#for the first time.. i prefer 1998 cast

[missing-sock-misto]

For the ask game?

🎷💙🎶

🎷Have you ever seen Cats live? If more than once, which was your favorite?

I have! I saw US Tour 6 non-equity, both legs, a total of 8 times? I also saw US Tour 5 when I was like, 8 or something, but I have no memory of it. The only thing I remember was thinking Skimbleshanks was a girl because I was surprised when he was played by a guy in 1998. My dad tells me I was terrified of Green Eyes, which yeah that tracks.

I think my last time seeing US Tour 6.2 was my overall best experience. But first: backstory.

I had impulse arranged a trip to LA to see it really early on and fell in love with Hank Santos’s Tugger. Like, the man was exactly what I imagined my ideal Tugger to be and act like. He really stands out as a Tugger because he’s a dancer in a way that isn’t usually prioritized in his actors. So his movements are incredibly deliberate and full of energy and I love it.

Later my friend and I had traveled to Washington DC to see it (that trip had been planned), but Hank was out sick. And the show was, you know, Fine, but I wasn’t really happy. But there were no other stops nearby where I lived, the closest being a five-hour drive away and I wasn’t going to fly AGAIN to go see it. So, I just figured that was my last time I would ever see the show until the next tour.

Then I was checking the tour list after DC and they added a stop 3 hours away from where I lived. I was dumbfounded, I had checked the tour list 15 times over, there had not been a stop there. So I asked my friend if they wanted to go with me and they said yes. And because it was a small theatre, we decided to get front row seats, which cost less than our mezzanine seats in DC.

And then the week before we go, Hank gets sick with E coli and misses a bunch of performances. And like, we’re going up ostensibly to see this one guy perform, like I needed to see his performance one more time. Plus, we had made gifts and stuff to give some cast members at stage door. So we’re driving up, got a hotel room, and we don’t even know if he’s going to perform. I was tempted to send him a DM, but I didn’t want to be creepy. So we get to the theatre, absolutely nauseous with adrenaline, and check the cast board.

And he’s performing.

So, it was a phenomenal experience. Like, there are definitely people in the first leg that I prefer more, but a lot of the important people had remained. And we had dressed up in outfits, so when we met the actors at stage door, they recognized us. So we were able to give them gifts, get their autographs, and get pictures with them. And also, turns out Hank’s parents were there! His mom took our picture with Hank and Taryn! So, it was lovely being able to give him compliments in front of them.

And the thing is, I hadn’t realized that there wouldn’t be a third leg. I figured I’d be seeing the show again next year. So, for that to have been such a serendipitous experience of the final leg of the tour, we got really lucky.

💙 What's your favorite platonical ship?

I love the chaos twins, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, being friends with Misto and Victoria. They play the most cheating heavy card games imaginable with ridiculous rules that makes the head spin. Often I make Jerrie and Teazer the Extroverts that adopt Misto and Victoria, the bad influences. They like getting into trouble and Misto and Victoria are like "why are we friends again?" and it's cause they're like caramel stuck between your teeth.

🎶 Who's your favorite ensemble cat and why?

(I’m going to include singing cats who don’t get a song specifically about them because: ) Demeter

I love Demeter so much. She’s such an interesting character, terrified and traumatized, but still brave enough to attack Macavity when no one was aware of the danger. She’s (in my headcanon) motherly and warm, but she’s also sensual and horny. And her interactions with the characters is so fascinating, I adore her.

[weaving-knightmares]

What are some good older iron man comics. I would love to read them. I am not too fond of heavy abuse depictions so I prefer the lighter stuff. I read the civil war comics but I didn’t like it so much. As for Maria, I read few comics with her and she was a good mother to Tony. I wish we see more of her. Maybe after the I AM IRONMAN, other writers start to include her.

I didn't like Civil War (the main event) either. I thought the tie-ins and Iron Man's solo series are fairer to the character, but it was a terrible event for him overall.

Iron Man reading list:

⎊ Tales of Suspense (1959) #39 - Iron Man's origin story

You can read tales of suspense #40 - #99 if you can tolerate the sexism, racism etc. of that era. This series is the one that introduced Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan, and they're honestly a lot of fun sometimes, despite not always having the best quality of writing.

⎊ Iron Man vol 1:

This volume has 324 issues and it can get intimidating (I avoided reading it for years) so I'll try to list the best runs.

Gerry Conway (35–43, 91–97) He has a great voice for Tony and I love the characterization.

Bill Mantlo (78, 86–87, 95–115, Annual #4) - this is a very good run - a must read, in my opinion, and extremely underrated. Issue #78 tells us the story of why Tony stopped making weapons. Mantlo put in a lot of work to humanize Tony & his relationship with Whitney Frost (Madame Masque) is amazing.

David Michelinie (116–157) - he introduced Rhodey (issue #144 tells us the story of how he met Tony) and a bunch of great characters like Bethany Cabe, Mrs. Arbogast and Justin Hammer. He also established Tony's alcoholism in Demon in a Bottle and made him travel to the past & the future with Doctor Doom (#150 and #250). His run also has some light-hearted moments and you can start with this one - a lot of people do.

Dennis O'Neil (160–208) - he explored Tony's alcoholism in much more detail than Michelinie and his run gets very heavy at times (especially issue #182) (tw for suicidal ideation, depression and alcoholism) but Tony's recovery is depicted very well, too, and his portrayal of Tony, even at his worst, is very empathetic and respectful. Also, Rhodey becomes Iron Man in this run and O'Neil characterizes him very well. This is a very important Iron Man run.

David Michelinie (again) (215–250) - If you liked his writing, you can check this run out as well. It contains the Armor Wars storyline, which is a very important arc that contributed to Tony's character a lot (It's also the first time he clashed with Steve Rogers over differing ideals).

Len Kaminski (278–318) - This is the run in which Rhodey became War Machine (he even got a solo series by the same writer, which is very good). This is also the run which established Tony as a (verbal and emotional) childhood abuse survivor and the issues that depict it are issues #285 - #288 (Tony relives his childhood memories, which include memories of his father's abuse and I'm not sure how heavy it can be classified as, but it can be triggering to some people, certainly) and #313 (This one is more disturbing as it features Tony telling the story of how Howard made him drink alcohol as a very young child at an AA meeting - it's also immensely satisfying and it's a great issue, overall).

⎊ Tony is a major part of Avengers vol 1 and West Coast Avengers (1985) as well.

⎊ Marvel Graphic Novel - Emperor Doom

⎊ Marvel Super-Heroes (1990) - issues 2, 8 (Squirrel Girl's first appearance!), 9, 12-15 (issue #13 is especially good)

⎊ Marvel Fanfare #4

⎊ Iron Man vol 3 (1998)

Kurt Busiek (1-25, Annual 1999) - This is one of the best Iron Man runs ever. You could totally start with this one if you want to- Tony's characterization is amazing in this run, Happy and Pepper are part of the main cast again and they got some great development in it, Carol Danvers is featured heavily in it and this run has some of the best writing she's got and this run has some very good Black Widow moments as well. If you've heard of Rumiko Fujikawa, this is the run that introduced her.

Frank Tieri (31–35, 37–49, Annual 2001) - Tiberius Stone is a very fun character and this is the run in which he was introduced. It's very good.

Mike Grell (50-66) - This run shows us more of Tony's philanthropist side and I think it's essential reading for Iron Man fans. This is also the run in which he reveals his secret identity in order to save a dog.

⎊ Iron Man: Bad Blood is a great mini-series by David Michelinie that also features Rhodey (he isn't a huge part of Iron Man vol 3, unfortunately) and Justin Hammer.

⎊ Iron Man: Legacy of Doom is another great mini-series by David Michelinie and is the final story in the Camelot trilogy (featuring Doctor Doom).

⎊ Avengers vol 3, Avengers/Squadron Supreme '98 and Avengers/Thunderbolts #1–6 (2004)

⎊ Iron Man/Captain America (1998 Annual)

[my-two-cents-about-everything]

This happens every time.🤦🏿‍♀️

Look. Makoto Niijima is my favorite character in P5, but she doesn't have ownership of that name. Besides Makoto Yuki was named first once the P3 movies come but we got a lot of people who wouldn't acknowledge and prefer the manga one so they stuck with Minato, and that isn't a problem. They can choose what they what but his canon name is Makoto Yuki. Minato Arisato was the manga's only name and he has a different personality than Yuki's personality.

And here is a person who counters the above comment. Two people can't have the same name in the same series.

Is not farfetched for people to have the same name, and besides Makoto Yuki is still currently a seal for Humanity. The odds of them meeting outside of the PQ games are non-existent at this point. You know I don't think it was mentioned they have the same name in PQ2, because it's a very common unisex name. But if you can't honestly tell the difference, One is a boy, the other is a girl, one is born in 1992-1993, and the other was born in 1998. One is older and the other younger, one last name is Yuki, and the other is Niijima, you can call them by their last name, as the p3 cast called him Yuki a lot.

And Atlus isn't brand new with reusing names being a very common name in Japan, like Minato.

I like my two Makotos.

[toonabby]

Today marks the 5th anniversary of Zuzubaland, also known as Zuzubalândía in Brazil. For context, Zuzubaland is a Brazilian animated series created by Mariana Caltabiano. The series was based on the book Jujubalândía, published in 1997, and serves as a reboot of the children's live-action series of the same name, which premiered on April 13, 1998, making that series 25 at the time of this post. The show revolves around Zuzu, a cute little bee girl who lives in the titular world of Zuzubaland/Zuzubâlandía (in the original book, it was called Jujubalândía) along with all her friends and dreams about being a famous singer in spite of her ear-grating voice. Zuzubaland is a kingdom ruled by King Appetite where everything is made out of food, right down to the character names being puns of the food they represent (e.g. Marsha Mallow is a pun on "marshmallow"). The main antagonist is the Green Witch (or Anorexic Witch in some sources, but I would prefer to call her "Greenhilda" - a portmanteau on "green" (her skin color) and the name "Brunhilda"), who hates food, joy and Zuzu's singing and wants to destroy Zuzubaland. But the only way to break the magic of the grandmothers that protects the kingdom is to get the magic crown that King Appetite keeps under a lock and key. Garfedia is her assistant, but she isn't really malicious as she's somewhat ineffectual but kind; she has a doll she keeps every day called Kellen. She also has a bad habit of farting (albeit unintentionally) when she laughs a lot. (source: Wikipedia PT)

Funnily enough is that this wouldn't be the first time we would see Zuzu and friends in animated form: Gui e Estopa was another animated series created by Mariana Caltabiano originally launched in 2000 as a children's website called Iguinho, with the mascot being a puppy of the same name (at least initially). He is best friends with Estopa (a dog), is in love with Croquette the beautiful, and has a rivarly with Pitiburro. A series of films were made before finally becoming a cartoon in 2009 that aired on Cartoon Network. They even have an official YouTube channel. (source: Wikipedia PT)

A crossover episode simply titled "Zuzubalândia" was released on July 20, 2016, two years before Zuzubaland premiered. Unfortunately its only available in Portuguese without subtitles (or at least the English subtitles) and I don't know much about the episode's plot other than it being a proposed pilot for Zuzubaland. But if I want to summarize this plot, it's basically Gui having a dream about going to Zuzubaland alongside Estopa. I also forgot to mention that it also had a musical in 2013, though I could only find one image of that one.

While this show, and by extension franchise, is hardly well-known in the West, it didn't stop Zuzubaland from having it's own YouTube Channel AND official English dub by none other than Bang Zoom! Entertaiment!

The English dub is not only easily my favorite EN dubs of Brazilian cartoons next to Ba Da Bean (both recorded by the same studio), but it also introduced me to the series. The cast includes Dino Andrade as Zuzu, Aleks Le as Sundae, Amber Connor as Popcorn, Zeno Robinson as Rocky, Joe J. Thomas as Hot Dog, Ryan Bartley as Marsha, and Jason Marnocha as King Appetite, but I think the best performance hands down would have to be Wendee Lee (the titular character from Haruhi Suzumiya, Konata Izumi from Lucky Star, Faye Valetine from Cowboy Bebop, Blanc/White Heart from Hyperdimension Neptunia, and Lyn and Veronica from Fire Emblem) as The Green Witch, whose loud-mouth, nasally Wicked Witch-esque voice perfectly suits her character. In fact, I first noticed this while looking at Lee's BTVA page. I was honestly shocked knowing that she has the same voice actors as Blanc and Faye. And for the cherry on top, it has an official website (albeit in Portuguese). The website includes characters pages, video clips, games, comic strips, art, online books, music etc., so at least isn't completely obscure online unlike other South American cartoons (*cough* Underdogs United *cough*). Mariana Caltabiano also has her own official website deticated to herself and her cartoons.

In conclusion, Zuzubaland is and forever will be my favorite Brazilian cartoon of the 2010s and my favorite Brazilian cartoon of all time (Ba Da Bean is a close second). Thank you for reading this post, and if you are a fan of Brazilian cartoons, did you watch it (in English or its original Portuguese language) and whats your opinion of this underrated foreign cartoon.

[kevinsreviewcatalogue]

Review: The Big Lebowski (1998)

The Big Lebowski (1998)

Rated R for pervasive strong language, drug content, sexuality and brief violence

Score: 5 out of 5

<Originally posted at https://kevinsreviewcatalogue.blogspot.com/2023/01/review-big-lebowski-1998.html>

The fact that The Big Lebowski isn't the defining film of Joel and Ethan Coen's careers speaks less to its own quality and more to the remarkably high bar the sibling team of writers and directors have set for themselves before and since. Despite being a box-office dud in its day, its unique blend of a crime caper, a noir mystery, a slacker comedy, and all manner of other influences both cinematic and psychedelic quickly helped it find its audience and build an enduring following on home video, quoted in fraternity houses and analyzed in philosophy 101. It tells the kind of story that the Coen Brothers specialize in, smart comedy about really stupid people who get into something way over their heads that turns out to be a lot simpler and dumber than it seems, taking classic film noir tropes and turning them upside-down. All of it is elevated by an all-star, larger-than-life cast of actors giving instantly memorable performances, crafting a world of ordinary and not-so-ordinary people that feels lived-in and authentic even as everything goes increasingly crazy. It's the kind of mystery where the protagonist figures everything out about thirty minutes in, instead being more interested in exploring the lives of its distinctive characters. Either way, it's a trip.

Set in the early '90s against the backdrop of the Gulf War, the film opens with a pot-smoking, middle-aged slacker named Jeffrey Lebowski, who prefers to go by simply "The Dude", getting his home raided one day by a pair of crooks on the orders of a porn producer named Jackie Treehorn, who beat him up and soil his nice rug. As it turns out, they got him mixed up with another Jeffrey Lebowski, the "Big" one, a millionaire philanthropist whose sexy trophy wife Bunny owes a ton of money to Jackie. The Dude, wanting some compensation for his ruined rug, heads to the Big Lebowski's house, which gets him and his bowling buddies, the hot-tempered Vietnam veteran Walter and the oblivious Donny, sucked into a bizarre tale that involves kidnapping, German nihilists, Jeffrey's artist daughter Maude, a punk kid from the suburbs named Larry, and more, all while an old cowboy who's seemingly wandered in from a Western narrates the tale.

This is not really the easiest movie to describe, in no small part because, like any good mystery or comedy, describing what happens ruins most of the fun. Like I said, it's a Coen Brothers movie, and the main appeal here isn't really the central mystery to start with. No, this is a hangout movie centered on The Dude, Walter, and Donny, a group of friends whose ordinary lives are thrown into disarray by unforeseen circumstances and then go even more askew thanks to their own blunders and stupidity. The central character, The Dude, is a guy who looks at first glance like he's the biggest idiot in the film. He's an aging hippie who took part in protests back in the '60s and has drifted through life ever since doing odd jobs in a world that's left him behind, as the Big Lebowski rather bluntly informs him the first time they meet. ("Your revolution is over, Mr. Lebowski! Condolences! The bums lost!") And yet, he's also the guy who manages to correctly guess what's really going on thirty minutes into the movie, and the only reason why it takes so long for him to do anything is because, well, just look at him. He's lazy, and even if he weren't, he doesn't really care either way, except for the fact that he's being pulled around by the people around him. The Dude may just be the most clear-eyed character in the entire movie, a guy whose philosophy of life is to let nothing get to him and just brush off what others have to say. It may have turned him into a layabout who's doing nothing with his life, but at the very least, he's happy and doesn't seem to be overburdened with problems in his life. It's no wonder that Julianne Moore's Maude Lebowski, arguably the only other character in the movie who seems to have her head on straight (and even she's a rather eccentric, smugly superior asshole), takes her own weird sort of liking to this guy, or that fans of the film have turned "Dudeism" into an actual spiritual code.

Everybody else, meanwhile, is going through life like they're in a completely different sort of movie, and most of the fun comes from watching them butt heads with one another. John Goodman's Walter, the hothead who can't stop going on about the war, is a Vietvet out of a prestige drama about a guy trying and failing to adjust to civilian life (though if you take the original screenplay as canon, it may just be stolen valor coming from a man with a few screws loose), one who winds up causing more problems than he solves. Peter Stormare, Torsten Voges, Flea, and Aimee Mann play a group of German nihilists who act like the hip, quirky protagonists of a contemporary Quentin Tarantino crime thriller as they try to exploit the situation, and simply make things worse for everybody. John Turturro's rival bowler The Jesus is the villain of a sports movie. Tara Reid's Bunny is someone lifted straight out a '70s porno who's directly responsible for the entire mess (noticing a trend here?). The only characters in the movie who aren't stupid are those who've either been dragged into it or, like Sam Elliott's mysterious narrator, are simply observing it all from afar, and yet, this is not a stupid movie. Rather, these characters, each brought to life by an amazing all-star cast, are stupid in their own unique ways, the jokes coming from how their unique brands of stupidity interact and form all manner of unique cocktails of mayhem. It's a movie where everything is constantly flying off the rails because none of these idiots know what they're doing, and just like The Dude, you're just along for the ride of a lifetime.

The Bottom Line

This is just, like, my opinion, man, but The Big Lebowski deserves its reputation as one of the greatest crime movies of a decade that had no shortage of them, a twisted tale of a bunch of idiots falling into a larger-than-life yet all-too-real maelstrom. See it, learn to quote it, and abide.

[wheelscomedyandmore]

Hollywood is known for fleeting romances, but the love story of Sam Elliott and Katharine Ross stands as an exception. Their journey began in 1978 when they met on the set of 'The Legacy'. The two were cast as a couple in this horror film, and their on-screen pairing soon blossomed into a real-life connection. While filming in London, they quickly developed a bond. However, their story started years earlier, though they didn’t know it at the time. Nearly a decade earlier, they had both worked on 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' (1969), but their paths hadn’t crossed during production.

Sam Elliott, who played a small role as a bar patron in 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' (1969), recalled admiring Katharine Ross from afar but being too intimidated to approach her. In an interview with AARP, Elliott shared, “I didn’t dare try to talk to her then. She was the leading lady. I was a shadow on the wall, a glorified extra in a bar scene.” That experience stayed with him, and when they worked together on 'The Legacy' (1978), fate finally brought them together.

After 'The Legacy', their relationship deepened quickly. Despite the challenges of the entertainment industry, Sam and Katharine found a rhythm that worked for them. They married in 1984, marking the start of a lasting partnership that continues to thrive. Their wedding wasn’t a grand affair but rather an intimate celebration of their love, reflecting their preference for keeping personal matters private.

Their marriage has been noted as one of the rarest long-lasting Hollywood romances. Many have admired how they’ve balanced their careers and personal lives with grace, never allowing the spotlight to overshadow their love for one another. While Hollywood relationships are often scrutinized by the public eye, Sam and Katharine have successfully shielded their personal lives from that constant attention.

The couple welcomed their daughter, Cleo Rose Elliott, in the same year. Cleo followed in her parents’ artistic footsteps and became a musician. Though she grew up in a celebrity household, her parents made sure she had a grounded upbringing. Sam and Katharine managed to raise Cleo while balancing their busy careers, always ensuring family came first. In interviews, Sam has spoken about how much family means to him, stating that, no matter how busy their careers became, they always made time for each other. Katharine has shared similar sentiments, often reflecting on how they made their home life a priority despite their professional commitments.

Both have built impressive careers in Hollywood, but they’ve done so while maintaining a close family bond. Sam Elliott is known for his iconic roles in films like 'Tombstone' (1993), 'The Big Lebowski' (1998), and the TV series '1883' (2021), where his deep voice, rugged appearance, and cowboy persona have made him a beloved figure. His career spans decades, and his distinct screen presence has won him a dedicated fan base. Katharine Ross, on the other hand, is celebrated for her memorable performances in 'The Graduate' (1967), 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' (1969), and 'The Stepford Wives' (1975). Despite their individual successes, they’ve never let their careers overshadow their marriage. Rather, their respect for each other’s work and their shared values have been key to their lasting bond.

In an interview, Sam highlighted the importance of respect in their marriage. “You’ve got to have a lot of love and a lot of respect,” he said. “It’s about the little things, just being there, supporting each other, listening when things get tough.” Katharine has echoed this, praising Sam’s dedication to their family and his down-to-earth nature. Both have emphasized that the key to their successful marriage has been mutual support and understanding, something that’s essential in an industry known for its unpredictability.

Over the years, there have been no scandals or rumors of divorce, just a quiet, enduring love. In an industry where relationships are often short-lived, Sam and Katharine have remained committed to each other, defying the odds and showing that true love can survive the pressures of Hollywood. Their marriage has become an example of what is possible when two people dedicate themselves to maintaining a healthy and respectful relationship.

Their daughter, Cleo Rose, has often spoken about how her parents’ relationship inspired her own views on love and commitment. Growing up with two successful parents who prioritized family, Cleo learned the importance of staying grounded despite fame. Cleo has gone on to pursue a successful career as a musician, and her parents have been there to support her along the way.

Sam Elliott and Katharine Ross have kept their personal lives relatively private. They don’t seek the spotlight and prefer to enjoy the simple pleasures of life together. Whether at home on their ranch or supporting each other at film premieres, their bond is evident through their quiet, consistent support for each other. Their ability to stay grounded and maintain their privacy has further solidified them as one of Hollywood's most admired couples.

After more than 38 years of marriage, Sam Elliott and Katharine Ross’s love story continues to serve as an example of what is possible when two people are committed to making a relationship work. Their partnership remains one of the rare, enduring romances in Hollywood, admired by many for its longevity and sincerity.

[stormxpadme]

🍓🐇🔪 for the fanfic ask game

Writers Truth & Dare Ask Game

🍓 How did you get into writing fanfiction?

I am quite literally a fandom dinosaur, a Xennial born 1982 who first came online when internet went widely public in 1998. I've been writing fanfiction long before that, never knowing it was called that or I wasn't the only one doing it. I'd always been kind of the typical star pupil in my native language in school, especially regarding creative writing, and had no friends, so I spent most of my time reading and writing. After writing a few stories that had nothing to do with fanfiction in my spare time, too, I started with fanfiction when I was around 9 and one of my favorite TV series was the old S.W.A.T. series. I just felt I wanted to have another few stories for my favorite characters and wrote some loosely connected scenes down in school notebooks that my mother couldn't buy new ones fast enough at some point. Sadly, the oldest stuff of my writing was thrown away but what I later came up with for og She-Ra still existed when I came online then and from that time on, I transcribed everything I still had handwritten and saved it on my computer; some of it is even online on my fanfiktion.de account. And then I just never stopped and never will.

🐇 Do you prefer writing original characters, reader inserts, or a mix of both?

I don't like reader inserts neither as an author nor as a reader, it's just not my thing. I've written OCs from the start and I'm a huge OC advocate as anyone knowing my blog and my fanfiction accounts can tell. I did a Mary Sue or two in those more than 30 years of writing and had at least two characters close enough to me to be considered self-inserts. But most of my OCs are independent figures with their own story and history.

🔪 What’s the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

I've written a whole American Idol season (or rather the German version of the show) as a fanfiction series around 15 years ago. Originally, that project was meant to be an original novel about a fictional casting show that I wanted to publish, but since that never took off, I turned it into an actual fanfic, mostly with original characters, naturally, only some of the German TV judges and the whole media circus being real. Since I always liked watching casting shows anyway and did some singing in my youth too (I suck at it tho and have no illusions about that), I decided to take a look at the whole circus up close. I informed myself beforehand, talking to some ex candidates and reading editorial books that some of those ex candidates published about the whole thing, and then I basically did a very calculated TV casting tour. I made myself interesting with the right flashy clothes and background stories and indeed made it to the TV juries of two big German and Austrian casting shows. Of one of those castings, a few minutes were on TV then, but the audience ratings at that point for such shows were so horrible already that no one who knew me in person ever even saw that thing or at least talked to me about it. I wasn't good, obviously, but I wasn't ridiculed, and it was overall a very average, unspectacular casting candidate titbit that I could live with well in the end. And it helped a lot, learning about the whole process, seeing all these things up close, not only for the stories I wrote in the end but to be a part of the whole media circus myself for a while.

[peppermintpussycat]

Hi, person who sent the first ask here. I am not a fan of the movie, I agree with your points of the designs and casting, but you expressed it in such an asshole way that I have no choice but to disagree with you, and as much judgement as you have towards people who do like the movie, I can assure you I have more judgement towards your attitude. Also stop using 1998 as your baseline, it’s not the only good version of the musical

You're right, the 2016 revival is good too, but I have a preference for the 1998 one as it's the only one I've A) had the time to watch in it's entirety and B) the only I could find that was complete without forking out cash.

Although I did manage to find some clips from the Zurich production which I enjoyed, even if the footage was grainy and it was hard to precisely make out who was who on stage.

And sorry about you not liking my attitude. The block button is always available to you or again, I just need someone to give me the go ahead to use the #catscrit tag and folks can simply block and filter that.

[lord-radish]

I'm super tired so I'm not gonna be able to articulate this well, but the Amazon Prime dub of the final Evangelion movie is absolutely buttfuck insane from a casting perspective.

So Evangelion began in the 90's, and it made it over to America where it was dubbed and released in like 1998 or something. You have names that would live on in infamy - Spike Spencer as Shinji, for one, but also Amanda Winn-Lee voicing Rei and directing the movie dubs for End of Eva and Death & Rebirth, Allison Keith as Misato and Tiffany Grant as Asuka.

I say infamy because Shinji is traditionally seen as a very whiny character, with the general trend seeming to be that Megumi Ogata's original performance is much preferred. Amanda Winn-Lee also added some incredibly unnecessary sound effects to End of Evangelion and contributed to a commentary track that some of the real picky Eva nerds have dubbed the "Commentary of Evil" (which I personally liked). Tiffany Grant and Allison Keith are pretty well liked to my recollection, with points going to Tiffany Grant for being able to speak German; Asuka is part-German, and she speaks in German a fair bit through the show. It's fantastic casting.

You also have Josh Swasey as Gendo Ikari, though that role was actually recast a couple of times. And of particular note are these three characters named Aoba, Maya and Hyuga - they're bridge crew who have an expanded role in End of Evangelion, but who aren't major players in the show. One of them, Aoba's VA Jason C. Lee, is married to Amanda Winn-Lee.

So the show ends in like 1996, with a remastered compilation movie and a theatrical finale to the show releasing in 97 and 98 respectively. Those get dubbed and released around 2002. And that's it, that's a wrap. Everyone moves on.

In 2007, a sort of revival/sequel-ish sort of thing releases. It's the first movie in a quadrilogy of movies that aim to retell Evangelion.

The rights to Evangelion had been acquired by Funimation after the original company went bankrupt. Knowing that Evangelion is a bit of a sacred cow to anime fans, they spring on the cast: Spike Spencer, Tiffany Grant, Allison Keith and John Swasey return as Shinji, Asuka, Misato and Gendo.

A point of contention, however, was the voice of Rei.

Rei is a hugely popular character, both in Japan and in the English-speaking fandom. Amanda Winn-Lee did a great job voicing the character in this sort of creepy, sad, half-whispered falsetto. But in the five years between projects, she'd had a son with Jason C. Hall who was born with Down Syndrome and required a lot of care. She'd retired from voice-acting in order to raise and support her son.

So those other four voice actors became the only VAs to come back for the sequels - still a pretty big get. Brina Palencia took over as Rei and gave it her own spin, and you can tell that everyone has been recast but it's fine. Then the second movie comes out, it's great, dub is fan-fucking-tastic.

The issues start with the third movie. Funimation would spice the scripts up a little bit, throw in some banter or play with the wording to better communicate what was going on - as localisations are wont to do. They produce the 3.0 dub and screen it at a few anime expos in 2014, and... silence. For two years.

The story goes that Studio Khara - the studio making these sequel movies - had guys who were at these showings, and they picked up on laughter and reactions from the audience that didn't really fit in with the mood they were going for. What happened was that Studio Khara felt that the dub wasn't in line with the end product, and they scrapped the entire thing in order to work more closely with Funimation.

The dub definitely loses a bit of its bounce, but everyone's still there. The English dub releases three years after the movie originally launched in Japan.

The second hiccup happens when Evangelion comes to Netflix in 2019.

Khara scraps the ENTIRE cast.

The new dub was... polarising. I don't know how the actual performances were received, but people weren't happy about how much they toned down the gay subtext between Shinji and Kaworu. It was a much clunkier affair, similar to Evangelion 3.33, with the same in-house Khara translator working on the script. I haven't seen it, and I don't doubt that the cast did a good job - I feel like Casey Mongillo is cool y'know. That being said, I'd been hearing Spike Spencer as Shinji since I was 12, so I wasn't interested.

So since 2013, we've had a polarising script that was delayed for years, and we had a poorly received redub for Netflix. And the question looms: what's going to happen to the fourth sequel movie?

Studio Khara personally chose the Netflix cast. They made the decision to scrap the Funimation cast, comprised in part by some of the original English voice cast, and to do it themselves from scratch. That wasn't a popular move. Now you have a movie that's coming down the pipe, release date unknown, that caps off a 10+ year long movie series and ultimately, definitively, brings the Neon Genesis Evangelion series to an end.

So what in the name of fuck is going to happen? The sequel movies haven't been redubbed by the Netflix cast yet. Are they going to do the final movie with the Netflix cast and leave the first three movies untouched? Are they gonna dub over the first three movies in the lead-up to the final one and have the Netflix cast ostensibly become the definitive English voice cast?

Finally, the final movie is announced and details start to drop about the localisation.

Amazon Prime Video is releasing the movie. The voice director for 3.33 and the Netflix dub is doing the final movie.

EVERYONE FROM THE 90'S DUB IS COMING BACK.

Okay, caveat - not everyone. The woman who voiced Ritsuko Akagi retired in 2004, and some of the VAs have died since. They also replace a bunch of the Funimation cast with brand new actors for some reason.

But I'm talking Spike Spencer, Tiffany Grant, Allison Keith and Jason Swasey - those four original voices who'd gone from the original show to this final movie.

I'm talking Amanda Winn-Lee, the original VA for Rei Ayanami, who hadn't voice-acted in years. I'm talking Jason C. Lee as Aoba. Brett Weaver as Toji Suzuhara was just showing off at that point.

They didn't get *everyone*, but you've gotta understand that the people they got back were huge. It's like if they got the original voice of Skeletor to be Skeletor in a revival of Masters of the Universe. It's like if they had a cameo from Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance in Doctor Sleep. And the other cast, like Aoba and fucking Toji, are like pulling a rabbit out of a hat. It fucking owned.

The worst part is that I didn't even realise it was Rei's original voice until the end credits. I just fell into the rhythm of the movie and pogged at the credits, though hearing Aoba for the first time I was like "wait holy shit, did they get him too?!".

I don't support Amazon, but I've gotta say that the dub of that final movie was a Hail Mary. Clunky localiser aside, it was a fantastic movie in general and I really appreciated that Spike and the other long-standing VAs got to finish out the series. Again, these guys had been with the franchise for over 20 years at this point. It was a really good feeling.

[vtmbbot]

there’s the wonder of the thing, macavity’s not there!

macavity the mystery cat comparison: 1998 and 2016

[emmikay]

How Assorted Members of the Batfamily would react to watching CATS (a note- I am not at all up to date with comics. That being said, I know I’m leaving out several more recent characters, but I’m just sticking with the ones I have a better feel for. Also, if anyone’s personality has drastically shifted, I also wouldn’t know)

Dick Grayson- Dick’s from the circus- He has a blast watching the dancing, singing, acrobatics, costumes, and set and lighting design. More than most he understands the insane amount of work that goes into the show. While he might not connect deeply with plot or individual characters, Dick absolutely appreciates it as a spectacle musical, and has a really good time.

Jason Todd- Jason is established as liking literature, and the arts. He has seen CATS before, and is happy to see it again. He’s also read Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, and has thought about the differences in tone between the two. He’s more invested in character arcs than Dick, and also really enjoys himself.

Barbara Gordon- Barbara tries. She really, really does. She saw the 1998 video once, when she was little, and did not like. Now older, she wants to understand why people like the musical. She reads reviews, watches videos, and investigates fan sights in preparation. But when she goes to see the musical live, she still Does Not like it.

Cassandra Cain- Most of the family didn’t think Cass would have a good time at the musical, but it turns out the CATS is kind of the perfect show for her. In CATS, pretty much all character arcs, and personality are communicated nonverbally, and usually through dance, Cass just Gets It. She connects to the characters and is able to follow plot points far more quickly than anyone else in the family, and by the end of Act One, she’s been converted to a CATS fan. She wants to see it again as soon as possible.

Tim Drake- Tim is not having a good time. This is the first time he’s seen the show, and he didn’t do any background research like Barbara. He is bored and confused, and would prefer to be at home. He might not stay after Act One. If he does, it’s only because leaving would make Dick and Cass feel bad.

Stephanie Brown- Steph has fond memories of watching the 1998 video as a kid. She knows a lot of the lyrics and dance going in. Her enjoyment is partially nostalgic, though seeing the show again after several years reignites her love of the musical. She has a great time, and mouths along to most of the lyrics.

Damian Wayne- Damian has to dragged to the show. He hates the idea of the show, and thinks the entire concept sounds stupid. After the show, he asserts that he had a horrible time, and he will never forgive the family for putting him through that. Secretly, he actually loved the show, and might actually rival Cass as a CATS convert. However, he would rather die than actually admit it. Once home he downloads the 1998 video on YouTube, and watches it.

Alfred Pennyworth- Alfred knows the show well, and is delighted to be seeing it live. Since Alfred’s already been given every possible old career known to man, I’m arbitrarily deciding that Alfred was a member of the original London West End cast as a swing, and portrayed both Bustopher/ Gus, and Skimbleshanks. He thinks this cast did a wonderful job, and the show brings back a lot of fond memories.

Bruce Wayne- It’s not that Bruce likes it or hates it, he’s just very confused, and does not understand what is going on. He’s happy that most of the kids seem to be having a good time.

Selina Kyle- If you can look me in the eyes, and tell me that Selina Kyle isn’t the biggest fan of CATS to ever live on this green earth, I don’t think we can be friends.

[senshidaily]

are there multiple sere myus? ive never seen any sailor moon stage shows and id live to see them! is there a viewing order? where can i watch them?

Hello, anon! There are at this point over 30 myus!!! They started in 1993 and continued until 2005, when they went on hiatus until 2013 and since then we've gotten one a year except for covid in 2020. This year instead of a regular stageplay, we're getting some sort of concert in November.

As for viewing order, it depends on what you like about Sailor Moon! The old myus are based heavily in the 90s anime for their plot and characterizations. I'm not a fan of the 90s anime, so aside from some of the music which can be truly incredible, I personally don't like those much. The costumes are also very much of the era and not to my taste, lol. If you ARE a fan of the 90s anime, then starting with the 1993 isn't a bad idea. There are four girls who played Usagi in old myu, Anza was the first, and she's still the most popular and I think the longest-running Usagi from 1993-1998. Following her was Fumina, my personal least favorite Usagi, for 2 years, then Miyuki for several years, who I am about as fond of as Anza. The last was Marina from 2001-2005, by far the youngest actress to play Usagi (I think she was only 13 when she started?), but she grew into the role. Old myu frequently did two plays a year with the second being a slight revision, which might have small changes or featuring an actor who would be leaving, stuff like that. You could pick any run from one of the main Usagi actresses as a place to start, Anza covered mostly the plot of the 90s anime, Fumina and Miyuki were more original stage plots, and Marina returned to more anime plots. I haven't watched any of the old myus in years, so this is all from memory, sorry!

Since my favorite verisons of Sailor Moon are the manga and pgsm and crystal, I personally absolutely LOVE new myu. Its characterizations and plots are much, much more true to the manga. And also, every single character is played by women in new myu, inspired by the Takarazuka Revue, an all-ladies theater company in Japan that Naoko herself is a big fan of and drew inspiration from while writing Sailor Moon, especially for Haruka and Michiru. Several actresses who were Takarazuka members went on to have roles in new myu. The 2013-2017 plays adapts all 5 arcs of the manga, so I would highly recommend starting there and watching all 5. Satomi plays Usagi from 2013-2015 and is my personal favorite Usagi, and together with her cast of senshi is my absolute favorite cast. Shiori as Venus and Yu as Jupiter in particular are some of my favorite casting. Tani/Yuuga is an actress from Takarazuka, and she played the most charismatic Mamoru you will ever see for all 5 years. Hotaru played Usagi with a new cast of inners for the last two years, and I'm STILL sad Satomi's cast was replaced, although Hotaru did a fine job. And they brought back Satomi to play Cosmos in the final one, which was a cool move.

If you'd rather dip your toes in with something shorter, there are three identical Nogizaka46 (a jpop idol goup) adaptations of the Dark Kingdom arc called Teams Star, Moon (both from 2018), and 2019. The script and music for all three are the same, but each one has a different cast of inners, although Mamoru and the villains keep the same actresses for all three. Mamoru is also played by the actress who was Sailor Pluto in the 2014-2018 plays, and she does a spectacular job. My personal favorite of those is Team Star for the team chemistry and because I really enjoyed Sayuri as Usagi, but they're all great. Mizuki as Usagi from Team Moon is a little flat for me, but because Minako is one of my all-time favorite characters, and Team Moon's Venus is tied for my fave Venus with Shiori from 2013-2015, it's still worth watching. 2019 had (a different) Shiori as Usagi and was also very good, and the team chemistry was great again, although overall I still prefer Star. Last year's myu was an adaptation of the manga side story about Kaguya Hime, which isn't a story I particularly enjoy, since the senshi mostly take a backseat in it, and I wasn't blown away by any of the casting or music. But if you're looking for another standalone entry into myu, its stage direction and costumes were great!

When Kaguya was running on stage, they offered tickets to watch the livestream with english subs for $20. Hopefully, they'll do the same for the concert this year. Buying the dvds/blurays from somewhere like cdjapan is another great way to support the franchise, but they don't have subs. Luckily, seaofserenity has subs of pretty much every myu available on their website, and missdream also has older myu, although they had to take down their new myu a few years back.

Anyway, this was very long, but hopefully will help you find a place to start with myu! It's a franchise I really love, and I hope you enjoy it!!

[snowboiwinwin]

Meet IVY: Ateez's 9th member

Hi! I know I'm super inactive and always start things I never finish... so that's why I have written a lot for Ivy in advance as I plan on somewhat regularly posting for her - let's see how it goes! ♡

basics

stage name: IVY

birth name: jeon iseul 전이슬

english name: isla jeon

birthday: july 7th, 1998

zodiac sign: cancer

positions: lead rapper, sub vocalist, dancer, face of the group

height: 156 cm (5’1)

weight: N/A

blood type: O

MBTI type: ENTP

nationality: Korean-Canadian

facts about IVY

♡ IVY was born and raised in Toronto; her dad is Korean, her mom is Canadian ♡ she has two younger brothers and one younger sister ♡ her stage name should have been her English name “Isla” but due to the name being too hard to pronounce (according to some higher ups in KQ) she decided to go for IVY as people teasingly call her “poison ivy” due to her resting bitch face ♡ IVY is not a big fan of her Korean name, she prefers “Isla”

♡ she got casted when one of the KQ staff saw her self-written rap, which she recorded and uploaded on YouTube – it was basically her introducing herself with a rap

♡ she was added to the group shortly after their debut as Ateez did not get as much attention in Korea as KQ had planned

♡ funny enough, she had no problem with fitting in with the boys as she is a very straightforward, super affectionate and talkative person

♡ although she annoyed the boys a lot at first, they all loved her right from the beginning – I mean, how could you not?

♡ IVY is a very hardworking and perfectionist person

♡ she is not the usual Face of the Group as she does not look like the generic idol

♡ IVY is a huge fan of makeup - she rocks different, self-made looks on stage all the time and stuns everyone with her skills

♡ KQ sees her body as an advance for gaining fans in the western world

♡ with her unique looks (at least in Korea) Ivy wants to proof that everybody can achieve what they dream of no matter what they might look like

♡ she is very outspoken and not holding back when it comes to serious topics like Feminism, politics and everything going wrong in the world, which sometimes gets her in trouble with the KQ staff (and netizens)

♡ IVY does not care about what people say about her and stays relatively calm even when some interviewers full on disrespect her but if someone dares saying something about HER boys, it’s game over

♡ due to her being outspoken and not shying away from confrontation at all, she gets herself not only in a lot of trouble with the staff but she also is involved in one scandal after another

♡ her weight, which fluctuates a lot, is also something IVY is known for in the Korean society as this is one of the things always talked about and criticized

♡ IVY does not have many friends outside of the group as she has some trust issues she needs to work on – this changed slightly after Ateez participated in Kingdom as she met some cool, trustworthy people there

[blackbat05]

I need a break

Shangqi x Reader (Platonic) 

A/N: I feel like I’m loosing steam towards the end of my placement and wow I have never needed a break this badly before. Perhaps a short Shangqi x Reader imagine where they are both University students. Seriously at this rate I’ll just be solely a Shangqi writer HAHAHA. Doing this on my phone because I don’t want to open my work computer. Let’s see where this impromptu idea takes me to. Hope you enjoy it and as always like and comment if you wish!

Genre: PG-13

Warnings: None really, just friends supporting each other! I guess there’s an inaccurate timeline if you look at the MCU but hey this is an imagine plus if you look at some of the wiki pages, Shangqi is actually born in 1998/1999. So appreciate if you’re kind enough to go with the flow to read this comfort fic! 

‘Y/N!’ Shangqi rushes to catch up with you after class. You made an effort to conceal your tiredness but he saw it right through. ‘Gosh…you alright?’

You think to yourself. Were you really alright? The answer was pretty obvious. You were ten weeks into your placement and your emotions were a jumbled up mess. Having to deal with work responsibilities was one problem, school assignments were another issue all together. At this point, you felt like you were just getting through each week for the sake of it.

At first, you believed that what you were going through was simply a transition to becoming an adult. You thought that naturally, you would be able to persevere through the stressful periods by yourself. But of course, it has been hard.

You were a social work intern at a neighborhood youth centre, thirty minutes away if you took the train and bus. The work was fulfilling in it’s own ways, but recently there were self-doubts filling your brain, if you were really cut out for the job in the future. If you weren’t, what else could you do?

As you sat with Shangqi in the school’s student-ran cafe, you found yourself pouring out the exact same concerns to him. Credit to him, Shangqi never interrupted your monologue, he just simply listened. That’s what best friends were for. That’s what you did for him to when he ran into issues with his family.

Even then, he couldn’t deny that hearing you doubt yourself broke his heart. He had known you since high school. You mostly kept to yourself and one or two close friends. Despite joining the school’s athletic team where you were one of the main athletes, you preferred to stay in the shadows unlike some of your teammates. That didn’t stop you from going out of your way to help other students in need; like helping the girl who was in an arm cast to copy the social studies notes, even if it meant you had to do it twice. Or maybe just talking to a friend who was stressed out about their results.

Basically, you had studied your ass off to get a secured spot at this university who were only one of the few that offered the degree. He remembers you telling him the moment you got your offer, ‘I’m finally good at something. I don’t have to worry anymore!’

Shangqi wasn’t stupid. The pandemic had done some crazy things. And by crazy, it affected the self-esteem that you had been working so hard on by participating in various projects and events, with you being in charge of a drama production that was promoting on mental health. That was a big deal considering that you were a major introvert.

Online engagement was never easy. In fact he has heard some of your struggles that you’ve shared with him regarding this and it only makes him admire you even more. For someone who preferred to keep to themselves, stepping out of one’s comfort zone, to take on a role that wasn’t just simply about helping people - that took guts.

‘I’m sorry I’m just loading you with all this. I just feel…’ You trailed off, suddenly becoming emotional again. Again, Shangqi does not pry. ‘That I can’t do anything right.’ You emphasize that you had ended the statement for you were unsure that you could keep your cool if you had tried to continue on.

‘If I hear you saying sorry another time,’ he chides, ‘you’re paying for our meal later.’ Your lips curved upwards slightly before returning to its somber position. Shangqi decides that a meal won’t cut it. He needs to deploy ‘Operation Y/N’. Standing up with your buzzer to collect the food, Shangqi whips out his phone. There will be a few changes for today.

Food was definitely a cure in this situation, but it was only a part of the solution. After inhaling your ramen at light speed, Shangqi tells you that today will be a different Friday. ‘And you can’t complain! It’ll be a weekend tmr,’ he tells you. So why not? You figured that even if you went back home early, your head wouldn’t be in the right place to complete the essay for your English module.

‘Hold up! The VR studio that Katy was talking about?’ You look at the tickets inside the taxi that was taking you and Shangqi to the location. ‘How did you even, it was so hard to get these tickets!’ From the time Shangqi met you outside the classroom, he had yet to see you so ecstatic. Until now.

‘Well,’ Shangqi gives his best shrug. ‘I called in a favor from a friend. Said that it was for emergency purposes.’ He raised his fingers to make connotations in the air much to your amusement.

‘Wow… just how much do I not know about you Mr Popular?’ You teased. Shangqi decides to leave the fact on him having to persuade the Wakandan Princess in giving him free tickets.

‘Please! I swear whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it! It’s for Y/N!’

‘Ey well why didn’t you say so? If it’s for that nice friend, of course!’ Shuri leaves the entrance of the compound, an exasperated Shangqi trailing behind.

Yeah, the VR studio that Katy told them about was also funded by King T’Challa himself. With stunning life like visuals thanks to Wakandan technology, the VR studio was located in a middle class neighborhood. T’Challa believed that no matter where kids came from, they should have the right to enjoy and to explore the world. For now, he wasn’t ready to share that he was on the way on becoming a full-fledged Avenger yet - you just had too much on your plate. He’ll just have to settle with this white lie.

‘Is Katy coming?’ You were on the verge of vibrating off your seat. ‘She would love this place!’ Even when you were struggling, Y/N still manages to think about other people. Today, Y/N will put her needs first.

As if to answer your previous question, you can see an equally excited Katy waiting for the two of you at the roundabout. ‘HEL-LO EVERYONE! LET’S GET OUR FRIDAY STARTED IN PROPER SHALL WE?’ Her loud voice had attracted stares, some very displeased looks too but at this point in time, you didn’t give a damn. Katy was right, it was time to enjoy!

You wished that you could slow down time, or even replay it continuously when you needed cheering up because the only thing you felt was pure happiness - euphoria even. Your stomach was in knots for laughing hysterically together with Katy when Shangqi jumped in shock from a surprise scare from a zombie. ‘I’m keeping that for leverage,’ she tells you, quietly slipping her phone into her fanny pack. 

The Wakandans had really outdone themselves this time. Your favorite VR was the paradise VR. Slipping the headgear, you say goodbye to the smiles of Katy and Shangqi, whisking away to a beach that oddly reminded you of your dream destination - Hawaii. From where you were standing, you were surrounded by green and majestic islands. Despite their sheer size, you weren’t intimidated. In fact, you were healing. 

Your mind was no longer in the room of the VR studio. How could it when the sun kissed your skin, giving you the much needed energy that you were lacking for so long? In the room, the two sees you kick your shoes to the side, going barefoot. It may have seem strange, but with the monitor beside you, your actions were perfectly logical. 

As a kid, you used to despise the prickly feeling of sand in between your toes. But now, you grew to love the sensation that each grain of sand had on your skin. It made you feel grounded, that everything was going to be ok. You raise your virtual hand to touch your face - were you crying? 

‘She must have been really stressed huh?’ Katy whispers to Shangqi who nods in return. How he hated the fact that you were giving so much to your work but still felt underappreciated. Forget the Avengers with superhuman abilities, you were the true MVP. The VR ends and you remove your headgear. ‘I’m ok,’ you automatically reassure them despite the dry tears left on both cheeks. You step down the platform slowly, trying to regain sense of the real world. 

What you didn’t expect was the two embracing you in a hug, squishing you in between them. Maybe that had set off the waterworks. For someone like Katy, she had sage advice.

‘Life can be pretty shitty right? But I’m so proud of you fighting it Y/N. Just remember that it’s ok to be weak. I mean, I’ve seen worse from Shangqi,’ she jabs her finger towards his direction, earning a glare from him. That’s Katy, always trying to add a bit of humor to this grey world. Calming down, you let go of the both of them. ‘Thanks guys, for everything.’ 

‘Hey,’ Shangqi responds, slinging his arm over your shoulder. ‘We’re friends, so we don’t leave each other behind.’ Phone beeping, he retrieves it to check the message. ‘And look at that, nice timing. Who wants Korean BBQ?’ 

Trailing behind them, you get an amusing view of Shangqi bickering with Katy on how many Soju bottles she’s allowed to order later. As San Francisco welcomed the night, you were just thankful that you had the two of them to walk through this crazy maze called life. 

‘Last one to the shop is paying!’ 

‘Oh you’re on Mister!’  

A/N: I really just think that this was also an imagine for me to cope too. So I can only hope to finish my placement/assignments/exams well! To anyone who does studies and work simultaneously, I fucking respect you (allow me to use expletives for now, these people deserve the respect). If you’re going through a stressful time, I hope this brings the slightest comfort for you and remember… YOU ARE NOT ALONE! Again, thank you for reading! 

[miserablesme]

The Les Miserables Changelog Part 3: 1987 Broadway Production

Hello, everyone! This is the latest edition in my attempt to chronicle all of the musical and lyrical changes which the show Les Miserables has undergone over the years. This time, we're going through all the changes between the musical as it existed on the West End around 1985-1986 and the revised libretto for the 1987 Broadway production.

In some ways, this is a much easier changelog to compile than the last two simply because it is much easier to find audio evidence of the show from this era than from its pre-1987 self. We have a full soundboard of the original Broadway cast as well as a very good quality bootleg of the very first Broadway preview, as well as several audios from the next few years which use exactly the same script. We also have an officially released Symphonic Soundtrack which almost (but not quite) follows this version of the libretto exactly. So no more relying on unclear bootlegs and speculation to figure out what was changed when!

Having said that, the changes in this production were MASSIVE. It's almost certainly the most extensive edit the show's libretto has received to this day. As such, this will be a very long edition of this blog. So make sure you have a bit of time on your hands before reading it! With all that cleared up, let's begin.

The first change literally can be heard as soon as the musical begins. The pre-Broadway show opens up with the same recurring motif also heard, for instance, at the openings of "At the End of the Day" and "One Day More". This music then transitioned to the instrumentals to the opening "Work Song". The post-Broadway libretto cuts right to the chase, with the opening instrumentals to the "Work Song" starting right up without any preamble.

One interesting little non-scripted change occurs later in the "Work Song", but only in American productions. For whatever reason, every American Javert from the original Broadway cast until the first Broadway revival sang "And I am Javert" instead of "And I'm Javert", for reasons that honestly baffle me. Again, the libretto retained the original contraption as far as I'm aware, and the West End production as well as later UK and Australian tours still used it as well.

The next change happens while Valjean is on parole. After Valjean pleads against the farmer underpaying him, this was the farmer's original response:

Do you believe

A yellow ticket of leave

Allows a criminal like you to earn full screw?

Since Broadway, his response is instead as follows:

You broke the law

It's there for people to see

Why should you get the same as honest men like me?

I much prefer this revised version. Though the information is essentially the same, it feels more dramatic, as well as feeling less awkward now that it is in the form of separate sentences as opposed to a single sentence spoken in three lines with pauses in between. Moreover, the phrase "honest men like me" as used here provides interesting foreshadowing for its more well-known usage in "Master of the House". One could spend quite some time analysing the implications of this recurring description, but this blog is long enough as it is so now isn't the time!

In the same number, originally the innkeeper's wife had the following remark:

My rooms are full

And I've no supper to spare

I'd like to help you really, all I want is to be fair

Since Broadway, her line has been slightly modified:

My rooms are full

And I've no supper to spare

I'd like to help a stranger, all we want is to be fair

I suppose "I'd like to help a stranger" sounds less slang-y than "help you really". Presumably this is why it was changed. I find the change of subject from singular to plural far more interesting. My hypothesis is that the writers wanted to make it clear than this is a communal grudge, not a personal one. Everyone around sees it as perfectly fair to deny shelter to a former convict, not just this one individual. I definitely prefer the revised line, but evidently the producers of the West End production didn't; that production held on to the original lyrics for more than a decade after they were originally revised! More on that in a later edition of this blog...

A more minor change can be heard during "At the End of the Day". Originally, Valjean asks the factor workers "What is this shouting all about?" The Broadway script changes this to "What is this fighting all about?" Much less trivial implications now. I'm curious as to whether or not a staging change may have accompanied this. Usually the two workers get into quite a bit of physical scuffle by this point, far beyond the realm of shouting. Did the original pre-Broadway production use more subdued choreography?

"The Runaway Cart" has some noticeable differences. After Valjean asks the townspeople for help, the original response was sung by the entire ensemble, and went as follows:

(SOLO)

Don't go near him, Monsieur Mayor

There's nothing at all you can do

(ENSEMBLE)

The old man is a goner for sure

Leave him alone

The Broadway libretto revised this into a sequence sung by one individual at a time with the following lyrics:

Don't go near him, Monsieur Mayor

The load is as heavy as hell

The old man is a goner for sure

It will kill you as well

A female ensemble member sung "The old man is a goner for sure" while a male member sung the rest. I sort of like it better as an ensemble piece (something that would be largely brought back in later years, as I'll soon discuss) although I think it's cool that it rhymes now. Having said that, I'm fairly confident that no one in the real world has ever actually used the phrase "Heavy as hell"!

An official change in the libretto occurred in "Who Am I?" but listeners to the original Broadway cast would not have heard it. While the pre-Broadway show had Valjean refer to "This innocent who bears my face", the revised libretto instead refers to "This innocent who wears my face". Perhaps a means of avoiding repetition, given that the word "bear" is used again later in the number? Regardless, Colm Wilkinson didn't actually bother to adapt to this change! He still sings "This innocent who bears my face" in the Broadway production (as well as the tenth anniversary concert; not until his 1998 stint in Toronto did he ever start singing the revised lyrics). Since every future Valjean (except Ivan Rutherford for some reason) sings "wears", I still see it as appropriate to mention here.

At the end of the song, Valjean's "You know where to find me!", used on and off in the Barbican previews before becoming a settled part of the production by the final pre-Broadway libretto, is once again removed for the Broadway show. However, the West End production would keep it for a few years - more on that later...

Just listening to the original Broadway cast, one might think Javert's "Dare you talk to me of crime?" becomes "Dare you speak to me of crime?" However, this seems to be a Terrence Mann-exclusive change. Every Javert after him reverts to the original lyrics (as did Terrence himself when he returned to the musical fifteen years later). I'm still making note of the change here for the sake of clarification.

An instrumental change occurs between "Castle on a Cloud" and "Master of the House". Mme. Thenardier's "You heard me ask for something and I never ask twice" was original followed by three bars of notes, then by six more bars of notes that are identical to each other. After the Broadway production, however, those six bars of notes grow increasingly more dramatic as they go on.

A very slight change happens during the preamble to "Master of the House". Originally one of the guests proclaims "Hell, what a wine" while the revised libretto instead has him claim "God, what a wine". Definitely more natural in my opinion, though not a huge difference by any means.

A few subtle differences exist in the "Waltz of Treachery" number. First off, Thenardier originally asks "Have we done for your child what is best?" The Broadway libretto changes "your child" to "her child". I personally like the original lyric better, as it goes back to the idea established earlier that Valjean is metaphorically bargaining through the spirit of Fantine. It's definitely not a difference that makes or breaks the number, though.

Towards the end of the song comes another change that cannot actually be heard by listening to the original Broadway cast. In the pre-Broadway show, Valjean used the line "Let us seek out a friendlier sky", while the revised libretto has him say "Let us seek out some friendlier sky". However, Colm Wilkinson once again doesn't bother to adapt to the change, and unlike the "Who Am I?" change he wouldn't learn it over time either. He continues to sing "a friendlier sky" throughout his on-and-off performances as Valjean, right up to and including his 2002 run in Shanghai!

After the bulk of the number comes a more significant change. Prior to the Broadway production, as was discussed in the last entry, the "Waltz of Treachery" was followed by about forty-five seconds of vamping and then this exchange in the tune of "Castle on a Cloud":

(LITTLE COSETTE)

We're going home right now, monsieur

What is your name

(VALJEAN)

Now my dear

I've names enough, I've got names to spare

But where I go, you always will be there

Nor will you be afraid again

There is a sun that's shining yet

(LITTLE COSETTE)

I'm going to call you my Papa

(VALJEAN)

I'm going to call you my Cosette

The Broadway libretto replaced it with just under twenty seconds of vamping, followed by a sequence in the tune of the "Waltz of Treachery":

(VALJEAN)

Come Cosette

Come my dear

From now on I will always be here

Where I go

You will be

(LITTLE COSETTE)

Will there be children

And castles to see?

(VALJEAN)

Yes, Cosette

Yes it's true

There's a castle just waiting for you

This is followed by another fifteen or so seconds of vamping, and then the humming duet between Cosette and Valjean carries on as before.

Arguably the biggest change in the entire edited libretto happens now. Whereas the number was originally directly followed by "Stars", things have been moved around so that it instead transitions directly into "Look Down". "Look Down" itself receives a lot of adjustments. First off, the number began in the pre-Broadway musical with a bar of music that was then repeated. The Broadway version only plays the bar of music once, and the sung part happens immediately afterwards.

Gavroche's verse receives some lyrical updates. Originally it used the following lines:

This is my school, my high society

From St. Denis to St Michel

We live on crumbs of humble piety

Tough on the teeth, but what the hell?

If you're poor, if you're free

Follow me, follow me!

The Broadway production rewrote that sequence a little:

This is my school, my high society

Here in the slums of St Michel

We live on crumbs of humble piety

Tough on the teeth, but what the hell?

Think you're poor? Think you're free?

Follow me, follow me!

Better lines in my humble opinion; "slums" conveys the poverty of Gavroche's community much more effectively than the original line, and phrasing the "poor" and "free" lines as questions is more dramatic than their original statement form.

The old beggar woman's original "You give 'em all the pox" becomes the less grammatically accurate "Give 'em all the pox" for Broadway, though I have no idea if the original "You" was part of the libretto or simply an improvisation. Since seemingly all actresses used that line for the first few years of the West End production, it strikes me as warranting a mention.

Right after this comes another change. In the pre-Broadway show, the argument between the beggar woman and the prostitute was followed by an exchange by a few individual beggars. All of the following lines were said by one person at a time, the first three being said by female beggars and the last one by a male beggar:

When's it gonna end?

When're we gonna live?

Something's gotta happen, dearie

Something's gotta give

The Broadway libretto changes this to an ensemble piece performed by all the beggars simultaneously:

When's it gonna end?

When're we gonna live?

Something's gotta happen now or

Something's gotta give

I really like the switch to a group effort, as it really emphasizes that the beggars are a community sharing the burden of poverty. It really feels like an epidemic to an extent that it doesn't when it's just a small conversation. Evidently the producers of the West End show didn't agree with me though, as they held onto the original sequence for more than a decade after the official change, and by that point it had already been largely reverted worldwide! More on that in a later blog...

Originally, the exposition about General Lamarque was given by a few random students (supposedly not specified in the libretto, but in practice portrayed as Combeferre and Feuilly). Some ensemble dialogue between beggars was put in between. Feuilly sings over the end of the ensemble's lines - but many have speculated that this was not intended by the writers, as the background music sounds super out of sync with his singing! Here's how the scene went:

(COMBEFERRE)

As for the leaders of the land

As for the swells who run this show

Only one man and that's Lamarque

Speaks for the people here below

(BEGGARS)

Something for a meal

Something for a doss

Something in the name of Him who died upon the cross

On the cross, come across

On the cross, come across, come across

(FEUILLY)

Lamarque is ill and fading fast

Won't last the week out, so they say

With all the anger in the land

How long before the judgement day?

Before we cut the fat ones down to size?

Before the barricades arise?

Fortunately, the writers of the Broadway libretto had the sense to change the purveyors of the message into people actually relevant to the show's plot, namely Marius and Enjolras. Moreover, the beggars' dialog was rewritten into a sequence that feels far less clunky to me. The background music was fixed to account for the solo singing (now done by Marius) overlapping the beggars' lines, so it is now perfectly in sync. Here's the edited exchange:

(ENJOLRAS)

Where are the leaders of the land?

Where are the swells who run this show?

(MARIUS)

Only one man and that's Lamarque

Speaks for the people here below

(BEGGARS)

See our children fed

Help us in our shame

Something for a crust of bread in Holy Jesus' name

(SOLO BEGGAR)

In the Lord's holy name

(BEGGARS)

In His name, in His name, in His name

(MARIUS)

Lamarque is ill and fading fast

Won't last the week out, so they say

(ENJOLRAS)

With all the anger in the land

How long before the judgement day?

Before we cut the fat ones down to size?

Before the barricades arise?

Much better in my opinion! It should be noted that David Bryant instead sings "these people here below", but as far as I can tell every future Marius (or later Enjolras - more on that later) sings "the people, which is the actually phrasing in the libretto.

One final change in Look Down: Gavroche now says that all of Thenardier's family is "on the make", as opposed to the original "on the take". A rather pointless change in my book, though it certainly doesn't hurt anything.

"The Robbery" is another heavily edited number. Thenardier's line after acknowledging Brujon, Babet, and Claquesous was originally as follows:

You Montparnasse, watch for the p'lice

With Eponine, take care

You've got all the hash, I've got all the cash

The Broadway show rewrote those lines into their still-current form:

You Montparnasse, watch for the law

With Eponine, take care

You turn on the tears, no mistakes my dears!

This changed lyric more naturally transitions the scene into the gang's actual plan, though the original is an interesting continuation of Gavroche's recollection of Thenardier once running a hash house.

Mme. Thenardier's response is also altered from the original lyrics:

Here come a student from our street

One of 'Ponine's peculiar gents

Our Eponine would kiss his feet

She never showed a bit of sense

Into the current ones:

These bloody students on our street

Here they come slumming once again

Our Eponine would kiss their feet

She never showed a scrap of brain

It's interesting how the edit shifts the focus from Marius in particular to the students in general. It seems that Mme. Thenardier is less aware of the specifics of her daughter's personal life now, something that makes sense for her character.

After Mme. Thenardier's "You'll be in the clear", there was originally just eighteen seconds of a musical motif (the same one which opens "At the End of the Day" and "One Day More") followed by Thenardier's speech. Since Broadway, it's instead been followed by a few more lines of dialogue:

(MARIUS)

Who is that man

(EPONINE)

Leave me alone!

(MARIUS)

Why is here?

Hey Eponine!

Only now does the musical motif play. But instead of staying silent upon seeing Cosette, Marius now sings "I didn't see you there, forgive me..." Interestingly, in this video of a 1987 performance of the original West End production, Marius just stops without bumping into Cosette as he usually does. This makes me wonder whether or not the bumping was added into the Broadway version, and the lyric was added to accomodate for the blocking change. Of course, this is all speculation; I have no way to know for sure.

Thenardier's con job is also quite a bit different post-Broadway. Originally it used the following lyrics:

How you do? Spare a sou

God will see all the good that you do

Look monsieur, lost a leg

Hero of Waterloo now has to beg

Wait a bit, know that face...

The Broadway libretto edited it into its current form:

Please monsieur, come this way

Here's a child that ain't eaten today

Save a life, spare a sou

God rewards all the good that you do

Wait a bit, know that face...

It's interesting how Thenardier's facade shifts in focus from his own supposed hardship to that of an alleged child. I suppose the latter would be a good bit more effective in convincing passersby to donate!

During "Javert's Intervention", Thenardier now says "It was me that told you so, as opposed to the original "Wot told you so"; however, this seems to be a regional choice to account for a lack of Cockney accent, not an official libretto change. British productions retain the original "Wot".

“The Robbery” ends quite differently. Its pre-Broadway form had Gavroche’s remarks directly follow Javert’s “Clear this garbage off the street!” However, now Javert’s line is instead followed by some instrumentals to a slower version of the same tune as, for instance, “Honest work/Just reward/That’s the way to please the lord” and “He will bend/He will break/This time there is no mistake”.

After these instrumentals come the “Stars” number, now in a much more natural location given that Javert now has a logical reason to be thinking about Valjean!

The number itself is mostly the same, up until the final segment. After Javert’s “Those who falter and those who fall must pay the price”, he originally had the following lyrics:

Scarce to be counted

Changing the chaos

To order and light

You are the sentinels

Silent and sure

Keeping watch in the night

Keeping watch in the night

The post-Broadway show replaced this with a much more climactic remark:

Lord let me find him

That I may see him

Safe behind bars

I will never rest ‘til then

This I swear

This is swear by the stars

WOW, what an improvement! Now the stars are tied much better to Valjean himself, and Javert’s motivation is much clearer!

Now that “Stars” is over, we finally get Gavroche's remarks. The lyrics are the same; however, instead of the tempo progressively getting faster as it goes along, it now gets progressively slower. Interestingly the audio of the first preview has Gavroche saying "mother dear" instead of "auntie dear", but it's back to the original line by the second known original Broadway cast audio. Both audio feature Braden Danner; whether the "mother dear" was a choice on his part or a director's, a flub, or a libretto change that was later reverted is unknown.

"Eponine's Errand" has some significant changes. First off, the original libretto gave Marius and Eponine this exchange:

(MARIUS)

Did you see that lovely girl

(EPONINE)

A lovely two-a-penny thing

The Broadway libretto edited it a little:

(MARIUS)

Eponine, who was that girl?

(EPONINE)

Some bourgeois two-a-penny thing

Marius' request has also been changed from its original lyrics:

Eponine, do this for me

But careful how you go

Your father mustn't know

He'll strike another blow

'Ponine, I'm lost until she's found

Into some far clearer and more direct instructions:

Eponine, do this for me

Discover where she lives

But careful how you go

Don't let your father know

'Ponine, I'm lost until she's found

And yes, the line was "your father" right from day one. Michael Ball flubs it as "her father" on the complete symphonic recording, leading many to assume that was the original lyric which was changed later. But I'm not aware of a single live performance to use that lyric (which doesn't make a lot of sense anyway).

Another side note: Some Marius actors have very slightly changed the third line to "Be careful how you go" or "But careful as you go", though neither lyric is the standard.

Post-Broadway, as the instrumentals to "Red and Black" play, a student (I'm not sure which one) now shouts Enjolras' name before the singing begins.

During "Red and Black", Michael Maguire changes the original "It is easy to sit here and swat 'em like flies" to "Oh, it's easy to sit here and swat 'em like flies". However, this is an individual choice of the actor, not an official libretto change. Every future Enjolras I'm aware of (except Ramin Karimloo for some reason) uses the original line.

An actual libretto change occurs soon afterwards. After Marius' entrance, Grantaire originally asks, "Marius, what's wrong with you today?" The post-Broadway show changes this to "Marius, you're late. What's wrong today?" This makes it much clearer why Grantaire might suspect something is wrong.

Soon afterwards, Grantaire's original line "We talk of battles to be won, and here he comes like Don Juan" is slightly tweaked to "You talk of battles to be won". This is a little more appropriate, since Grantaire isn't actually doing a lot of talking!

After "Red and Black", Gavroche's part is very slightly changed. First off, American performances for a few years would have Gavroche whistle right before everyone quiets down, though I have no idea if this was in the libretto or not.

Secondly, Gavroche's original remark, "It's General Lamarque! He's dead!" is shortened to just "General Lamarque is dead!"

In another contender for the biggest change in the entire edit, the entire "I Saw Him Once" number is totally removed. I have mixed feelings about this. It does give Cosette, a frustratingly underwritten character, some additional content. However, stylistically it's not all that much like any other number in the musical, and it doesn't really add enough information to the show to warrant a whole song. So I say with regret that it was probably for the best to delete the number.

To compensate for the lost number, "In My Life" is lengthened to include the establishing character moments that "I Saw Him Once" originally did. Originally it opened as follows:

(COSETTE)

Dearest papa, can I tell him of this?

How can I tell him the things that I feel?

How could he understand?

(VALJEAN)

Dear Cosette, you're such a lonely child...

The post-Broadway opener is instead as follows:

(COSETTE)

How strange, this feeling that my life's begun at last

This change, can people really fall in love so fast?

What's the matter with you Cosette?

Have you been to much on your own?

So many things unclear

So many things unknown

In my life

There are so many questions and answers

That somehow seem wrong

In my life

There are times when I catch in the silence

The sigh of a faraway song

And it sings of a world that I long to see

Out of reach, just a whisper away, waiting for me

Does he know I'm alive? Do I know if he's real?

Does he see what I see? Does he feel what I feel?

In my life

I'm no longer alone

Now the love in my life is so near

Find me now, find me here

(VALJEAN)

Dear Cosette, you're such a lonely child...

After Valjean gives Cosette his cryptic defense of his secrecy, Cosette had a remark that is sadly incredibly hard to understand in the quality of the recordings we have. It apparently went something like this:

There are voices I hear

That come into my mind

Full of noise, full of fear

When the noise was unkind

In my life

I'm no longer afraid

And I yearn for the truth that you know

Of the years, years ago

Her post-Broadway response is much shorter:

In my life

I'm no longer a child

And I yearn for the truth that you know

Of the years, years ago

Shorter, but just as effective in my book. Plus, the use of the word "child" nicely ties into Valjean's initial remark that Cosette is "such a lonely child", as well as Cosette's frustration that he still sees her as "a child who is lost in the woods".

The next number, "A Heart Full of Love", also has a LOT of rewritten lyrics. First of all, after Marius' "I do not even know your name", these are his original lyrics:

Dear mademoiselle

I am lost in your spell

The Broadway production changed the lyrics into:

Dear mademoiselle

Won't you say? Will you tell?

I suppose this fits a little better with his remark about not knowing Cosette's name.

After Marius and Cosette finally learn each other's names (an important step in a relationship if you ask me!) this was their original way of showing their affection:

(MARIUS)

Cosette, your name is like a song

(COSETTE)

My song is you

(MARIUS)

Is it true?

(COSETTE)

Yes, it's true

The Broadway production rewrote it into the following:

(MARIUS)

Cosette, I don't know what to say

(COSETTE)

Then make no sound

(MARIUS)

I am lost

(COSETTE)

I am found

In my opinion, the rewrite captures the slight awkwardness of young love much better, as well as making a lot more sense!

Immediately afterwards, this is the original exchange:

(MARIUS and COSETTE)

A heart full of love

A heart full of you

(MARIUS)

The words are foolish but they're true

Cosette, Cosette

What were we dreaming when we met?

(COSETTE)

I can sing

(MARIUS)

Dear Cosette

(COSETTE)

A heart full of love...

The Broadway libretto redoes the scene as the following:

(MARIUS)

A heart full of love

(COSETTE)

A night bright as day

(MARIUS)

And you must never go away

Cosette, Cosette

(COSETTE)

This is a chain we'll never break

(MARIUS)

Do I dream?

(COSETTE)

I'm awake

(MARIUS)

A heart full of love...

Almost a totally different scene! The post-Broadway variant is better structured, but I do like the original too.

As the trio of Marius, Cosette, and Eponine exchanges inner monologues, Marius originally has the line "I saw her waiting and I knew". The Broadway libretto changed this to "A single look and then I knew". I kind of prefer the original, as it implies a little more than something as trivial as a cursory glance.

In the closing lyrical overlap of the song, Cosette originally sings "Waiting for you", but post-Broadway she sings "I knew it too". Then, she originally sings "At your call" but post-Broadway she sings "Every day".

During the opening to "The Attack on Rue Plumet", Montparnasse refers to Valjean as "the one that got away the other day" as opposed to his original "the bloke wot got away the other day". However, this is another regional change made for the sake of making sense outside of a cockney accent. The official libretto still had the original lyrics.

A tiny change occurs during Thenardier and Eponine's fight. Claquesous originally thinks it's a palaver and an absolute treat "to watch a cat and its father" picking a bone in the street. The Broadway libretto changed this to "see a cat and a father". Why exactly the writers felt the need to make such a miniscule edit is mystifying to me, but it certainly doesn't hurt anything.

Another change occurs later in the number, after Eponine's scream. Originally this was Thenardier's reaction:

Make for the sewers, don't wait around

Leave her to me, go underground

You wait my girl, you'll rue this night

I'll make you scream, you'll scream alright!

These lines were mixed up a bit for the Broadway libretto:

You wait my girl, you'll rue this night

I'll make you scream, you'll scream alright!

Leave her to me, don't wait around

Make for the sewers, go underground

The post-Broadway variation arguably is a bit less climactic due to it not ending on a threat. However, the original climax isn't all that appropriate since Eponine and Thenardier never actually interact at any later point in the musical. I like that the post-Broadway version ends on something that's actually relevant to the remainder of the show (namely, that Thenardier will be in the sewers). Evidently the West End producers didn't agree with me; this is another line in which the original was kept there for more than a decade (at which point a rewrite closer to the original was already being used worldwide)!

In "One Day More", Javert's "One day more to revolution" is slightly changed to "One more day to revolution". However, the number is otherwise unchanged.

And that's it for Act One! The opening barricade scene to act two has a small change. Grantaire's pre-Broadway "Some will bark, some will bite" was changed to "Dogs will bark, fleas will bite". Makes a lot more sense in my opinion!

The opening to "On My Own" is changed as well. Originally it was performed as follows:

And now I'm all alone again

Nowhere to go, no one to turn to

I did not want your money sir

I came out here 'cause I was told to

The Broadway version rewrote it into the following:

And now I'm alone again

Nowhere to turn, no one to go to

Without a home, without a friend

Without a face to say hello to

A huge improvement in my book. It actually rhymes now, and is far less likely to be misconstrued as ungrateful.

After receiving a massive overhaul not that long before, "Little People" was slightly tweaked for the Broadway show. The pre-Broadway version had this ending:

So never kick a dog

Because he’s just a pup

You’d better run for cover when the pup grows up!

Another line (taken from the original longer version of "Little People" as well as all versions of its reprise) was added for the post-Broadway show:

So never kick a dog

Because he’s just a pup

We'll fight like twenty armies and we won't give up

So you’d better run for cover when the pup grows up!

Grantaire's line afterwards is literally reversed in meaning from the original "Better far to die a schoolboy than a policeman and a spy!" into "What's the difference? Die a schoolboy, die a policeman, die a spy!" This post-Broadway lyric fits better into Grantaire's cynical personality.

A very subtle edit is made in "Little Fall of Rain" (to the point that I only just realized its existence by reading an old internet forum!) Pre-Broadway, Marius asks Eponine "Did you see my beloved?" The tense is changed from past to present perfect for the Broadway libretto, so that he now sings "Have you seen my beloved?"

"Drink with Me" receives quite a bit of editing. The opening few lines are originally all sung by Grantaire:

Drink with me to days gone by

Sing with me the songs we knew

Here's to pretty girls who went to our heads

Here's to witty girls who went to our beds

Here's to them and here's to you

Now, those lyrics are split between various students:

(FEUILLY)

Drink with me to days gone by

Sing with me the songs we knew

(PROUVAIRE)

Here's to pretty girls who went to our heads

(JOLY)

Here's to witty girls who went to our beds

(ALL STUDENTS)

Here's to them and here's to you

A far more touching scene now that it entails an entire group of friends reminiscing about their lives, as opposed to the thoughts of one heavily drunk individual.

Originally this was followed by a segment by the male ensemble:

Drink with me to days gone by

To the life that used to be

At the shrine of friendship never say die

Let the wine of friendship never run dry

Then, this was followed by the same lyrics, but sung by the male and female ensembles overlapping. The Broadway libretto removes that and replaces it with an all-new segment with Grantaire. It's much more cynical and philosophical than his original lines:

Drink with me to days gone by

Can it be you fear to die?

Will the world remember you when you fall?

Could it be your death means nothing at all?

Is you life just one more lie?

The lyrics from the pre-Broadway show, in their male-and-female overlapping form, are played afterwards.

The next change occurs during the Second Attack. Pre-Broadway, this was how the opening lyrics went:

(ENJOLRAS)

How do we stand, Feuilly make your report

(FEUILLY)

We've guns enough but bullets running short

(MARIUS)

Let me go into the street

There are bodies all around

Ammunition to be had

Lots of bullets to be found

Some very small edits were made for Broadway:

(ENJOLRAS)

How do we stand, Feuilly make your report

(FEUILLY)

We've guns enough but ammunition short

(MARIUS)

I will go into the street

There are bodies all around

Ammunition to be had

Lots of bullets to be found

The following exchange also is a bit edited. Here's how it went pre-Broadway:

(ENJOLRAS)

I can't let you go, it's too much of a chance

(MARIUS)

And the same can be said for any man here

(VALJEAN)

Let me go in his place, he's no more than a boy

I am old and alone and have nothing to fear

Post-Broadway, it instead goes as follows:

(ENJOLRAS)

I can't let you go, it's too much of a chance

(MARIUS)

And the same is true for any man here

(VALJEAN)

Let me go, he's no more than a boy

I am old, I have nothing to fear

Finally, Gavroche's final lines are as follows pre-Broadway:

So never kick a dog

Because he’s just a pup

You’d better run for cover when the pup grows up

And we’ll fight like twenty armies and we won’t give…

A small edit is made for the Broadway production, so that the latter two lines are reversed:

So never kick a dog

Because he’s just a pup

We’ll fight like twenty armies and we won’t give up

So you’d better run for cover when the pup grows...

I'd say this is an improvement, since Gavroche's death is all the more impactful when his literal last unfinished words are about growing up.

Not long afterwards comes the Final Battle. Leading up to Enjolras' climactic moment, the original lines went as follows:

(ENJOLRAS)

Come on my friends, though we stand here alone

Let us go to our deaths with our face to our foes

(COMBEFERRE)

Let 'em pay for each death with a death of their own

(COURFEYRAC)

If they get me, by God, they will pay through the nose

(ENJOLRAS)

Let others rise to take our place

Until the earth is free

The sequence was edited for Broadway, giving a bit more breathing space:

(ENJOLRAS)

Let us die facing our foes

Make them bleed while they can

(COMBEFERRE)

Make them pay through the nose

(COURFEYRAC)

Make them pay for every man

(ENJOLRAS)

Let others rise to take our place

Until the earth is free

"Dog Eats Dog" is a very heavily-edited number. First off, the vamping at the beginning originally lasts about 30 seconds. By Broadway, it has been reduced to about nineteen seconds.

After Thenardier's "As a service to the town" line, he originally sung the following lines:

It's a world where the dogs eat the dogs

And the worst is as good as the best

It's a stinking great sewer that's crawling with rats

And one rat is as good as the rest

I raise my eyes to see the heavens

And only the moon looks down

That entire sequence was cut for Broadway.

Soon afterwards, Thenardier originally proclaims "Here's a little toy". The Broadway edit changes it to "Here's another toy", perhaps to make it seem less repetitive after his "pretty little thing" line.

The exact same lines from after "As a service to the town" are repeated in the pre-Broadway number after Thenardier's "When the gutters run with blood" line, with one more line added afterwards:

It's a world where the dogs eat the dogs

And the worst is as good as the best

It's a stinking great sewer that's crawling with rats

And one rat is as good as the rest

I raise my eyes to see the heavens

And only the moon looks down

The harvest moon shines down

Unlike the first instance of those lines, they aren't completely excised for Broadway. They are, however, significantly rewritten:

It's a world where the dogs eat the dogs

And they kill for the bones in the street

And God in His heavens, He don't interfere

'Cause He's dead as the stiffs at my feet

I raise my eyes to see the heavens

And only the moon looks down

The harvest moon shines down

I really like how the edited version focuses more on godlessness than on how gross the sewer is. Not that a lack of a god is inherently sinister; I am quite agnostic myself and I think the unbreakable connection between religion and morality alleged by some is ridiculous. But it is blatantly obvious that Thenardier sees no reason to be moral provided no one will punish him.

As a side note, the 1985 London official soundtrack oddly uses this variant, yet the 1986 bootleg audio I have uses the original. Perhaps the original was experimented with, reverted, and later put in again? Who knows...

After the number, Thenardier now shouts Valjean's name.

The encounter in the sewers between Valjean and Javert originally ended as follows, with Javert's first two lines here in a tune not heard anywhere else in the musical to my recollection:

(VALJEAN)

Come, time is running short

(JAVERT)

Go take him, I'll be waiting at the door

I've never met a man like you before

A man such as you

The sequence was extended for the Broadway libretto, to the tune of "Look Down" and the "Work Song":

(VALJEAN)

Come, time is running short

Look down, Javert

He's standing in his grave

(VALJEAN - simultaneously with the next two lines)

Give way, Javert

There is a life to save

(JAVERT - simultaneously with the previous two lines)

Take him, Valjean

Before I change my mind

(JAVERT)

I will be waiting, 24601

A slight change can be heard in "Every Day". Originally Marius sings that he and Cosette will "remember that night and the song that we sang". The Broadway libretto edited this into the decidedly less medium-aware "remember that night and the vow that we made".

"Valjean's Confession" has been reworked to the point that it can scarcely even be considered the same song. After Valjean's "There's something now that must be done", this was how the song went:

(VALJEAN)

Monsieur, I cannot stay a night beneath your roof

I am a convict, sir, my body bears the proof

My name is Jean Valjean

I never told Cosette, I bear this guilt alone

And this I swear to you, her innocence is real

Her love is true

Our love, our life, are now her own

And I must face the years alone

(MARIUS)

I do not understand what's the sense of it all?

Is the world upside down?

Will the universe fall?

If it's true what you say, and Cosette doesn't know

Why confess it to me?

Why confess it at all?

What forces you to speak after all?

(VALJEAN)

You and Cosette must be free of reproach

It is not your affair

There is a darkness that's over my life

It's the cross I must bear

It's for Cosette this must be faced

If I am found, she is disgraced

(MARIUS)

What can I do that would turn you from this...

After the Broadway rewrite, Valjean's "There's something now that must be done" is followed by this:

(VALJEAN)

You've spoken from the heart, and I must do the same

There is a story, sir, of slavery and shame

That you alone must know

I never told Cosette, she had enough of tears

She's never known the truth, the story you must hear

Of years ago

There lived a man whose name was Jean Valjean

He stole some bread to save his sister's son

For nineteen winters served his time

In sweat he washed away his crime

Years ago

He broke parole and lived a life apart

How could he tell Cosette and break her heart?

It's for Cosette this must be faced

If he is caught she is disgraced

The time is come to journey on

And from this day he must be gone

Who am I?

Who am I?

(MARIUS)

You're Jean Valjean

What can I do that will turn you from this...

The few lines afterwards are the same, but as you can see not much else in the song is! Even the tune diverges a lot between the two variants. I'm very conflicted about which one I prefer. I gravitate towards the final one, though it's nice that the original actually tried to address to confusing notion that Valjean wants to tell his son-in-law of his past yet not his own daughter.

"Beggars at the Feast" originally ended with a solo for Thenardier:

(THENARDIER and MME. THENARDIER)

We know where the wind is blowing

Money is the stuff we smell

(THENARDIER)

And when I'm rich as Croesus

Jesus, won't I see you all in Hell!

The Broadway libretto switched this to a group line:

(THENARDIER and MME. THENARDIER)

We know where the wind is blowing

Money is the stuff we smell

And when we're rich as Croesus

Jesus, won't we see you all in Hell!

I much prefer the revised version, as the two Thenardiers clearly are in this act together. It seems more appropriate to let them both have the last laugh.

A small change occurs in the Epilogue. Pre-Broadway, Fantine sings "You raised my child with love". However, post-Broadway, she instead sings "You raised my child in love".

Another change occurs later in the epilogue. In the pre-Broadway show, Cosette tells Valjean that "It's too soon to ever say goodbye". The post-Broadway libretto instead has her sing "It's too soon, too soon to say goodbye". Repetitive as it may be, I prefer it over the original because the original awkwardly combines language clearly denoting the moment with language implying eternality.

Phew, we're finally at the end! Rest assured this is almost certainly the longest changelog you'll ever be forced to endure. I'm fairly sure it's complete, but this particular rewrite was so extensive it's not impossible that I missed something. Please feel free to let me know if that is the case.

As a side note, both for this project and my own enjoyment, I want as complete a collection of Les Miserables audios as possible. I already have most of what’s commonly circulated, but if you have any audios or videos you know are rare, or some audios that you haven't traded in a few years, I’d love it if you DMed me!

Until the turntable puts me at the forefront again, good-bye…

[polarchina]

Rufus sewell

The first time was in 1993, when he beat several better-known rivals to play Septimus, the future hermit in Tom Stoppard’s play “Arcadia.” When “Rock ’n’ Roll” came along, Sir Tom said, “Rufus was our first choice, and that was that.” He has been the hot new thing several times now. It was there, cast as a young aristocrat in a student production of “Camille,” that he learned how his looks affect others’ perceptions of him. “I was more a waster and a layabout than a hooligan, which sounds a little too overenergized,” he said.Ī sharp-eyed teacher perceived his talent and lent him the money to apply to drama school. Sewell whiled away his youth dyeing his hair silly colors and being as weird and difficult as he could. Growing up in Twickenham, the son of a film animator who died young and a mother who struggled to make ends meet while working as, among other things, a barmaid and a door-to-door vegetable vendor, Mr. (He wears a wig shaped into a gray bob, he said happily, “the thing that suits me the least in the world.”) He then plays what he describes as “a heel” - the comically mean-spirited ex-boyfriend of Kate Winslet - in Nancy Meyers’s romantic comedy “The Holiday,” set to open in December. Sewell is to appear as the abolitionist Thomas Clarkson in “Amazing Grace,” Michael Apted’s film about the slave trade in 19th-century England. 18, he is appearing here in Tom Stoppard’s new hit play, “Rock ’n’ Roll,” playing Jan, a music-mad Czech graduate student in England whose return home in 1968, just after the Soviet tanks roll into Prague, sets in motion a spiral of disillusionment, loss and finally hope.Īfter “The Illusionist,” set in Vienna in the 19th century, as the city teetered between mysticism of the past and the rationality of the future, Mr. In addition to “The Illusionist,” which opens on Aug. (“First I was seen as a brooding bloke on a horse, and then a baddie, and then a king,” he said.) His hunger for variety has lately led him to small, quirky films, Hollywood comedies, lavish television costume dramas and the West End stage. He described his career as a battle against a changing army of stereotypes. “I think the only thing I’ve got going for me as an actor specifically is the fact that I can change,” Mr. Sewell’s stubbornness about his roles as much as anything else that has perhaps kept him from big stardom. What actor wouldn’t want those forceful good looks, those unruly dark curls, those large hazel-green eyes, so startling as to be almost frightening? But inside the alluring package lurks a misfit of a character actor longing to break free. “Rufus is more of a leading man.”Įveryone should have a problem like Mr. Burger continued, speaking by telephone from New York. The inspector - played by Paul Giamatti - “is more of a Claude Rains type,” Mr. Burger intended for him, that of Leopold, an impatient crown prince.) “I was like, ‘Rufus,’ ” the film’s director and writer, Neil Burger, said in an interview, affecting the voice of an indulgent parent explaining a rudimentary fact to a small stubborn child. In film, he has appeared in Carrington (1995), Hamlet (1996), Dangerous Beauty (1998), Dark City (1998), The Legend of Zorro (2005), A Knight's Tale (2001), The Illusionist (2006), Amazing Grace (2006), The Holiday (2006), Paris, je t'aime (2006), and Judy (2019).UNFORTUNATELY for Rufus Sewell, who would have preferred to play the dogged, unprepossessing police inspector in the forthcoming film “The Illusionist,” it just wasn’t going to happen. Rufus Frederik Sewell ( born 29 October 1967) is an English film and stage actor. Central School of Speech and Drama, London (three years)