Mimi Marquez

IN NO WAY IS THIS FACTUAL OR PROVEN.   THIS IS MERELY HOW I ENVISION THE CHARACTER SHOULD BE INTERPRETED.  ENTIRELY OPINION, I ONLY HAVE  THIS FOR PEOPLE TO KNOW HOW I RATE CHARACTER AND WHY I CRITIQUE THEM THE WAY I DO.

    Mimi is the only character who has a specific age, she’s 19. (Krysten looks it, Simone doesn’t. Marcy looks it, Daphne doesn’t) Not being mean, just the truth. You don’t have to look 19 but you shouldn’t be so old that, that particular line becomes a joke. Being beautiful never hurts. Vocally, Mimi should rock yet be able to convey a vulnerability that moves you to tears.  A rough edge is nice, smoky and unique. Simone pointed out that Mimi should be singing Another Day to herself as well as Roger.  I like that statment because Mimi should be reminding herself as well as coaxing Roger.  There should be struggle as well as conviction when she sings "No Day But Today."  I love how Laura Dias (on a good day) says "forget regret" because she says it with a hint of remorse but with a fierce determination to go on.  Though some people have said Out Tonight is not a song that is pivotal to character development, I disagree. The dancing certainly doesn't give too much background but the entire song reveals much about Mimi.  Director Michael Grief stated that Out Tonight "Covers tremendous pain, shows her inability to be alone which is why she needs to get out ferociously."  I believe that the break between "We're gonna howl tonight" and "In the evening I've gotta roam" should be drastic.  Krysten and Laura bring it down to a sudden whisper which contrasts their previous explosive action in the song.  Julia on the other hand hardly sounds different throughout the entirety of the song. There should be a moment of candid pain that she quickly discards with "where all the scars of the never and maybes die."  The dancing isn't too crucial but there should be reckless abandonment because it could be her last day.  In short, she should be hanging off those bars.  In Another Day, Mimi should be a soothing siren.  Her voice should be enchanting and though she should be belting, she shouldn't be screaming the hell out of lines like "there's only us, only tonight."  Her defiance should grow towards the end but not traumatically.  I Should Tell You is a really lovely number, which should show her reluctance as well.  In the second act she shou;d slowly become estranged afte HNY.  A powerful Goodbye Love and thank you goodnight.

She should be a good mix of a junkie, a lover, a dancer, and a young girl.  She should be full of energy, vulnerable yet with a lust for life, and a tenacity to grasp the few moments she has remaining.  Friends with Angel, and she should grow to liek Mark.

For me, Krysten Cummings is IT.  During Light My Candle she is high and deadpans a lot of lines like an addict, yet still interested and very flirtatious with Roger whoever he may be. More importantly you can see where she is attracted to Roger.  With Luther she laughs while singing at his obvious attraction to her. Having thoroughly charmed in Light My Candle she proceeds to stun in Out Tonight. Called the firecracker by many, Krysten's Out Tonight cannot really be described, she just flies off the bars and twists around them.  She shakes the glitter out of her hair without holding onto the railings heedlessly and then halts tragically at the bridge of the song.  Her Another Day is the most impressive part of her performance.  She is defeated when Roger rejects her but not destroyed.  You can clearly see her hurt and then she collects herself with "the heart may freeze..." and then she begins to sing to Roger.  When he flings her to the door she is so angry and ready to leave but then on sudden impulse slams the structure, swivels, and returns to the table singing in a caressing and ethereal voice "There's only yes..."  She reaches out to Roger, and is different with each.  With Luther she caresses and lures him because he is so injured with supressed anger but when Adam lashes at her she rages back in defiance.   Second Act, Happy New Year should show a new relationship with utter bliss, and she does.  Also upon Benny's accusation Krysten doesn't flinch she did NOT do it (Laura on the other hand is questionable)  Krysten's Without You is heartbreaking, though not the best. She's great at everything.  Her Goodbye Love is tragic, but not full of unnecessary pathos. As much as I love Julia's Goodbye Love, she does go over a bit.    Krysten may not be the best vocally, but when she is well, she has a sensational voice that has the edge the range, the most astounding musical sense without being too showy, she's a wild raunchy graceful firecracker of a dancer, and a hell of an actress.  She's decadent, the real McCoy.

Glitter, it works. Before I saw it, I thought it couldn’t be that big of a deal. It's not essential but just brightens Out Tonight a lot : ) FYI: Daphne uses a shitload, Krysten uses it on occasion but always uses body glitter.  Cheri does and is the body glitter queen .  Laura does sometimes but uses a hell of a lot, Karen does sometimes too.  Julia supposedly does now, but I doubt that would brighten her Out Tonight any.

Lines I like: Call me crazy but I think that a pivotal interpretation moment rests in the line "Maybe could you" during Goodbye love. I really don’t like the Mimi’s who turn to Benny and say this. I really much rather she say it to Mark or to no one in particular. Her solo line in the end of Another Day, "No Day But Today." Please don’t hoot like an owl.

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