The 25th anniversary concert was very enjoyable, but the more I think about it, the direction did not help.
I remember watching the 10th anniversary concert back when it first aired on PBS, and I thought the actors not looking at each other was odd, even awkward, too. But every now and then, something would remind me it is a concert. Having the actors' mouths glued to the mic while trying to establish eye contact would have been even more awkward.
I thought the direction for the 25th anniversary concert worked well in the large ensemble numbers, but the fact it was made to almost resemble staging only worked against the concert format. I noticed I grew increasingly frustrated by the lack of eye contact and now I'm sure it was due to it having all this movement and blocking as in a traditional stage show of a musical, but with everyone singing out to the audience and ignoring each other. They probably should have stuck with one concept instead of trying to mix formats which only results in them clashing.
In that case, a staged presentation much in the style of the 2008 Hollywood Bowl concert might've been a much better idea. The actors wouldn't be glued to mics, could actually move around, and the staging and blocking would incorporate nicely instead of making all the inconsistencies stand out.
Ken Caswell's 10th anniversary concert direction may have been more straight forward and not as flashy, but it did achieve what's important here, and that's focus on the characters and their stories. The 25th anniversary was attractive but it was at times a bit distracting and I didn't feel as connected with the character's emotional journeys and was less engrossed in the tale than when I've watched the 10th anniversary concert.
The changes to the orchestration I'll never forgive. The huge orchestra on display was just that--a display. The majority of the time only a handful are playing at the same time and they only all play together for the musical interludes or instrumental sections. As soon as the singing starts, it sounds like a 5 piece band. And that's just size, which I'm not really all that concerned about; the changes to the orchestration to a reedy, bright, cartoonish sound isn't Les Mis to me. It's really strange watching it, while missing it at the same time--it sounds like the same show but it's missing its 'character,' if you will. It just isn't the same without the masterful, expressive, complex, and beautiful John Cameron orchestration heard in every production until recently, and gorgeously expanded and preserved for the 10th anniversary at the Albert Hall.
The casting is clearly geared toward raking in the dough rather than celebrating the musical hitting a milestone. I didn't have much of a problem with any of them, as they all did well. I really blame the powers that be for having such tacky taste and thinking audiences nowadays want that level of skill in a musical that requires much more experience and a different sound. This pushing of pop elements into the show is tiresome. The musical itself already contains more than enough pop elements and is very much a part of its style and inherent to the piece.
Further shoving that down our throats gets annoying. The dumbed down orchestration aside, some of the casting choices were misguided. Nick Jonas did a fantastic job with what he has to offer, but those who cast him didn't stop and think about the different demands of the type of music he's been singing and recording in studios all this time since his turn as Gavroche, and how it's difficult to integrate that into a score like Les Mis' and making it seamless. The poor kid gets blasted for being awful when he actually wasn't bad at all.
The people in control need to quit experimenting with a proven piece and trying to make it something it is not.
I saw Alfie Boe as Valjean in the show proper, at the Queens, and he was very good, as was Sam Barks' Eponine--certainly leagues better than in the concert where they couldn't help but come off a bit boring at times.
But, again, inconsistencies only work against, not for it, and Alfie Boe's almost stereotypical operatic voice is the one thing that still bugs me; it tends to sound out of place in a score like Les Mis'.
Nick Jonas' very pop vocals are drowned out by the opera-flavored piece and only undermine the sheer power of the score and falls short.
Alfie Boe's Pavarotti-like sound is too legit for a pop-flavored piece like Les Mis and the score's opera elements aren't enough (and only further lost with the crappy new cartoonish orchestration) for that VOICE.
Colm Wilkinson = Best of both worlds.
As is Michael Ball, the original John Cameron orchestration, and everything else now lost in this celebration of everything that works toward what is now Les Mis Lite.
Recreation of original John Cameron orchestration to "On My Own" by yours truly. Click player below to hear.
Updated On: 3/14/11 at 07:43 PM
