Les Mis at the Papermill aka - the new tour- Page 3

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/23/10 at 12:29pm

Revisited the show again last night. It's still phenomenal, and last night's audience was even more enthusiastic than the last one I had.

I must be destined never to see Lawrence Clayton as Valjean, because he was out again last night. Ron Sharpe, however, was excellent once again. I really love his take on the character and last night he was more fiery than last time. Bring Him Home completely stopped the show last night.

However, the strongest performance still comes from the remarkable Andrew Varela, whose Javert is so interesting to watch. He finds so many wonderful layers in this character. I love the sneer he has on his face the entire time he's a prisoner, and one of my favorite choices he makes is that he begins his breakdown before the suicide song. He starts breaking down as soon as he sees Gavroche's body on the cart- I've never seen a Javert do that before and I loved it. And then of course his voice. Just a magnificent performance.

One other thing I love about this production- the Thenardiers haven't been directed to go for cheap, easy laughs. They finally come across as truly sinister people.

I also can't speak highly enough of the orchestra and the orchestrations. The score sounds so fresh.

Still hoping to catch it one more time while it's here (I got lucky last night and snagged one random cancellation ticket at 10:00 in the morning), if only to see Lawrence Clayton as Valjean.

[p.s.]

Posted: 12/23/10 at 1:31pm

[Javert (Andrew Varela)] starts breaking down as soon as he sees Gavroche's body ... - I've never seen a Javert do that before and I loved it.

I, too, started breaking down when I saw Gavroche's body. To me, showing his body that way was more heartwrenching than if I had actually seen him as he was shot. Do you now agree?


p.s.

(I got lucky last night and snagged one random cancellation ticket at 10:00 in the morning)

it is almost impossible to get any kind of ticket now.

The previous two production weeks Ron Sharpe was on Saturday matinees and Sunday nights. I saw him Sunday night after snagging row Y and row Z singles on the previous Wednesday. His Jean Valjean is much more traditional and, as you say, "fiery" than Lawrence Clayton's.

Clayton, by the way, started out as if he wasn't so familiar with his own character nor with the other miserables. He has grown tremendously to become closer to traditional (although I still recall hearing at least three gospel sounding moments).

I don't know why the schedule is different, except that it's getting closer to closing night; or maybe Lawrence Clayton needed more rest (he was a bit hoarse on Sunday afternoon). [But why not one of the understudies instead of the alternate].


pps: I wonder if Ron Sharpe will travel with the tour as alternate; or will there be alternate alternates at each stop?

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/23/10 at 1:53pm

All of the promotional material for the tour seems to indicate Sharpe is a member of the touring company, not just the Papermill engagement. I expect him to continue traveling with the show.

I'm slowly starting to warm to the idea of not seeing Gavroche's death. What has begun to turn the tide for me is the performance of Varela.

And yeah, tickets are near impossible to get. Anyone trying to see the show, I recommend being persistent- I had literally been checking EVERY day (multiple times) for all of the remaining performances before this one seat popped up. This show has become the hottest ticket in town...never did I think it would outsell High School Musical, but it has. Updated On: 12/23/10 at 01:53 PM

[PB ENT.]

Posted: 12/23/10 at 3:44pm

I've been following the reviews too. I am looking forward to covering the Philly tour stop on Jan. 5th @ the Academy, and see the changes that I am hearing about.

Tickets starting at $20 are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 215-731-3333, online at http://kimmelcenter.org/broadway

[Wishing Only Wounds]

Posted: 12/23/10 at 4:00pm

Saw the show last Saturday (12/11)
AMAZING! It was my first (live) exposure to the musical and I am honestly at a loss for words.

Two minor things I must critique.

* Possible Spoiler *
I did not like Gavroche' s death. I wasn't a fan of the "Little People" reprise but what really irked me was: the audience not being able to see him killed.
Yes, they were trying to be more dramatic, and yes, you saw his body in a wagon afterwards... I just wasn't a fan, and by the time you saw his corpse... I was over it.

Now I know it is a very controversial issue, but I must say the color-blind casting of Eponine really threw me off; I usually am all for it, but found it very distracting that Eponine had white parents, Young Eponine was white, but then Eponine was black. But with that said, Chasten Harmon stole the show.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/23/10 at 4:46pm

And Les Miz has essentially (on its own, no pun intended) grossed 87% of what all of last season grossed, given that Hairspray didn't sell very well (surprisingly). They're going to end the season with a surplus, for the first time in a long time.

[musicalsFan]

Posted: 12/23/10 at 5:59pm

If Hairspray didn't sell well, you'd never know it. They stopped using NJArtsTix to offer discount tickets.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/23/10 at 8:10pm

^They stopped doing that the year before. Papermill shows haven't been offered there for over a year.

[musicalsFan]

Posted: 12/23/10 at 8:47pm

It's a shame.

[p.s.]

Posted: 12/30/10 at 11:18am

Closing tonight. Tour starts next week in Philadelphia.


p.s.

Tickets for this run sold very quickly. If it will be touring nearby don't put off securing your seats.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/30/10 at 11:26am

I'm desperately trying to get a ticket to the final performance tonight...I keep checking for last minute cancellations very frequently. So far, no luck.

[WIZdeOZ]

Posted: 12/30/10 at 12:24pm

Best bet is to hang around the Box office...worked Tuesday ...good luck.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/30/10 at 10:56pm

I ended up waiting around the box office, like WizdeOz said and got a cancellation ticket at about 6:00. So glad I went.

This was my third viewing, and each time I've found new details to appreciate. It was also my first time seeing Lawrence Clayton as Jean Valjean. The previous two trips, Ron Sharpe (the alternate) was on. Honestly, I was not at all impressed with Clayton, and thought Ron Sharpe was much better. Clayton has a decent enough voice but the weird jazz riffs really don't work with this score. I'm not sure if he was not feeling well tonight or what, but his voice was incredibly raspy throughout the show. During Bring Him Home, he couldn't hit the high notes, so he was doing these weird riffs and slides to try and make up for it. It was painful. His other big notes ("Another story must begin!"; "24601!"; and his "one day more"s) just didn't sound supported, or have any real power behind them. He sounded his strongest, oddly enough, during The Bargain, of all scenes. Maybe I caught him on a bad night, but I'm honestly hoping I get Ron Sharpe when I see the show in Philadelphia. Clayton was the only weak link tonight.

Everyone else was at the top of their game- the brilliant Andrew Varela, the fabulous Justin Scott Brown, the wonderful Chasten Harmon, and the rest of the cast. Lewis Grosso, by far the stronger of the two Gavroches, was particularly good as well.

Overall, a solid sendoff in Millburn for the show.
Updated On: 12/31/10 at 10:56 PM

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/30/10 at 11:42pm

I forgot to mention I felt Clayton and Andrew Varela had absolutely no chemistry together. There was no sense of rivalry or anything adversarial between them.

And I can't believe I'm saying this (because anyone who knows me knows I love a good riff), but I just don't think riffing has a place in most of the Les Mis songs, particularly Bring Him Home.

ETA....They now have a souvenir program. Tonight was the first time I've seen them offering this. $20.
Updated On: 1/6/11 at 11:42 PM

[JayC]

Posted: 3/1/11 at 6:27pm

The new production of "Les Miz" is clearly more dramatic than the original. The actors are allowed to express much more emotion outside of the music, and it raises the production to an extraordinary new level.

We saw Ron Sharpe as Valjean, and he was tremendous. I was a bit disappointed with Andrew Varela's Javert. He lacked the kind of ominous presence I've seen in some other Javerts. In the original touring company, Charles Pistone had an almost Darth Vader-like presence on the stage, together with a tremendous voice. By contrast, Varela came across as just a cop.

Jeremy Hays is the best Enjolras since Michael Maguire. And the delightful Shawna Hamic's Madame Thenardier dwarfs her husband's solid but uninspiring performance.

I had the hardest time with Chasten Harmon as Eponine. She is a powerful singer; and anyone who didn't choke up during her death scene has no heart. But when she sang "On My Own," all I could think was, "That's not Eponine's voice... why wasn't she cast as Fantine?"

My first Eponine was Renee Veneziale; and like many people, I cringed when she belted out her first words, "Every word that he says is a dagger in me." It took a few minutes to understand that her nasally voice was exactly what the part called for. And hearing Frances Ruffele's Broadway treatment of the part reaffirmed for me that Eponine was meant to be a teenaged street urchin with a bad case of puppy love. Chasten Harmon's voice was more adult by contrast. And I can only speculate that, in the role of Fantine, she might even outshine Ruthie Henshall and Lea Salonga.

The new staging was ambitious and well executed. I loved the device of waiting until after Valjean's soliloquy to display the title "Les Miserables." It said, "Everything you've seen so far is just setup; now the story begins."

Javert's suicide was an extraordinary piece of staging. And the battle scenes at the barricade were better than the original -- especially the use of a bright white pinspot light to mark the death of each man individually. That must have been a nightmare at rehearsals, but the result is very powerful.

My greatest fear before the performance was that the producers might try to get by on the cheap, just to rake in a few extra bucks. I needn't have worried. The new production of "Les Miz" stands on its own, and in many ways surpasses the original. a big thumbs-up.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/2/11 at 10:49am

I feel quite the opposite. I found the new staging to lack focus in many of the scenes, the performances wildly uneven, and the direction flat-out lazy. I sort of felt sorry for the people who may be experiencing the show for the first time. Especially since they did away with the titles giving you the time and place when there were major transitions in the story.

I understood the need to try something new with the staging and sometimes it was okay, but other times, it made no sense. The opening, for example. Why put the prisoners on a ship? I had a difficult time believing Javert would have this entire exchange about the release of Valjean on a ship. So...Valjean is now free. Well, when they reach port he'll be free. He can row without chains until then. Or something. The scene was different really just for the sake of doing something different.

The Thenadiers simply weren't funny. She was slightly better than him, but that's because he completely phoned in the performance. Master of the House was a mess and there was so much going on everywhere all the time, the jokes were missed. Fantine's arrest was similarly staged. The majority of the cast were all milling about upstage for no reason other than to have people on stage. It pulled focus and the scene was incredibly messy. The transition to the runaway cart was pretty much incomprehensible.

The battle at the barricade was just awful. Apparently, the only guns being fired came from a single strobe smack in the center of the barricade. And the spotlight deaths were just cheesey and silly. Each bright white spotlight pointed out every student at the barricade as they were shot and they wiggled wildly about. It looked like they were announcing the the final contestants on So You Think You Can Dance. Oh yeah...and Gavroche's death happens off-stage and is never seen.

I don't have the cast list in front of me, but Marius, Cosette and Javert were the strongest of the cast. Valjean was inconsistent throughout and Enjolras cracked a few times. Some of the chorus members were among the strongest singers in the cast.

There were a few effective moments. One Day More was very strong (though the marching looks a bit more like roller-blading), Empty Chairs at Empty Tables was quite lovely, and A Heart Full of Love worked very well.

I've seen numerous productions of the original staging since 1988 and the various cuts and changes in the material. To me, this production is a huge step back from the original, which might have been big, but it was much more sharply focused on the characters and story. This production wants to give you more visual detail to the point of obscuring the massive story while ignoring some directorial basics.

I'd give it two stars.

Updated On: 3/3/11 at 10:49 AM

[theminutepast]

Posted: 3/2/11 at 10:06pm

JayC, I have to disagree with your point about a youthful voice for Eponine. Eponine is more than the unrequited love story. The poverty, the neglect and abuse from her parents, and the absolute loneliness are far deeper issues. (Not fully explored in the musical, unfortunately. They are hinted at). These issues make Eponine into a character who is both immature and wise beyond her years. So I tend to dislike those nasal voices because they seem to exaggerate the idea that Eponine is merely a dopey teenager. There is so much more to her character.

[Colle]

Posted: 3/8/11 at 2:17pm

New tour stop just announced last night, Memphis Sept 13-18.
Orephum theater web site

[assassins]

Posted: 3/26/11 at 4:56pm

Just to let you know, if you have listen to the 25th Anniversary Tour Recording of Les Mis, that Madalena Alberto (Fantine) has released an album entitled 'Foreign Sketches - Live Studio Recording' (https://tunes.broadwayworld.com/article/Madalena_Alberto_Releases_Debut_Album_Foreign_Sketches_20110317)
It's really amazing!!! She has such a beautiful voice and the songs are brilliant!! My favourite one is "Break Me Down"!

You can listen to and order it on her official website www.madalenaalberto.com or on Dress Circle.

Highly recommended!!

Madalena Alberto website

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 3/26/11 at 5:17pm

Thanks, "maddy"!
http://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/d.php?id=1956964