Note: I've been working on this post for a few days - it is really long and has a bunch of pictures and GIFs. Sorry it took so long!
Your big question - how was it? That was my big question as well (going into it), and I must say I was pretty anxious on that subject. I wanted so much for it to be wonderful and splendid and magical just as Les Mis should always be. I saw the US National Tour almost two years ago and had very high expectations of how everything should look and sound and be in general. It is hard to completely please me when it comes to my favorite musical; I think most people understand that to some extent. Am I rambling? Sorry. To the point - was it good?
I am pleased to say that it was good; very good indeed! I enjoyed it muchly (and yes, I just made up a word). So shall we start from the beginning? Yes? Very well, then. Oh, and there will be pictures scattered throughout - all from Google and Pinterest.
When the theater went dark and the curtain went up, I admit I got chills. Like violently shaking chills. Yeah, I'm a crazy Les Mis fan and I can't conceal it. Then the music started, and I was hyperventilating. Les Mis is an amazing experience, and this was no exception. The orchestra was pretty small, but the dozen or so musicians pulled the score off very nicely. It got me to thinking (again) how wonderful it would be to be down there, in the pit, for a musical. Phantom or Les Mis, preferably. The only problem is, I play piano, which isn't ideal. They mostly just have keyboards now that can be set to make all different sounds. Maybe I'll have to learn a new instrument.
Valjean was very, very good. His voice was very strong, as was his acting; I'll highlight on that a bit later. Javert was good, although not perfect. His voice was a little weak at times, but more later. Overall, the prologue was very good - the ensemble singers were amazing and added a lot of benefits to the production as a whole. In that part right after Valjean is released, the actor who portrayed him did an excellent job of all that I imagined he would be feeling at that point. I was tearing up at "Drink from the pool - how clean the taste! and never forget the years, the waste. Nor forgive them for what they've done; they are the guilty, every one."
I must say I was a bit disappointed in the Bishop of Digne. He is usually a character that I really like, but not in this production. Not to say that he was in the least unlikeable, I just wasn't especially impressed. His "I have bought your soul for God" was lovely, however. :)
Valjean's soliloquy was gorgeous. Great singing and acting, when combined, makes for excellence. And you know that feeling you get when he tears up that piece of yellow paper and throws it into the air and the Ab-F-Eb-C strings music starts for At The End Of The Day? No words. Just no words. At The End Of The Day was good, as all of the ensemble songs were. Strong acting, and wonderful voices from all of the actors/actresses.
And the real show-stopper, I Dreamed A Dream. I'm sorry, but it was not good - not good at all. The actress who played Fantine was a big disappointment to me, and I'm not quite sure why they cast her. Her voice wasn't spectacular, and her acting was even worse. She put no feeling into her voice, and it turned out to be a very bland performance of a usually lovely song. This pretty much sums up my reaction:
SO, moving on. Let's just skip ahead a song, alright? I prefer to skip this one (or two if I'm listening to the CSR) because it is, well, unsavory and inappropriate. I think making it what it is was unnecessary on the part of Claude Michel-Schoenberg and Alain Boubil and I don't appreciate it in the least. Moving right along... To The Runaway Cart. The props were well done, and the acting as well. I was amazed at how real it looked when Valjean was lifting up the cart, which was filled with giant boulders. He made it look like they were hundreds of pounds instead of Styrofoam. ;) Who Am I was gorgeous! He hit every note perfectly, even though the last note on the 1 of 2-4-6-0-1 was a bit weak. "And so Javert, yous see it's true - this man bears no more guilt than you!" Oh goodness *dies*. Come To Me was just okay, considering how bad Fantine was. Confrontation was spine-chilling! Javert was very good in this song, so that combined with how good Valjean was, well, you get the picture.
At first, I didn't like Little Cosette; I almost never do right away. Her voice wasn't 'perfect' like I always imagine it to be - in fact, it was quite strong and not very pretty at all. It did grow on me, but not a whole lot. She was very cute, though, I must say.
Oh, the Thenardiers.
Oh, the Thenardiers. Monsieur was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I am usually partial to fat Thenardiers *giggle*, but this one I think completely re-invented the character and I loved it. He was very tall, skinny, and weasely, and more like a skulking fox than the blundering oaf Thenardier usually is. He was, in effect, perfect. Madame was not quite as good as Monsieur, but close. She was sufficiently mean, yet funny at the same time. In combination, the two were excellent in The Thenardiers' Waltz Of Treachery (or, as it is sometimes called, The Bargain). My favorite parts of that song are when they try to cross themselves but don't know how and then when Monsieur keeps getting Cosette's name wrong. :)
Fast forward now several years to 1832 (?).
Look down, and see the beggars at your feet; look down, and show some mercy if you can. It is in this awesome scene that we are re-introduced to Valjean, Javert, Thenardier, Eponine, and Cosette. Only they're all much older. We also get to meet some new people, including Marius, Enjolras, Gavroche, and Thenardier's gang. Marius was very, very good. Almost excellent. You'll see below I gave him a 4.5 out of 5, and that is being very picky. :) His "I didn't see you there, forgive me" made me smile because he and Cosette were so cute together. Oh, and by the way, that is a quote I use at every single opportunity. I have to try very hard not to sing it, though.
Stars was not especially strong, which was disappointing to me. I remember when I first saw this musical in San Fransisco, Stars made me cry 'cause it was so gorgeous, and this was not even close. The little part with Gavroche at the end was really cute, however; the little actor who played him was quite talented.
Trust Gavroche, have no fear, don't you worry Auntie dear; you can always find me here! Eponine's Errand was where we get to see the characters of Marius and Eponine a little bit better. I felt like in the - what is it? like sixty seconds? - of the song these characters are formed in the audience's minds, and that is how they are viewed the rest of the show. If a production doesn't have a strong Eponine's Errand the whole love triangle thing seems kind of sappy. And trust me, it's not good to have a sappy love triangle. The girl who played Eponine reminded me of Lea Salonga, who is, in fact, my favorite Eponine ever. HER VOICE!!!... OK, back on topic. She brought out the bitter side of Eponine, whereas, say, Samantha Barks brought out the broken and desperate side. I like both, or
all, I should say - there are far more than two types. Her voice, of course, wasn't as good as Lea's (no one's is), but it was still good. Oh, and if you haven't heard her sing before, go right now to YouTube and type in 'lea salonga on my own'. You'll be blown away.
Now we can talk about the barricade boys. :) They were all good; as I said before, the ensemble was very well put together. I personally can't figure out how some men just have the most gorgeous voices. My favorite was Grantaire. I usually am not a big fan of his character (sorry guys!), but this one was very well done. He, Feuilly, and Courfeyrac were my favorites out of the bunch.
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| Here's a picture of Fra Fee as Courfeyrac because he's a cutie. |
Red And Black, which happens to be my brother's favorite song out of the whole musical, was perfect. So was Do You Hear The People Sing.
Chillses. ;)
In My Life was beautiful. Cosette's voice had feeling (hooray!), and I loved seeing the amazing acting between her and Valjean.
In my life, I'm no longer a child and I yearn for the truth that you know, of the years, year ago. Not to mention she had gorgeous hair. She looked pretty much like a brunette Katie Hall, and sounded similar as well. (That is a good thing).
Marius and Eponine's part of the song was quite pretty as well.
In my life, she has burst like the music of angels, the light of the sun. And my life seems to stop as if something is over and something has scarcely begun! I have to show you a picture of the amazing Samantha Barks because she is gorgeous and is a great actor. Just look at the tears in her eyes!
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| In my life, there's been no one like him anywhere, anywhere, where he is... If he asked, I'd be his. |
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A Heart Full Of Love. The song that some people find to be incredibly cheesy, and others find to be the most romantic collision of words and music notes in history. I happen to be in the letter group, and no, I am not ashamed of it. I feel like this, although it is Phantom and All I Ask Of You, applies to Les Miserables and A Heart Full Of Love as well. :)
Yesss, precious. All right, but it does bear mentioning that when Marius was climbing over the wall into the garden, the wall looked about ready to fall right over - it was very wobbly and creaky. I kind of held my breath because I was worried it was all going to come crashing down, even though I have climbed rickety fences myself too many times to count. I think it distracted from that terribly romantic moment quite a bit, but I suppose it could not be avoided.
One Day More. The most epic, most amazing, most powerful, most bestest greatest awesomest song in THE WHOLE WORLD. No joke, I'm completely serious. I am not going to try to describe it because there are simply no words. YouTube, y'all. You won't regret it. It incorporates every single theme from the whole musical and several tunes from different songs into one, well, I won't try to describe it again. Fantine isn't in it, but we do hear I Dreamed A Dream sung by Marius, Cosette, and Eponine; with different lyrics, of course.
Now we move on to
lots of feels and sobs the barricade boys. Oh, why did they have to die? My favorite all time cast was the one from the 2012 movie, but I sincerely love all of the castings. Ever.
Ooh, the feels! I already talked about which ones I particularly loved in the production I just saw, so we can talk about the actual barricade scenes. Well, this regional theater pulled it off pretty well. This is one set you can mess up relatively easily, but they didn't. This pleased a certain fan in the front row
muchly (yes, I like my new word a lot). One bone I do have to pick is that they didn't use real guns, and I like real guns. Fake guns are just useless and they irritate me.
I'm going to group On My Own and A Little Fall Of Rain together because I don't want to have too many paragraphs. They are the two main Eponine songs and are some of my favorites in the musical - go figure, I'm a teenage girl. ;) A bitter Eponine (as I talked about before) demands a strong voice. Well, this girl had one. Her
The world is full of happiness that I have never known! was fantastic, although she didn't put quite as much emotion into the song as I would have liked. I did really like the first half of the song especially well, so I must give her a lot of credit for that. A Little Fall Of Rain is pretty near the top of my favorite songs list (although I can say that for pretty much every song in the musical). Eponine is a character that there is a lot of debate between fans on. Some think she is a wimpy thief who never deserved Marius, and some are
rabid radical supporters and shippers of Eponine/Marius. I am neither. I definitely think Marius and Cosette should have ended up together, yet I am a big fan of Eponine. Goodness, I named my goat after her! Now, I'm not going to go into as much detail as I want to and could because this post is already far to long, but I do have a few things to say. First off, Eponine was a thief. She was a part of her father's gang, and took part in all of their crime. Secondly, she gives a perfect display of true, unconditional love. She has loved Marius for who knows how long, and when he falls in love with Cosette, she agrees to help him find her and eventually deliver a letter to her that ends up saving Marius. She does all this knowing that Marius will never love her; she does it simply because the loves him and wants him to be happy. And, as we all know, she dies trying to return to the barricade to be with him once more. She dies, at last, in his arms, and we in the audience are one big puddle of tears. Their duet is gorgeous.
Please note that I am talking about the musical Eponine and not the book or movie character, A few things were different, such as Eponine dying climbing back over the barricade as opposed to her taking a bullet for Marius, to name one. Not all of the things I said apply to the book, the musical, and the movie.
Bring Him Home was amazing. You could have heard a pin drop in the audience before we all erupted into massive applause. The singing was not strained, as it so often is *cough* *Hugh Jackman* *cough*. I love how Valjean, when he realizes his daughter loves someone else, immediately forsakes all of his own plans and goes directly to save the life of a man he's never met, nor seen. That is what you call devotion and love.
*GINORMOUS SOBS* The barricade boys all die. Every last one of them (except Marius - he doesn't count). When Enjo stood up and started waving that red flag, I was sobbing. And then, ohhhhhhhhhhh the feels!
*Interlude where we have some lovely Bring Him Home music and then Thenardier sings a gross song in the sewers*. I must say, I was impressed with Valjean carrying Marius through the sewers. This Marius was not *ahem* light, and Valjean was pretty small. But when he hoisted him up onto his back and started walking, I was like, "Oh, you
are Jean Valjean!"
Javert's Suicide is one of my favorite songs. I'm sorry, but it is. It's right up there with I Dreamed A Dream and A Little Fall Of Rain. I think it is powerful and no one can do Philip Quast justice. Especially Russel Crowe. Oh I'm sorry, did I just say that out loud?
It is true, though - very true. I enjoy every version of it regardless of who sings it, however.
There really is nothing special about Turning, except that we find out that we are not the only ones sad about the barricade boys all dying. Empty Chairs At Empty tables is my Gramps' favorite song. I have to admit, I didn't like it a whole lot at first, but it's growing on me. It's just SOOO sad! Marius cared for his friends, now they're deeeeaaaaaad and goooooooone, and he is alone in the world. Or he would be but for Cosette. But wait, if it weren't for Cosette, he would be dead too. So it would have worked out either way. :)
They wedding was cute - but the guests' dresses were horrid. See more on that below.
Go away, Thenardier! Do you think I don't know who you are? I personally love the part where Marius slaps Thenardier, too. AND, we're closing soon, here comes the Finale.
This song has a lot of feels too. You get to see Valjean, who has come on such a long journey, from dishonesty and thievery to mercy and love, finally get to rest; fulfilled and content. We get to see Fantine again, and the way she looks at Cosette melts my heart. The line You will live, Papa you're going to live! It's too soon, too soon to say goodbye! makes me sob every time, in case you were wondering. Especially Amanda Seyfried in the movie. And Eponine comes out and the way she looks at Marius melts my heart as well, and then... And then... The whole ensemble comes out and they reprise Do You Hear The People Sing? with different lyrics. Just listening to this on my soundtrack makes me at least tear up. They fought for a new world, one free of pain, of oppression, of poverty, and they died. They died trying to free the people. Now I know their motives weren't entirely correct - there is a lot about that in the book - but just look at these lyrics and compare them to the first DYHTPS.
Do you hear the people sing, lost in the valley of the night,
It is the music of a people who are rising to the light,
For the wretched of the earth there is a flame that never dies,
Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise,
Will you join in our crusade? Will you be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see?
Do you hear the people sing? Say can you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring when tomorrow comes!
Isn't it beautiful? The trumpets are so gorgeous and the violins are so lovely - they all lead up to:
TOMORROW COMES!!!!
As soon as you know it, it's over. You've just gone on a long and emotional journey - for three hours you've been crying almost continually and your eyes are red and swollen. You realize that the people who didn't wear makeup were the smart ones when you peek in the small mirror you carry in your purse. You are shaken, shaky, but the thrills are still running through your body and you feel both exhilarated and sad at the same time. You just watched Les Miserables.
Summary
Scale - 5 being excellent, 4 being good, 3 being tolerable, 2 being not so great, and 1 being terrible. Note: A high rating does not *necessarily* indicate I like the character, simply how well I think the actor portrayed him/her.
Valjean - 5
Javert -3
Fantine - 1
Cosette - 4
Marius - 4.5
Eponine - 4
Enjolras - 4
Thenardier - 5
Mdme. Thenardier -4
Young Cosette - 3
Gavroche - 4
Set - It was very good, for just a regional production. They made use of a bunch of props in several different ways, and it turned out very well. The computer projection on the back screen was a bit slow, but other than that I give them a good job with that. :)
Costumes - Re-using my 1-5 scale for the sake of being simple, I give the costumes a 2. I wasn't expecting much more, so it didn't really affect my opinion of the production in general, but I still have a bit to say about this. For one, there wasn't enough dirt. There were tatters and unfinished hems, but to be honest, that's not enough. You need some real grime and discoloration to make it not look fake. And then, the time periods were a bit off. What can you expect, though? And for the clothes that were not supposed to look old and raggedy, they just looked fake. You know that look that the kids' costumes for Halloween have? That polyester glue gun look? Yeah, these costumes were bordering on that, especially at the wedding. The mens costumes were pretty bad. Well, the barricade boys were tolerable, but Valjean was in-tolerable. His vest and coat were all baggy and looked like they were far too thick. Most characters wore boots, however, much like my riding boots, which I liked.The only costume I really loved was Thenardier's. Oh, and one thing more, ENJOLRAS HAD NO RED VEST OF POWER!!!!!! UGH! It was a big disappointment.
Props - As I said before, the re-use of many of the props was done very well. For instance, the cart that was used when Jean Valjean rescues Fauchlevant was used again in Look Down, and once more at the barricade. Tables and chairs appeared in multiple scenes as well. One BIG thing they missed, though, was the candlesticks. They are given by the Bishop to Valjean in the Prologue, and then are supposed to appear again in the Finale. Well, they didn't. I was sad. :(
I think that this post is long enough, so I'll sign off here. I greatly enjoyed this production, and left feeling like I just watched Les Mis (oh wait, I did). My advice to you is, if it happens to come to your are, go see it. Do not miss the opportunity - you'll regret it later. Les Miserables is beyond explanation.
Blessings,
Reyna
