Should this be a two horse race so early in the series?

Should Lee & Daniel have been allowed to enter?

And with hundreds of 'semi professional' stage actors around were just two good enough, did just two enter?

Personally, I think Lee should not have been allowed to enter. He had already played Joseph as a professional, in Kenright's production and Kenright was on the judging panel or at least when I caught the show last Saturday, he was.

I also wonder how fair it is to have Lee and Daniel included. It's almost as though the idea behind it is to ensure a more experienced performer actually attains the role. The less experienced are almost seemingly being used as both a smoke screen and window dressing.

I can understand ALW wanting the best for his West End production, but as I have already posted on another thread, to have either as the winner would be both predictable and staid. Either will be extremely competant at the part, of that there is no doubt, but where's the excitement and challenge in that?

Lee has played Joseph? Really? News to me. Although there have been numerous touring productions (we seem to get it in Southampton every 18 months or so) I thought it hadn't been in the West End for a few years.

Personally I don't care in the slightest what their backgrounds are provided they and the TV prog are honest about them. Then we can decide for ourselves whether we want an amateur or professional. Was pleased when last week they acknowledged Daniel as an experienced performer and not just a data entry clerk who found he could sing. Personally I think it is great that the auditions were completely open. I want to see the best person for the role, not just the best builder/shelf-stacker etc

My overriding thought watching Daniel and Lee is not 'yeah, but they're professional', it's 'wow, they're good.'

Regarding whether it is already a two horse race, well, yes, it probably is but I would rather have two good horses than half a dozen lame ones

Couldn't agree more.
Surely if people are paying £50 a ticket too see a show they need to know that the leading man can at least do the role justice.
Most of the guys involved have some sort of theatre/drama/stageschool background and thats how it should be - just watch the dire bunch performing in the Grease programme on ITV to see just what a difference that makes.
Yes, Lee and Daniel have some sort of experience but they have never been given the opportunity that this show creates so why shouldn't they take it?

Anyhoot, I also think people are jumping the gun to assume that those two will make the final, there have been plenty of upsets already and reality tv in general is always littered with shock exits.

As far as I'm aware (and no, honestly, I'm not becoming obsessed...) Lee hasn't played Joseph before......but has played the part of the Pharoh, which isn't exactly the same type of role . I seem to recall him saying on adwd that one of the reasons he auditioned was because he wanted to play Joseph so much as it was one of the first shows he saw.

I don't care that he or Daniel have had experience, if anything I think the show is showing that it is virtually impossible for anyone to be good enough for a leading role in the west end without SOME form of experience. In fact both of them have taken a gamble with the careers in coming on the show - I'm just glad it is paying off for them

As far as musicals go, Joseph really isn't that great. But if i were to go see it, it would only be if Lee or Daniel were in it.

None of the others could EVER be broadway leading man.

There may be a couple left in the competition who could be in the company or a very minor supporting role.

The majority of these boys would fare much better on the X-factor rather than this. At the moment they're are performing in a television studio for the cameras which is completely different from the west end stage.

Daniel to win!

Keith must leave ASAP!!!

There is no denying Lee and Daniel are both good and there are no rules to say they carnt enter the competition,but they are established West End performers and personally I would like somebody else to get a chance .

Reading though the threads Lee is the favorite but the question I ask is , if Lee has already worked for ALW and Bill Kenwright in Phantom and Joseph why have they never given him the lead already, if they think hes so good why is he always the understudy

well, there are much better performers than him who are already on the stage.

but lee and daniel clearly HAVE to be in the competition because NONE of the other have enough ability, or raw talent to be Joseph!

My perception is that he has done well to get this far in his career at the age of 25.

I don't know who is playing what role in the West End at the moment, but I am sure that there is fierce competition. To get to understudy in the West End is a huge achievement.

Exactly. Getting the leading role of a musical is extremely hard especially if you are not already a celebrity (easier if you are a celebrity, because as a celebrity you are marketable). Even to get in the chorus of the top musical is no piece of cake. You've still got to be pretty good to be an understudy. Which is why I think Lee and Daniel deserve the chance to get a major role, just as much as all the others,

I don't see why people think it's unfair to have experienced members. Most of the contestants have some kind of experience anyway. And to me, the fact that Lee and Daniel have tried to get as much experience as possible, and are risking a lot by trying to get this Joseph part. To me, it's just a testament to their determination and drive. And it's not like the other contestants don't have some sort of experience any way.

The fact that Lee and Daniel have the experience, and at the moment are miles above the others, shows how important experience is, and that raw talent is not enough. I don't see why quality should be sacrificed. The best person should get the part regardless of their experience. If the others really want it then they will go and get the necessarily experience so that they can handle huge parts (just like someone who wanted to become a singer would get singing lessons). I guess I am biased slightly, because I have no patience for people who come into these shows expecting everything to be handed to them on the plate.

I don't know why you feel Keith should leave, obviously you're expressing a personal dislike.

Keith has a superb voice and stage presence. I'm sure I'm not the only person who can see him having a good stage career from here on.

Surely at an open audtion anyone can enter, regardless of age, experience etc? Just so happens two of the guys good enough to get through had done it before! I'm sure there were plenty in the final 50 etc with similar levels of experience.

Also, am I daft, or did Connie in Maria not audtion for loads of west end shows before auditioning for the Maria competition? How is it any different?

Totally agree, well said!

agreed, without lee in the competition there was only one other option for me, that was Seamus. And he was scraping the barrell...
without these experienced people it would be awful!

well the only time the "Lord" is ever gonna send one of them home is if the public put them as the bottom two, and mark my words this aint ever gonna happen. I do belive this was only ever a two horse race, between Lee and Daniel, the others are there as fillers for the show. Its all good telly though, isnt it. I even wonder if Seamus was only ever a "plant"

I think you sum up the situation very accurately stargirl 2.

Having said that, I was listening to Denise Van Outen on Radio2 this afternoon. She says that although the popular opinion is that Lee may well win, as far as she's concerned the competition is opening up all the time. The training that the other contenders are now receiving is helping them to up their game and confidence. Who knows? Maybe we will all find it a surprising ending.

The question I'm asking is;
"Is Lee already the Chosen One & the show just a marketing ploy to get bums on seats in the West End?"
Obviously ALW has to put in some other good ones too, just in case the viewers go nuts & don't vote for Lee - as he hopes. Also it gives him an idea whether Lee is popular, as if he's not ALW can swing in another direction, as he has another iron or two in the fire.
I think that's why ALW voted off Seamus tbh, as although he was obviously really talented the GBP did not take to him, (whether this was bad editing is a mute point). I've a personal feeling the editing was done because his Lordship & the panel did not take to him more like.

I think ALW would like one of the younger guys to win - basically because he said this. An established trouper won last year - since Maria is a really hard part, vocally and dramatically - but Joseph isn't such a big deal. Chosing Ben over Seamus was a big signal for this. The 'spin' could easily be - the young guys are raw, relatively untrained but have real potential, so let's give them a chance, take a risk, not take the safe option. You don't have to be a cynic to go this way - you can genuinely think (as I do) that Chris has a really attractive voice, or that Lewis has a good stage presence, that Keith is an appealing performer and so on. There's no point in sneering at this approach - the two groups of guys (the 17-20 age-group and the 25+ age group) are quite different and you won't be judging like against like because of the different levels of vocal maturity, training, experience and so on. It could be much less certain than people are thinking.
Last edited by Pasta : 02-05-2007 at 18:46

T hey always go on about lewis being a fantastic dancer has anyone else noticed that?What has that got to do with Joseph?Or are they trying to tell us Lewis is there fav.Alw seems to squirm in his seat when lewis is on,not sure why or if i want to know why,

well I'd say Joseph is much harder vocally considering it's singing all the way through as apposed to the 30 minutes of fairly easy songs. Alrhough Joeseph is pretty lightweight compared to most musicals.

The fact is in the Maria show nearly all the finalists could sing the SOM songs with ease (it was just a question of finding someone with acting abilty, consistency and suitabilty for the role). I cannot say i'm quite as confident about many of the josephs. Apart from Lee and Daniel the only guy with the vocal strength is Keith, but you can't understand what that kid is singing!

I couldn't agree more.

I think Lewis, Keith and Rob may also be proving very popular and in fairness, they are leagues ahead of Chris Ben and Craig.

Good question but it's reminiscent of the Leona issue in X Factor. She had recorded a self-funded album and was known to British and American music producers. Indeed it was a renowned American music producer who mentioned her name to Simon Cowell and the other X Factor producer. This begs the question, if they thought she was that good, why didn't they just sign her up? The answer I think is that given the opportunity to promote someone week in week out over the course of 3 months practically guarantees you a revenue from sales of the artist themselves (be it records or tickets), saves you a lot on promotion of the artist and, of course, brings you the telephone voting revenue.

That doesn't of course negate the fact that Lee has been around long enough and is known to enough people in the industry to have gained a leading role long before the idea for these shows was even born if he was considered good enough.
Last edited by Give It Up : 02-05-2007 at 20:30

What about the 21-24 guys?

Ah, the group of Rob. Roll him in with the younger ones for lack of experience, or the older ones for a settled, mature voice - take your pick