Yes, Trevor Nunn, we did forget about you.- Page 2
Yes, Trevor Nunn, we did forget about you.
#25Yes, Trevor Nunn, we did forget about you.
Posted: 7/1/10 at 8:31pm
^ I've yet to see a production of the show without a revolve but based on videos of regional productions that didn't use one, it can be done. The revolve is one way of staging the show, not the only one.
But in response to the matter, I think it's only natural for the original director of what has become one of the most successful musicals of all-time to feel outraged at being snubbed and denied an opportunity to revisit a work he helped create. Fans of Les Miserables certainly remember, and cherish, the contributions Nunn, Caird, and Napier made to the now iconic staging that millions of people worldwide have enjoyed and associate with the show. So, no, he has not been forgotten by the people who matter.
Recreation of original John Cameron orchestration to "On My Own" by yours truly. Click player below to hear.
#26Yes, Trevor Nunn, we did forget about you.
Posted: 7/1/10 at 8:44pm
I'm sorry, I can not get passed the whole bit about a "non-revolving" stage. Can someone explain, please? Les Mis needs a turntable, it's like a signature of the show.
Not counting three school editions, I did see one regional which didn't have a turntable -- or, rather, it did but it was in the round. This was Sacramento Music Circus. I don't think they used it during One Day More.
But either way, that production wasn't very inspired and I do think part of it was a not-well-thought-out use of the turntable they had. (Which is multi-level.)
BTW, it's "past," not "passed."
"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt
#27Yes, Trevor Nunn, we did forget about you.
Posted: 7/1/10 at 8:49pmDoes any show that uses a turntable really need it? Granted, it is a nice little technical addition to aid in transitions and scenic effects, but it's certainly not integral to the plot or anything like that. I would say the barricade is more of a "signature" than the turntable is.
jo
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#28Yes, Trevor Nunn, we did forget about you.
Posted: 7/1/10 at 8:49pm
>>>Fans of Les Miserables certainly remember, and cherish, the contributions Nunn, Caird, and Napier made to the now iconic staging that millions of people worldwide have enjoyed and associate with the show. So, no, he has not been forgotten by the people who matter.<<<
Count me in!
sanda
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/10/04
#29Yes, Trevor Nunn, we did forget about you.
Posted: 7/1/10 at 10:53pmI saw the Chestnut Theatre's Les Miz production in Philly which did a complete new staging without the turntable and it works very effective.
goodmanK
Chorus Member Joined: 3/24/08
#30Yes, Trevor Nunn, we did forget about you.
Posted: 7/2/10 at 12:27am
I agree completely with Trevor and his original team. The reason Les Miz became what it became was because of the brilliant of the original. There are shows like Les Miz that are the best in their original form. Aside from that even, to have the original creative team would be a blessing. Producers are full of greed, and I don't think this particular individual is an exception.
I don't have much of an interest in seeing this new production, especially after this. I hope to keep the memory of that brilliant concept in my mind for a long time.
#31Yes, Trevor Nunn, we did forget about you.
Posted: 7/2/10 at 2:29am
Personally, as much as I adore and prefer the original staging, the real problem I and others have with all this is part of a continual set of bizarre decisions by Cameron Mackintosh that have served only to degrade the show.
Classic musicals are "revamped" all the time and it has become common practice to adapt their various elements for economical reasons. For example, the Sweeney Todd revival took a fresh approach to how its orchestration would be delivered during a live performance. Some people loved it and called it clever, others hated it and called it a gimmick. In the end, it was a noble artistic effort that both showcased an art form usually relegated to a pit and provided live musical accompaniment economically without resorting to synths, Sinfonias, or midi machines. But most importantly, the integrity of the work was respected. They could've gone the sneaky Les Mis Broadway revival route and hired someone to write a completely new and completely boring new orchestration that resembled a bunch of soup cans being banged together. And if that's not enough, they could've had the nerve to market the new sound as a much-needed update to an orchestral score that, by then, had become iconic.
Now, Mackintosh has decided that audiences don't want to see a carbon copy of the well-known RSC production and has resorted to unnecessary extremes that have both deeply angered and saddened devoted fans of the piece. He has taken cheap shots at his own award-winning production, openly stating in the press that he thinks it's outdated and no longer usable. He's even bemoaned the fact it's so revered and iconic, saying one of the main objectives in the staging of the new production is to avoid conjuring up memories of the Nunn/Caird staging at all costs.
The passionless new orchestrations have done enough harm to the show, now he wants to actively avoid everything that helped make the staging of the show an overwhelming success. It's this strange attitude people have a problem with, that there needs to be change for the sake of change rather than a truly compelling artistic need for it. And suspicions have thus far proven correct because there has been an undeniable dip in the show's quality which is now so full bombast and staged so chaotically, it serves to distract one from what the show was always about, and ultimately, the reason for it's global success: the story.
Nunn and Caird achieved something rare in their original RSC presentation of Les Miserables--a show that both dazzled and moved audiences deeply. The set by John Napier encapsulated Hugo's tale from the world outside with its crude, prison-like, crumbling and towering set on all sides. Shrouded by darkness, the characters' stories played out with such freedom of movement, the revolve itself became an integral component in the story-telling. It did more than just spin the cast around or facilitate set changes. It was used to such an extent in telling the individual stories that when all the characters band together for the act one finale, face the audience, and defiantly march in unison against the direction of the revolve as one, one can't help but sit there in awe. It's a moment enhanced by technology, not made by it as the number as staged by Nunn and Caird would achieve the same impact performed on a street in broad sunlight.
The hard-working revolve will definitely be missed but I do wish for the new production success. While I will never forgive the sacking of John Cameron's beautiful, sincere orchestrations for the new bombastic, distracting ones, I thought I was about ready to accept this new staging...and then articles such as these come out of nowhere. It's just so very sad to see such a beautiful thing that has brought so much joy to my life cheapened by changes it didn't need in the first place and misguided motives.
Recreation of original John Cameron orchestration to "On My Own" by yours truly. Click player below to hear.
#32Yes, Trevor Nunn, we did forget about you.
Posted: 7/2/10 at 10:19am
This is all about CM wanting it to be 'Cameron Mackintosh's Les Miz', rather tha 'Les Miserables' directed by Trevor Nunn and John Caird.
His best productions have been the ones where strong directors have reminded him that his job is counting beans. The man is a frustrated director who bullies those he employs into doing what he thinks they should do, instead of letting them use their expertise fully, (see ALW for similar trait). If that's what he thinks he can be, he should grow some nuts and do what Hal Prince did when he moved from producing to directing.
