Roger, Desiree, and Florence!
Roger: Musical lyrics you relate to, or lyrics that hold a special meaning for you?
All of “Maybe (Next to Normal).” All I have to do is think the lyrics “For all those years I prayed that you’d go away for good, / half the time afraid that you really would. / When I thought you might be dying, / I cried for all we’d never be, / but there’ll be no more crying, / not for me, not for me, not for me!” and I tear up. I’m crying a little right now because I typed that.
And “…a girl full of anger and hope, / a girl with a mother who just couldn’t cope, / a girl who felt caught and thought no one could see, / but maybe one day she’ll be free.”
Desirée: An actor you’d like to see perform in your favourite musical?
I’ve actually been thinking a lot about how I would die if Essie Davis ever played Desirée in A Little Night Music. She’s an elegant, savvy woman with a irrepressible spirit, and near the end of the show, we see her break down utterly in the most subtle, controlled, understated way. She reminds me of Phryne in a lot of ways actually - a glorious, larger than life character whose most heartbreaking moments are breathtakingly simple and unaffected.
Florence: A musical you have fallen out of love with?
Phantom of the Opera, maybe? It was my first musical, but I haven’t listened to it in forever. I want to again soon, though, and I still think the music is great. I just don’t see the Phantom as a romantic character anymore. A complicated man whose darkness was created by circumstance, definitely. But just because a person has been through awful shit, it’s not an excuse to stalk and terrorize and manipulate someone else.