. 

Decent enough:

- Oxyll: Also dad energy, but lesser efficiency than Kester. He’s more oblivious, and way less of a grip on the kids. He’s fine, but definitely not the best. Again, though, if you combine his powers with Fatima, they become god tier together. 

- Skipio: Decent enough, responsible, and will do his damnest to keep your little ruffians out of trouble. He’s gonna be strict with them, too - which is also his downside. Your kids won’t want them back.

- Tave: He’s doing his best! He’s trying! Who knows, maybe he can work himself up the tier list. For now he’s getting an E for effort. 

- Kain: A good boy! He’ll try to look out for them, but also, he’s very stupid, so emphasis on “try”

- Pan: I don’t think he’s really a “kids” kinda guy, and probably won’t know what to do with them. Still, he’ll try his best to keep them alive. 

- Agnes: Honestly, considering the fact that she’s like, what? 14? This is hella impressive. A responsible girl! I’m very proud of her!

- June: Your kids will love her! She’ll let them ride on her motorcycle, stay up past 2 am, and let them eat as many cookies as they want!

Meh Tier

- Lyn Amara: Completely uninterested in your brats. I guess if you paid her, she’d pay attention though. 

- Ash: Can be bribed into doing a good job, and depending on the kid might also grow attached enough to do it out of their own volution, but they might also not bother.

- Blake: He just wants to sit in his barrel, bro.

- Anianno: His honor demands him that he protects him from threats and he’ll definitely run head first at any large animal that tries to attack them. 

- Tilly: Stimulate your childrens creativity! Teach them valuable life lessons! Repeat after me: Murder is okay :)

- Laure: I mean, she *might* sacrifice them to her death cult but I feel like she’d be responsible about it, yaknow?

- Wren: That’s a bit too much responsibility for our anxious little bean. They will try their best though!

You Might as well have left them alone

- Allen: This is the same as leaving them alone.

- Swift: Will probably get distracted & overhwlemed. 

- Copper: Anxious chihuaha. Will cry. 

- Jakob: Oh boy... probably not the greatest idea. I mean, he’ll try his best, but I can’t see this going too well. Maybe they can write sad poetry together?

- Finn: He does nothing for them and might accidentally... drop them.

- Elvin: He’s a baby but at least not actively completely irresponsible, and has some physical capabilities? He’s really dumb tho.

- Phillip: He will ditch them half way through the night to go fight and/or make out with his boyfriend

- Prion: Too busy staring at himself in the mirror.

- Lexa: Herself a baby and also has no concept of fear or danger. Don’t.

- Kyra: Might steal their arms... but eh, too small. 

- Barnacle: Looking at his intentions and general vibe, it’s great! He is a soft cuddly sweetheart, who I can totally see liking children. He’s also a mess and a disaster and a huge pushover. Also, what do kids eat again? Here have some uhhhhhh...... leaves from outside?

Just.... Bad:

- Delta: Do you want your kids babysat by a cat?

- Liam: I mean... look at the job he did with June. He kept her alive and fed, I guess. So, congrats on achieving the bare minimum, but he’s definitely not getting any awards here. And theres you know, him being an evil shithead.

- Midas: As irresponsible as they get and also kind of a shithead. There’s a chance he might use your child as a football. 

- Mikash: He is baby, dont give him this kind of responsibility!

- Arna + Firmin: The irresponsible children squad. Why would you let them babysit your irresponsible children??

- Dareios: Canonical child hater and overall horrible person. The only reason he’s not in the shit tier is that if you payed him, your children will survive. He will treat them horribly though.

KEEP THEM AWAY FROM THE BABIES

- Artemisia: Well she might kill the kids, but unlike the rest of the people in this tier, here your kids might have a chance of survival ‘cause Misi is not that interested in them and might ignore them and do something else instead.

- Rubin: trash garbage man who will misuse your kids as “squires” for his fucked up murder tournaments

- “Ethan”: Almost the absolutel worst option. He is a terrible influence. We remind the reader that when Caravel asked him to get something to eat for the kids, he brought chips and alcohol. Awful role model, and thats not even getting into the fact that he literally murdered the two children in his care. Might not even keep your kids alive if you pay him!

- Esca: No :(

[gracie-p8-officialblog]

Spilling Tea On Phantom of the Opera 2004

DISCLAIMER: I just want to say from the start that it is not my intention to offendanyone, you're entitled to your opinions and I'm allowed to have mine...

Ok, so, I just watched this movie a few days ago on my laptop and it was pretty much my first time sitting through the movie. I watched a few clips of the movie on YouTube but... Then, I decided to watch the whole movie. And this was my reaction.

Don't get me wrong! There WERE parts I liked but... That was just half of the movie... But overall... Um... It was meh. Ahem. Down to business!

My opinion on Gerard Butler as the Phantom? Um, wow. And not in a good way. I feel like this was a case of a talented performer being grossly miscast as the Phantom. I think this Tumblr post best describes on what I thought of his singing.

"He's supposed to have the voice of an angel, but it sounds like he's been gargling vinegar" ~Quoted by @faded-florals

Don't get me wrong. His voice is quite good for an untrained singer but... The Phantom is one of the biggest musical theatre roles of all time! It's right up there with Jean Valjean. It's really not a role that could go a competent singer, someone who's never sang professionally before but could be good once they've been trained up a bit. The role demands a truly great singer... And he wasn't right for the part.

His voice felt too strainy, growly and rock-ish for the Phantom. I didn't like how Joel Schumacher bought into the whole "sexy Phantom" thing and cast a hunky heart-throb, who was nowhere near disfigured enough. It's meant to be a gothic thriller novel with a small romantic subplot, not a B-grade vampire romance movie!

As for Emmy Rossum as Miss Christine Daae... it's true, her voice is good. She should know though, should she wish to excel, she has MUCH still to learn (Heeeeehee. Sorry. Couldn't resist.)

Emmy's Christine had little-to-no character growth and personality but I don't think it reflects her as an actress, but reflects more on the director and casting director because of how young she was (but more on that later)

Not only that, her Christine was SIGNIFICANTLY dumbed down and oversexualized. I mean, the entire point of the story is that Christine grows strong enough to overcome the trauma of an abusive relationship and make sure that her abuser never hurts anyone ever again but still shows the Phantom compassion and sympathy. I mean, her story arc is her becoming strong-willed enough to overcome the Phantom's pull/spell/enchantment/hypnosis or whatever you percieve it as on her! And don't get me started on her costumes because of the SEVERE lack of modesty.

The chemistry was a little flat because she was underage and her two male love interests were both in their 30s (which totally isn't HER fault, of course, but the directors could easily have cast someone else older)

Her voice, too, strikes me as being much too young and undeveloped. She has a very pretty, sweet-sounding quality to her singing but she doesn't sound rich and operatic enough to be a convincing Christine. Rebecca Caine and Amy Manford do the best job of singing the way I think Christine ought to sound- a maturing opera voice! Though POTO is NOT an opera (you wouldn't believe how many people actually think it is...), it does revolve around opera, and Christine is an opera singer, not a pop star.

And now onto... Everyone's favourite vicomte!!!!!!

C'mon people, put your bottles down. It is a truth universally acknowledged (or at least in the wee Raoul Defense Squad Circle) that Raoul is one of the greatest and most underrated boyfriends to ever exist in musical theatre and it's almost impossible to hate him because of how relatable he is.

Ladies, puh-leeze. He's much more relatable than you admit and face it, we all have a little bit of Raoul in us. Failure to see things staring us in the face, saying or doing the wrong thing at the wrong time, having a 'see it to believe it' attitude when we have little-to-no evidence on something... yeah, don't pretend you don't see a trend. Raoul is relatable whether we want him to be or not.

My thoughts on Patrick Wilson as Raoul, he was one of the few redeeming qualities of this not so great movie. Yeah, the swordfight and Tarzan leaps were a little too much but can you blame him?! And though I feel like that foppish wig made him look more like a magic elf prince than a vicomte, he couldn't control that!

His Raoul was so gentle and caring! Yeah, his acting was a bit stiff but at least his voice wasn't a chore to listen to, it has this warm, tender, comforting quality to it which suits Raoul. I really loved the way he sang "Don't throw away your life for my sake" and "I fought so hard to free you" in the Final Lair (😭😭😭) It feels like Raoul is genuinely apologising to Christine.

I know, I know... The Hadley Fraser fans are approaching with menacing expressions as we speak but let me clarify. I still think Hadley is amazing but... His Raoul kinda felt a little too shouty for me and his Raoul was closer to the LND-canon than POTO-canon (not his fault though).

Miranda Richardson (aka. Rita Skeeter) as Madame Giry is kind of weird. I mean, I know Madame Giry's supposed to be a little Strange and Mysterious. But this Mme. wasn't really Strange or Mysterious at all, or even slightly Spooky at all. She was just kind of an oddball. Popping up in random places to give warnings about the Phantom and looking at people as if she were questioning their life choices or something. As for her daughter... well, Jennifer Ellison's Meg was so-so. She's got a sweet-sounding voice and that added scene where she looked for Christine in the lair was a nice touch... But... Her Meg was kinda forgettable and uninteresting. Meg is supposed to prance around shrieking that the Phantom of the Opera is here, not whisper it in a blase manner that you half expect to be followed up with, "by the way, what's for lunch?" Not to mention, she rivaled Christine as far as low-necked costumes went.

Minnie Driver as Carlotta was spot on! Yes, I know she didn't sing the score but her acting was alright. She was very over-the-top and self-centered, which is great for Carlotta, but I felt her portrayal was a little too childish to be accurate. Carlotta is a successful middle-aged diva who's willing to scream and storm when she doesn't get her way, but she isn't a two-year-old pouting and throwing tantrums. (Yes, there's a difference.)

Ciaran Hinds and Simon Callow played Firmin and Andre, respectively. Their managers kinda felt like twits and nothing more. Also, Firmin's masquerade costume was ridiculous. The stupid kind, not the funny kind. ...Well, okay, it was a little funny.

I'm not going to touch on every song here, but I will say that "Hannibal" was beyond awful (if you thought the costumes in the stage version were a bit risque, you should see the movie ones- no, actually you shouldn't) and that "Think of Me," while very nice, was not particularly memorable. Christine's dress, however (despite its less-than-ideal neckline) was GORGEOUS, even though it looks completely out of place in a musical that supposedly takes place in ancient Alexandria.

"Little Lotte" kinda lost its charm by being spoken instead of sung. And Gerard Butler's voice in "The Mirror" was too rough and raspy for my ears and made me cringe in sympathetic shame. The title song was like a cheesy, campy B-grade horror movie tbh, trying way too hard to be spooky and chilling ("ooh, look, Phantom's Lair! It's DARK and SCARY down here!") and succeeding only in being cringeworthy. Not that I've actually ever seen a bad horror movie- or any horror movie at all, for that matter. Unless you count this one.

Christine's costume, too, annoyed me no end. She was basically wearing a corset and drawers under the dressing gown. *facepalm* The dressing gown is supposed to go OVER your COSTUME to keep it CLEAN, peeps. It's not a BATHROBE. And the amount of eye makeup she had on would terrify a raccoon. Yikes.

Though I liked the random horse because of its nod to the Leroux novel.

"Music of the Night" was so blah-slash-touchy-feely that it made me summarily uncomfortable.

I'd like to be able to say something nice about "I remember/Stranger than you dreamt it" but I have none. One thing that bugged me to no end was how Christine is no longer wearing stockings, like dude, that gives some GROSS implications. Anyways, let's skip to Il Muto!

Oh, but first I should say that "Notes" was rather a flop and that "Prima Donna" is unmemorable and indeed should probably be fast-forwarded as there's a rather unsavory bit involving a crew member showing the audience what he thinks of Carlotta's behaviour.

"Il Muto," I must say, was pretty doggone funny. Carlotta's "Your part is silent. Leetle toad," cracked me up into a bunch of giggling little pieces, and the little vignette of the Phantom tinkering with Carlotta's throat spray made her croaking later on a lot more believable.

Now for "All I Ask Of You", SQUEEEEEE!!!!!!!!! I honestly can't understand how anyone could listen to this song and still maintain that Christine and Raoul don't belong together. He represents everything she needs- stability, protection, a guiding hand and affirmed affection. She represents everything he needs, in turn- someone to show affection to and his childhood friend.

One thing I definitely think could have been left out was the scene in which Erik kills Buquet- we totally did not need to see him being chased, terrified, through the rafters and finally strangled. Gross.

And the Phantom and his rose crouching behind that statue... I think this was supposed to be sad, but there was too much snot mixed with tears for it to be sad. It was, again, gross. So was Gerard Butler's pathetic attempt at the "all that the Phantom asked of you" line. And the lack of a chandelier crash in that scene made the song anticlimactic.

And "Masquerade" was so-so but... The Phantom's entrance is anticlimactic somehow, and his Red Death costume (if indeed it's supposed to even BE the Red Death) is unimpressive. I don't like how Raoul just runs off to desert Christine as soon as things start looking ugly (yes, I realize he was going to get his sword, but still... something could have happened to her while he was gone. Duh, did this guy learn anything from "Little Lotte/The Mirror"? Just sayin)

As for Madame Giry's flashback immediately following, I like how it gives us some of the Phantom's backstory, but it seems really abrupt. You don't even realize until she's done that she was talking to Raoul the whole time- it sounds like she's just randomly reminiscing about Stuff, and if you didn't know the story you might be sitting there thinking, "who is this strange woman again?"

Also, Christine leaving wherever-it-is at, like, five in the morning to go to who-knows-where, completely oblivious to the fact that the Phantom is driving her. Whaaaaaaaaa? How'd he know she was planning to go for a graveyard stroll? Was he watching her through the mirror again? THAT'S JUST CREEPY.

"Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" was rather mediocre and dulled down the fact that it is a Christine Empowerment™ song. Why, exactly, does Christine's father have the biggest monument in the cemetery? If he were a rich and famous violinist as his crypt seems to suggest, why on earth was his daughter struggling along as a chorus girl taking free music lessons?

The swordfight... Well... I had mixed feelings about it. Sword fights are all well and good, but... The swordfight takes away the element of mysterious danger to the Phantom. Okay, fine, Christine getting Raoul to spare the Phantom's life is a nice touch, I guess, but did it strike no one else that his "now let it be war upon you BOTH" makes absolutely NO sense after that? If she just saved his life, why would he suddenly be all, "thanks, but no thanks, I'M GOING TO MURDER YOUUUUUUUUUU"?

And "Twisted Every Way" was after "Wishing" which made ZERO sense. Plus, I didn't like how they cut most of it because in the musical, it gave Christine a spine!

"Point of No Return"? Hooooooo boy....... There are so many things wrong with this number. Let's just a list a few.

*HOW did no one recognise the Phantom through his "disguise"?! At least in the stage play, it made more sense because of how he was wearing a cloak that obscured most of his body.

*Christine's sleeves falling down over and over again were REALLY annoying.

*It was just too touchy-feely for my taste.

*The fact that Emmy Rossum was a teenager during filming made this scene gross because of the way they oversexualized Christine in this scene.

*Gerard Butler's voice in that scene made me cringe and shake my head in sympathetic shame.

*In the stage play, Christine ran from him, showing her own agenda and resistance to his pull! While in the movie, she didn't resist him!

*Now for the one that took the cake... The disfigurement! Or it would be a disfigurement if it actually made him look, y'know, deformed. Instead, as several people have put it, he looks like he got a bad sunburn or something. It's really rather pathetic. It makes him look more like a drama queen than he already is! Yeah.... I really don't like this movie.

On to... Final Lair!!!!!!!! It was a flop. From Raoul's whining and flailing around and his stringy hair flopping about (shallow complaint, I know, but it's so ugly) to Christine's sappy melodramatic "don't make me choooooooose" faces to the Phantom's prancing around with his ropes and maniacal laughter that somehow wasn't really scary at all... yeah, it was a flop. A major, major flop. And though The Kiss wasn't all that bad, all I could think of was, "She's SIXTEEN! SIX! TEEN! THIS IS CREEPY, DISTURBING AND GROSS!"

Which is why it's so difficult for me to admit that, um, I... cried at the end.

I COULDN'T HELP IT GUYS HE WAS ALL ALONE THERE IN HIS LAKE WITH HIS MONKEY AND HIS SMASHED MIRRORS AND HE WAS CRYING AND IT WAS SAD.

And then that rose on the gravestone? That single red rose? And the look on Old Raoul's face (still Patrick Wilson, by the way, under all that makeup) when he saw it and realized he wasn't the only one visiting Christine's grave? Yup, I lost it again there, too. And I really didn't want to. Because I tend to cry over movies I love, y'know? And I didn't love this movie. At all

Yet I still cried at the end. I'm not really sure why. I think perhaps it had something to do with the way the story still "got" me, deep down inside, despite the lousy casting and less-than-perfect singing and ridiculously unnecessary elements that totally didn't need to be there. It's still a tragically beautiful romance, and even a bad film can't kill that.

In conclusion, I think Mary Poppins can best express what I thought of POTO 2004.

In conclusion, I rate it a 2.7/5

[mezimraky]

tagged by the one and lovely @windsweptlassie whom i love

nickname: uuu depends on the other person mostly i’m just all over the place height: 158 cm time: nighty night favorite band/artist: crywank, vashti bunyan, some czech folk legends that won’t mean a thing to most of you folks, arvo pärt, ?? song stuck in my head: i could have sworn it was something else just an hour ago on the train but quite frequently it’s been que sera sera lately the last movie i watched: Человек с киноаппаратом (1929), my god i recommend it so much-- please go watch it if you have a spare hour last thing i googled: the walking distance between my uni and piazza del popolo in rome because i was under the impression that it would be a great idea to just get up in class and leave (it’s 1675 km, roughly 535 hours walking) other blogs: @basilhallwardsuggestions @nakridlech @lieutenantosborne among a few but i don’t get on them much these days, v busy do i get asks: oh my goodness yes when the occassion strikes and i do love receiving them-- !! everyone is unbelievably kind and good why i chose this username: firmin was never able to memorise my previous one (serosvit) because it was czech, so i decided to be petty and make it even longer and more complex-- it means interstellar/ly and honestly it’s so vague and weird i enjoy it just for that reason alone following: 420-- oh-- what im wearing: overalls and my lovely moss-green jumper !! dream job: reclusive hermit in the mountains the village people will ocassionally come to for cryptic advice dream trip: basically anywhere as long as i am closely acquainted with the history of the place-- like right now i would seriously love going to italy again-- mainly ravenna and rome because those two i know and i have been to rome once before but i was foolish and knew nothing i would love to see things for myself again and cry at the beauty and terror of history fav food: can never go wrong with pasta play any instruments: mmm ukulele badly enough, used to know piano but forgot most of it (and all because those damned triolas were too extra) hair color: dark dark dark brown languages you speak: czech, english, french & various phrases i can drop most iconic song: privately owned spiral galaxy by crywank probs or like depends on your definition of iconic but like i find this one p iconic yes random fact about yourself: always looking for a climbable tree. always.

if anyone wants to do this too please feel free-- tagging some of the buds meanwhile but also like no pressure aaa @myhamsterisademon @imaginejolls @siriussvaart @wolfrenoden pls have a lovely day either way

[thewidowstanton]

Cylios Pytlak, speed juggler, Cirque du Soleil’s show LUZIA

Self-taught speed juggler Cylios Pytlak – who comes from Valenciennes in northern France – started practising when he was ten, using balls, clubs and hats. He gradually developed his skills through repetition, while also devising new juggling patterns. During his teenage years he performed in small cabarets, shows and festivals, at 15 winning the grand prize at the French festival Talents de Scene. At 17, he spent a season with Cirque Georget and has been performing ever since. His highlights include contracts with Cirque Alexandre Bouglione and Cirque Firmin Bouglione in Belgium, Zirkus des Horrors in Germany, and the Cuban circus festival Circuba.

But his dream was always to perform with Cirque du Soleil, and after auditioning in 2009, it took until 2017 for him to achieve it. Cylios has appeared in its Mexico-themed show LUZIA – which is directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca – since it opened. Having toured the United States, Mexico and Canada for two years, he now comes to London’s Royal Albert Hall, where the show runs from 12 January – 1 March 2020. He chats to Liz Arratoon via email.

The Widow Stanton: Cylios is an unusual name. Where is it from? Cylios Pytlak: My real name is Cyril. Cylios is my stage name. I chose it with my family when I went on stage for the first time when I was about 12 or 13 years old. My goal was to be the only juggler with this name. It was also easier to remember for the fans and the people from the industry.



Are you from a circus background? No, my father was a police officer – he is now retired – and my mum is a nurse. I had always been a circus fan. My grandparents often took me to a variety of shows by Cirque Arlette Gruss when I was little. As soon as a circus was in my town, I was taking my bike to go past it all the time. This is where I learned to set up a big top. I was also taking care of the animals, since it was mostly traditional circus. My family always supported me and helped me to reach my goals. I feel really lucky to have them. 



Why did you choose to be a juggler? When I was ten years old I really wanted to learn a circus discipline. However, there was no circus school near my home. So I tried to learn by myself what was most accessible to me: juggling. When my parents offered me my first three juggling balls I was able to do some catches right away. I fell in love with it and shortly became an addict. [Laughs]


Are there any other jugglers in your family? No, I am the only one.



Why did you decide to do speed juggling? Not so long after I first started juggling by myself I saw Mario Berousek, the really famous speed juggler, on TV; on Le Plus Grand Cabaret du Monde.

Oh yes, we saw him in Monte Carlo a couple of times. He is actually the pioneer of speed juggling. I was completely fascinated by him and told myself I wanted to be like him. As of that moment, he became my inspiration. What is so crazy is that I had a chance to juggle with him a couple years later. I gave the idea to the juggling equipment company Mister Babache – Jonglerie Diffusion to create a modern replica of his artisanal club. At that time, no club for speed jugglers were marketed. Incredibly, this is the club I use to perform in LUZIA. This club can now be bought anywhere around the world.


What is the most important advice you could give to someone wanting to learn it? It is important to learn to listen to your body and to your mind. You can’t impose an evolution rhythm on yourself. You need to learn to enjoy the good days where you progress well and you learn things. You also need to be able to adapt your training when it’s not going really well. It is a process of hit and miss and it is totally normal.

Are the clubs the same as for regular juggling? As for the length and the weight it is really similar. Overall, a speed juggling club is slimmer and the rotating point is more central. This allows you to have tighter juggling and allows you to accentuate the propeller effect and the rotation effect ‘on the spot’, which characterises speed juggling with clubs. It is however possible to do speed juggling with a classic club. I did it for many years.  



Are there any famous jugglers present or past you admire? There are a lot. I can’t mention all of them. Of course, there is Mario Berousek (pictured above), and the legend, Anthony Gatto. Even though he is not a juggler anymore, he is part of juggling history. Tony Frebourg is also a legend with the diabolos. Even though I don’t do diabolos he was a big example for me. He has such an amazing career. He motivated and guided me a lot when I first started. I always admired his work. He became a friend over time. I met him in 2006, the same year I met Mario. It’s when I saw him succeed with another Cirque du Soleil show, OVO, that I told myself that I could also do it.


Do you remember your first appearance juggling in a show or cabaret? Totally. It was in a Christmas gala in Quievrechain, a small town in northern France, in December 2004 when I was 13. Before that I did little shows in private events, but nothing big. I really see this gala as my first show since it was the first time I was on a real stage. I was in front of a crowd of several hundred people. There was stage lighting and a real curtain opening. A lot of things happened that night that gave me the motivation to continue to train to get better and to go back on stage as soon as possible: the adrenaline before the performance, the atmosphere around the show, the joy to perform in front an audience, the joy of sharing with the public and the feeling when you receive the crowd’s applause. The following morning, I was already working on my act to see how I could improve it. I was doing video sessions of my performance to see what elements on the technical and artistic side I could improve. Since my first ‘little shows’ and especially after this gala, being on stage was what I wanted to do for a living. I never imagined my life without it. I really wanted this to be my life on a daily basis. I put in all the hard work I needed to by myself. Therefore, I never went to a professional circus school. I started my professional juggling career at 17 after completing a sales degree… just in case!

You had a long wait to get into Cirque du Soleil. Did you ever give up hope? I did a casting with Cirque du Soleil in Paris in 2010. I was 19 and I had been dreaming about Cirque du Soleil for a while. To be part of this company was my biggest dream. I never gave up on my dream, but it’s when I started to think less about it that they first contacted me for LUZIA. 



Tell us about the show… LUZIA is a wonderful show. It allows you to discover the Mexican culture in a unique way. And you don’t need to be Mexican or to like Mexico to fall in love with this show. You will go through a diverse range of emotions. It’s a magnificent and breathtaking show. 


I see you have to run through the audience while juggling. Do you enjoy that close interaction? Yes, I love it! It is important for me to establish this contact with the audience. This was part of my routine before I joined LUZIA. I had the chance that the artistic director of the show, Gracie Valdez, gave me the freedom to continue to do it.


What do you like or dislike about touring? To be touring around the world is a great opportunity. A lot of people need to make sacrifices to be able to travel. For us it is the way we live. What I enjoy the most is to discover the landscapes and the lifestyles of people in all the places we visit. But the most difficult part is to be away from my friends and family in France.



Where have you liked the most? I liked a lot of different places, but I think my favourite was California. Especially Los Angeles, which was my first city on tour. It was unforgettable. I also really liked Orlando with all the attraction parks, shows and entertainment… without forgetting the nice weather and the palm trees!

Do you travel with your family? Yes, I’m married to Madeley. We were touring together in a traditional circus in France, La Piste aux Etoiles, when we met. She was part of Russian swing, Chinese pole and acrobatic jump rope acts then. She went to the National Circus School of Cuba where she trained as a foot juggler. After our wedding in 2012, she was performing foot juggling and aerial hoop as a soloist. We were performing our acts in the same shows before I joined LUZIA but she does not perform in the show. We now have a little girl who’s three years old named Cameron. My wife and daughter travel with me at all time. Cirque helps us a lot with that. It is great!


Cameron loves circus. She already knows LUZIA by heart. She loves to imitate me or Madeley. I think it is normal for her age, because it’s what she is surrounded by every day, which I think is a great experience for her. Madeley and I don’t want to influence her in any way. We want her to do want she loves when she grows up. We both were lucky to have parents who supported us in our passion, and we want the same for our daughter.  

How do you feel about coming to the Royal Albert Hall? I’m really excited to perform in this iconic venue. It will be a really important moment of LUZIA’s tour. I had the chance to visit the Royal Albert Hall when I was in London a few weeks ago for a PR trip. It is magnificent! I have goosebumps just thinking about it. 



Has being in Cirque du Soleil lived up to your expectations? Totally! I worked as a professional juggler for about ten years before joining the company. As soon as I got here I was able to notice the difference. Cirque du Soleil gives us a lot of support around the show. I’m so glad to be working for them. I work with a team that dedicate themselves 100 per cent to the show every day. They want the show to be at its best and also to have it evolve. All the teams: technicians, administration, marketing, artistic, everyone gives the best of themselves to this show and it is inspiring to see.  


Cylios performs in Cirque du Soleil’s LUZIA at London’s Royal Albert Hall from 12 January – 1 March 2020.

For tickets to LUZIA, click here 

Pictures: Courtesy of Cylios and Cirque du Soleil

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Follow @TheWidowStanton on Twitter

[artistjojo1228]

Rambling Reviews: Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall (2011)

*I’ve seen this so many times, I lost count in the first two weeks of October, 2014*

I don’t believe there was ever any doubt that when the 1986 musical, Phantom of the Opera, turned 25, there would be a huge celebration. Fittingly, like its counterpart, Les Miserables, the subsequent performance was recorded and later sold on DVD. Now, I’m warning you now, this was the very first version of Phantom of the Opera I ever saw, so, naturally, I might be blinded by my nostalgia for this.

The story is centered on the Opera Populaire (which, funnily enough, translates to “Popular Opera”), an opera house in Paris that is mainly based off the real-life Palais Garnier. It’s here that the Phantom (who went by “Erik” in the original novel), a mad genius who was born deformed, falls in love with a beautiful young soprano, Christine Daae. He teaches her to sing, and she (for a while), only knows and regards him as the “Angel of Music” that her dead father promised to send her on his deathbed. Then, things get extraordinarily complicated when Christine’s childhood friend, Vicomte Raoul de Chagny, comes back into Christine’s life and tries to win over her heart (let’s just say that this doesn’t go over too well with M. le Fantome).

Let’s get this out of the way early, the singing is incredible, and I feel it should be, considering they got quite a few top-notch West End perfomers involved. Ramin Karimloo (for the curious, it’s pronounced “Ra-MEEN”) played the Phantom, and by God, he was incredible on all fronts (singing, acting, mannerisms, etc.). Even to this day, his portrayal of Erik is pretty much a defining portrayal for me (again, blame the whole nostalgia factor). Sierra Boggess was also amazing as Christine for the exact same reasons (particularly with the singing). This was actually Hadley Fraser’s first turn-out in Phantom of the Opera, and I thought that, as Raoul, he was a great singer, but on recent analysis, I’m starting to agree with people who say that he had anger issues as Raoul. However, I do hope that he gets to play Raoul again or maybe someone else in this play, because I hear that, otherwise, he’s a great actor. The supporting cast was equally great, and honorable mentions go out to Wendy Ferguson (Carlotta), Wynne Evans (Piangi), Liz Robertson (Madame Giry), Barry James (Firmin), and Gareth Snook (Andre).

As for the music, I don’t think it’s any surprise that it’s one of the most recognizable aspects of the show. Whilst I admit to preferring the first act to the second, I have to admit that the entire score is amazing. My favorite songs from this musical include the title song, “Music of the Night,” “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again,” “Point of No Return,” “All I Ask of You,” and “Down Once More/Final Lair.” All of these songs were handled quite beautifully in this production, and the orchestrations were magnificent. On a less popular note, though, I felt that the choreography in some places just kind of flailed about. However, I will note that the only place where I found this to be a huge problem was with “Hannibal.” Aside from that, it was fine.

Now, let’s get to what I’m sure is quite divisive, the sets. See, this production was staged in the Royal Albert Hall, and seeing as it’s a concert hall, there was no chandelier crash, and the sets were, for the most part, provided by LED lights. Now, considering that I saw this live between me rewatching this and the time I’m writing this (July 11, 2017), I still say that these are okay. Yeah, it sucks that the chandelier didn’t rise above the audience or crash onto the stage, but I do understand, since they had to work with what space they had. Besides, I don’t think any of that should detract from an otherwise stunning performance.

Lastly, I want to talk about the story itself, and please keep in mind, I’m speaking as someone who hasn’t quite finished the original novel yet. Now, aside for one or two major plot holes that I’ll get to a second, I really liked the story. Yes, I’m sure the original novel was better in this department, but I think that, as a whole, Andrew Lloyd Webber did a pretty good job in adapting the story from page to stage (although, how this same story suffered so much when being adapted again for the 2004 film starring Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum, I’ll most likely never know). As for that plot hole, I think the “Point of No Return” scene doesn’t make that much sense these days. Yes, Erik’s attempting an Italian accent and he’s wearing a hooded cloak, but I think that the characters and in-story audience should have realized that Piangi’s voice had changed and that he lost quite a bit of weight. I mean, I can accept the interpretation that Christine might be going along with it, but there’s still the fact that she’s heard this guy’s voice before. Aside from that, though, I really liked this story.

Overall, this was an amazing production fitting for a play that had recently turned 25. The acting/singing is incredible, the songs are beautifully written, the story still holds up (for the most part), and they did a great job with working with the stage they had chosen. Also, keep in mind that the performers only had two weeks worth of rehersal before this! I’d definitely recommend this for any fan of the musical or just the story in general. In the meantime, can someone please remind me that I can go into just as much detail with something that doesn’t involve having been an obsession of mine?!

95/100 A

[soulsoaringphan]

The Phantom of the Opera- Friday 17th February 2017

A few points on last night's performance (don't think I'll have time for a more comprehensive review!). -Harriet Jones is a fascinating Christine. I haven't seen her in the role in over 2 years and she's changed a lot. Her Christine was very hyperactive. I wasn't sure what to make of it in act one, but by the second act it really seemed to work. -Side note: Harriet did the Broadway Cadenza as opposed to the London Cadenza I've heard her do previously. -Her approach seemed to build up during the show- I really got the sense that her Christine was never really comfortable, it was like she could never feel safe, someone was always watching her. This led to a stunning version of WYWSHA- she got the balance between excellent vocals and an emotive performance. This moment was a turning point for her Christine- she was taking back control! -This made her headstrong Christine in the final lair really stand out. Loved the way she remained standing and went right up to the phantom's face in 'Angel of music, you deceived me...' until slumping to the floor. -One of my favourite moments was her PONR. My heart skipped a beat when she abruptly stopped singing, having realised she was in danger. I was genuinely frightened for her Christine, which is a difficult reaction to get out of me on my 15th time seeing the show. I was really split on her take on the role- it worked 80% of the time and the other 20% I wasn't sure. Act two was miles better than act one. -Harriet's new Aminta dress had a very elaborately decorated apron compared to others I've seen. -Luke McCall is a solid Phantom. I preferred him more this time (and I did love him last time). He's become more of a sensual Phantom, lots of gentle movements and gestures. Vocally he reminds me of a good Ramin. When I saw him with Celinde they seemed to be on a level playing field, whereas with Harriet Jones the power seemed to be in his hands. Hard to explain what I mean by that, but he is obviously reacting to his co-stars well. Overall a great Phantom! -Nadim Naaman is just awesome! I love how he hasn't gone down the arrogant aristocrat road. His Raoul is instantly caring, compassionate and loving towards Christine. By the end of the show you can't question Christine's choice- my R/C heart was beating fast! -Lara Martins and Paul Ettore Tabone work really well together. Great chemistry and they really bounce off of each other's portrayal. I felt Paul's vocals could've been stronger, but he's improving. -Solid mangers, Mark Oxtody's comic timing is great- loved him in Il Muto. Sion Lloyd is a decent Firmin, but not as strong as previous Firmin's I've seen. -Jacinta Mulcahy has come a long way as Madame Giry. Loving her take on the role. Her 'madness' during notes 2 was interesting- very commanding. Daisy Hulbert- cute Meg. Really like her take on the role. -The London production seems to be going from strength to strength. I'm still going back and feeling amazed.