Les Miserables at Signature Theatre (Virginia)

[morosco]

Posted: 11/29/08 at 10:54pm

Article in the Washington Post says:

...he's counting on his company's longtime hole card: the boutique experience of seeing a big, fully orchestrated show in a tight space.
...Kalbfleisch says he's using "the exact instrumentation that we used on the road to play 1,500-seat houses."

So they are using the original orchestrations and not those watered down ones used in the recent revival?
Signature's Turn, Sans Turntable, With 'Les Miz'

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 12:33am

Yep, I think so.

[MillieDillmount]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 1:40am

Wait, Les Mis is coming back to Broadway already? YAY! I knew it wouldn't stay away long! Any info on when it will open yet, or whose to star in it?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 1:44am

LMAO

[Neverandy]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 9:21am

Sometimes this board is baffling. Really, just unbelievable!

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 12:51pm

But the Sig is that theatre next to the Majestic, right?!?!?!?!

[jordangirl]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 12:53pm

Yeah... And (Virginia) is a sub-name for 44th Street.

[TechEverlasting]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 1:07pm

Yes Virginia, there is a Les Mis Broadway revival.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 1:10pm

You're living in the past.

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 5:13pm

I have tickets to this on December 13th... I'm really excited. I love Les Miserables, but I've noticed that I often like high school productions more than professional ones because they keep the material fresh-- professional productions of Les Mis are pretty predictable, but you never know what you're going to get at a high school. (Once, I was treated to Mr. Tone Deaf Marie-Antoinette-Wigged Javert.) It'll be cool to see a professional production where they interpret things differently.

I think the girl I'm going with will be scandalized, though. She's very, very much a original production purist. One time, shee saw the show with a Javert who didn't have sideburns, and she wouldn't stop complaining about it for days...

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 7:24pm

Don't you mean passed, Lizzie?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 7:25pm

Yes. And casted.

[pdjennings]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 7:27pm

I'm going Thursday night ... I can't wait :) Only the 3rd show in, so I'm sort of expecting some bugs... but I'm in the front "row" so I'm excited. Have you guys seen the seating chart for this thing? I think I'm going to be spat upon by close-up singing!!



Updated On: 11/30/08 at 07:27 PM

[MCfan2]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 7:47pm

I've been seeing a lot of ads for this, and I think some people from my church are going. I thought about it, but the "West Side Story" revival is also coming, and I think maybe I'd rather see that (if it's not completely sold out yet!).

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 10:13pm

Looks like the seating chart they used for Into the Woods, which was an environmental production too. Limited view from the dress circle for that show, though I am not sure about this one.

[morosco]

Posted: 12/2/08 at 11:25am

The article in today's Playbill says "a Broadway-sized 14-piece orchestra".

I miss the old days when a 14-piece orchestra wasn't considered "Broadway-sized".
Les Miz Is Reinvented at 280-Seat Signature in DC Starting Dec. 2

[Amalia Balash]

Posted: 12/2/08 at 11:58am

I'm planning on getting tickets for this, so I'll be very interested to hear early reports from attendees. I'm fond of both Les Miz and Signature (especially their musical productions) and will be fascinated to see how they mesh at the Max.

[musicaltheatrefan3]

Posted: 12/2/08 at 9:04pm

Wow! I'm shocked at how many cast members in this I know. Of the ones mentioned in the Playbill article, I know about 10 of them.

I won't be able to see this production, because well, I'm in Stockholm now, going to Belgium today, and for the entire run of this production, I'll be nowhere near Virginia during any of it. The closest I'll get is Florida, and that's not exactly close. Break a leg, all my Signature Les Mis Friends! Love from Sweden!

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 12/2/08 at 9:10pm

Whoa! One of the ensemble members is a former vocal coach of mine who I haven't seen since I was in eighth grade. I didn't look at the list of ensemble members until you pointed out that you knew cast members... This is cool; I hope she'll remember me if I get to see her after the show! I'm just getting more and more excited about this production.

[pdjennings]

Posted: 12/4/08 at 11:01am

No one from here gone the first couple of nights?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/4/08 at 11:57am

LOL grammar.

[BwayFanatic2]

Posted: 12/4/08 at 12:03pm

I saw the production on the first preview. There are still a few kinks that need to be worked out, but overall I thought the experience was pretty incredible. I've never been a huge fan of Les Miserables, I think because I was introduced to it by the time it had already gotten pretty stale on Broadway, but this production exceeded my expectations. Seeing the show in such a small proximity to the stage was breathtaking. It is extremely dark and bloody. The orchestra sounds terrific. The ensemble is impeccable. And the leads, for the most part, were spot on. I was particularly fond of the Eponine, the Madame T and the Javert. Not wild about the Marius or the Val Jean. They weren't bad. Maybe with time they're performances will get stronger. Overall though, this is absolutely worth seeing. I've only seen two other shows at Signature (Kiss of the Spiderwoman and Into the Woods) and this has been my favorite so far.

[pdjennings]

Posted: 12/5/08 at 2:00pm

Hi again folks --

Well -- I saw Les Mis at the Signature last night... and I can honestly say that I've never seen anything quite like it. It's darker, tonally, I think... and definitely has an almost "slicker" overall feel to it. At times, it was like "Tim Burton's Les Mis" ...

The stage is in center of the theater 'box' ... with catwalk-like extensions coming out to the forward corners. The whole place is festooned with large broken window panes, hanging chairs and various junk... and nearly pitch black. I almost felt like I was entering one of those haunted house things when I was being seated.

I was VERY close (see the seeing chart above -- I was in A 101) so there were times when the actors would be right on top of you. Which did make it a bit harder for some of the more full-stage numbers... but not bothersome. If I get to go again, I will probably try for the center dress-circle, just so I can compare the two.

There were, indeed, a handful of changes made to the show ... mostly about staging and props. Instead of "breaking rocks", for example, the prisoners at the beginning represent their laboring by hoisting the aforementioned chairs to the ceiling. The barricade, of course, was completely different -- more of a scrap metal heap -- and there is no turntable. Costumes were similar to other stagings... with a few exceptions -- Javert in leather pants, no powdered-wig Thenardiers. I miss a few things -- particularly the way the heartbreaking massacre/aftermath scene is done on the turntable -- but such changes are understandable in this version.

The music was excellent ... just as booming as I was hoping for in such a small space. The cast was very good ... with only a few weak links. Eponine was AMAZING and the older Cosette was quite good too. The Thenardiers where wonderful... and the kids, while not completely comfortable, gave it their all. Javert is way better than Valjean, who wasn't bad ... but I've seen better. Marius was rather yawn-worthy, I'm afraid.

Overall, it's a very unique and, at times, thrilling experience. Les Mis is my favorite show and I've probably see it done a dozen times or more in my life ... so I feel like I'd be quick to harsh judgement regarding changes, etc ... but I have to say that I really, really enjoyed it.

[BwayFanatic2]

Posted: 12/5/08 at 2:31pm

That's interesting that you thought it reminded you of a Tim Burton rendition of Les Mis. I was watching Sweeney Todd last night and thought that Signature's Les Mis has a very similar feeling too it as well. I was lucky enough to get seats in the center of the dress circle and the view from there is spectacular. I was curious what it would be like from the floor. I'm probably going to take my mother for Christmas. Should I stick with the dress circle or try the floor?

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 12/5/08 at 2:38pm

Javert in leather pants?

...

*Gives dirty teenage girl mind a few seconds to recollect itself* Well, this production certainly sounds like it'll be interesting. Now I'm really looking forward to it. (And not just because of the leather pants.) Though by Tim Burton's "Les Miserables," I'm assuming this does NOT mean that Johnny Depp plays Jean Valjean?

Oh, how was Enjolras? I always feel like that's a character that makes or breaks the show.