Favorite Megs

Wasn't sure where this question should go, but since it concerns a Meg, I figured this might be appropriate.

Does anyone have a photo of Kate Wray outside of her Meg wig and costume? I'm referencing her in an illustration and would like to get her natural hair color accurate.

It's not much, but there are photos of her on this page. She's the instructor in the purple cami who appears in at least a couple of pictures to be teaching the students "Masquerade" choreography. ^_^

I absolutely adored Hayley Driscoll in the London production. Think she was there around Scott Davies/early JOJ time. Absolutely perfect for the role IMHO.

Aside from her, the only Meg who's made a really impressive impact for me is the wonderful Brianne.

Thanks very much, Mandy

Raphael wrote:Wasn't sure where this question should go, but since it concerns a Meg, I figured this might be appropriate.

Does anyone have a photo of Kate Wray outside of her Meg wig and costume? I'm referencing her in an illustration and would like to get her natural hair color accurate.

Speaking of which... Kate Wray from the Swiss brochure!
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v323/reiseaudun/designmasque/dianaswiss.jpg

Not that blue is her natural hair colour... But it's so cool to see her appearing there. She's taken her husband's name now, so try searching for "Kate Kuether" if you're still in need of a picture.

Scorp wrote:I absolutely adored Hayley Driscoll in the London production. Think she was there around Scott Davies/early JOJ time. Absolutely perfect for the role IMHO.

Agreed, Hayley Driscoll is still my favourite of the UK Megs (and I've loved almost all of those I've seen in West End). Nice voice, very good acting and dancing, AND cute as a button. Liked her interpretation as well. What more to ask for?

In Essen I saw Annabel Knight. I really, really liked her in the role. But every German I talk to disliked her. They bring up her English accent as part of the reason. I can understand that, but it didn't bother me as a non-German speaking person. But she had a lovely voice and I found her portrayal good. But apparently I'm the only one... Have anyone else seen Knight as Meg? If so, any opinions on her?

operafantomet wrote:

Scorp wrote:I absolutely adored Hayley Driscoll in the London production. Think she was there around Scott Davies/early JOJ time. Absolutely perfect for the role IMHO.

Agreed, Hayley Driscoll is still my favourite of the UK Megs (and I've loved almost all of those I've seen in West End). Nice voice, very good acting and dancing, AND cute as a button. Liked her interpretation as well. What more to ask for?

In Essen I saw Annabel Knight. I really, really liked her in the role. But every German I talk to disliked her. They bring up her English accent as part of the reason. I can understand that, but it didn't bother me as a non-German speaking person. But she had a lovely voice and I found her portrayal good. But apparently I'm the only one... Have anyone else seen Knight as Meg? If so, any opinions on her?

Never saw Driscoll myself (before my time as a fan) but my favourite Meg was the 2nd u/s Liesl Dowsett, actually - she didn't have a particularly strong voice but was very sweet in the role.

On a general note about accents: I think it's a little harsh to condemn a performer's interpretation of the part on the basis of their ability, in this case, to speak/sing flawless German (obviously this wasn't the whole reason why they didn't like her, but part of it at least; I'm generalising a little). Perhaps people don't appreciate how difficult it is to master a language and lose your own accent as much as you can - as a linguist I know how hard this is and greatly admire those who can. Sofia Escobar's accent is quite sweet and has vastly improved since November; in fact, in conversation with her at the stage door I hardly noticed her accent. On the other hand Ramin Karimloo's Canadian accent always irritated me, particularly as he can put on a kind-of British accent (as he did as Raoul), but why he should drop this as the Phantom always puzzled me.

operafantomet wrote:In Essen I saw Annabel Knight. I really, really liked her in the role. But every German I talk to disliked her. They bring up her English accent as part of the reason. I can understand that, but it didn't bother me as a non-German speaking person. But she had a lovely voice and I found her portrayal good. But apparently I'm the only one... Have anyone else seen Knight as Meg? If so, any opinions on her?

Yes, I saw her and wasn't very impressed to be honest, and it wasn't because of the accent. Yes, it did disturb me (and I'm not a native German speaker) but I simply wasn't impressed with her acting/singing. On the matter of accents, I agree with Lycanthrope. It shouldn't be a major issue when judging a performer, unless it's so bad it sometimes prevents you from understanding what they're saying, which, in Annabel Knight's case, it sadly did...

Favourite Megs for me, by the way, Naomi Cobby and Lindsey Wise.

Miss von Krolock wrote:

operafantomet wrote:In Essen I saw Annabel Knight. I really, really liked her in the role. But every German I talk to disliked her. They bring up her English accent as part of the reason. I can understand that, but it didn't bother me as a non-German speaking person. But she had a lovely voice and I found her portrayal good. But apparently I'm the only one... Have anyone else seen Knight as Meg? If so, any opinions on her?

Yes, I saw her and wasn't very impressed to be honest, and it wasn't because of the accent. Yes, it did disturb me (and I'm not a native German speaker) but I simply wasn't impressed with her acting/singing.

So strange, I genuinely liked her. Ah well, at least she has ONE fan.

As for Megs, I have yet to see a bad one in West End. I think I've loved all of those I've seen there. But Hayley Driscoll really stands out from the bunch. She was adorable, in all ways. Also loved that tall one... Emma Harris? In Copenhagen I only saw two; Anna Grönros and Jennifer Wagstaffe. Grönros was instant love, Wagstaffe grew on me a lot from January to May.

In short, I have never seen a bad Meg live. Either I'm very easy to please, or I've been lucky with the casting. Or maybe it's a grateful role to perform. Maybe a combination...