all right all you Les Miz lovers out there... — Page 2

For me it is the tenth anniversary cast with the exception of Frances Rufelle, she is still my all time favorite Eponine (I still love Lea Salonga though) Ruthie Henshall and Philip Quast are just so damn good on that recording, and my love Michael Ball is better on this recording then the original London. Is it too soon to have a revival? the vhs tape doesn't compare to seeing it live.

The CSR is 100% accurate to how Les Miz was last performed in America. I'm not sure about over seas. . . but as for about two stanzas of extra lyrics (not seen on stage) ALL of the show in included on that one recording.

If you have seen les miz live you will want the CSR simply for the sake of hearing all the music and being able to relive all the scenes.

On a side note. . . I'm looking for a cassette version of the show to play in my car. But I've found it difficult to find a copy. PLEASE e-mail me if any one knows where I could get a copy!!

The cassette version I have is really old but I can try to figure out where I got it. My car also only plays cassettes so it does come in handy.

---

I have the Original London Cast and I love Patti LuPone as Fantine. I would love to check out some of these other ones, esp. the one with Lea Salonga. Too bad they're so damn pricey!

---

How can you hate Kaho Shimada? I saw her perform "On My Own' in Japanese and it was beautiful. I was so glad that they used her for the CSR. And she's ten times better than Frances Ruffelle (Who I like). Is it because she doesn't speak English?

---

It's not because she doesn't speak English- I actually didn't know that. I just personally don't like her voice and what she does with the character. She has weird vowels. And I know that's probably because she didn't know english but it still irks me. Her voice, for me, is too... gosh I don't know how to describe it... dipthongy maybe? I'd have to listen to it again to know for sure. Geez. I didn't know the fact that I didn't like her would become such a big topic.

---

Honey, on here EVERYTHING is a big topic!!! LOL!

Seriously tho, if you don't like Kaho that's fine - there are other choices.

The 10th Anniversary Concert (TAC) has most of the show (with Lea Salonga as Eponine). The bits that have been trimmed are minor and won't be missed. It is live with audience applause but that doesn't seem to bother too many people. (I have the Cd set but seldom play it since I also have the DVD of the whole concert)

The original 1985 London cast has different orchestrations but it does preserve Colm Wilkinson as his performance was when the show was new. It also has Patti Lupone as Fantine and includes Gavroches's Act one number "Little People" which was dropped from the show after the first production. (He still has a reprise of it in Act II which is no longer a reprise with the earlier vesrion cut.) This set also has a short aria for Cosette "I saw him Once" that has also been dropped. The downside is that it is on two not-very-full Cd's and with any opera (that's what LES MIZ is) I prefer a complete recording.

The Broadway cast set has the same main excerpts (minus the two cut numbers mentioned above) with Randy Graf replacing Patti Lu.

Has anyone ever thought of recording a singe Cd of just the major songs? (There is a highlights disc from the CSR but that has unnatural fades and abrupt stops and starts. We need one produced as a single CD.) As I said, I prefer my opera recordings note complete but I bet there would be a huge market for a singe disc of LES MIZ.

---

Since we were talking about the CSR, differences between the final days of the Broadway production and the 3nt are a moot point...

Let's begin with the fact that the CSR was recorded in 1988 and released in 1989. The Broadway production implemented 10th anniversary changes in 1997 (see link I posted earlier), and then in 2000 and 2001, both the Broadway and touring companies implemented the "avoid overtime!" cuts.

Thus, everything about Les Miz which was modified after the CSR was recorded is obviously not featured on that recording -- and is no longer accurate as to how the show has been performed live in several years. That's what I'm saying.

---

Updated On: 3/28/05 at 08:22 PM