#eponniia

[wheel-of-fish]

Your fics can wait. I'll be praying for your family.

Technically they’re other people’s fics, but thank you. :) I’m going to dissociate and make some gifs.

[usergrantaire]

favorite AU ideas for Enjonine

literally all i can write for them is modern AU. does “modern AU” count??

i like fake-dating AU’s, the classic high school AU (i’m actually writing one rn, it’s horrid and i’m going to go back and rewrite everything when i finish the first draft), college AU’s, and parenting AU’s (ep and enj as parents? SIGN ME THE FUCK UP)

but seriously i’m such a fucking sucker for parenting AU’s because i get to write about them as the parents i never had (mine are abusive as shit so)

also! i adore high school/college AU’s a lot and i tend to give a lot of focus to les amis as well in my current high school AU WIP because i get to write about them as the friends i really wish i had instead of the pathetic, toxic excuses of human beings i’m currently stuck with

[theragamuffininitiative]

I showed my friend Les Mis 25 (his first viewing ever of any version of Les Mis) and he mostly talked about Ramin and said he was actually mad because of how good Ramin's voice was. We have a new convert. I'm showing my friend Phantom 25 next.

I’m so glad you started with Les Mis and are working up to Phantom, because production value-wise it’s a progression upward.

Also.

Ramin fan converts are the best. He’s so good, and his Phantom. Ugh. Once upon a time I had a boot of him as Valjean but I may have lost it in one of my more righteous moments lol.

[theragamuffininitiative]

I love the original cast for nostalgia reasons, but the 25th cast IS Phantom for me. There have been other incredible actors but no one will ever beat the 25th.

I KNOW, RIGHT

To be fair, POTO is not my favorite show on earth. But that performance. They killed it, the whole thing.

[theragamuffininitiative]

Oh you HAVE to watch the 10th. It IS Les Mis to me, and I don't say that lightly .The entire cast is sublime.

I’m going to! When I get my hands on it, I’ll let you know. ;)

[theragamuffininitiative]

Oh my original ask was about Phantom 25. I enjoyed hearing your thoughts on Les Mis 25 though!

................

I should sleep. XD

Ok, BUT. I also have the DVD for Phantom's 25th and IT IS AMAZING, THE ONLY PHANTOM I LOVE.

I first watched the major motion picture. Then I found Ramin and watched this. I then saw the National Tour. I love 25th Phantom with my whole heart, it is the Best production.

Ramin and Sierra and Hadley are all flippingtastic.

The staging is gorgeous??? And those costumes???? The Final Lair is so intense. The conductor is endearing. The effects were spot on (though I love me a very dramatic chandelier drop).

Ramin's Eric is the only version I have seen that I feel true sympathy toward.

Sierra's voice so perfectly lends itself to the character. Christine, alas, is as much a niave and possibly messed up in the head little soul as ever. ;)

Uh, again, my favorite bit might be Colm and Ramin singing together during the encores. It's just so pure, all three times this has happened I cry.

[theragamuffininitiative]

Also speaking of musical concerts, have you seen the Les Mis 10th anniversary concert? You'd adore it.

I HAVEN’T, BUT I NEED TO BECAUSE COLM

[theragamuffininitiative]

Given how much of a Ramin fan you are, I was wondering what your exact thoughts are on Phantom 25. Mind giving a review of the glorious perfection that was that concert?

Edit: @eponniia has informed me this ask does indeed say Phantom, not Les Mis, and I'm a moron. XD But. I'm leaving this for now lol.

I have watched it multiple times and there are things I love and things I…don’t as much. XD It’s been a while since one of those viewings though (but my dad did buy me the dvd as a gift, knowing I love it), so I don’t have a detailed review in my pocket.

I think Ramin is great as Enjolras, with all his fiery passion in both acting presence and just his voice itself - though I am forever laughing over the “guyliner” incident. XD Hadley Fraser, likewise, is a fantastic Grantaire lol, bless him.

Unfortunately I am not a big fan of Alfie Boe. He has a magnificent operatic range, but in the (admittedly few) performances I’ve seen him in, he has a tendency to just full-out belt things and drown out fellow performers and sacrifice character portrayal for personal performance. That is just my opinion, I prefer other actors’ portrayal of the character.

Norm Lewis is a genius at everything he sets his sharp acting and velvet tones to do. Heaven bless him. He’s a great Javert (though, on a related note, for this very reason I wasn’t a fan of him also being cast as Chauvelin this year, because the characters are so similar), and his rendition of “Stars” is up there among my favorites.

Look, I don’t have anything against the Jonas Brothers, but we aren’t even going to talk about that unfortunate casting. With some more direction, it might have been ok, but as this was a concert performance with very little character blocking it, uh, was less ok.

SAMANTHA BARKS AS EPONINE I can’t say enough. She’s great. Love it.

Lea Salonga as Fontine is beautiful. I feel like I remember there being something in her performance I didn’t like? But don’t quote me on that, because at the end of the day, it’s Lea Flipping Salonga.

Katie Hall was a good Cosette. Nothing spectacular or earth shattering that I recall, but she was good. (I understand she was a replacement.)

I know a few of the ensemble cast, but only just, and don’t remember their particular performances that night.

I didn’t like the half full-production, half concert-style staging. The actors couldn’t connect with the other characters as they mostly had to stay at their mic stands. Yet they were in full costume and had some blocking. It was awkward many, many times throughout the night. Otherwise, it’s a gorgeous tribute to such a colossal show.

My favorite part of the whole evening however is when the previous casts come out, and dear dear dear Colm Wilkinson is there on stage and sings “Bring Him Home” with his fellows.

(wrong concert, but like, that’s me basically)

And then - AND THEN - when they have the whole original cast come forward to sing “One Day More” and since actor who was Enjolras wasn’t able to attend, Ramin got to step forward and sing that part and he sang it next to Colm and he looked so happy and Colm was laughing and looked so proud askjfhladkjgss Best Part.