Judy Kuhn
Posted by Tenorific2 2005-03-21 22:54:00.0

Does anybody know what she's up to? I love her voice, and her Jule Styne album is always in my rotation. I wish she'd do an album of the music she did at the Kennedy Center.

She was great in Les Mis...

He voice is pretty but so boring. She sings every note the same way and I just want to jump off a building.

I'm curious, in what way..BBE!

She's got this amazing soprano range and a belt that could cut steel!!

she was at Wall To Wall, doing "Loving You" with Cerveris. I know she did a concert series with Andrew Lippa at some JCC in San Rafael, CA a few months back. other than that, I have no idea.

I agree, she does sing every note the same way- perfectly.

In what show?

Les Mis?

Cause, yeah...Cosette is boring...

It's such a poorly written part, and the girls who play her have such beautiful voices, and their wasted in the part.

Leslie Henstock, current Cosette on tour, has a beautiful CD which showcases her soprano and her belt. It's rare to find a soprano who can go from legit to belt and do it well.

I agree. Cosette wasn't the best part written for women in Les Miz. Ever since I saw it when I was eight I was never an entirely big fan of Cosette although I do have to say that she's grown on my a little over the years I still think I'd like to play any of the other roles.

After 13 years (how long I've known the show) I still hate Cosette - she's even worse in the book!

Let's see it'll have been 11 or 12 years April 1 since I first saw Les Miz and I've only started liking Cosette. Of course when I was 8 I always thought that Cosette stole Marius from Eponine but then later on I changed my mind. I'm still not a huge fan of Cosette though.

the role of Cosette might be the most crapped-upon female part in pop musical theatre. it is rather boring by nature, and the musical puts so much focus on Eponine's issues, you can't help but resent Cosette in that same roundabout minor way as with Raul in POTO.

plus, the poor gal playing her is (hopefully) one of the better-trained, more highly-disciplined singers in the cast. While Eponine has the freedom to be played by any pop star with a belt and a "sad" face, it's rare to meet a Cosette who gets to smoke as many cigarettes as she'd like. Then she gets the unenviable task of sitting backstage trying to keep her voice warm for the 1st hour, just so she can be thrown into an ugly dress (obviously chosen by Valjean), have her solo cut in London, and take on all responsibilty for providing the score with its soprano harmonies. If she's lucky she also gets to play one of the whores in Lovely Ladies.

Judy was waaaay more interesting as Florence in Chess, a much more bad-assed female lead role; one that gets both solos and an opinion and doesn't need a happy ending or a man to keep her singing.

Perfectly said, Matt...

Here, here!!

Kuhn in "Chess"-- a lot more emotion than Paige (and I love Paige).

Judy is actually the only Cosette I've been able to stand through the years. I do like Rebecca Caine, but I always found I liked Judy better. I thought she made the role a little more interesting than the ones I saw. The first time I saw it on tour I liked the woman playing Cosette. Gina Felicca(or something like that. I still have the program back from when I was eight) who I liked, but wasn't a big fan of the woman playing Eponine at the time. She wasn't bad I just was expecting someone a little different. Then two years ago I saw it I liked both the Cosette and Eponine, but Judy was still my favorite.

Judy's best role = Bella in Rags.
The title song along proves how Judy can take a song, make it her own, and put so much emotion in it. I disagree with the poster who said she was boring. That is definately one of her best pieces. Makes me feel sorry for her.

"And I want to scream 'I'M THE SAME AS YOU'
But it isn't true!
I'm just one more JEW in her Rags!!!"

I like a lot of the foreign Cosette's (on the foreign recordings that is...)

Judy was darling tonight in the Sondheim birthday concert, singing Petra in "A Weekend in the Country"--I wish they had let her sing "The Miller's Son."

Were you there?

Wow...

Melissa was there...so sad I was not!

thanks, BSoBW. I said it for Judy, and for the 3 or 4 other actors who are able to make Cosette likable. I mean, "In My Life" is beautiful, but it's not a true "I want" song without some room for applause.

I LOVE her in Rags! I wish it had done better.

Yeah, well, the first time I saw Les Mis was when I was 5...

The next three times were within two years, right when Judy, something something Peterson (mark or w.e.) and peter lockyer came off the tour to Broadway. (PEterson, or whatever, is now on tour as Grantaire.

In my opinion, he is one of my favorite Enjolras. Lockyer is by far my favorite Marius - much better than Michael Ball. I kind of miss Judy though...the three of them moved around together and had great chemistry (even though cosette and enjolras don't interact)...

Diana Kaarina, IMHO, is one of the best Eponines...

I miss all of those great over-40 gentlemen with incredible voices who once played Valjean but now have no roles for them on Broadway.

yeah...

Well I imagine they did a whole lot before they played Valjean...

What surprises me is how many young people have played JVJ - like John cudia (sp?) who know plays Raoul...

it was such a unique role because it called for a POWERFUL pop-legit tenor who also can play old age AND also is a big enough dude to carry Marius around. it's always nice to have roles around where they aren't going to always cast the more attractive performer.

but this is Judy's thread, so I'm off the JVJ train. Judy Kuhn- a classy lady.

yes...

Judy is good...She IS cosette in my mind...

Matt,

Come on ride the train anywhere you want!!

I saw Ivan Rutherford on Bway in 1997 and thought he was amazing. I also Randal Keith on tour this past fall. Out of the two, I preferred Rutherford.

Back to Judy..... METROPOLIS!! Some of the songs were just god-awful, but Judy had some incredible songs. I love the duet between her and Graham Bickley ("It's Only Love/Bring On The Night") and her solo of "You Are The Light" (a Jewish girl got soul).

Does anyone know why exactly she didn't take "Sunset Blvd." to NYC from LA?

She got pregnant.

Good thing, cuz SB sucked, and so did her songs.

I once met her (she's so tiny). She was coming out of rehearsels for an off-broadway show, pushing her stroller, and here I was, hat to the back, carrying my boombox (Yes, I'm one of those), and I ran across the street. I told her she was amazing - one of my favorite performers. She smiled graciously, and said thank you, but I could just imagine what was going through her head, having a hip-hop kid approach her on the streets...
Still, it was lovely seeing her in person.