Sutton Foster, Frances Ruffelle, or Lea Salonga; Who is THE Eponine?- Page 2

[WhatDoINeedWithLove?]

Sutton's "On My Own" gave me chills and her "A Little Fall of Rain" made me cry like a school girl!

[LizzieCurry]

I wonder if she ever played Kim on Miss Saigon.

Obviously not, but she (and Linzi Hateley) did play Kim on the demo.

[TheHumanTorch]

I find Ruffelle's voice to be achingly annoying... not having seen her or Lea Salonga, but just hearing the recordings (and the 10th anniversary DVD) there is no doubt, for me, that Lea Salonga is the better Eponine

[wonderfulwizard11]

I love Kaho Shamida on the CSR.

[suddenlyseymour]

I'm not a huge fan of Frances and I've never heard Sutton as Eponine so def Lea Salonga she was awesome!

[LizzieCurry]

I love Kaho Shamida on the CSR.

But apparently not enough to get her name right.

[jacco]

Rufelle live was AMAZING (that whole cast was amazing.....)

Linzi Hately was pretty good too.

Those are the only two I've seen (and in London obviously....)

[lamentingenvelope]

Having never seen any live...

Lea Salonga is exceedingly awesome. However Frances Ruffelle owns that role.

[Katecab99]

sutton!

[apdarcey]

ugh. i hate kaho's voice.

[COOOOLkid]

I don't know, but I just love Kaho Shimada's voice...

[lfae]

Silvie Paladino

[artist_in_waiting]

Lea and Sutton's renditions of "On My Own" are on YouTube. Don't know what the links are but you could search them if you like..

[forget regret <3]

Frances Ruffelle.

oh my Good lord...i have seen SOO many Eponine's over the years...
here are my faves! in order

1) Sarah Berry
2) Diana Kaarina
3) Sutton Foster
4) Andrea McArdle
5) Dana Meller (she was a really aweome understudy!)
natalie toro and lea make the honorable mention list.

[BlueWizard]

Lea Salonga. I liked her darker portrayal of the character, which reflected the book more.

[darkmist115]

adore sutton, don't know frances, but Lea was FANTASTIC in the 10th anniversary video. the perfect eponine.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

I'm sorry, for some reason Frances Ruffelle looks Asian to me, that's why I wondered if she had played Kim in London. I think she brings a lot to the role of Eponine, love her so much. On the Tony clip audiences really seemed to love her and the reviews of Les Miserables that I've read (Especially the New York Times) singled her out. I know she's played Roxie Hart twice in London, I hope she comes do the role on Broadway.

[stage_door]

I'm personally a Lea advocate, but I've been in love with her since I was four-years-old. I'm loyal to Princess Jasmine. I like her strong, angry portrayal of Eponine. I'm more inclined to believe that someone like that could survive all of the crap she has thrown at her than say Sutton or Frances. Frances grew on me after a little while, but our Eponine (I was in the school edition last year) tried to emulate her-- and it was absolutely terrible. Only Frances can sing the way that she sings and make it sound good.

[Broadway_Bound_Star]

Hands down, Sutton

[artist_in_waiting]

In my humble opinion, Lea totally owned Eponine. She was the only one who was able to project an Eponine who was feisty yet vulnerable at the same time. There must be a reason as to why she was the one who was invited to perform at the 10th Anniversary and not the others. But then again, it's just my opinion so don't hate.

[DirtyRottenGirl]

Lea Salonga

[matiboi]

Out of the two I prefer Sutton, but my hands-down pick for best Eponine is Mindy Smoot, who understudied on the tour. Absolutely INCREDIBLE vocals.

[LizzieCurry]

I heard all sorts of great things about Mindy Smoot. I wish I could've seen her. I never even saw her in the ensemble; the third time I saw the show was right after she left.

[wonderwaiter]

I wish I could find my playbill from the National Tour I saw some time in the 90s. I don't know who the Eponine was in that tour, but she was amazing. She kept the whole performance very understated until On My Own, and then let fly. Her money note sent people in the balcony flying out of their seats and bouncing against the back wall of the theater - and this was at the Fox in Atlanta, which is gigantic. This must've been 90 or 91, because there was an ad in the program saying there would be a movie in 92.