HABANG mainit na mainit ang Les Misérables sa Maynila, ang mga aktor na sina Simon Gleeson at Kerrie Anne Greenland ay naglabas ng kani-kaniyang debut album.
Si Simon, gumaganap bilang Jean Valjean, ay naglunsad ng kanyang debut album na may pamagat na Elements, na aniya’y sumasalamin sa kanyang personal at propesyunal na buhay.
“We were looking for an album that I wanted to be very simple, very intimate, just piano and cello, very story-focused. That was just basically pure elements of storytelling for me,” ani Simon.
Kabilang sa Elements ang mga likha ng mga kompositor na sina Stephen Sondheim, at sina Rodgers at Hammerstein. Ang nasabing album ay naglalaman ng 11 awitin kabilang na ang kanyang interpretasyon sa Bring Him Home mula Les Misérables. Mayroon ding duet si Simon at kanyang asawa na si Natalie O’ Donnell, ang cover nila sa awitin ni Elton John na Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word.
“This collection of stories represents the elements that make up this moment in my life. They are songs about family, love, loss, and hope. Some are stories I’ve told on stage and others completely new to me and I’ve tried to tell them using the bare elements in as intimate, uncomplicated and honest way as possible,” aniya.
Bukod sa Les Misérables, gumanap na rin ang Australian actor sa major musical productions katulad ng Love Never Dies, Chess at Mamma Mia.
Dream come true naman para kay Kerrie Anne Greenland, gumaganap bilang Eponine ang paglulunsad ng Pictures na itinuturing niyang “snapshots” sa kanyang buhay. Si Kerrie ay nagmula sa pamilya ng mga musikero at nagsimula ang kanyang career sa musical theatre sa Les Misérables Australia bilang Eponine noong 2014.
“These are songs that I love, songs that I love singing, songs that I wanted to do versions of,” pahayag ni Kerrie Anne.
Ang ilan sa mga awitin sa kanyang album ay ang Run To You ni Whitney Houston; On My Own ng “Les Misérables”; Once Upon A Dream ng “Sleeping Beauty”; The Man That Got Away ng “A Star Is Born”; at ang Let It Go ng “Frozen.”
“I watched Sleeping Beauty so many times on VHS that I wore out the tape,” ani Kerrie Anne. “(As for) Whitney, she was pretty much all I sang in my teens.”
Ayon pa sa kanya, “Judy Garland is my hero and I have always dreamed of being a Disney Princess and Les Misérables was my first professional show. The title Pictures has multiple meanings for me.” (KAREN VALEZA)
