LES MISERABLES Tour 2022-24

The latest go-around of :Les Miserables is headed to the West Coast on a tour that started last fall and will continue through next summer. 

This is one of those famous musicals that neither my wife nor I liked all that much when we saw it on tour decades ago, but it didn't help that our seats were terrible and the show does have a lot of good songs. So it's one I feel like we should give another chance when it stops in San Francisco in July.

If anyone has caught the equity tour, tell me (and anyone else interested) know what you think. The cast list includes Nick Cartell as Jean Valjean, Preston Truman Boyd as Javert, Haley Dortch as Fantine, Matt Crowle as Thenardier, and Addie Morales as Cosette. I don't know if everyone listed is still with the show.

Updated On: 5/16/23 at 12:53 AM

The cast is amazing and I had no issues with them when the show came through Detroit. My issues were with the sound design. I saw it four times in Detroit and sat in a different place in the theatre each time and had issues. For some reason it seems like the orchestra is turned way down. I actually looked to see how big the band was and was shocked that it was 16 people. It sounded so thin. IDK what it is, but ever since theatre came back sound design seems to have taken a dive. I never had these issues pre-pandemic. 

Other note, they are using the orchestrations from the recent West End staged concert. Which has some goods and bads. The good is that it restores the intro to "Dreamed a Dream" that was cut with the 25th anniversary orchestrations. THe bad is that musical moments I loved in the 25th orchs. are gone now, or severely downplayed, like the guitar growl after "when I get free you won't see me here for dust". 

I loved this tour. I'm not a super Les Mis fan so I can't pick out the differences, but I'll echo others in that the performances are very powerful. Cartell and Boyd are fabulous and worth the watch. 

 

I saw the Les Miserables tour stop in a packed Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco on Saturday night. First time seeing the show in more than three decades. Still not my favorite musical, but it was a fine production. Nick Cartell is terrific as Jean Valjean, and yes, his ‘Bring Him Home’ is quite something. I also really liked Christine Heesun Hwang as Eponine and Haley Dortch as Fantine.

I have no idea, but part of me is skeptical, if for no other reason than that demand was so high - at least in San Francisco. I thought I overpaid for my orchestra seats (was buying four) but prices went up from there and some seats approached or surpassed $299 for the weekend. The three-week run sold out easily at nosebleed prices. I ended up feeling fortunate to pay $161.50 - about what I paid to see the stellar Into the Woods tour stop in San Francisco (which was an easier ticket, even with all its Tony winners in the cast and a single-week stay).

I’m glad I saw it, because our balcony seats back in 1990 were awful, so it was nice to get a better look at the show - even though the relentless darkness got a bit old. The musical is a bit relentless as it alternates between big group numbers and solo power ballads. Hwang’s Eponine stood out to me because she was able to break through the bombast and the fog to make me really care about her character.

But don’t mind my grumbling. My wife, daughter, and her boyfriend all really enjoyed the show, without any of my reservations. The famous songs are great, the performances are mostly solid. And if it’s doing anywhere close to this well elsewhere, Cameron Macintosh is pulling in big bucks on this tour.

Updated On: 7/22/23 at 10:53 PM

This tour will not close next year.  It is one of the highest grossing shows on the road right now.  

The only Les Mis I had seen before the tour was the movie. I had never seen it in person. And the praise is completely deserved. I loved the cast, yes Nick Cartell is phenomenal....I loved it. Definitely recommend!