LES MISERABLES Reivews- Page 4

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 11:42am

Biggest how?

Brantley is not going to review a show every time a producer feels it should never go away.

Believe me, if the NYT cared more about these shows Brantley would have been there.

[morosco]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 12:24pm

...though I sure he has some makeup to detail his abs more, I will have to say that most of that is very natural!

Agreed. I was dead wrong. Saw those abs in some show footage and they are unquestionably real.

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 12:28pm

"That's probably exactly why people are going to see this."

"Probably exactly" has to be my new favorite way to make a seemingly definitive statement, while simultaneously saying you're making it all up.

[Wildcard]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 12:50pm

I know I'm the minority on this but I actually like the newer production compared to the original. I do think they improved upon the sets and costumes. The projections actually work and are not distracting. The only time I miss the turntable is Gavroche's death and the reveal of Enjorlas' body. Otherwise, while it is a smaller production, it does feel bigger to me. What I don't like about the new production is the tempo of the numbers and how the big ballads all seem to have to be belted by the performers.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 1:00pm

I like the tempos and the newer orchestations, although I wish they hadn't made so many cuts to the 25th anniversary tour cast recording.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 1:52pm

I am glad to see Isherwood reviewing stuff. His reviews are so much better.

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 2:02pm

"I like the tempos and the newer orchestations..."

Now that you mention it, I did feel "On My Own" was overly fast in this revival for seemingly no reason.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 4:33pm

Odd that people would criticize any actor playing Valjean for being ripped. Remarkable physical strength and fitness are not only character traits given to him by Hugo but are essential to the plot.


"The constant comments in reviews about this being "darker and grittier" than the original strike me as odd." This frequently happens with the revival of any musical with a somber libretto: an absurd amnesia that the show was always dark and an insistence that the gravity of the proceedings is some kind of innovation.
Updated On: 3/24/14 at 04:33 PM

[ethan231h]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 4:43pm

don't forget about other big shows like Cabaret, If/Then, and Hedwig

[AndrewAndrew]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 7:06pm

Having never seen or heard Les Miserables (not even the film), what was our reaction to seeing Les Miserables for the first time on Broadway? Watch our review and find out!
Click for review of LES MISERABLES

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 7:07pm

Oh for crap's sake.

[mjohnson2]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 7:12pm

Oh my goodness Andrew Andrew, you guys are actually my favorite. How on earth have you never seen Les Miz? No matter, I still love your reviews.
PS, it's pronounced like Rameen

[AndrewAndrew]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 7:20pm

@mjohnson2

Thanks for the heads up with pronunciation tip; he was truly phenomenal!

We thought that we would get slack for not seeing it! But now we are slightly obsessed with the score. Truly it is a great work of art. Guess we saved one of the best for last!

Cheers!
~AA

@FindingNamo Thanks for the heads up on our typo
Updated On: 3/24/14 at 07:20 PM

[sueb1863]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 8:01pm

That was a fun review, A&A! Glad you enjoyed it! Check out the 10th and 25th Les Miz anniversary shows if you want to see more, there are lots of great performances out there. Ramin Karimloo plays Enjolras in the 25th anniversary show done at the O2, and the 10th anniversary concert performance features several actors from the original 1985 West End cast.



Updated On: 3/24/14 at 08:01 PM

[AndrewAndrew]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 8:08pm

@sueb1863

Thanks! So glad we finally saw it!
In regards to other productions, the moment we got home that night we scoured Apple TV / YouTube for any and all shows! :)

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 8:13pm

"We thought that we would get slack for not never seeing it!"

No, that's not never not only why you'll not never get slack.

[sueb1863]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 8:27pm

:) Fortunately there's tons of Les Miz stuff out there! You'll have a blast going through all the goodies.

I highly recommend 'Les Miserables: Stage By Stage', a documentary done around 1990 that detailed the show's genesis and its (then newly launched) international productions. There are several fascinating clips of segments of the show done in different languages on stages around the world.

There's also a really interesting segment done on ABC's 20/20 that aired right before the show opened on Broadway in 1987. I'm pretty sure that's on YouTube.

Updated On: 3/24/14 at 08:27 PM

[AndrewAndrew]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 8:31pm

@sueb1863

Same thing happened when we saw the revival of Evita in 2012. We ending up spending a lot of time looking through YouTube videos of older productions!

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 8:33pm

"We thought that we would get slack for not never seeing it!"

No, that's not never not only why you'll not never get slack.

[DAME]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 8:45pm

That was such a fun review to watch. And you boys are kind of hot.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/28/14 at 11:45am

Saw it last night and it is really a first rate revival

We joked immediately that the turntable was gone. Seriously, everyone in the cast is first rate. Ramin acted and sang the hell out of Valjean. Swenson held his own as Javert. From top to bottom, the cast is uniformly great.

Much has been said of darkness of the sets. Well duh that is what they are supposed to look like. There were plenty of 3 dimensional sets. What helped this revival immensely was the projections by the same team that did similar duties on Big Fish. Whether it was Valjean in the Paris sewers or the rebels marching in Paris or Javert suicide, the projections really did the trick.

The orchestrations were up to the task.

During the opening chords of Bring Him Home, we immediately started thinking about Forbidden Broadway and the song "Bring It Down/The Keys To High". We looked at each other & had a silent laugh.

Naturally they were selling stuff. Inexplicably, there was no hoodie or baseball cap or sleep shirt much to my wife's unhappiness. She had to settle for a $40 tee shirt and naturally the fridge magnet. Food was being hawked like at a baseball games including a $ 14 wines in their shubert cups. Latecomers were few and far between except some couple who came in midway thru act 1

I have seen the obligatory standing ovations everyone mentions . The standing O here was instantaneous and heart felt. This was a standing o that raised the roof.

P.S.

If you want to see what the evil Mr R looks like with his wife, go onto facebook. It is under name Marsha Hoffman Diamond(my wife's account)

Updated On: 3/28/14 at 11:45 AM

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 3/28/14 at 11:57am

Your command of the adverb in this post is capital, Roxy.

“We joked immediately that the turntable was gone” is the best sentence in this thread. Please never provide more explanation about it.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/28/14 at 12:28pm

To Growler

You are on ignore so do not waste your time ripping me. Carry on

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 3/28/14 at 12:29pm

Come on. That was just too easy. Right? I mean, right?

How on earth could you expect us all to resist when it's that easy?

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 3/28/14 at 12:31pm

If he's on ignore, how did you see that he posted?!

Not to mention, wouldn't it be more fun to rip someone knowing they were active in the thread but also unable to see it?!