As with every other character this woman has portrayed on Broadway, Sutton's interpretation of Eponine is nothing short of phenomenal. You can tell she really understands the character through the very subtle, yet powerful choices in movement, facial expression, and overall tone. Was she the "best" Eponine? Maybe not, but I don't understand how anyone could dislike her.
oh my god that was amazing. i almost started crying in the end you can see her passion and her pain! she is truly the most amazing eponine i have EVER heard!
I personally think this was incredible... just because she doesn't have the typical "Eponine" voice we all know of and it's a bit more modern doesn't mean it's any less good. She truly develops the entire emotion of each word by just simply STANDING there. That's incredible. And you can truly see every emotion using her voice. Her voice adds on that. Again, not the "typical Eponine", but it wasn't a loony attempt. It was truly incredible-- one of the better versions currently out on RU-vid.
This isnt the “standard” of on my own rendition since perhaps most of us are very familiar with lea salonga’s iconic performance.However if you really have read the book, and have not just based on broadway performance, I think this rendition is the closest to who Eponine really is.Eponine isnt angelic and a disney princess. She was a street girl, scorged and tortured by the cruel reality of life…The grit in the performance is what really makes this rendition great for an Eponine.
Wow! I love her in this role! She really owned Eponine! Most actresses play the sad, depressed girl. She's so headstrong and powerful! So nice to see that! Eponine is a strong willed girl so its great to see her played to that effect! I do agree, its a strange part for Sutton but what she did with it was hers and no one else can do that! She contributed something new to Eponine and its beautiful!
this is amazing. My favorite singer singing one of my favorite songs!! she puts so much emotion in her voice it makes the whole song into an extreme ...AWESOMENESS!!!
I saw this and I've been a fan of hers since. She was the very best Eponine I had ever seen...not just her voice, but her acting. Her Eponine was truly hearbreaking and captivating. All the other Eponines I've seen played her all cutesy, but Sutton had depth that no one else had and it was mesmorizing. I'll never forget it. I'm lucky cuz i got to see her in Young Frankenstein and just recently in Shrek. She's my heroe!
Oh, thank you SO much for posting this! I was fortunate enough to see her perform this in Seattle in '99, and eight viewings of the show later she is still one of my favorite Eponines. Her passion is just incredible. :0) Thank you again for sharing!
I saw her when she was on tour in D.C.:) She was truly fantastic. Who knew then that she would become this big broadway star? I also saw Kerry Butler in NYC when she was Eponine for only a month. I've been REALLY lucky! :)
I love that she was great here, and this is nowhere near how amazing she is today. This was a great, solid singer/actress. And now she is a goddess. What will she be in another 10 years??
I saw Sutton Foster playing Eponine in a touring company of Les Miserables long before she was SUTTON FOSTER and she had me in tears when she sang this. She is the only person out of the entire cast that I remember at all. You just can't appreciate how good she was from a poor quality video - or, probably, any video at all.
Suttin Foster is a lovely singer and actor, without guile or fluctuating merisma. I'm trying to understand the negativity of all those "critics" out there in You Tube land except to say it is reflective of people involved in amateur theatre. The talentless attacking the talented. Plus...Everybody is a critic.
I think she's an actor, and she makes her own acting choices. Whether or not you would do the same if performing the song is for you to decide. But you can't say she is wrong or incorrect because your opinion is different. Also remember Sutton is a professional Tony award winning actor pursuing an objective not playing an emotion or state of mind.
Sophie K she wasn't trained when she was this young. This was before thoroughly modern Milly and that's when she thought she should do traditional training.
That's arguably perfect for this character. She's supposed to be rough. Starting with the original in London and Broadway: Frances Rufelle. Frances has such a distinctive voice, and for awhile there all the replacement Eponines sounded like her - big nasal belt, serious vibrato. Lea Salonga has an amazing voice, clear as a bell, but I like Rufelle better for Eponine. Seems to fit better.
I don't get why everyone hates this performance so much. I think it's pretty good. Much better than the "woe is me, I'm so lovesick!" performance that 9/10 Eponines perform. She acts weirded out, which I kind of like, since Eponine is a bit delusional and unstable in the novel.
To be perfectly honest! she is the actress - this is how she set out to perform this scene / song - the director obviously saw nothing wrong with it .... if you wanna see / hear a bad performance of On My Own - look no further than Danielle Hope (current West End Eponine)
I have a lot of respect for when people extend the belting note like she did, because shes not just saying shes comfortable doing that- but comfortable doing it every night- and some nights twice! (I know she was the understudy but still)
This is beautiful. Now I am about to hurt who ever said this was bad. What people who aren't in the part of the theater that looks at the audience don't understand IT IS A CHARACTER! It's the same deal with Ellen Greene in little shop, I see so many people say oh she can't sing, AUDREY IS A CHARACTER, a very defined character. Audrey is not supposed to sound like someone who plays belle. Anyways what I'm saying is people need to realize... In theater you are a character...
Wow, I love this!!! I did not like her much, but this version, WOW. I felt sadness, anger, pain and a bit of happiness(?). Very emotional, and this made me cry. Thaks for posting this!
@benjaminjosephharris finally SOMEONE agrees. not every female who can belt is an elphaba... in fact, I could NEVER see Sutton Foster, as amazing as she is, play elphaba..
Hadn't taken on this role? She fresh from school and offered a major contract. Riiight...i would love to see a young actor turn down this gig on a major national tour. And what confidence are you looking for? The character is a child who just realized her boy crazy obsession isn't falling for her...the character should have no confidence at this point. Her parents dont love her and the only person who shows her affection is a boy she can't have. AAAAAND...her voice is AMAZING on this.
alot of professional actors use a universal stage diction. it's not too "american" or too "british" it's in between. and you can really hear it in spring awakening when they speak.
@true05angel For the longest time, ever since Lea Salonga played Eponine, there was a trend to cast your Asian actresses as Eponine. Now, look at the Thenardiers. Neither of them are Asian. Simple fact. It's nothing against Asian actresses. It's against pandering.
@@1amSam Well, to each his own - I know of other celebrity musical theatre actresses whose voices make my ears hurt when they attempt the high notes, but then I've always been called "too sensitive."
I think someone my mom knows might've met Sutton Foster . . . hmmm. KARL! She's so amazing, it's so weird to me now that I'm seeing her everywhere in the world of musical theatre. I really love this perfromance as Eponine.
Shrek was so good. Its not one that I would of gone to see if Sutton wasn't involved, I really loved it. The performaces were flawless. Sutton can do it all. But everyone else in the cast were brilliant as well. I wouldn't be suprised to see Tony nominations for these actors. Even if you've seen the movie, the jokes are still funny on stage. I highly recommend it.
@miyoshiumeki Now that's not always true. It depends on what you're singing. However, a ballad like this does require you to stand still and send your presence out.
yeh her broadway debut was in grease as understudy for sandy then took over...next was star to be in the annie revivel then she did les mis tour and broadway with eponine then she did millie and became who she is today!..i love her so much...btw i got this off a website im not a creep..lol
The costumes and sets were really good, you can see some clips here on youtube. And the songs were witty and catchy because i stil remember them. Lord Farquad was hilarious. Donkey was hilarious. Shrek was awesome. It was just an all out enjoyable joy. But part of that, for me was because the actors were so good. I would have enjoyed these people singing the abcs.
@punknnerd2 Well, at this point in the show eponine, kind of IS crazy. After all she's seen and what's happened to her, sutton puts the right amount of emotion and crazy and normalcy that is necessary to convey why she's singing this song at this point in the show.
Sigh... some people around here just don't know how to be a good audience. I don't think there's a part in the bible that says "How to be the perfect Eponine" so stop trying to put a frame around the character and be a bit more open minded.
I saw Alexia Khadime 7 times during her run as Eponine. I thought she played the role superbly. I thought the previous cast were the best cast i've ever seen (Craig Mather, Liam Tamne, Lisa-Anne Wood, Katie Secombe, Hadley Frazer, Alfie / Ramin, Cameron Blakely) I understand not everyone is going to like every performer though but I've seen Alexia in Wicked and Whistle down the wind (UK Tour) and I really like her as a performer :)
First of all, Sutton's amazing, always will be, and all that jazz. But I just watched MusicalMablibs's version of On My Own with Celia Keenan Bolger, and so I 'm listening thinking, "All the Abe Lincolns are misty in Lake Superior. In the darkness the trees are full of toasters..." Teehee. BUT I heart Sutton.
I love Sutton, and you're right, she is phenomenal! But I've seen Les Mis many times with many different Eponine's and from this recording, she is far from my favourite. Not that she isn't good, it's just I've seen other people portray the role of Eponine who I liked better :)
I totally get you and the criticisms about Sutton's incorrect "looney" attack to this. On My Own is supposed to be her "epiphany" -- when after so much reflection she realizes how alone she is and how her love will remain unrequited. While Eponine has a 'crazy touch,' this song is sung when Eponine's mind is at its clearest -- thus, Eponine should not appear crazy at all when singing this song. While Sutton had the wrong approach here, I forgive her for she was a newbie when she did Les Miz.
It's hard to really judge Sutton's Eponine just from this song... if you ever get a chance to see the whole video of this Les Mis performance you can see the unique take she brought to the role and how she good she was at it. I kept on saying "wow, if she keeps this up, she's going to beat out Lea Salonga for my favorite Eponine" and she certainly did.
