In Broadway news, Howard McGillin has replaced John Dossett in the role of Frank Crawley. Lots of big singers in supporting roles for this show!

Can't say I've ever heard of either...

Apparently, 'Isn't It Kind Of Odd' has been put into the Stuttgart show. Is it longer than the demo version, and where does it fit?

It seems there has been quite a lot of changes for Stuttgart, not just in design (which looks much better) and staging, but also in script, with lots of the dialogue in the start being different.

Over here, Howard McGillan is credited with - and probably best known for - having the longest run as the Phantom on record, among other things (*cough* Prince Derek in Swan Princess).

John Dossett was Herbie in the most recent Broadway revival of Gypsy, with Pattie LuPone. Howard McGillin, as Angela said, has the record for longest-running Phantom. He was also Brent Carver's replacement as Molina in Kiss of the Spider Woman, and he premiered the lead male roles in The Secret Garden and Mystery of Edwin Drood.

From the clips I saw of the Stuttgart show, I could notice that they made an effort to be different from other productions. And I agree; it looks marvelous. I've never heard of 'Isn't It Kind Of Odd', but I'm hoping that they put it in the second act, where the music is sparser.

Isn't it Kind of Odd? Do you know a German title Mungojerrie?
But I think there are 2 new songs, in the Stuttgart and in the Sankt Gallen production, and they are both in the first act. I think Zauberhaft Natürlich has a different place in the Stuttgart production than in the Sankt Gallen production though. (and what I heard from Stuttgart was the first preview... It's very well possible they changed some things after that)

No, that was Boyd Gaines.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0JQnXrSZKA
Correction, St Gallen, apparently.

Apparently the German title is Merkwürdig.

I believe it is also in the Stuttgart version (but I haven't seen that one yet, so I'm not entirely sure). It is longer than the demo version, nog sung by Frank Crawley, but by the ensemble (the personnel of Manderley). It is the replacement for "wir sind britisch" (That's not in the Sankt Gallen version, and I believe also not in the Stuttgart version). I have to check where it's placed exactly (I don't know that by heart anymore, and I don't have access to my external harddisk at the moment where I can check that), but it's more or less on the place of Wir sind Britisch.
I have to be honest that it didn't make a really long lasting impression on me, except that I really had to laugh because of Tim Reichwein with a pincushion on his wrist, and someone with a coffeepot on a rope that kept dangling at the end... (but I didn't like Wir sind Britisch either, and the song has the same message... maybe a little bit stronger because it's sung by the people who know Ich a little bit, and not only by people who've heard from her)

Sorry, John Dossett was in the revival with Bernadette Peters, in 2003...

I've never exactly liked Wir sind Britisch. It seemed very silly to have an establishing song of the show's setting that late in the act...

That's an interesting song. I like with Rebecca that Kunze and Levay were more concerned with writing songs for characters rather than singers.

Is it just me, or is Pia completely bonkers as Danvers? Honeslty, she looks awesome, but surprisingly, I thunk I want to see Maya's Danvers more...




And for somethign completely different:



....Oh god that Satine...>___<...she's okay at some points but in others...Did they seriously spend their entire bugdet paying Jesper's salary? The sets are cheap (obviously made for a touring production, but still...) the rest of the cast is..decent at best...and they apprantly couldn't even afford the extra cast member to play the Argentinian, as Ziddler...for some inexplicable reason...is covering his bit in the Roxanne scene and not very well (his fat suit seems to be giving him problems too at some points - he huffs and uffs around a lot)...ah, whatever, I'm just going to enjoy Jesper XP

I agree that Pia's Danvers is a bit caricatured, but I think she sings it better than Maya. It looks like we're going to start having the Pia/Maya debates again...

The Satine could look a little bit more thrilled about Jesper Tyden singing so wonderfully about her... I'm gay and I would have no problem looking thrilled.

But we all know the real reason this exists is for Jesper Tyden to wonderful and amazing.

I'd say they spent an arm and a leg on the rights to every single pop song in Moulin Rouge, the rights to the film, and then Jesper's salary.

XD That sounds about right.

And I have to agree with you sorta, on the Pia/Maya thing, though I find it hard to really compare the singing, since Maya sings it so differently from most Danvers, who tend to belt where she uses her head voice. She is ery expressive in those clips though, and does attempt to make the character something other than a mentally unstable matron with a stalker crush on her dead mistress XD, and I appreciate that. ^^

Let the Pia/Maya debate begin, I guess XD