Les Miserables Randal Keith interview --> Opening night review! — Page 5

Good! I asked him most of the questions that were on here...

Here's the short answers because I'm too lazy to replay my tape and I've got the memory of a sieve.

How did he get his start?
In college he realized he had a big passion for the theatre.

Inspirations?
Webber, Nunn, Hill.

Solo CD
Really proud of it. Have a better time doing it than he thought he would, because he initially only did it because everyone kept pressuring him too. He says Broadway's in his blood so he'll always do it, but he'd like to do more solo stuff in the future.

Dream role?
I don't think he named any particular role, but said he'd be open to the Wicked tour, although "at his age", the only available part would be the Wizard. hehe

Keep up to date with Broadway?
Not really, because he's never really lived there before aside from doing Les Mis. Said he saw Wicked in the summer with the original cast (including "Norman Butz"-sic) and really enjoyed it.

Feelings about stunt casting
Not a fan but understands that it's necessary. He said usually shows only do that as a last ditch effort before it's about to close and the problem with that is once you've started, you can't go back to lesser-known people unless the show is magnificent. But he cites Bernadette and Reba in Annie Get Your Gun as a success story.

Ever go on, say, BWW?
Not really, once in a while to see what people are saying about his shows. Only really checks out the fans on his official site.

What made him want to do the tour?
He said he was initially on tour, then on Bway, then on tour again, but he originally left the tour so abruptly that he didn't feel a sense of closure, plus the tour became like family to him. (I didn't ask about his feelings on having a new cast now.)

Does he find he recreates the role every time he performs, or does he hone/perfect what he's already created?
He gave a really long-winded answer, but essentially he said every time he starts the role it's a recreation but the blocking's the same, the direction's the same, etc. so there isn't much wiggle room (my words, not his).

There's more, but gimme a while. My neck's hurting.

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No problem. I'll get to the rest later. He said some interesting things about the Les Mis tour/Bway.

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Thank you all for your help!!

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Well, this is the last Broadway-scale tour I'll be seeing in Vancouver for the rest of the 2004-05 season, unfortunately (unless I decide to cover Morgan Fairchild in The Graduate next month, but....). So I finally saw Les Miserables in Vancouver have a feeling the NY producers will be reading this thread, so luckily for all of you, I have to grudgingly admit that I really enjoyed the show! EponineThenardier knows it was like pulling teeth to get me to come around, but really, the luxury of comp tickets coupled with big songs and sets really couldn’t go wrong! I wouldn't say it's amongst my favorite shows, but it was very enjoyable and I wouldn't mind seeing it again! (Just might, this weekend, in fact.)

- Oh, can I add that I think more Broadway tours should consider offering rush tickets? We have to pay Broadway prices, which is fine, but very prohibitive for a lot of people who would like to see the show. Especially in Vancouver, usually the week days and matinees don't sell very well and it's a waste to have empty seats!

Anyway, sorry my thoughts are so random...

Let me start off by saying that after watching this show, I think that Randal Keith must think I’m a dumbass. LOL I didn’t realize that I was grossly mispronouncing all of the names when I was on the phone with him! I asked what he would be doing after he was finished playing "Val-JEEN", and what it was like playing against a new "JaverT", and how are the little girls who play "caw-SETTE"...oy. So, um…yeah.

Strengths of the show:
- Randal Keith. Great singer, even better actor. I could definitely hear what his “Phantom” must’ve sounded like. (Are there any clips of him in POTO available?)
- Tonya Dixon (Fantine) I would say she had the strongest voice out of all the lead females by far.
- Javert – Robert Hunt was fine, I guess. I just think Javert is the most interesting role in the show. It has a lot of potential to be your typical “baddie” but then you really sympathize at the end.
- The sets and costumes – WOW!! I’ve seen a few shows at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, but none of them use the space as effectively as this show does! The turntable is a gimmick – but a very effective one. It’s used very well.
- I love some of the songs - One Day More, Bring Him Home (which I used to not like), On My Own (but I always loved that song – and the girl playing Eponine was pretty good. More on that later.)
- Alex Rutherford (Gavroche) was adorable and a very good actor/singer.

Weaknesses of the show:
- the sound was pretty weak – the microphones sometimes cut out at the beginning of a few actor’s lines, so when Gavroche said, “General ??? is dead.” It came off as “General ??? is dead. Luckily I was in the 3rd row so I could still hear, but it was annoying, nonetheless
- I didn’t like that the music sounded very synthesized. I know it’s not a full orchestra, but some of the music had a bit of a tin-y karaoke feel to it
- I didn’t like the guy who played Marius much. He looked like a smiley Dean Cain, and he didn’t have much chemistry with Cosette. I ended up rooting for Eponine, but maybe that’s the idea?
- I wasn’t huge on the Little Cosette. I thought her voice was too childish (yes, she’s a child, but her voice was a bit grating) and she o-ver ee-nun-cee-ay-ted every lyric in Castle On A Cloud. I only have the Little Cosette from the 10th Anni DVD to compare her to, and that actress was better, imho.
- Where’s the merchandise??? Mamma Mia and Miss Saigon and Jesus Christ Superstar all sold merch but there was none to be found!

Random musings:
- I am so glad to have brought Eponine’s synopsis with me to the show. I knew exactly what was going on, and I looked for certain things like the chair breaking on purpose, and Javert’s suicide. Cracked me up and the most inappropriate times!
- Question – Why does Valjean not tell Marius that he was the one who saved him at the barricades?
- Another question – Why is Ivan Rutherford Randal’s understudy now?? What happened? And why does his name sound so familiar? (Aside from being Valjean before.)
- I cried far more in this show than I would ever care to admit, and if this is discussed ever again, I will deny it till the cows come home!! I never cry in shows! This is the first time I cried and it was embarrassing as hell because I was sitting with other press members and was the first person to break! It started after On My Own, and then suddenly I was dabbing at my eyes for the rest of Act 2, even in the parts that weren’t sad! God.
- The show was sold out, but the audience was fairly cool for opening night. There was polite applause, and cheers after Bring Him Home, but that was really it. The standing ovation was only about 2/3 of the audience, and only happened when Randal came for his bow. I think this is fairly typical of Vancouver audiences though – the only time I’ve seen rousing applause and ovations was closing night at RENT and opening night of Mamma Mia.

Thanks for reading all this! Any input? (Esp. from ppl who have seen the current tour cast?)

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"- Another question – Why is Ivan Rutherford Randal’s understudy now?? What happened? And why does his name sound so familiar? (Aside from being Valjean before.)"

Ivan is currently playing a role he was back in 1995. They had wanted him for Valjean, but at the time, William Solo was playing the role and was contracted for a few more months, so Ivan was cast as Courfeyrac and understudy Valjean until William was gone. (This is all from an interview with Ivan in The Barricade in 1999 or 2000.)

I don't think anything "happened," although it's possible that Steve Gannon was not asked back (or was, and turned it down), meaning they had an opening, and why not cast someone whose son is currently in the show as well, on top of already knowing that particular track?

P.S. Try Google.

Updated On: 11/12/04 at 01:14 AM

The full interview isn't posted although it's fairly short (in 25 minutes) so I could transcribe it for you if you like. There's a short portion of hte interview posted online:

http://www.peak.sfu.ca/the-peak/2004-3/issue10/ar-misrables.html

You should have warned me that I'd cry so much! It was getting ridiculous! Even parts I didn't find sad, my eyes were welling with tears, and then I'd be going, "Oh my god! What the hell is going on??" I maintain that my tear ducts broke last night.

Thanks for the link Musetta. Your explanation makes sense - I just figured most actors would harbour an ego that would make them only want to rejoin a cast to have the same part, or a larger part than they originally played.

I agree with a lot of what the girl said on the Musain review, although I don't have much to compare it to so my opinion doesn't hold much weight. I wasn't a fan of the portrayal of Eponine, although I still found myself rooting for her, and OMO was well done. I thought she played the part quite young and I little bit too giggly. The guy who played Enjolras (sp?) was not bad...reminded me of Elvis Stojko.

Still, it was a very good time!

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What a great character eh?? I mean, I wasn't huge on the actress, but the character really sucked me in!

Also, why does Valjean not tell Marius about saving him in the sewer?

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What seats did you have? How was the closing night audience? I found the opening night audience was very low energy, and slow to rise for a S.O. at the end. No one started to stand until Randal came out, and at the end, it was only about 75% of the audience.

I also really liked Bring Him Home. I saw someone (Ivan?) sing it on Bway on Bway 2001 and it didn't do anything for me, but seeing it staged was really magnificent. I think overall, this is the best technical and vocal quality show that we've had in Vancouver in a long time (aside from the mic problems).

How did you like the Marius/Eponine/Old Cosette?

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Nope.
http://lesmis.cafemusain.com/cast/cast.html

>>What seats did you have?
I was sitting upstairs at the Mezzanine/Lower Balcony area.

>>How was the closing night audience? I found the opening night audience was very low energy, and slow to rise for a S.O. at the end. No one started to stand until Randal came out, and at the end, it was only about 75% of the audience.

The audience was very responsive and appreciative. I almost got the sense that there were quite a few newbies because of some of the responses. Sean Gilbert who played Gavroche that night got the biggest response. He's so little and my god...the things he did in the name of art! I'd never been so shocked to see such little kid do the "up your's" gesture until that night LOL. Jennifer Butt and David Benoit as the Thénardiers' got big laughs and it was great to see them do their own interpretation of the script. There was a S.O. right after the last note of the last song and everyone stayed standing. There was a roar of cheers as little Sean, Butt & Benoit, and Randal took their bows. The crowd wanted to give the cast a third bow but were cut off as the lights came up after the second bow so everyone pretty much dispersed.

>>I also really liked Bring Him Home. I saw someone (Ivan?) sing it on Bway on Bway 2001 and it didn't do anything for me, but seeing it staged was really magnificent. I think overall, this is the best technical and vocal quality show that we've had in Vancouver in a long time (aside from the mic problems).

>>How did you like the Marius/Eponine/Old Cosette?
Marius: Hmm..yeah...he was pretty blah. I wouldn't have noticed the difference if they had a cardboard cut-out of him and had someone dressed all in black move it around to the music.
Eponine: Beautiful voice but a bit wooden as well. During her solo "On my Own" she just....stood there. It was beautiful to listen to, but I can always do that with my soundtrack. I wanted to see some emotion beyond what was in her voice. She did redeem herself a bit during her death scene.
Old Cosette: I dunno if it's just me, but I don't really care about this character that much. Her role, while pivotal for Valjean, is pretty vanilla. So other than appreciating the vocal quality, can't say there was anything memorable for me.

"Was she in the OLC?"

No; Susan Jane Tanner was the OLC Mme. Thénardier.
Jennifer Butt's page on BroadwayLesMis.com

Your Valjean explanation makes sense. I wasn't too sure initially. I thought it could be a humility thing but I wasn't sure.

It's funny you should mention the effective minimalist staging being exemplied in the 10th anni DVD, because I remember asking someone on here a few months ago that since I wasn't too fond of the DVD, does this reflect on the musical? And that person said if I didn't like the DVD, I would HATE the show, but that turned out to be far from the truth! I don't mind the DVD as much now that I know the storyline, but I don't think it does justice to the score and the show as a whole.

BTW, I'm surprised so many high schools put on Les Mis. Is the score/the keys/arrangements the same??

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The student prods. take quite a hit from some people. It's truly a challanging show to mount. Valjean & Javert are tough to pull off for a 17 yr. old. especially vocally.

The key in which the score is sung remains the same. The female music is not a big problem for a well trained female vocalist. I have seen some decent young Fantines & Eponines. But BHH is a killer for most of the guys. I know of two guys who pulled it off very well. One was chosen to join the Bd'w closing cast. The other actually chose a few lower notes in BHH. It came off well and no one blamed him for not reaching for the impossible.

Depsite the difficulty, it's a great show to with several principle roles for young people to reach out for.

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Updated On: 11/18/04 at 09:37 PM