Les Mis and Last Supper

[jasonf]

Les Mis and Last Supper#1

Posted: 1/21/07 at 7:21pm

Saw the revival last week of Les Mis -- I noticed that during Empty Chairs at Empty Tables the ghosts of Marius's friends posed like the famous Last Supper painting. The religious imagery in this version of the show seemed to stand out to me even more than in the original, but I wasn't sure of the necessity of this. Yes, Marius considers the students to have been martyrs, and it was their "last communion" etc. -- but did he really see Enjolras as Jesus? I think that's stretching a bit too far, no?

Hi, Shirley Temple Pudding.

[LizzieCurry]

re: Les Mis and Last Supper#2

Posted: 1/21/07 at 7:25pm

I haven't seen the revival so I can't speak to the staging of ECAET, but sometimes Enjolras' pose up on the barricade during BHH is explicitly made in a cross fashion (one arm is holding on to the barricade and another is holding his rifle vertically), so you may be on to something.

"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt

[theminutepast]

re: Les Mis and Last Supper#2

Posted: 1/21/07 at 7:31pm

Hm. I have seen the revival, and I didn't make the Last Supper connection. I saw it as just a different way of posing.

However, I do think religion was emphasized more. The things I noticed which were different: 1) Valjean crosses himself after Fantine dies (I believe John Owen-Jones does this too, but I might be wrong), and 2) During Valjean's death, Fantine and Eponine enter early so that they have time to pause at the candles as if to bless the room or recognize God's presence there.

[ILoveMyDictionary]

re: Les Mis and Last Supper#3

Posted: 1/21/07 at 7:33pm

Just as I clicked on this thread Empty Chairs and Empty Tables came up on my iTunes.

[winston89]

re: Les Mis and Last Supper#4

Posted: 1/21/07 at 9:05pm

after watching a video of Tim Hower do the song on tour there was only one small difference between the blocking currently being used on broadway and the original blocking. In the original blocking at some point in the song the peopel that are standing there slowly walk foward and sit down at the tables. And then they get up and go back to where they were standing at the begging of the song. Now, they just show up and just stand there.

Personally, when It came to this particular song I never picked up on the the fact that this had any subtle connection to the last supper. I picked it up as an artistic way to show that A marius was talking about his dead friends. And B a way to show that their spirits were still looming around.

As a matter of fact, in watching an old video that was a news story on 60 min about the show making its trip across the pond. A member of the OLC said that the first time anyone in the cast noticed a strong mention of god was when Colm came into the rehersals just after learning bring him home and sang it for the cast. He said that it was clear that there were refrences to god and religon throug out the course of the show. But, this was the first time that they actully put it in an almost in your face kind of way.

"If you try to shag my husband while I am still alive, I will shove the art of motorcycle maintenance up your rancid little Cu**. That's a good dear" Tom Stoppard's Rock N Roll

[theminutepast]

re: Les Mis and Last Supper#5

Posted: 1/22/07 at 3:50pm

The Tim Howar clip is from the 1999 3NT, I believe, so I'm not sure if it was the same as the original staging. I have seen it staged where his friends remain standing in a line, blankly looking forward.
Updated On: 1/22/07 at 03:50 PM

[LizzieCurry]

re: Les Mis and Last Supper#6

Posted: 1/22/07 at 4:07pm

It was changed back and forth several times between the late '90s and when the tour closed last year.

"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt

[Colle]

re: Les Mis and Last Supper#7

Posted: 1/23/07 at 7:17am

Fantine and Eponine entering earlier in the finale does sound interesting.