Les Miserables- first preview review- Page 4

[NJRae]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 7:48am

I'm so happy to hear that the first preview went so well. I have never seen Les Mis and am looking forward to it. I have had the OBCR sitting on my desk for weeks now but decided not to listen until after seeing the show so that I have no point of reference going in.

That said, I'm really sad to hear all the Daphne bashing. I will say that the first time I heard her live I was shocked by her voice (after hearing her on the OBCR of Rent, her current voice was not what I was expecting!) but by the second and third time I saw her live I was in love with it (her voice). I do think that she sounds better when she sings softer songs and doesn't go for the big "power ballads" as someone else put it, but I think she can pull off just about anything. Maybe she wasn't what people were expecting for this role, but maybe if you watch again you will be able to get past your expectations and see a different take on it. Remember that different is not always bad.

Of course this is all coming from someone who has yet to see the show, regardless of who is in it so what do I know! Can't wait to see it though :)

[ken8631]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 8:05am

Honestly, Daphne sounded like a child trying to sing. Badly. The bashing is well-deserved, she is totally miscast in my opinion. I've seen a number of Fantines in the 20 times in over 20 years of seeing the show, and she is by far the worst. Many people were looking at each other with puzzled looks on their faces as she sang. Their reactions reminded me of the song in "Evil Dead The Musical" the other night - "What the F--- Was That?".....

I've never seen Lea Salonga as Eponione live, but of all the Eponines I have seen, Celia was the best last night! PERFECT for the part.

[ken8631]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 8:26am

Another note (wife reminded me)...

For some reason, the speaking and singing were so clear that we were actually able to understand all the words being sung/spoken. That was a first for us! Not sure why this was, but it was very noticible (and pleasant) for us!

[carolinaguy]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 8:53am

Can't wait to see Celia next month, but she will have to go a LOOOOOONG way to even touch Lea Salonga in the part. I went to her B'way opening night and she got a second curtain call. They had to dark the house after "On My Own" because the ovation was so long. House full of fans, but it was still one hell of a performance. Now if they would just hire her to replace Ana in "Wicked" this winter...

How was "Stars"??? I'm imagining that hearing Norm sing it is a religious experience.

[theminutepast]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 9:45am

I noticed that on the tour the last three times I saw it. I didn't know what they were doing differently, but it was very refreshing. Also, the people I brought who were new to Les Mis could catch every word.

[ken8631]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 10:04am

Norm was great. Wife is a big Terrence Mann fan, and she wasn't dissapointed by Norm. Neither was I.

[WaltSummersPI]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 10:06am

Copy/pasting my review from the other board:

Keeping in mind that this was the first preview (and that caution stretches to both the great and the not-so-great)...

I think they're off to a pretty fantastic start.

The STARS of this show are Gary Beach and Norm Lewis. Respectively, "Master of the House", "Dog Eats Dog" and "Stars" were thrilling.

Gary Beach's performance as Thenardier takes what we know about this character, and throws it beyond the pale of the absurd, and it works. Aside from Celia Keenan-Bolger, he was the only one last night who got entrance applause. And even though he and Jenny Galloway (who is masterful as Mme. Thenardier) are the "comic relief" of the show, as it were, Beach's "Dog Eats Dog" is downright creepy...

Norm Lewis is extraordinary. His characterization of Javert is crisp and well-thought out, and SO beautifully sung. Until I got to the theatre, I'd been so concerned about the non-traditional casting, but Mr. Lewis really steals the show with a powerful, engaging performance. Aside from a problem during "The Confrontation" (I believe what happened was Mr. Gemignani repeated a line or skipped a verse, and Mr. Lewis was thrown off, and stopped singing for a bit), he gave a deep, thoughtful performance last night... "Javert's Suicide" was haunting, and brought what had been a poweful "Valjean's Soliloquy" to the emotional counterpoint that might have been missing under anyone else's direction.

Alexander Gemignani is good. Very good. His Valjean, for the most part, is excellently sung, and well acted. He's VERY young, and the makeup people didn't seem to do much to change his appearance through the progression of the show, which was rather distracting (I was sitting in the third row of the orchestra), but his capable acting made up for that, in part. From time to time, he seemed to slip out of character for a few moments, most times when reacting to other actors/characters, and he could use a little more urgency to his performance, but what he's got down, he's REALLY got down. "Bring Him Home" was the clear highlight of his performance (the audience made Aaron Lazar as Enjorlas wait on his line for two or three minutes, as they applauded Gemignani)...I think Alexander's performance has a LOT of potential; he's particularly great working against Lewis and Beach.

Celia Keenan-Bolger is everything I expected her to be as Eponine, and a little more. Spunky, bitter, intelligent, street-smart... and vocally, a lot more interesting than many other women who've played the part. "On My Own", in particular... a lot of Celia's success in her choices choices comes down to the particular emoting of phrases, and what words she was emphasizing. An honest, believable (and very well sung) performance.

Ali Ewoldt is the first likeable Cosette I've ever seen. Most times, I think of the character as completely unlikeable, but you can't help but like Ewoldt's interpretation. She plays Cosette VERY young, not just as a lust-lorn teenager, but as a young woman who is coming into her own, and who feels genuine curiosity about her father's mysterious past. So many people playing this part fail in the connection to Valjean, and there was a genuine tension to "In My Life", and raw emotion to Valjean's death from Ms. Ewoldt...

Adam Jacobs and Aaron Lazar are both excellent as Marius and Enjorlas... Lazar's voice just doesn't stop, and Jacobs has a fine handle on what I consider to be a generally thankless part. Carly Rose Sonenclar (Young Cosette) and Brian D'Addario (Gavroche) were also quite good, D'Addario getting tons of applause after each of his bits. ("Little People" has been entirely cut, and the substitution of "Ten Little Bullets" works well.) Of the ensemble, I was primarily watching Marya Grandy and Drew Sarich, as I've seen their work before, and enjoyed what they both did here (Grandy especially), but the ensemble is uniformly excellent, and the "big" numbers are energentic and lively.

The new orchestratons sounded lovely... I'm not sure if the cast is having a hard time hearing the orchestra, but it seemed that in quite a few places, the singers and the orchestra were out of sync... probably an early-previews problem that'll be fixed before the press gets there. I noticed a few changes, but the only one I was bothered by was during "Fantine's Arrest"; Bamatabois, instead of calling Fantine a "little whore", calls her "an ugly slut"... I'm not sure WHERE that choice came from, but it took me completely out of the show for a few moments.

The only major problem I had last night was with Daphne Rubin-Vega. As others have said, I think there was an audible relief in the audience when Fantine died last night, because the characterization is SO off the mark and bland. I don't know if Ms. Rubin-Vega was ill last night, but vocally, what could have been interesting (the rough tenor to her voice) was almost painful and screechy, with a lot of sharp notes and cracking... I felt her performance was overdramatic, and not believable at all. In a cast of otherwise excellent performances, I'm not sure why this was all overlooked. First preview audiences are so excited to be there, they'll usually give even a mediocre performance a round of rousing applaus, but "I Dreamed A Dream" was followed by a polite but tepid response. It's just not there.

All in all, I enjoyed myself quite a bit, and will definitely be making a return visit.

[ken8631]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 10:17am

I agree with the review, and I'll be back after it opens.

Only disagreement - Gary Beach was good, but I still can't get Nick Wyman's portrayal of Thenardier out of my head.... I though Mr. Beach was a little too over the top at times, but still enjoyable.

And yes, Cosette (the older version, since the young one was just "passable") was excellent in her Broadway debut. What a voice, and excellent acting!

[BroadwayBaby21]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 10:19am

excellent reviews, keep them coming!
I have tickets for the first week in January, and I can not wait.
But hopefully Daphne gets better/figures out her character by the time I see it, or I will be extremely disappointed!

[Ciaron McCarthy]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 10:23am

I am a HUGE fan of this show. I have seen it 64 times. I used to be quite fanatical about it actually. For some reason I am not excited about this revival. I didn't even go last night. I will be there opening night but a part of me doesn't even want to go.

I do want to see Celia though. I am still looking for someone to top Frances Ruffelle. Has not happened yet. I am also now curious about Ms. Vega. Can she really be that bad? Maybe I'll go tonight.

[HOUFlip04]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 10:33am

Cool. Some ensemble review. How was Victor Hawks as Brujon and other roles?

[WaltSummersPI]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 10:35am

He was good... to be honest, with Les Mis, part of being in the ensemble is creating a strong character and then blending in, and everyone seemed to do that just fine.

[mentaltenant]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 10:35am

It really shocks the hell out of me that Daphne would've missed the mark on this (as you guys say), it just seemed so off that it was a perfect choice for her to play. Hopefully by the time previews are over she'll kick it into gear and show everyone what she can do. Hope.

[davalmar]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 10:39am

Regarding Daphne and "I Dreamed a Dream", I agree that she is a good actress, but can we just cut to the chase, please. Acting is essential on Broadway, but in a song of this range (both emotional and vocal), shouldn't it be performed by a great actress who can also raise the roof with a soaring, powerful and healthy voice? You can't tell me there are not at least 10,000 women willing and able to do that here in NYC. I understand how casting works, I love Daphne and her previous work, but I am disappointed that in Les Miserables, of all shows, they would not value great singing more than the other shows currently on Broadway.

[Kitzarina]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 10:40am

My question is this--how were the students? My lovely Les Amis de l'ABC have long been one of the most moving parts of Les Miz for me.

[WaltSummersPI]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 10:45am

Aside from the singing (maybe Daphne was sick, I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt), I just felt like her performance consisted of thoughts like, "Okay, this is Fantine's next line" and "Here's where Fantine looks vulnerable"... during the bit where the factory girl goes for Fantine's letter from the Thenardiers, Daphne didn't react, at all. Of ALL the reactions someone could have here (anger, shock, dismay), stoicism didn't seem like a good one.

[Ciaron McCarthy]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 10:47am

You do not need to have a huge belting voice to play Fantine. I actually prefer the more subtle performances of the role. Randy Graff was too much!! Patti Lupone was, well, Patti Lupone.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 10:50am

Am I the only one who thought Norm Lewis' performance was bland? I love this man, but I expected much more. His rendition of "Stars" was fantastic, but his acting to me seemed very wooden.

The STARS of the show for me were Alexander Gemignani and Celia Keenan-Bolger. His "Bring Him Home" stole the show and I thought his acting and singing overall were right on the mark. I wasn't thrilled about his being cast, but he totally blew me away with his performance. Celia was perfectly cast as Eponine. Her "On My Own" was excellent, as was her acting overall. I actually cared about her character and was so sad when she died (unlike when Fantine died and I was happy).

I also thought Gary Beach was way over the top...was unimpressed by him.

Honestly though, this was the first preview...they still have a lot to work out, actingwise. As far as lighting, set changes and costume changes, everything ran smoothly last night. When the acting improves, the show will be what it needs to be, but for me, it didn't feel like LES MIS should feel last night. I will see it again after it opens and I hope the performances improve.

Congrats to Alex and Celia though for fabulous first preview performances.

[WaltSummersPI]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 10:55am

WithoutaTrace, I think Norm Lewis' Javert was outstanding. Part of the trick of that role, to me, is realizing that there's not much TO Javert, other than his obsession with the law, and with Jen Valjean's escape. The "wooden" performance that you saw, I'd describe as "dutiful". Javert is ALL about his duty, through the second confrontation in the sewers. It's only during "Javert's suicide" that that mask begins to unravel.

[ken8631]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 10:56am

I still will be suprised if Daphne lasts until opening night. If she wasn't sick, she really does need to be replaced with someone who can act and sing the role..... She didn't last night.... Hopefully (I think it would be miraculous) she'll improve soon.

She was also obvious a a "buulet boy" at the barricade. Distracting. Also saw Celia as one of the ladies of the night, she blended in very well with them!

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 10:59am

I completely agree with you, Ken.

[WaltSummersPI]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 11:02am

Agreed with both of you. I can't imagine they'd let Daphne be reviewed as part of this cast.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 11:05am

As far as your comment about Norm Lewis goes, Walt, I think it was just me who disliked his performance. Others said that is how Javert is *supposed* to act...so I guess it was a character choice (but I would prefer that he was a little more human instead of robotic).

[shesamarshmallow]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 11:05am

Did Farah Alvin leave the ensemble for Pirates of Penzance?

I think Daphne's much too high profile to be replaced - it's simply wishful thinking.

[ken8631]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 11:05am

I think opening night critics would tear her apart, and unfortunately would hurt the show which otherwise has an excellent cast....