It was alright... a bit of a mess in the middle with the song being shortened so much, but they ended strong I thought... now if they could have just not turned on Russell's microphone all would have been better ...
I think there is so much hyper criticism (Crowe notwithstanding). Everyone watching at my house loved it, and apparently the live audience did as well.
CZJ at opening night party for A Little Night Music, Dec 13, 2009.
I thought the Les Miserables number was a well-done ensemble piece and the standing ovation was well-deserved! This is the essence of the modern FILM musical!
I think they could have done the whole song and no one would have minded, as long as the Oscars typically are. The cuts were a bit odd, but it wasn't bad. I did wonder why Helena Bonham Carter and Sasha Baron Cohen showed up, though- you could barely hear them, Russell Crowe's mike was so loud.
I read an article that said at the rehearsal, Catherine was the only performer to lip sync, but they weren't sure whether or not she was going to at the actual ceremony apparently.
the general opinion of all my theater friends on facebook is that CZJ was lip syncing. it was clear when she was being lifted and it sounded like it was straight from the soundtrack.
A Chorus Line revival played its final Broadway performance on August 17, 2008. The tour played its final performance on August 21, 2011. A new non-equity tour started in October 2012 played its final performance on March 23, 2013. Another non-equity tour launched on January 20, 2018. The tour ended its US run in Kansas City and then toured throughout Japan August & September 2018.
It sounded like the keys on "All That Jazz" were lower than what she sang in the movie. Given the recent trend of pre-recording, maybe she did that and did lip-sync?
ACL2006, that sounded like it was lifted from the soundtrack to you? Her voice was clearly lower here and her track was way less polished then the one on the soundtrack.
Personally, I was impressed that Russell Crowe made the appearance, given the criticism he has received for his singing. It's not like he needs to work on more musicals to have a career.
I would swear that CZJ was lip-synching whenever she had to sustain notes. Some of the shorter phrases at the beginning sounded too low (In pitch and volume) for her tonight, so I thought maybe they were live.
CZJ lip-synced the entire song. Completely obvious. She didn't wear a mic. It was necessary to her because she agreed to dance. Good for her!
Hudson was the best part of the ceremony. Blew Adele, Streisand, et al out of the water (vocally).
"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle
Personally, I still prefer if they sang the original composition of One Day More. But I understand that they would have to shorten or improvise a bit during Oscars because of limited time. Was happy to see the movie cast & some of the theater actors on stage!
How I wish that it was only the Les Miserables cast in that production - don't get me wrong, I love chicago and dreamgirls! But I wanted Les Mis to have that limelight because the previous two had theirs already in past Oscars. LOL. And the entire show was already a tribute of movie musicals.
CZJ lip-synced the entire song. Completely obvious. She didn't wear a mic. It was necessary to her because she agreed to dance. Good for her!
For reasons that escape me, CZJ has her champions here. But, again, I have it on excellent authority that they barely got useable tracks for the CHICAGO film out of her and had to record her part, basically one line at a time.
She's a dancer who barely sings and occasionally acts.