Posted: 3/19/16 at 1:41pm
Has anyone seen John Owen Jones in Les Mis since he started a few weeks ago? I know he was absolutely amazing in the role when I saw him in the revival a few years ago. I was just wondering how he is now considering he hasn't played the role in a few years. Thanks for any comments :)
Posted: 3/19/16 at 2:04pm
I saw him and thought he was fantastic. His acting in the role really sets him apart in my opinion.
However, out of the new cast members since I last saw it a few months ago, Alison Luff and Hayden Tee were the real standouts to me. Hayden Tee absolutely blew me away.
Posted: 3/19/16 at 2:10pm
Hayden Tee really does knock Javert out of the park.
Posted: 3/19/16 at 5:05pm
John Owen Jones is the definitive Valjean to me. He knows what acting through song is.
It would have been the best moment in the history of movie making if he had played the role in the film version.
Posted: 3/19/16 at 5:13pm
JOJ is great, but the production is feeling a little stale.
Posted: 3/19/16 at 7:03pm
He's the best Valjean I've ever seen. I had known his voice for a long time before I saw him in this production, but what touched me most was his acting. Every choice and every detail just felt so right for the character.
I thought Hayden Tee was great too, although a little overdone for my taste.
Posted: 4/10/16 at 7:17pm
Well I caught this production again this afternoon. So far my track record with this production has not been good when it comes to attendance of the leading man. Ramin was out when I saw the show in the second week of previews, and Alfie Boe was out both times I tried to see him. And, of course, John Owen-Jones, was out this afternoon. I don't know what is going on with the schedule the Jean Valjeans with this production - especially since I have specifically asked at the box office on the day of the performance when I purchased my tickets if a certain Jean Valjean would be on and assured he would be, only then to arrive at the theatre that night to see he was out. It's not even that I am going on the same night. I have seen the show on a Monday, Saturday night, Sunday night, and Sunday afternoon, and there has been an understudy every time. It's disappointing.
The production is disappointing, and it has only gotten worse over the years. It is dirt cheap, and the cast (both leads and ensemble) are delivering passable, but very generic and unexciting performances. I think that Encores! would do a better job with the set design for one of their one weekend concerts of the show than what is currently being billed as a full fledged Broadway production at the Imperial. And lord knows they could find better vocalists.
You know there's a problem with the cast when the only standouts are Fantine and Eponine. Allison Luff's Fantine was out of this world amazing. It's such a shame she was only on stage for maybe fifteen minutes. She surpassed every cast member on that stage by MILES. She was definitely better than Caissie Levy and Montego Glover. Levy was passable, but Glover was pretty painful to watch. Also, Brennyn Lark's Eponine is simply fantastic. Beyond those those two, though, there are absolutely no standouts.
I can definitely see why this is closing in September. I have been disappointed in this production from the get go when I saw it on tour, but I have kept hoping the various cast changes would breathe new life into the production. Sadly, that has never been the case. However, I will say that Allison Luff's Fantine is worth the price of a ticket.
Posted: 4/11/16 at 12:02am
bwayphreak234 said: "
The production is disappointing, and it has only gotten worse over the years. It is dirt cheap, and the cast (both leads and ensemble) are delivering passable, but very generic and unexciting performances. I think that Encores! would do a better job with the set design for one of their one weekend concerts of the show than what is currently being billed as a full fledged Broadway production at the Imperial. And lord knows they could find better vocalists.
You know there's a problem with the cast when the only standouts are Fantine and Eponine. Allison Luff's Fantine was out of this world amazing. It's such a shame she was only on stage for maybe fifteen minutes. She surpassed every cast member on that stage by MILES. She was definitely better than Caissie Levy and Montego Glover. Levy was passable, but Glover was pretty painful to watch. Also, Brennyn Lark's Eponine is simply fantastic. Beyond those those two, though, there are absolutely no standouts.
I can definitely see why this is closing in September. I have been disappointed in this production from the get go when I saw it on tour, but I have kept hoping the various cast changes would breathe new life into the production. Sadly, that has never been the case. However, I will say that Allison Luff's Fantine is worth the price of a ticket.
"
I could not agree with you more. I also saw a Valjean understudy last week (whom I actually liked quite a bit, I thought he was one of the stronger performances of the evening). But everyone else ranged from fine to awful with the exception of Eponine, who blew my socks off. What a voice. Marius was awful. I thought his voice was so nasaly it was an affectation. Cosette seemed hesitant and pitchy. I thought the projections looked cheap and tacky. Even the orchestra sounded bad. The horns in particular had several moments of sour notes. I just don't understand, was there really nobody better they could find for these roles? Surely there must be.
Posted: 4/11/16 at 12:08am
It was never the same for me when they gave the turntable the old heave ho.Never again to see the actors walk in a circle.They lost me after that.i
Posted: 4/11/16 at 12:13am
This Marius is certainly not the greatest and I've seen probably a dozen.
Also, to follow up on John Owen Jones, apparently there was a severe cat allergy problem: https://www.instagram.com/p/BD_r4LXTcbj/
Posted: 4/11/16 at 9:22am
bwayphreak, I'm so sorry to hear about the poor principal Valjean attendance in your experiences! For what it's worth, I've seen the Valjean understudy more often than not in my handful of visits to the show, too. It's unfortunate that it seems rather completely unpredictable.
Posted: 4/11/16 at 10:16am
I agree about the loss of the turntable. I saw the revamped show where I live about 3 years ago, and removing the turntable took a lot of the 'cinematic' look out of the show. The instrumental reprise of 'Bring Him Home' after the fall of the barricade has absolutely no punch now. It used to be (spoilers!) when they revolved the turntable from the back (where Javert was looking for Valjean) to the front (where all the dead students were slumped among the wreckage) it was a hugely powerful moment. Now all they do is wheel a cart onstage with Enjolras and Gavroche's bodies on it, turn on a spotlight, and then wheel it off. Not the same, at all.
Posted: 4/11/16 at 7:50pm
Yes, the turntable was a big part of the show! Too bad it went MIA in the revamped version.
I saw the Manila production almost two weeks ago ( Aussie Simon Gleeson as Valjean, Earl Carpenter as Javert, Rachelle Ann Go as Fantine) which opened in early March, with Cameron Mackintosh presiding on Opening Night.
Les Miserables is a special favorite with me...and my own test of a staging ( I have now seen it 10 times, in various venues) is whether I am tear-filled at certain moments. In all the versions I have seen, where there was a turntable, I would become choked when I see the fallen young rebels dead on the barricade, as the scene makes a full turn with the turntable ...and Bring Him Home poignantly plays in the background.
I missed that in this revised production
Btw, in the film adaptation, there was no turntable for that scene. But it was equally powerful, because it showed Enjolras and Grnantaire's faces as they faced certain death, defiantly raising the red flag of revolution...and followed by that heartbreaking scene of Enjolras lying upside down from the window, while the full orchestral score thunders on! Sniffles again!
Posted: 4/12/16 at 8:32pm
This is probably the wrong place to ask, but when does Gavin lee leave for spongebob? They already started rehearsals. They should be getting a replacement soon.
Posted: 4/12/16 at 8:44pm
jo said: "Yes, the turntable was a big part of the show! Too bad it went MIA in the revamped version.
I saw the Manila production almost two weeks ago ( Aussie Simon Gleeson as Valjean, Earl Carpenter as Javert, Rachelle Ann Go as Fantine) which opened in early March, with Cameron Mackintosh presiding on Opening Night.
Les Miserables is a special favorite with me...and my own test of a staging ( I have now seen it 10 times, in various venues) is whether I am tear-filled at certain moments. In all the versions I have seen, where there was a turntable, I would become choked when I see the fallen young rebels dead on the barricade, as the scene makes a full turn with the turntable ...and Bring Him Home poignantly plays in the background.
I missed that in this revised production
Btw, in the film adaptation, there was no turntable for that scene. But it was equally powerful, because it showed Enjolras and Grnantaire's faces as they faced certain death, defiantly raising the red flag of revolution...and followed by that heartbreaking scene of Enjolras lying upside down from the window, while the full orchestral score thunders on! Sniffles again!
"
For me, it's that image of Enjolras sprawled out that gets me in every stage production as well as the movie. In this 25th Anniversary production, it still has an impact on me because after they load his body into the cart, they lift it up and spin it around so he's still lying there, arms flung out to the side. I remember reading once, years ago, that they staged it that way in the original production to make him appear as if on a crucifix. I loved that they still included it with the new staging. While it doesn't have the full emotional impact of the barricade with all of the students, I still thought it was very well done and it always hits me when that white light shines on him and Gavroche in the cart.
Posted: 4/13/16 at 4:07pm
One of the (many) major problems I have with this production is the use of the white hot beams of light inflicted upon each character when they die. It is truly a horrible directorial/lighting decision IMO.
Posted: 4/13/16 at 9:01pm
bwayphreak234 said: "One of the (many) major problems I have with this production is the use of the white hot beams of light inflicted upon each character when they die. It is truly a horrible directorial/lighting decision IMO.
Of course, you are not just referring to the 25th anniversary staging as that technique was used int the original staging as well.
Posted: 4/13/16 at 10:20pm
I was gonna say, that's one thing they didn't change.
Posted: 7/20/16 at 6:55pm
I am bumping this thread. I caught the Wednesday matinee of Les Mis today. John Owen-Jones and Hayden Tee was in today. All I can say was wow. Since it was a Wednesday Matinee, I was expecting some of the cast to be out, but everyone was in. I was simply blown away by JOJ and Tee's performance. While the show is a classic, I think the performance I saw today is probably one of the best performances of any show I have seen in a long time. It should be a crime if you don't catch either JOJ or Tee perform before the show ends in September.
Updated On: 7/20/16 at 06:55 PM
Posted: 7/20/16 at 6:55pm
Double post
Updated On: 7/20/16 at 06:55 PM
Posted: 7/20/16 at 7:34pm
Dave13 said: "I am bumping this thread. I caught the Wednesday matinee of Les Mis today. John Owen-Jones and Hayden Tee was in today. All I can say was wow. Since it was a Wednesday Matinee, I was expecting some of the cast to be out, but everyone was in. I was simply blown away by JOJ and Tee's performance. While the show is a classic, I think the performance I saw today is probably one of the best performances of any show I have seen in a long time. It should be a crime if you don't catch either JOJ or Tee perform before the show ends in September. "
I've seen Hayden Tee as Javert three times now and he is just unbelievably good. I had never heard of him before he joined the cast and was just blown away the first time I saw him. Definitely worth seeing.
Posted: 7/21/16 at 10:42am
Dave13 said: "I am bumping this thread. I caught the Wednesday matinee of Les Mis today. John Owen-Jones and Hayden Tee was in today. All I can say was wow. Since it was a Wednesday Matinee, I was expecting some of the cast to be out, but everyone was in. I was simply blown away by JOJ and Tee's performance. While the show is a classic, I think the performance I saw today is probably one of the best performances of any show I have seen in a long time. It should be a crime if you don't catch either JOJ or Tee perform before the show ends in September.
I have to second that. I was at Wednesday's matinee, as well, and Owen-Jones and Tee were spectacular. JOJ may have been the best Valjean I've seen since Colm Wilkinson. It was that good.
"
Posted: 7/21/16 at 12:21pm
Does anybody know of any upcoming principal cast vacations in Les Miz? Seeing the show in a couple of days and hoping to see everybody intact.
Posted: 7/21/16 at 1:58pm
BroadwayConcierge said: "Does anybody know of any upcoming principal cast vacations in Les Miz? Seeing the show in a couple of days and hoping to see everybody intact.
LIterally a "couple of days"? I don't know about vacations, and you may well already know this, but I recall reading that JOJ doesn't perform Tuesday nights.
"
Posted: 7/21/16 at 3:29pm
Eliza2 said: "Dave13 said: "I am bumping this thread. I caught the Wednesday matinee of Les Mis today. John Owen-Jones and Hayden Tee was in today. All I can say was wow. Since it was a Wednesday Matinee, I was expecting some of the cast to be out, but everyone was in. I was simply blown away by JOJ and Tee's performance. While the show is a classic, I think the performance I saw today is probably one of the best performances of any show I have seen in a long time. It should be a crime if you don't catch either JOJ or Tee perform before the show ends in September. "
I've seen Hayden Tee as Javert three times now and he is just unbelievably good. I had never heard of him before he joined the cast and was just blown away the first time I saw him. Definitely worth seeing.
"
I find Hayden's Javert to be more of a callous and relentless inspector than someone with a nearly morbid obsession over his own understanding of justice. Just my two cents.
