"Les Miserbales" Previews- Page 7

[bwayrose7]

Posted: 3/7/14 at 5:41pm

Building on that, the other thing I miss in the musical (though it came through a bit in the movie) is the distinction between the young rebels. I know it's probably a nitpicky thing to say, but I do love how the novel manages to make you care about each and every one individually: Courfeyrac is a flirt, Combeferre is a philosopher, Feuilly has a thing about Poland... Onstage they're hardly even named out loud, excepting Enjolras and Grantaire (which is a whole other story of subtext). I agree with darquegk- it's nice to see some nuances.

[darquegk]

Posted: 3/7/14 at 6:50pm

Cohen brought a similar nuance to his role. In the book, Thenardier is a master of disguise, capable of disappearing and reappearing as a completely different person. Cohen played it as though even the inkeeper, with his smarmy French accent, was just another character and not the real him.

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 3/10/14 at 9:21am

Any update on the running time? What time will I be outside after an 8pm show?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 3/10/14 at 9:31am

Probably about 10:45. It's not much different/longer than the run time it's been for the past 10 years.

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 3/10/14 at 10:49am

Well the question was coming from someone who has never seen any production of this show, ever, so thank you for your condescending answering. Much appreciated!

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 3/10/14 at 10:57am

How hard is it to google the run time for a show that's been around this long?

[Hairspray0901]

Posted: 3/10/14 at 12:29pm

GreasedLightning - I was there Wednesday evening 3/6 and it didn't get out until 11:00pm. They started at 8:01.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/10/14 at 12:55pm

Hm... interesting. The touring production clocked in at 2 hours and 45 minutes. Seeing this tonight. I will post my thoughts later tonight! I am really excited to Caissie Levy and Will Swenson onstage again.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 3/10/14 at 11:51pm

A few incoherant quick thoughts on my phone. Aaron Walpole was on as Valjean, and was great, very "classic" Valjean. Pleasantly surprised by Swenson. Nikki M. James reminded me of Frances Ruffelle. The audience ate up the Thernardiers. Andy Mientus was respectable, though Kyle Scstliffe lacked the charisma and bite of Enjolras. Thunderous applause after each number.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 12:37am

Yikes. I don't even know where to begin with this...

Ramin Karimloo was out. Aaron Walpole was on as Valjean. His first few numbers (especially the Prologue and Who Am I?) were VERY rough. He basically spoke the lyrics, and when he tried to sing it sounded extremely scratchy, and he did not hit the notes. He got better as the show progressed, and his Bring Him Home was phenomenal. Still, I was vastly underwhelmed with his performance. Nothing memorable about his Jean Valjean. Still disappointed that Ramin Karimloo was out, but it is what it is.

Caissie Levy... I love her to death and was SOOO excited to see her, but her performance was bland. Betsy Morgan, who played Fantine on the tour and is in the ensemble here, did so much more with the role than Caissie Levy did. When I heard Morgan's voice during her solo for Turning, it made me miss her even more.

As other have mentioned, Keala Settle and Cliff Saunders are so over the top it's ridiculous. Yes, the Thernardiers are comic roles, but good god almighty they were all over the place.

Nikki M. James is completely miscast here. She just does not have the voice for the role. There's nothing more to say on that.

Andy Mientus and Will Swenson were the beacons of light in this production. They managed to turn in performances that actually made me care about their characters. What a concept! Both were truly amazing, and Will Swenson's Stars was chilling perfection.

The set is the exact same thing that toured the U.S. for two years. It's cheap, unwieldily, and NOISY. The pieces track on and off while making loud clunking noises. This KILLED certain moments. The stage is left completely empty for a lot of scenes. The lighting and projection design were extremely dark and left a lot of scenes cast in shadow. The set worked for the tour when the show was doing one week runs, but they really needed to vamp it up for the Imperial Theatre because what they have now is not cutting it.

"Scenery chewing" has come up a lot on here, and I see why. Pretty much 90% of the cast (including the ensemble) are so over the top that it is almost like they are parodying the show. Quite frankly, I was surprised there were still pieces of the sparse and cheap set still standing when the curtain came up for act 2.

Whizzer said it best, "There were a few moments here and there that worked, but for the most part it was three hours that just did not want to end."

[RW3]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 12:44am

Ughhhh........ Also, Laurence Connor left to start Miss Saigon rehearsals. This has me even more worried for Miss Saigon. Cameron, when will you learn!!!!!

[RW3]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 12:48am

From these reviews, I can only see this production getting 2 Tony nominations:
1. Best Leading Actor in a Musical-Ramin
2. Best Featured Actor in a Musical-Will Swenson
bwayphreak234, What about Kyle Scatliffe?

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 12:54am

Saw it tonight and thought it was a mess. This production gives a new meaning to the word "bombastic." Everything from the sound design to the performances is so damn loud and dramatic and over-wrought, without an ounce of subtlety or true heart/emotion behind any of it. Every big solo number is delivered like an American Idol performance.

Ramin was out, which was a huge disappointment to me from the start. Aaron Walpole was on as Valjean and he sang the part with force and gusto, but his acting was beyond over-the-top. I will fully admit that his "Bring Him Home" was stunning. Caissie Levy doesn't bring a shade of nuance to her Fantine, Andy Mientus is woefully miscast as Marius, and while Nikki M. James is in fine voice, even she managed to give remarkably unremarkable performance. And look, Keala Settle is playing Mme. Thenardier with such ridiculous flair that you half expect her to not even bother with chewing the sets and just start chewing the theater itself. But I'll be damned if she didn't crack me up. Cliff Saunders, on the other hand, was just grating. The less that is said about Will Swenson, the better.

The sets are awkwardly big and bulky...I did miss the turntable. It's particularly worth noting how (literally and figuratively) loud the show is. I'll start with the literal. The orchestra sounds fantastic, as does the ensemble, but if my ears are ringing during "Red and Black" and "Lovely Ladies," I was prepared to be blown out of the theater during "One Day More" and The Finale. Figuratively, the show is overacted and so beyond operatic in each performers' approach that it's incredibly jarring. Some moments even got laughs because of how heavy-handed they were handled, both in terms of direction and performance.

Full disclosure, I'm not a massive LES MIS fan, but I certainly do like the show and appreciate it for what it is. But this production is...lacking. I have fond memories of seeing the original production in the second to last row of the rear mezzanine at The Imperial. I'd like to keep those memories of the show. The memories of this production, not so much.

The audience ate it up though.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 12:56am

Kyle Scatliffe was passable. I forgot about his performance all together which is why I did not mention him I guess. A LOT of things are forgettable with this production. I can definitely see Will Swenson getting a nod, and he should. He was really the only one turning in a performance that stuck with me. This will get nominated for best revival of course since there are only a few revivals this season, but I will be very surprised if it wins. VERY.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 12:58am

Also, not being a massive, massive LES MIZ fan, I wanted to ask, did they change some of the lyrics for this production? Or are there different versions?

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 1:00am

I agree. It felt very cheap. The audience didn't mind though and went nuts after each song. I enjoyed it, but I doubt I'll remember it in a few months. The staging felt awkward at times, which really took the dramatics out of it, especially Eponine's death. Boy, do I miss that barricade. Seeing it in this setting reminded me how indifferent I am about the show.

Side track: Apparently someone was escorted out for taking pictures. A huge flash went off during I Dreamed a Dream



Updated On: 3/11/14 at 01:00 AM

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 1:02am

The only lyric changes I picked up on were during Lovely Ladies ("Belly burns like fire, will the bleeding ever stop?") and Castle on a Cloud and Little People have been shortened. Little People has been shortened to pretty much just one verse, so I think it's more correct to say it has been cut altogether for the most part.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 1:05am

Another question: are they alternating the role of Gavroche? I don't have my Playbill in front of me, but I didn't notice a particularly cloying or strong lisp on the (quite talented) little boy who played the role tonight.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 1:08am

Joshua Colley and Gaten Matarazzo alternate the role. The minute Colley stepped on stage, I knew I recognized his voice. I saw him in Newsies back in September

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 1:12am

He was adorable! And one of my favorite performers in the show...which says a lot, considering how young he is and how minor the part is in the scheme of things.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 1:19am

He was definitely a standout and the audience loved him. I'm glad everyone around me enjoyed themselves, but I left disappointed. I haven't seen a live production in years, so it was nice to see again. For a person seeing this for the first time, I don't think they will mind. Sad, because the piece had so much potential for great staging.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 1:21am

Gavroche was great. He had more stage prescence than 90% of the adults he was sharing the stage with. I also missed the turntable and original barricade design. The set now is just clunky heaps of brick , metal, and wood that are shoved around noisily.

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 2:20am

This show is like ReNt, it won't get a worthy "revival" if it never really goes away.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 6:42am

I think we should just wait & see what the critics think first, because the tour did get rave reviews!

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 8:06am

The only lyric changes I picked up on were during Lovely Ladies ("Belly burns like fire, will the bleeding ever stop?") and Castle on a Cloud and Little People have been shortened. Little People has been shortened to pretty much just one verse, so I think it's more correct to say it has been cut altogether for the most part.

Those were all changed years ago. The first one was done sometime in the late '90s. I remember Sutton Foster having that line during the short time she was in the ensemble. The second two you mention were cut with the overtime cuts around New Year's 2001. (They shaved the show down so that they wouldn't have to keep paying the orchestra overtime pay; the show was that long.)

The only lyric change that is unique to this production are a few of Gavroche's lines in Look Down. They now match the movie (and for the better, IMO).

I AM a huge Les Miz fan and while I enjoyed this production (I saw the tour it's based on as well), I didn't enjoy it quite enough to disagree with a lot of the pans here. There haven't really been any huge defenders in the thread either, which may be saying something.