Les Miserables Tour 2017- Page 4

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 2:44pm

Marway44 said: "Miles2Go2,

Are you seeing it in New Haven?

Actually is anyone seeing it at the Shubert in New Haven? It's a great venue to see Les Mis. It's cozier than these huge touring houses and everyone is closer and more connected to the action. Plus, the sound system is awesome."

No. I’m seeing it in Oklahoma City at the Thelma Gaylord Performing Arts Theatre. I’m slightly concerned because we had awesome seats for Book of Mormon there this year (Left Orchestra, Row A, first 2 seat’s off center aisle). This time there were very few front Orchestra seats available so I snagged us 2 Right Orchestra seats, Row B, but they are the last 2 seats on the far side. Hoping they’re not obstructed view. They’re not marked as such, so fingers crossed. 

[Eliza2]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 3:34pm

I've seen about 17-18 different Javerts and I have to give my vote to Hayden Tee as my favorite. Especially the way he did the moment when he discovered Gavroche after the final barricade.

I never got to see Quast in person though.

[Marway44]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 3:48pm

Miles... The good news is that they removed the big block of speakers that plagued the sides the last time it toured. The bad news is when the two sides come closer to center stage you will most certainly be blocked a little bit. However, I sat at the extreme left side in Hartford Connecticut and only found one or two brief moments when I could not see but it did not disturb the show at all. I specifically recall having a hard time seeing where in Valjean was letting Javert go at the barricades and when the sailors came for the lovely ladies scene. So I would say you are basically going to be fine with the exception of one or two brief moments. This is all of course assuming you are sitting on the left side. If you are on the right and you might miss a couple of ladies in the lovely ladies scene and maybe when Valjean is opening the door to the sewers or they are using that door for the inn. In any case to enjoy and please let us know what you thought after you see it.

Updated On: 8/24/18 at 03:48 PM

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 4:05pm

Marway44, thanks for this. We are sitting Right Orchestra Row on the far right. It sounds like we will be okay.

I saw Hamilton last year in Chicago in Row D far to the right and still had an awesome time even if I couldn’t see far right occurrences especially on upper level.. Of course, I had seen it once before with OBC so that helped although those seats were nosebleed last row of upper mezzanine (Balcony) so seeing it up close was eye-opening in the best way. (I’ve since seen Ham in Chicago again this year from similar seats but closer to center)

So, I’m sure we’ll be okay. I just want my friend to have a great time. She can’t stop raving about our seats for Book of Mormon.

[Marway44]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 4:58pm

Oh yeah Miles, you’ll be perfectly fine on the right. The BOM were perfect! Glad you enjoyed!

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 8/23/18 at 10:29am

Anyone recall what items were available at the merchandise booth?

[Marway44]

Posted: 8/23/18 at 11:01am

I recall magnets, mugs, lots of shirts, a bag, keychains, pins and cd’s. I would go the stand before the show though as the line is ridiculous at the end.

[Stellasteve]

Posted: 9/5/18 at 1:47pm

I apologize for the late post, but hopefully someone still finds this useful.  I saw the very last show in San Francisco before it closed.  I’ve seen Les Mis twice before, once at the Curran when the Fantine Company was there in 1990 and then again 1993 at the De Anza Flint Center, so it has been a long time.  Based on what I’ve read on this board, I was worried that this production would look cheap compared to the original.

First the set: It felt just as grand to me as the original.  There are still very large set pieces, and in some cases I feel like it helped the character actions make more sense than the original production.  My 6-year-old wondered how the barricade would work and was very impressed when the massive pile of furniture rolled out from the rear of the stage.  Javert’s jump from the bridge also had a more dramatic quality to it compared to the original.

The actors overall were very talented: beautiful voices and could emote properly.  I got goosebumps in several of the ensemble songs, and Valjean’s death brought me to tears.  I had seen an earlier post about Fantine belting all through “I Dreamed a Dream.”  The actor just took on the role in August so perhaps she had a rough start, but she seemed to find the nuance the song required by my performance.  My only real cast complaint was Javert.  He reminded me of the Spinal Tap amp: he was always at 10 and had no 11 to go to.  While Valjean was building to the song’s climax, Javert started at a climax and made it hard to hear Valjean at the beginning of “The Confrontation.”  Every song was sung at maximum strength.  His voice was technically beautiful, though.

Finally, there were three of four instances where an actor’s mic cut out.  I’ve only experienced this one other time in all my years of going to the theater.  It always happened during “dialog” portions of songs, so the actors never had a chance to raise their voices to be heard without mic.  Minor annoyance.  Overall, I am very glad I went.

Oh, one other merch item I noticed was a DVD (probably the 25th Anniversary concert).

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 9/24/18 at 2:57am

Saw the last performance of the Oklahoma City stop tonight. I’m primarily acquainted with the music from the movie and the accompanying soundtrack and it’s not music I’m overly familiar with. This was my first time seeing a stage production. It was my belated birthday present to my friend.  
 
I went in tonight with diminished expectations. From what I knew of the show, I was worried I was not going to have a good time, but I actually walked away impressed with what I saw. The cast was uniformly good to great. During the first few songs, I couldn’t make out many of the lyrics, but either the annunciation improved, the sound tech adjusted something or my ears just adjusted because things became clearer. I do think Act 1 drags in places perhaps because so much is crammed in then Act 2 whizzes by, but this seems commonplace with a lot of modern musicals. I thought I was going to make it through the show dry-eyed, but Empty Chairs at Empty Tables hit me right in the solar plexus. I was actually sobbing as the lyrics seemed also to relate to so many who are no longer here (my friends included) due to AIDS and of course those lost in so many wars.

There were a few substitutions in the cast, mainly among the child actors although Caitlin Finnie went on as the understudy for Cosette. She was suberb. Also, Nicholas Edwards went on as the understudy for Enjolras. I had a hard time keeping some characters straight, but if he is the leader of the resistance who is usually wearing a red vest or coat, he was in great voice and was quite easy on the eyes.

While I had a good time and I’m glad to have finally seen a staged production of Les Miz, I don’t feel a need to see it again for awhile. It was by no means a disappointment, but I don’t see it becoming one of my favorites.

I do have a question for those who have seen the tour with Joshua Grosso as Marius. When he is nervous when talking to Cosette, his mannerisms reminded me of Ben Platt’s Dear Evan Hansen. Of course, I’m not aware if this is something every actor portraying Mariius does in quite the same way. But I found it quite endearing and wondered if it was a homage to DEH.

Lastly, from the merchandise table before the show I purchased a magnet and mug. After the show, I purchased the program and the black t-shirt with Les Miserables printed three times across the front.

The rest of our season is a bit disappointing: Love Never Dies, The Phantom of the Opera (my favorite part of the show is the chandelier so I think I can skip this plus the sequel), On Your Feet (I was a Estefan fan [not super fan] back in the day, but still not excited by this), Waitress (loved it on Broadway and might consider seeing it again), Cats (my friend said she wants to see it. I told her they’d have to pay me to suffer through it again). But at least the season ends with Hamilton. The lady who walked out ahead of me tonight said this was the fifth time she had seen Les Miz including traveling to other states to see it. I think she said she first saw it on tour 25 years ago. Not surprisingly it’s her favorite musical. That’s exactly how I feel about Hamilton.

 
Oh, and regarding my earlier post concerning my worry that our far right Orchestra Row B seats would be obstructed view, my concern was unfounded. If our row had indeed been the second row, we would have missed a couple moments from far stage left. However, the way the Orchestra is designed there are two rows then an aisle behind them then Row A. So we were probably the equivalent of five or six rows from the stage. In fact, those first two rows had two far right seats available each and I thought about  suggesting to my friend that we move up at intermission, but I noticed we would’ve traded closer proximity to the stage for missing some extreme left stage activity especially on upper level so we stayed put. 

Also, a belated thought on the stage craft. I was impresssed with the set and how the pieces moved into place. They do rely on some cost-saving projections in place which of course isn’t ideal. I did think the tunnel projections worked best. My friend and I were both blown away by the stage craft involved in Javert’s demise. It was much more inventive than I had anticipated. 

Updated On: 9/24/18 at 02:57 AM

[Marway44]

Posted: 9/24/18 at 8:03am

Thanks for the great review of the show Miles and your great seats.  I'm glad all worked out for you.  I'm 2 weeks away from my next visit in New Haven Ct. 

Joshua did that nervous thing when I saw it when it first opened too and I thought it was so cute and brought an interesting take on the character.  Enjolras does wear the red vest and I'm glad the understudy was good. 

I'll report back after I see it again with an update too.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/24/18 at 10:13am

Joshua Grosso is definitely the most (intentionally) awkward Marius I've ever seen, and the Evan Hansen comparison hadn't occurred to me — but I can see where it comes from!

[Babe_Williams]

Posted: 11/17/19 at 11:16pm

LizzieCurry said: "Joshua Grosso is definitely the most (intentionally) awkward Marius I've ever seen, and the Evan Hansen comparison hadn't occurred to me — but I can see where it comes from!"

 

I know everyone has moved on but i just wanted to bump this. when i saw this production last in March 2018, Josh Grosso's understudy went on. When I saw it over the weekend, Josh in the role and I actually really liked how he played Marius a bit awkward and, dare i say i, funny at times? Marius is written as a sort of a dud of a character, so i liked that in parts, Josh let the character not take himself so seriously and show a little bit of personality.

 

On a different note, i was really glad to see the production once more while Josh and  Nick are still in the leads (i believe that they both are finished the first or second week of December). I do agree that at times, Josh makes some interesting vocal choices but his singing was on point and his version of Stars is one of the best that i have heard. I understand all of the reasons why there won't be any recording of this cast, but i still think its a crime that there won't be any professional recording of Nick Cartell's version of Bring Him Home. Oh well. 

 

[Marway44]

Posted: 11/18/19 at 7:38am

I agree with the Joshua Grosso comments.  He played it awkward with humor but it worked perfectly for the character.  For him, it is love at first site so it makes perfect sense.  It was a refreshing, honest take on the character.  I still do not care for Jillian Butler as Cosette in the end.  She does not cry.  She just sits there with no emotion.  When I saw her last, she almost looked bored in that scene.  I feel the actress playing Cosette should be crying to show how much she loved her "father" and it gets the audience more emotional as well.

Josh Davis does have some interesting vocal choices but they all work as he is so hardened.  His "Stars" is perfection in every way and you can really fell his emotion in his final scene.  I will miss him and Nick dearly.  Nick's "Bring Him Home" is beautiful and sincere.  Also, in my opinion, no one will come close to Alisson Guinn.  Her take on the role was the funniest I've ever seen, yet she doesn't appear to be acting.  She is so genuine in the role, it's not like a cartoon.  I will miss the 3 of them and am glad to see them once more in Waterbury in a few weeks.