LES MISERABLES Reivews- Page 2

[Kad]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 2:17pm

No, it was him with his shirt fully open.

[bwayrose7]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 2:31pm

Thanks for the rhymes, guys- just made my boring afternoon that much better :)

Best wishes to everyone involved with the show!

[tmcgriff]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 2:53pm

Maybe he plucked a hair every day he was in there?

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 3:11pm

As I watched their performance on GMA i really don't expect it getting good reviews!
but you never know!

Translation: I'm 13 and I was watching TV. It was a musical number that wasn't Defying Gravity and idin and Christianne weren't in it. No way they will get a good review from the review people.

But I don't know anything so they could get a good review. I don't know lololol

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 3:52pm

It's really such a ridiculous picture, lol.

[Wildcard]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 4:02pm

As Ulla says, "when you got it, flaunt it"

[Broadwayboy2631]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 4:11pm

I'm all for looking at that chest, but this crap is just gratuitous. Only in porn, will you see a long-term prisoner with a bare chest and a lean six pack.

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 4:23pm

Looks ALMOST the same...

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 4:30pm

If he just trimmed instead of waxed, it wouldn't look so odd. He looks good, but the smooth chest looks out of place. I haven't seen this production. Is there any reason behind him ripping his shirt open or is it just random?

[evic]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 4:58pm

He should be featured in the Broadway Bares show. Hot!

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 6:41pm

I also heard that, taking their cue from the movie, they sing each song live when they perform it... copycats!

[ACL2006]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 7:32pm

this thread is 2 pages long already and there's not one actual review.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 7:37pm

"this thread is 2 pages long already and there's not one actual review."

There's only two reviews so far!

David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter: "Despite that running time, this reboot feels faster, grittier, gloomier and, above all, more emphatic than ever, which is saying something for a show that was always an unrelenting assault on the tear ducts...Ramin Karimloo has been celebrated for his musical theater performances in London, but his Broadway debut has been a long time coming and he doesn't disappoint. His Jean Valjean has the brawn and the brooding demeanor of a man who has endured two decades of incarcerated hard labor on minor charges. But he also brings the requisite spiritual elevation of the transformed Valjean, without forcing the victimized character's saintliness...Sure, there's no disguising the Cliffs Notes feel of the adaptation. The storytelling is so compacted that plot points whiz by like blurred subway stops on an express train, making this less a narrative than a machine...But the inbuilt emotional sensations of the show are what matter. Judging by the vocal crowd response when favorite characters appear (even the plucky urchin Gavroche gets screaming entrance applause), or when the first bars of one of the endlessly refrained key musical motifs are heard, story is no longer the point. This critic-proof production will likely speak loudest to young audiences coming to it onstage relatively fresh - not those of us who have been anesthetized by 30 years of over-exposure. And maybe that's just as it should be."

Mark Kennedy, Associated Press: "The well-traveled "Les Miserables" has rolled into town for its third bite at the Broadway apple - not to mention fresh off a celebrated 2012 film - but there's nothing tiresome about its gloomy, aching heartbeat...It's beautifully sung and acted - Ramin Karimloo, Will Swenson, Caissie Levy and Nikki M. James as leads can do no wrong - and the clever sets, superb lighting and moving projections highlight a creative team fully embracing Victor Hugo's epic novel about good and evil, revolution and romance, in 19th-century France...Projections by Fifty-Nine Productions are subtle until brilliant, especially the plunge into the sewers in Act 2. There is no massive spinning turntable on the stage, as in previous incarnations, but it isn't missed...The hits keep coming, and thanks to reprises, keep coming: "I Dreamed a Dream," 'Do You Hear the People Sing?" and "One Day More." The melodies are as grandiose as the story. And here, the voices and look of the show wonderfully match. Bring your flag."
Updated On: 3/23/14 at 07:37 PM

[NewYorkTheater]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 8:16pm

Les Miserables Review: Darkened Stages, Brilliant Broadway Cast

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 8:34pm

What's with his facial hair? Either give him a beard or don't.

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 8:39pm

"this thread is 2 pages long already and there's not one actual review."

I check the proper BWW News page for reviews. This is more for people to wait to give their opinions about the reviews, the state of theater criticism, how a certain critic is biased for this show, biased against it, why no one mentioned that the audience "booed" Ramin, and on and on.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 8:48pm

I prefer to read the reviews here, since it was limelightmike's idea in the first place, and I like the idea of the links and criticism on the criticism all in one thread.

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 9:10pm

Didn't David Rooney once review for the New York Times, didn't he give Newsies a rave out of town at the Papermill for Ben Brantley to slate it when it made it to Broadway?

Updated On: 3/23/14 at 09:10 PM

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 9:13pm

NBC is positive:
"Who is he? Who is he? He's Ramin Karimloo, and as Jean Valjean, he's the main reason to reacquaint yourself with the "newly reimagined" revival of "Les Miserables," now open at the Imperial Theatre... this "Les Miz" is Karimloo's story. I was awed by the actor's soaring voice, particularly during the final notes of "Bring Him Home," which seem to last blissfully forever. He's captivating and charismatic...Ultimately, the dynamic between his Javert and Karimloo's Valjean feels a bit askew. How could anyone, really, possess the gravitas of this Valjean, and thus seem a suitable rival? Still, Swenson's second act soliloquy, in which he pledges to escape from the world of Jean Valjean, is a high point."

I'm not surprised by the praise for Ramin, but the production & supporting performances are garnering some decent reviews so far...
NBC Review

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 9:28pm

Entertainment Weekly gave the show an "A-"

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20364394_20799569,00.html

[fingerlakessinger]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 9:32pm

Between this, and ALADDIN, I'm utterly shocked by the reviews.

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 9:35pm

Go Les Mis! I love how all of the shows that everyone hates here are getting great reviews! :P

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 9:37pm

Are you guys seeing the same shows as the critics?

The consensus of opinions among BWW posters and the consensus of theatre critics has been pretty disparate lately.

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 9:50pm

Newsday is POSITIVE:

If we need a reason for yet-another revival of "Les Misérables" -- and I'm afraid some of us do -- the answer reveals itself in the first scene and stays riveting until the strenuous three-hour epic's final moments.

The reason is Ramin Karimloo. This Iranian-born, Canadian-raised, rising star from London galvanizes the newly staged production with a portrayal of Jean Valjean that might cause both the Miz-weary and the Miz-averse to soften some resistance.

In fact, this smartly cast "Les Miz," directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell, has clearer, tighter storytelling and less bombast than the internationally celebrated 1987 original. The new sets, without the famous turntable, are basically dark, painted flats and videos that must facilitate touring, which this production, not surprisingly, has been doing.

Ramin is getting love letter after love letter.
Newsday Review

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/23/14 at 10:02pm

Utterly shocked by these reviews. The constant comments in reviews about this being "darker and grittier" than the original strike me as odd. I thought the original staging was much darker and grittier than this new production. I am also wondering how much of an impact Ramin Karimloo has on the overall production since the critics are RAVING about him. The production I saw (without him) was dreadful. Maybe he is the glue for this production.
Always happy to see a show get good reviews, it just surprises me when a production as cheap as this gets all the accolades in the world.