Les Miserables — Page 2

The production just extended. It was slated to play from november to april but extended through the summer into mid fall a month ago. They said that they will keep it in NYC so long as ticket sales rre good. There is even a good chance with the way things are going that this would become an open end run.

When the show first played broadway it was in a house that is known for doing big lavish musicals. It then moved to a much smaller house for the revival that can do plays just as easilly as musicals. The broadhurst theatre where Les Miserables is curently playing had the history boys play here before Les miserables came along. The pit is smaller then the original les miserables theatre so they wanted to have a full sound with what they had room for. Thus the orchestration changes.

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That's really interesting, I had no idea he was really playing!

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The revival is 20 minutes shorter than the original production. "One Day More" doesn't have as much oomph in it as it did in the original because they cut it. They should return it to the way it was when.

The less the children are singing the better IMO!

The cuts were made several years ago (to the original Broadway production as well), but I didn't know that they'd made any changes to 'One Day More!'...

Sorry, but can you a bit clearer and give details...
Which of the songs have disappeared?
In London, the show lasts 3 hours including an interval of 2O minutes, so the show actally lasts 2h40 !
In London, the show is still the way it was recorded for the Complete Symphonic CD, except the orchestration which is a bit poorer !

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They still have turning in tact. But, they cut ot the scene before the attack when Eponine figurs out what the gang is doing there.

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I also think turning is one of the worst parts of the show.

La faute a Voltaire is a sad absence from every production now. It actually said in the novel by Hugo that Gavroche is singing a song about Voltaire and Rousseau when he died, and the original french lyrics mirrored that. Try singing this with the tune of 'Little People', and you'll see;

Je suis tombé par terre, c'est la faute à Voltaire
Le nez dans le ruisseau, c'est la faute à Rousseau
Je ne suis pas notaire, c'est la faute à Voltaire
Je suis petit oiseau, c'est la faute à Rousseau

It's lovely. Little People makes a lot less sense. Little People, as you all know, was originally sung, as it is on the OLCR, but now it's gone, replaced in all productions. It used to go like so, on the OLCR;

Stars
Look Down
Little People
Red & Black
Do You Hear The People Sing?

However, on the Full Symphonic, it was;
Look Down
The Robbery - Javert's Intervention
Stars
Eponine's Errand
ABC Cafe - Red & Black
Do You Hear The People Sing?

With the various revisions, translations, etc, the show has gradually moved further and further away from the original novel.

As for the NY orchestrations, well, I heard a fair bit of them, and they sound absolutely God Awful! The London band currently only has about 11 members, and sounds fine. Could they not fit that many in? The synth and everything sounds attrocious.

Any more questions, or French lyrics, I'd be glad to help!

I shall leave my fellow Les Mis enthusiasts with a blast of 'J'avais rêvé d'une autre vie', shall I?

J'avais rêvé d'une autre vie
(I had a Dream of another Life)

J'avais rêvé d'une autre vie
Mais la vie a tué mes rêves
Comme on étouffe les derniers cris
D'un animal que l'on achève
J'avais rêvé d'un coeur si grand
Que le mien puisse y trouver place
Mais mon premier prince charmant
Fut l'assassin de mon enfance!

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A show that's been running for 22 years doesn't just quietly 'come off' and go on a little jaunt around the country. If Les Mis was closing in London, it would be massive news. I wouldn't be surprised if it, sadly, closed soon, I'd give it another 3/4 years tops actually, because it doesn't seem to be doing as well as it used to. Compare Phantom, which still has more of a cult following, and so keeps churning out the profits.

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I presumed bingbong was mistakenly talking about the West End Production at the Queens, considering her profile says she's from London.

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The OLCR was a bit slow, but they weren't that slow in the show because we'd be there all night if they were.

The OLCR has the definitive sound of Les Mis. The Full Symphonic's orchestrations are masterful, they add so much colour and power to the music.

The Broadway Revival? Frankly, it sounds abysmal. As did the original Fantine in the revival, who was replaced, and then replaced again by Lea Salonga.

The Revival has no power in the music, it's missing that definitive sound because of the way the keyboards are being used (not well) and they are trying to create the sound of a big band with just a small number of instruments. The Brass and strings, especially (well, the brass is just not enough and the strings are being done by awful keyboards). Woodwind is easy to get right, because there's never that many of them so they didn't need to cut back.

The whole sound is very fake and thin, it's just awful.

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The SS does sound pretty crap, too.

I don't think any Union is interested in cutting the size of bands.

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Hahahah!!! legend!! just took a drink when i read that! damn right... do what we did when 7 brides was touring - the band were playing from the pub next door to the theatre.. really!

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At first the new orchastriations sounded wierd but now I love em. I like em just as much as the original. But, they do grow on you after a bit. I have seen this production 7 times because it is Les Miserables. But, as for the original revival fantine. That would be Daphine Rubin Vega who's other big credit was creating the role of Mimi in Rent. Many walked out of the Broadhurst theatre trying to figure out what the casting directors were smoking that made her sound semi good during I dreamed a dream. Not only does she have a raspy rock sounding voice she cannot converte it to legit stuff. Tim Hower for example has an amazing rock voice but he also can do legit stuff as well. Many people like me who saw him in Rent then saw clips of him in the les miz tour and were suprised that he could easilly tackle both.

As for the uinon thing. I ment the American uinon. For a long time there has been an ongoing battle between them and the producers. The producers want to cut down as many musicions as they can and repalce them with computers to cut coasts. But, the musicions are saying that if they do that then they will be out of jobs. For example, there was a tour of the broadway revival of Wonderful Town that had a computer operator in the pit. But, the US Les Miserables tour when it was going on had the same orchastratons as the OBC and the london production had. So I don't know why they changed them around.

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