Daphne embodies everything about Mimi. Mimi was made to look like a beautiful tiny latin girl and have the rapsy harsh rock voice to contrast with her appearance. Daphnes physicality and vocals bring in the 90's quirk rock sexy heroin abusing latin firecracker that Mimi is! Also, I disagree, I think she looks really young, like actually 16 and to judge from the quality of this video and not look up photos is ridiculous. Rosario definitely did not look 19 but she is by far my favourite Mimi, I love all the women who have played her! I LOVE MIMI! (unless you mention when Scary Spice was her, no no no no.)
Daphne Her Raspy Voice Is Quite Perfect Cause Her Role Played A Smoker And Smoking Gives A Raspy Voice And Honestly I Don’t Mean To Be Rude But she Definitely seems older than 19
Actually, this is her 1st "Out Tonight" on Broadway, she performed it before Off-Broadway and on workshop. Btw, she's awesome, as well as the whole original cast
Daphne Rubin-Vega doesn't have the most amazing voice, but she sings with a ton of soul, which is why she's the best "Mimi". Keep in mind that she also created the part, meaning that everyone else had her performance as a springboard to start with.
I actually never really appreciated Daphne's take on Mimi but I do now very much. I still prefer others obviously but I don't compare her with Rosario anymore simply because I haven't seen Rosario on the stage and Daphne unfortunately wasn't in the movie. They played the role in two very different formats so I keep them separate. I think the reason I had so much dislike for Daphne was her voice I felt it wasn't smooth enough in her vocal control. However I do really appreciate the ruggedness of her voice now as away of showing that character in her interpretation of it. I don't think I'm ever going to say that Daphne was the best Mimi but I think being the original she set the bar high for others to learn from and make there own of the character
SA8AH and THAT is why she was PERFECT! She also literally set the stage for every other Mimi literally begging and starving to become a 19 year old HIV+ Junkie who would do whatever it took for her next fix. I was 14 when I saw RENT for the first time. I'm now almost 36. I was one of "the lucky one's, baby" to catch some original cast members and see amazing up and comers along the way. We all had to start somewhere. Whether it be Scottsdale CC, Spanish Harlem, Santa Fe, Harvard, MIT, below 14th street, Ave B, The Life Cafe, the Spa, the Lot, NYC, Toronto-made to resemble NY pfffffff, somewhere. And THERE WE HAVE IT. Yep WE are the Lucky One's, Larson.
i loved from the first time i heard her recording. i thought "she's amazing! she totally fits the part! shes my favorite mimi, then rosario! her without you just puts me in a ton of tears for five hours. i love her voice!
I totally third that! I used to not like Daphne, but after listening to the OBCR and watching the performances a lot, I really started liking her. She's the best Mimi in my opionion :)
Just because her voice isn't what /you/ would consider "pretty" or even good, it doesn't mean that she is a bad singer. She rocked this performance and originated a much sought after character on broadway. She's probably a better performer than half of the singers out there.
To be honest, I've heard all sorts of different Mimis and I do like Daphne, I do. She will always ALWAYS be the Mimi every performer will look in reference to. But I have seen some Mimis do great things with the character role-they adapted it, molded it and its final sculpture of Mimi was last seen on Bway by Renee Goldsberry. I thought she was phenomenal. To see the character grow with every person that's ever played it is amazing.
I'm sick of people commenting on Daphne's Voice it is Amazing. It's not supposed to be all pretty it's supposed to be hard egded Rock! Which is what it is... and if she had such a bad voice would she have gotten a great role in Le Mis?
I agree with @LesMisere also you have to remember that the first show was bittersweet. They were happy to open & show what Jonathan had created, but sad because he had died without seeing it in its entirety.
I agree with you. I'm not a fan of Daphne's voice but she does play the part very well. They both play the part well. I do not think that Daphne would have been good in the movie since she does display that character different. But I am sick of ppl talking shit about the both of them. Deal with it. Jonathan loved Daphne and his family loved Rosario. That should be the only thing that matters.
I don't think we need to argue which of the Mimi actresses were the best. I like all of them! Daphne will always have the original Mimi voice, sure, but Rosario made her seem younger and livelier, and then Renee brought out her wild side. They all did simply amazing work. Yes? yes.
and yeo she definateley adds somthing to it that rosario dawson does not. she gave the song so much meaning which adds to mimis history and character and thats what its all about. GO DAPHNE YOU GOOD THING!
@Chocomuneca19 i read the minute jonathan heard daphne sing he wanted her for mimi because she was auditioning for maureen....and she's freaking gorgeous!!! u also have to remember that mimi is a junkie, and how many do u know that are "very pretty"?
Every time I see this it gets more and more powerful and energetic. Jonathan Larson and Daphne Rubin-Vega are quite possibly the only two people on this earth (ok, exaggeration there, but still) who could take something like Out Tonight, a song put to a pole dance/strip number, and put meaning and feeling into it.
She's GREAT here! I wouldn't know what she's done with her voice, but when I listen to the Anniversary version of Out Tonight, I can't imagine she had such an amazing voice! It's a pity her voice is.. ruined like that. She fits Mimi so well ^^
It's the best because it's real, not just the original :p This is exactly what a crazy junkie exotic dancer should sound like. Not pretty and perfect, but powerful.
i'd be interested to see Rosario do it on stage. just to compare. whether daphne is good or not, she originated it. she IS Mimi. if she wasn't Jonathan wouldn't have cast her. simple. too bad she killed her voice. the anniversary version was pretty sad. she's great here, though.
i just finished watching the anniversary version of this song! WHAT IN THE HECK HAPPENED TO HER VOICE!? it just shows what all that smoking does to person's voice. especially after ten years...
her voice is anything but perfect but she is great for the part. that's the thing about musicals. i believe that a voice doesn't have to have perfect quality, it just has to be true to the character and have passion. further proof of this is frances ruffelle as the original eponine in les miserables. listen to her singing on my own. her voice is anything but beautiful but it embodies the character so perfectley much like daphne embodies mimi with her voice.
I have to be honest, they probably did edit Rosario's voice because she was really untrained. But I reallllllly don't think you can compare their acting styles. Rosario played it very differently from Daphne...she was definitely a lot more on the naieve side which I appreciated because of Mimi's young age. However, Rosario acted for CAMERA while Daphne for STAGE...which will never EVER be the same. So props to both.
I'm gonna a limb with people mentioning Daphne's age. For one, I thought Rosario looked old (she looked 25 to me) but if we wanna be realistic, drugs age you bad, so I like to pretend its the drugs that did the aging
At first I was like “well renee’s is obviously so much better” but I don’t know, this version kinda gets me really chocked up and makes me feel a bit like I wanna cry a bit more, you can sort of feel her pain. I like to think this is maybe what the scenario would have looked like in real life, and Renee’s version is what it would have looked like in Mimi’s head. I’m not saying one is better than the other but they’re just different
oh my god! oh my god! oh my god! how could you EVER hope or even think that she will ever get the part of Mimi. she would have NEVER gotten on Broadway even if she tried. i cant belive you would even relate something as amazing as RENT with Selena Gomez!!!!!!! omg eeew thats just grosss. like you to even think that. im sorry but its soo true!
Daphne was one of the few cast members to be nominated for a Tony. Daphne voice has a rock and roll edge and depth to it. You have to be a fan of music to hear it. The reason why they replaced Daphne for the movie because she didn’t age well and couldn’t play a younger part it had nothing to do with her voice or acting talent. Rd just looks the part but will never come close to the original Mimi.
she's more dangerous up there on that rail than that other mimi, (renee something) but i liked renee's version better. just because of that ouuuuut part! awesome!
common! how people dare say that daphne doesent fit mimi! like she IS mimi! jonathan larson chose her for some reason. she was the 1st representation of mimi, if she doesent fit her then no one does
i don't know about this video of her. she has sounded so much better at other times, but this her voice is shaky and she seems really shy/uncertain of herself. when i saw the movie i was so excited about rosario dawson as mimi because when i heard her i thought she did the role justice, but still could never touch daphne's mimi. this video, however makes me rethink that.
@bronsonswan :P i think she was alive... but my point is that daphne was jonathan's mimi, like THE ONE that really fits mimi when he created the characted. althought renee is very very good, and it was great that she didnt imitate daphne or anthing
Sorry everyone, but ROSARIA is the best mimi there. Rosaria's voice is much stronger, shes also waaay hotter. Rosaria was a triple threat. She IS mimi. She redefined the standards of acting singing and dancing for mimi and future mimi's to come.
I think she did a phenomenal job. She was the original Mimi and no one can take that from her. But I think that Rosario did an amazing job too. But no one can compare to Daphne
@lyrikkal22 I think I'm the only person who agrees with you. Rosario was a good actress and was pretty and had a good voice. Even if she did use alot of autotone I still like her. I don't like Daphne because her voice is all raspy.
She sounds a lot better live than in the recordings. But some of her movements were really weird, they weren't sexy and they weren't rock, they were just weird. And no matter how much you like her raspiness you have to admit she went flat during the high belting portions of this song. I like the raspiness too but I am not a fan of Daphne, I thought Renee was better.
I believe the reason that she was picked because she seems like a bloody brilliant actress. She has that kind of crazy drug infueled high in her movements, plus she is confident confident and owns the space and she'd pretty damn sexy in many moments in the song. They wanted the show to feel raw and sometimes painful. They went for unusual performers. She can sing but her voice is unusual and not a typical singers. Perfect for Mimi. I love Renee for different reasons. Every performer goes flat. I've seen numerous singers go flat in the west end but they are great for the parts because they act/look so right for them. Remember the Live on broadway version is autotuned. This isn't
One thing to remember is that Mimi is supposed to be high at this moment in the show. I know as time went on, Out Tonight became more of a dance routine, but originally, it was Mimi on drug prancing about the roof of their building. I think she plays that well here.
vicpliesco that's the POINT. She's a drug addict. I heard Daphne say she was on heroin as a troubled youth, so she out of any of the others ridiculous "musical theatre" Mimi's knew exactly the right moves to use to be truthful to her character
arlaee guevara Well, there is probably an accurate and opinionally good reason why. Check out my crap sentence! Too many opiates; and it's beginning to snow...... 😆
I've heard her sing. And she's good, I loved her best when she was singing "Cruella De Vil". She has a very jazzy phrasing. But that wouldn't work for the songs in this show.
ok for the last fuckign time rosario dawson is a huge idol of mine and i love her voice and acting BUT SHE CANNOT PULL OF MIMI SINGING OR ACTING BECAUSE SHE IS TOO SWET AND INOCENT 2 daphne ruben vega has an amazing voice and in my opinion is the best alto on broadway daphne had it all the voice the face and the acting and body to play mimi and as for les miserables when she was fantine it wasnt her best she was preggo during rent which is why rosario got the role
she has a raspy voice that adds edge to the song...this song isnt supposted to be sung pretty...its a rock song and supposted be done just like daphne done it!
rosario is heavily edited i reckon, i've never heard her live, and her aduition video was kinda ok. i like daphne but she reminds me of my mate too much
@gezbez As much as I do love this video, and I have NO favorite when it comes to Mimi, I must say that I think Rosario would have fared well on Broadway. She may need a few voice lessons when it comes to the high note in the song, but if you watch the video of Rosario being cast for the movie, RENT, it shows her singing with nothing to accompany her but a piano- and the scratchiness is not only there, but she sounds MUCH better in person than in the movie vocally. The autotunes weren't needed.
I agree Kathleen.. There's no way that Selena has the singing power of Mimi. Plus, Mimi has such a complex character, if you think about it. I don't think Selena could handle it. ...plus, her as a stripper/drug addict...not a very good image for a disney star. Also, it's like saying that Zac Efron will be playing the part of Roger *shudders* and one of the Jonas brothers as Mark... Sorry about the mental image.
