Les Miserables 25th Anniversary Concert in Movie Theaters -- who's going?- Page 2

[MotorTink]

Posted: 11/17/10 at 8:24am

There are plenty of theaters in Northern NJ playing it. Unless something comes up, I plan on seeing it tonight.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 11/17/10 at 3:15pm

My sister wants to go but I am just wiped. May just wait for DVD on this.

[firescape]

Posted: 11/17/10 at 5:06pm

I'll be going....here in Knoxville, TN

[jdtp12]

Posted: 11/17/10 at 11:23pm

Went tonight and LOVED it. I thought the cast did a great job overall, and it was great to hear the score with surround sound and see the actors on the big screen.

[Elphaba43]

Posted: 11/17/10 at 11:44pm

I just got back tonight from it and it was lovely! I adored it!!

[Sylar2]

Posted: 11/17/10 at 11:48pm

Nick Jonas was HORRIBLE..such a weak voice to pull off Marius. He looked like he was straining to hit every note and most of the time he was singing off into space rather than looking at his fellow cast members. Other than Nick, it was a fantastic concert especially the surprise appearance of the 1985 original cast and performances.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 11/17/10 at 11:49pm

Saw it tonight, and for the most part, loved it. Some observations:

-My theater was PACKED, and it was a much younger crowd than I was expecting. Nick Jonas definitely brought people in. Although, annoyingly, he received "entrance applause" and every time he was singing or the focus of the cameras, there were a million cell phones being held up, recording him.

-Speaking of Nick Jonas, I found his first act to be a total disaster, vocally. His voice was just not anywhere near as strong as any of the other people up on the stage. His act 2 was better, but he was definitely the weak link in a stellar cast.

-Norm Lewis' Javert was feistier than I remember from the revival. And of course, it was incredibly well-sung. That voice could melt butter.

-Alfie Boe was magnificent, much better than Colm Wilkinson in the 10th anniversary concert. Ramin Karimloo was also outstanding.

-Lea Salonga looked and sounded outstanding, though she has such a regal presence about her, that I did have trouble buying her as a dying woman.

-Jenny Galloway can't find other work? She's still doing this role?

-Whoever was playing Cosette, I don't think she changed expressions once.

-The finale (and multiple encores) were great. But, wtf was Frances Ruffelle wearing?

This is definitely a DVD I would buy if it were released in the U.S.

[Elphaba43]

Posted: 11/17/10 at 11:51pm

Nick Jonas was terrible...... absolutely horrible!

[MotorTink]

Posted: 11/18/10 at 12:05am

I was shocked at how packed my theater was. All ages.

Unfortunately the audio was so low for the first half, which ruined some of the impact. It got turned up for the second.

It was great. I love Norm in anything he does. Alfie was just amazing, and I never really knew who Ramin was beforehand but wow, now a fan! Nick, I give him A for effort but oy. I, too, saw people recording his performance, I was like what the hell?

The ending and seeing all of the Val Jeans singing was very moving! Glad I went.

Ruffelle - yikes! Sounded great but looked like a hooker. The original cast all looked elegant and there she was in shoes from Mamma Mia and was that a skirt? booty shorts?

However, I'm either getting old or a typical bitter theater lover.... I wanted to laugh at or smack so many people in the theater. The things I heard, the way people were reacting.... ugh.

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 11/18/10 at 12:06am

Pretty much agree with everything so far and even my daughter, who loves Nick Jonas, thought he was the weakest link. More projection issues than actual vocals, which, compared to his whiny normal delivery, were decent.

Loved Alfie Boe as well and I think my daughter and I are both obsessed with Ramin Karimloo now...him pretty and great vocals.

Les Miz is not my favorite show by a long shot but parts of this were pretty spectacular and the many encores and speeches were very emotional

[jdtp12]

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

Glad to hear everyone else's theaters were packed, because mine was fairly vacant. I would say maybe 20 at the most. Mostly older adults and a couple teens.

[minicko88]

Posted: 11/18/10 at 12:29am

Yep, pretty vacant here in Texas too. Have maybe 15 in ours, but great performances. Agree with what everyone has said.

[Jude-n-Sue]

Posted: 11/18/10 at 1:47am

We agree with most everything posted in response [the teens with the cell phones recording a movie screen??? / the observations that the JoBro was pretty humiliated by the rest of the cast / kudos for Norm and Alfie / the "wtf was Ruffelle wearing? She didn't get the memo about it being a formal event?"]

The piece was [Jonas aside] pretty amazing. And perfectly topped by the after-events [don't want to do any spoilers for those who won't see it until the DVD release]

We were amused that half of the cast couldn't restrain themselves from doing the "RSC walk" during "One Day More", and you could almost hear them going "Ahhh, nuts. They cut that, but we're committed now."

[Huey's Pop]

Posted: 11/18/10 at 1:57am

just returned from seeing it in Long Beach, Calif. Our theater was packed as well, with lots of applause.

I'm not that familiar with Nick Jonas' work but I thought that he did a fine job.

Can't wait for the DVD of this -- and happy that the show is being turned into a movie.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/18/10 at 2:29am

There were about 30 or 40 people in our theatre in Emeryville, CA. I disliked Nick Jonas so much that I let the lady next to me sing along with him.

I adored Alfie Boe in (Baz Luhrmann's) La Bohème, so I was really looking forward to seeing him as Valjean. He really amazed me. I can't wait for the DVD!

[adamgreer]

Posted: 11/18/10 at 7:37am

Maybe Frances Ruffelle was hoping they'd let her perform in Lovely Ladies?

The women next to me were singing along all night. I must have missed the announcement that this was Sing Along Les Miserables.

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 11/18/10 at 7:44am

The 150-200 seat theatre at Crossgates in Albany NY was virtually full. Maybe 10 or 15 open seats way down front.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 11/18/10 at 8:14am

My theater in Pittsburgh was also packed. I got there just before it started and had to take a handicap seat (mercifully so, as the only other option was front row).

Oh, Norm Lewis, why can't you act? "Look at me. I'm serious actor as Javert. Lots of serious face. SO utterly serious. Javert. Very serious." Alfie Boe was really glorious, vocally and physically. I wanted so many more long shots because with all the CamMac solo closeups, you sometimes lost a sense of his stature relative to the other actors, and it really worked in his favor.

Jenny Galloway -- am I the only one who was really glad to see that they had her do the role again? Admirable job, Matt Lucas, very admirable... though I've still yet to see an actor who manages to play Thénardier as both a clown first and a convincing, legitimate street crimtinal later.

Lea Salonga... did very little for me. She seemed to be either singing just a hair underneath her high notes or, if she hit them, in a very thin voice. Also, totally miscast. I know LES MIZ isn't the sublest of shows, but did she have to telegraph everything so hard? And who were those pieces of cardboard they got to play Eponine and Cosette? (Though, in fairness, Eponine girl displayed some good voice during "On My Own.")

Nick Jonas. What can you really say? I mean, honestly? Clearly a stunt, clearly does not have anything even remotely approaching the voice. So.. .that being said, taking his presence for what it was, I actually found that his sheer "outsiderness" did something for the character to make it connect. I never saw Marius so clearly as the callow, lovestruck youth that Hugo intended. Is that a credit to Nick Jonas acting? No. But it is a credit to his showing up.

Why do they always get like the awesomest person ever to play Enjolras? Seriously. I'll have his little performance babies. Excellent Grantaire, too.

David Charles Abell, also amazing, once again.

Ugh, but the whole spectacle of it was pretty disgusting. Let's be honest. Just when you think Cameron MacIntosh might be a flesh-and-blood person, he does something like this. Ah, well, he wanted that massive crowd on their feet, and that's what he got.

[kec]

Posted: 11/18/10 at 8:22am

Grantaire was Hadley Fraser, last seen on Broadway as Stephanie Block's love interest in THE PIRATE QUEEN.

[jsg03jd]

Posted: 11/18/10 at 8:29am

This concert overall was quite good. It was beautifully filmed and while it still contains the edits and cuts that I absolutely hate, at least more scenes were sung in this version , e.g., the transition to Paris, than in the 10th anniversary concert.

Alfie Boe was EXCELLENT. I love hearing operatic tenors sing the role so he and Alexander Gemignani are my favorite Valjeans. Ramin Karimloo has those Cheyenne Jackson bug eyes but he was terrific as well. I prefer hearing him sing this score than LOVE NEVER DIES's. (Still regretting that purchase.)

Nick Jonas was an embarrassment: he was outclassed and outsung by everyone else in the company including the mediocre Cosette and Eponine, who cheated all the low notes in A LITTLE FALL OF RAIN (she spoke all of them). And why was he hunched the whole evening/performance? He looked so constipated and uncomfortable and his singing - if you could call it that - reflected it. His vocal shortcomings were made even more evident when Michael Ball sang the Marius lines in the ONE DAY MORE encore with the 1985 London Cast. The two men couldn't be any more different: Ball can sing the score, Jonas simply can't.

BTW - totally agree re: Frances Ruffelle's outfit. The audience burst out laughing when the camera panned to her. What she wore was completely inappropriate for such an occasion especially one that's been filmed for posterity. Whoever dressed her needs to be shot. Updated On: 11/18/10 at 08:29 AM

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 11/18/10 at 8:59am

Where the hell was David Burt?

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 11/18/10 at 10:42am

"Nicholas" Jonas played Gavroche at some point late in the original Broadway production's run, so I at least give him credit for dipping his toe back into theatrical waters. Yes, he was vocally outclassed and his glowering grew monotonous, but points for effort.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 11/18/10 at 11:14am

^Yup, and I actually saw him, and to be totally fair, he was VERY good as Gavroche. Disappointing that he was so terrible as Marius.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/18/10 at 11:47am

Nick Jonas was actually the final Gavroche on Broadway the first go-around. (And, trivia: his brother was in the children's chorus of La Boheme with Alfie Boe.)

Ramin Karimloo's Enjolras was apparently fond of bondage bracelets, but not shirt buttons. Not that I am complaining much.

[ClapYo'Hands]

Posted: 11/18/10 at 12:13pm

"The women next to me were singing along all night. I must have missed the announcement that this was Sing Along Les Miserables."

Don't worry, they were actually doing that the 02 xD

Also, I couldn't disagree more about Samantha Barks who was amazing as Eponine.

Also, Katie Hall was brought in a couple of days before the concert as an emergency replacement for Camilla Kerslake as Cossette.