My two sentence review of tonight's show would be: I didn't cry. How sad.
Here's my long review, with the caveat that I'm a big fan of the show and can be picky: None of the actors really shone. The highlight was definitely Bring Him Home, which Aaron Walpole (Ramin Karimloo's understudy, who played Annas in the recent Superstar revival) sang beautifully. He did a nice job overall although he sounded like he had a frog in his throat on all the low notes and wasn't a very compelling actor. I'm still very disappointed Karimloo was out. The tie for weakest cast member goes to the actors who played Fantine, Eponine, and Javert (or, the bland chick from Ghost, the shrill chick from Book of Mormon, and Will Swenson). They all sang their big songs passably but were overall unimpressive or even annoying. Marius, Grantaire, the Bishop, and Enjolras were good. Cosette was Cosette. Gavroche and the Thenardiers were fine (the hilarity of many of the Thenardiers' scenes was counterbalanced, as usual, by having way too much of them). Almost everyone's acting was ridiculously over the top, especially Swenson's. No one stood out as exceptional (again, except for Walpole in Bring Him Home).
The quality of the production, otherwise, was okay. The ensemble was great. Most of the cuts were the same as those made to the touring productions, although some lyrics were changed to match the ones from the movie. There's a lot more unnecessary stage violence than in the original. There's also a lot more random shouting of made up dialogue by the ensemble, resulting in some pretty funny lines that stood out ("If you'd been there tonight you might know how it feels" "We weren't there, Marius!"). The turntable is sorely missed, especially in scenes like the Runaway Cart, Empty Chairs at Empty Tables (which is sung without any chairs or tables since there isn't time for a set change after), and when Enjolras' body is revealed. They've added digital projections to most scenes, which occasionally made me motion sick (I had to look away for almost half of One Day More). There are two or three narrative changes I really liked (SPOILERS: I especially liked the change that Eponine dies saving Marius, and that Fantine's first customer when she becomes a prostitute is the foreman or someone played by the same actor).
My ultimate feeling is that it was fine, but not the emotional powerhouse I hoped for. I wouldn't have been disappointed if it was a random tour I'd happened to catch, but for a much heralded Broadway revival it left a lot to be desired. I still want to see Karimloo as Valjean. Otherwise, I'd actually like to see it further down the road when the "big name" Broadway people have left the show.
Updated On: 3/12/14 at 12:12 AM
