Dreamcasting Part I

So once a mentor of mine gave me the advice that if I wanted to write musical theatre scores I had to write for someone - I should write for a performer that I had in mind. Now with DRACULA this has definitely been the case with one character in particular, but as Margaret recently did a spot of dream casting on her own blog, I thought it would be great to take this further.

Why is this not evidence of a sad wannabe composer? Ermm, because it's an inspirational tool and.... lighten up!

IN THE ROLE OF MINA MURRAY-HARKER

Alexandra Silber

Where have you seen her?

In the closing London cast of Woman In White playing Laura Fairlie.

Why Alexandra Silber for the part?

Alex has a great voice with amazing purity. She has a great belt and has great acting skills. Alex is also young enough to play the part and I believe she possesses the vocal power and grace to carry off Mina-Murray Harker. I also like the fact that Woman In White was her West End debut; she's an unknown quantity and under appreciated!

Who else was nominated?

Jenna Lee James from We Will Rock You is famed for consistent powerhouse performances and she's a very good actress as well. I'm not sure how she would cope with the less rock-opera aspects of DRACULA.
Julie Alanah Brighten from Beauty & the Beast, La Cava and Tell Me On A Sunday. When composing I constantly had Julie's voice in mind. She was very much the muse of this work for me. Unfortunately it seems Julie Alanah has left the industry and this is why I didn't give her the role in my dream cast. The character is also supposed to be about 21 and Julie is now looking at older roles. Still with powerhouse performances of Say Goodbye and Here I Am in La Cava, her voice is just absolutely amazing and I'd love her to sing some of my material one day.

IN THE ROLE OF LUCY WESTENRA

Dianne Pilkington

Where have you seen her?

In the original cast of The Far Pavillions. Dianne also played Belle in Beauty & the Beast.

Why Dianne Pilkington for the part?

Dianne is an extremely versatile actress and again is completely underated. In Far Pavilions she was very good at playing a ditz with soul and this is exactly how I see Lucy in DRACULA. Her voice is also strong although, I've yet to see her belt particularly.

Who else was nominated?

Laura Michelle Kelly (Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady) has a great voice which would be well suited but as Mary Poppins she was hyped to extremes and has decided to quit the business to follow a solo career. Her new album is great.

Sophie Ravageglas (Eponine in Les Miserables) was also a consideration. Probably the best Eponine I've ever seen in the role. A great voice with good emotional control. I think however she'd be more suited to Mina than Lucy, but definitely plays a young girl with soul very well.


IN THE ROLE OF DRACULA

Oliver Darley

Where have you seen him?

In the original cast of Woman In White playing Sir Glyde.

Why Oliver Darley for the part?

He is such a great bad guy in Woman In White with a real vicious streak. He's also a great singer who really puts a lot of interpretation into his songs. While Dracula doesn't have much to sing in the show, I think it would benefit from his casting. The role of Dracula is also supposed to be played by quite a thin and agile man rather than some great hulk like creature. Oliver has the perfect look for the role.

Who else was nominated?

John Owen Jones (born to play the role of the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera and will probably die playing the role considering he is the longest serving Phantom. He's currently playing Jean Val Jean in Les Mis) would be great although there would be probably too much temptation to bring heart to the character of Dracula and really, the less my musical looks like a rip off of Phantom, the better right?!

IN THE ROLE OF JONATHAN HARKER

Hadley Fraser (that's not his real name apparently! He's called Tom I think)

Where have you seen him?

In the original (and only cast) of The Far Pavillions playing Ashton Pelham although he's more famously know for playing Marius in Les Miserables.

Dude is this just like a Les Mis reunion or something?

No, shut up. It's not my fault that everyone has done Les Mis. The show's been running 20 odd years now; it's gonna munch people up like fat people at a cheap all you can buffet.

Why Hadley Fraser for the part?

Because Hadley can do the "I'm belting this song because I'm suffering from emotional torment" which is great for the role of Jonathan Harker.... and well, you have to have something to entertain the girls and all those theatre-loving gay men. He got his chest out in Far Pavillions- that's just not sexy. Less cleavage, more imagination. Capiche?

Who else was nominated?

Ramin Karimloo (Phantom veteran as Raohl, Les Mis veteran as someone who gets killed). Look it's not my fault that everyone's been in Les Miserables ok?!
More to follow....

Onwards, Upwards & On Track

I think anyway.

UPWARDS

So have just been offered boss' job as she is leaving to go and work at the Royal Court. Summary of feelings....

PROS
- More money (26% salary increase)
- More power
- Gain contact in very prestigious West End theatre
- Realise that last 6 months wasn't for nothing
- Assurance that job isn't deadend and ideal stepping stone

CONS
-More work
-More people bitching at me
-Sentencing myself to yet more days of 4 hour commuting
-Less time to do other things
- I don't get a kickass assistant like myself to help me
- Lose nice boss

ONWARDS

In other news, Christopher J Orton's version of Dracula becomes depressingly closer to production.. still it's not on the West End yet and well even if it does I can just bottom drawer all my music and then I'll be a real musical theatre composer. Music preparation for the recording session continues to be boring and very difficult to find inspiration for. Writing is fun, all the other stuff is just annoying.

I must also actually supply Margaret with some actual material... it would take me about 10 minutes to burn the CD and print of the music but finding time and energy for even that becomes difficult sometimes.

ON TRACK

I've also decided to record a flute album. Not because I think I'm particularly special or good (good flautists are two a penny) but because I can and well, it's nice to have a record of your ability in case you ever need to promote yourself. Trying to think of a title. Suggestions on a postcard (that don't include PLAYING WITH MYSELF).

A lot of it will be mulitracked performances of me playing a combination of solo flute, alto flute, piccolo and bass flute. Might even include some irish whistle or recorder stuff if you're lucky.

The album will feature some original material including No Apology a piece for solo flute, piano and string quartet which I've written for my friend Phillip who died and a Flute Sonata I have written which I think is just groovy. It will also feature some arrangements of works in other mediums that have been arranged for flute choir including a suite of 5 Modern Hymns that I like. If that wasn't enough it will ALSO feature multitracked flute group stuff including Toma Simaku's Guirlande de Flutes.

So that's a fun project to add to the pile. Onwards, upwards and "my God what a lot of work".