abbeycat
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Do you hear the accents?slightly O/Tsomething that has bothered me for a while......
As I am British with a Brit accent (not quite Mary Poppins but close,lol!) I wanted to ask all on this board (especially from the US!) if when you watch the video of Cats you are aware that they sing in a British accent? ('aware' as in does it stand out as British?) I was listening to JSFJC and suddenly thought about how they sing certain words (waah for wire taah for tyre etc etc) and how it appears to others. I dont notice it but I do notice american accents on my Bway recording/Aus recording etc.
And another thing, when you see a Brit attempt to sing/speak in an American accent (as a character in a show) do you notice that it's not quite as American as it should be? (the best example I can give here is me watching the Jekyll and Hyde DVD and hearing a BWay cast speak in Posh British accents. I can still hear a slight US accent underneath.)
Hmmm... maybe I should have thought about this question a bit harder before trying to put into words what is in my head,lol!
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Moongewl
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I don't really notice it, in Cats or otherwise, but if I listen for it I can hear it. It doesn't bother me at all.
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littlgriz
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Re: Do you hear the accents?slightly O/T | abbeycat wrote: | something that has bothered me for a while......
As I am British with a Brit accent (not quite Mary Poppins but close,lol!) I wanted to ask all on this board (especially from the US!) if when you watch the video of Cats you are aware that they sing in a British accent? ('aware' as in does it stand out as British?) I was listening to JSFJC and suddenly thought about how they sing certain words (waah for wire taah for tyre etc etc) and how it appears to others. I dont notice it but I do notice american accents on my Bway recording/Aus recording etc.
And another thing, when you see a Brit attempt to sing/speak in an American accent (as a character in a show) do you notice that it's not quite as American as it should be? (the best example I can give here is me watching the Jekyll and Hyde DVD and hearing a BWay cast speak in Posh British accents. I can still hear a slight US accent underneath.)
Hmmm... maybe I should have thought about this question a bit harder before trying to put into words what is in my head,lol! |
yes der sis i knowe i wase talking to my dad and he ses chers alot hes frum liverpool so thay do talk alot difrent alot of people ask us wer wer frum be caouse wer frum the south 
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*asterix*
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Yes, I hear the accents, but doesn't bother me when it concerns the accent of a place that the production is local to. American accents on Broadway and British accents in the West End (for me, the video gets filed as an off-shoot of the London production) just seems, well, appropriate.
I don't think it's the same as a character who is *supposed* to have a certain country's accent. I don't see cats as having any one set accent. The majority ofthe actors you are going to get for a show will be from the country in which it is being staged so... the accents are to be expected.
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Nemi
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In song, accents sometimes aren't as apparent. For some reason, when British actors speak with American accents, I'm flabbergasted. It doesn't compute with me that they should be able to immitate my accent just as easily as I theirs, or any other accent.
Hmm.
But no, it doesn't bother me at all... the only 'accent' characters I think of are Mungojerrie, Rumpleteazer, and Skimbleshanks... And when they don't hove them... I really don't care all that much.
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Filakatessa
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When I hear the video version of Cats I hear accents. There are ones that are more prominent than others, but they are there. I think that's why some people feel obligated to sing MJ&RT with cockney accents.
I like that I can hear the accents, though. It makes the show more unique to the characters they are playing.
It's similar to any child who tries to sing "Castle on a Cloud" like Cosette...they're gonna want to have an accent. I know I did.
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Rumpleteazer4760
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With me, it registers that they have British accents but it doesn't bother me. Actually, it tends to bother me more when they don't have British accents because I was introduced to the show through the Video and listened to it for quite some time before I ever saw the show live in the US. I also tend to sing some of the lyrics the way I hear them on the Video (with a British accent) either because that's how I'm most used to hearing them sung or because I was taught to sing certain sounds with a British accent (because it's easier to sing them that way). But, as Nemi mentioned, accents aren't as obvious when one is singing.
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Cassandra
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| Nemi wrote: | | For some reason, when British actors speak with American accents, I'm flabbergasted. It doesn't compute with me that they should be able to immitate my accent just as easily as I theirs, or any other accent. |
I'm the same way, Nemi.
And I usually don't pay attention to the accents much unless I know for a fact that the person playing the American is actually British. For example, I believe the first movie I ever saw Minnie Driver in was Gross Pointe Blank (she didn't have a British accent in that, did she? Maybe I'm thinking of Return to Me). Didn't even think for a second she was British, she was that good at the American accent. I was dumbfounded when I found out otherwise. However, it's easier for me to find flaws when I know beforehand that the actor is British. When I go see the movie Click next month, I'll probably be listening to every word Kate Beckinsale speaks just to see if I can hear any flubs in her American accent.
For some reason, I'm not really impressed when an American does a British accent, but I'm amazed when it's the other way around. *shrug*
ETA: I think what we notice is that the person attempting the accent is trying too hard. Like, I'll notice that a Brit's American accent is overly American, very exaggerated in a way, if that makes any sense. It's probably the same when an American attempts a British accent.
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Swan
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Have you ever seen the "making of" for the London production of Chicago? It is amazing! The Brithsh performers are all together in a room and learn the American accent, repeating certain sentences over and over, with a pronounce teacher who listens and corrects them. It looks like they are having great fun! 
Swan
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enkeli-kitten
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I hardly even noticed they have accents. That's probably because I'm used to American and British films because hardly ever are there New Zealand accents in movies. ^_^ But I notice Skimbleshanks, Jellylorum's and Mungo & Teazer's more becasue they're different to the others.
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abbeycat
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They are all really interesting replies, Thanks everyone.
It's a question I have pondered on (along with others aspects of the show that have already been discussed.)So it's good to know im not the only one who has noticed accents. lol!
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