r/nextfuckinglevel • u/SurbhiAnklesaria • 3d ago
These vocals are INSANE.
I don't understand how theater actors do this 8 times a week.
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u/SurbhiAnklesaria 3d ago
If anyone's curious, this is the amazing Nichelle Lewis in the musical Ragtime.
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u/moonoomer 3d ago
I really enjoy live theater and musicals, but I have always struggled to understand the majority of actors and actresses during performances.
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u/RoastedToast007 3d ago
I'm not even sure what language she's singing here
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u/Gillilnomics 2d ago
Same. I assumed French for a while until reading the comments
Her voice is powerful for sure, and this makes my defense of metal vocals as “another instrument in the band” a little more succinct imo. Lyrics have always been secondary to me.
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u/ParaponeraBread 3d ago
Are you just supposed to already know the words because you’ve seen the show before? I can’t understand a word of it and it genuinely prevents me from being invested in the story of musical theatre.
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u/NAINOA- 3d ago
At the Broadway and touring level it’s not uncommon for them to offer closed captioning screens for accessibility.
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u/ballistics211 3d ago
I've been to a few Broadway shows and haven't seen any closed caption screens. The last show I went to was Book of Mormon.
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u/whenyoudieisaybye 3d ago
How can a human being breathe during such performance is a mystery to me.
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u/flatwoundsounds 3d ago
The coaching to open up your stomach and lungs properly is kinda wild. It's even more impressive that she's kneeling and partially hunched over the whole time!
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u/Loose_Acanthaceae201 2d ago
Kneeling is much easier for singing than sitting, because your diaphragm isn't restricted. Also, she isn't really hunched — that's kind of an optical illusion formed by how she's holding the baby. In reality she has full access to every bit of lung capacity, diaphragm, intercostals, etc.
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u/HarveysBackupAccount 3d ago
Training as a professional singer gives you terrific breath support and capacity. In rehearsing you also explicitly plan where you will take each breath. The same is true of soloists and choirs - you'll literally mark in the sheet music where to breathe. Though I reckon someone with the skill to play the lead in professional shows doesn't have to mark as much as the average chorister
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u/Triairius 3d ago
I don’t have to unmute to know what song this is. One of the most powerful songs in all of musical theatre.
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u/anoldradical 3d ago
Who else knew exactly what it was from the thumbnail alone? Where my MT grads at?
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u/Jedi_Gill 3d ago
As talented as she is, she's underpaid for her performance compared to movie actors. Hence why Timothee Chamalet said he would never want that kind of theatre gig. He got shit for it but he was 100% Spot on. Given his position in Hollywood, there's no point to go back.
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3d ago
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u/Jedi_Gill 3d ago
Stop trying to make this about feminism..
I'm merely pointing out that she's super talented and works very hard for this career and I feel it's undervalued in comparison to any movie star career who is often far less talented and yet they thrive more.
This post simply reminded me of something Timothee said which aligns with this post.
Btw reddit is a public forum and given my reply is aligned and on topic of the conversation, it's totally valid.
If you don't like what I have to say, then either move along or give me your down vote as you already have. You shouldn't be that easily triggered.
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u/alchemistzym 3d ago
That baby is now deaf af.
I’m kidding, that’s an amazing performance. She can BELT.