Les Mis touring...

[LaffingBear]

Lately, Ive been taking advantage of a deal in SF... the local broadway subscription series sells single seats up to 2 days before performance for great prices. I've seen two shows in recent months.

 

Les Miserables is here. I've seen it... but not since the 80s. It was my first visit to the Kennedy Center in DC... so never saw it on B'way.

 

Been planning on seeing it soon. Then, today, one of those "here's what's going on locally " tv shows interviewed the visiting Jean Valjean. Nick Cartell. He's so young looking... younger than portrayed on the Les Mis website.

Les Mis is one of my all time favorites. Nothing is ever as good as a first time . Now I'm actually wondering if I should even go see this touring version.

 

Have any of the Forum theatre-fans seen this troupe/version?

[BroadwayDave]

This was the brief write-up from Playbill describing the current tour...

 

“LES MISÉRABLES- National Tour (through August 11, 2019)

Cameron Mackintosh presents the new production of Alain Boubil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s Tony Award-winning musical phenomenon, Les Misérables. With its glorious new staging and dazzlingly re-imagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo, this breathtaking new production has left both audiences and critics awestruck. Featuring the thrilling score and beloved songs “I Dreamed A Dream,” “On My Own,” “Stars," “Bring Him Home,” “One Day More,” and many more, this epic and uplifting story has become one of the most celebrated musicals in theatrical history. [Equity].”

[LaffingBear]

Saw Les Mis last night in SF.

 

I arrived only a few minutes before curtain, therefore only glanced at the "tonight's performance" cast list in the lobby. Im pretty certain I didnt see the listed Jean Valjean Id seen on tv. Couldnt tell who it was based on the playbill.

 

30 years since Id first seen it -and last saw it. And, I realized, first time I ever saw any play twice.

 

I thought it was excellent. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Live orchestra- what a treat. A few tech issues... could hear motors of the set moving under actors' softer singing. An ensemble member hooked her hoop skirt on the doorway while trying to enter stage.

 

People seem to either love or detest Les Mis. Theres no in-between. Over the years, the detractors moan that its too long. In the past 30 years, much about entertainment has become faster-paced. Movies are edited into quicker segments. TV shows too. What I noticed last night... the songs all seemed to be performed at a faster tempo than I remembered - or compared to my original broadway cast album. As if "we don't want to be too slow for today's shorter attention spans."

 

The people adjacent me must have been bored... or are typical ADCD-sufferers (attention deficit cellphone disorder ) they both checked their cellphones repeatedly throughout the process. I've only returned to seeing live theater in the past few months after an absence of 12+ years. Intermission seems to mean... check your phone, maybe while standing in line to pee. I was tempted to take and post a picture from my 11th row orchestra seat at intermission... every occupied seat between me and the stage held a person staring at their phone.. it was a wry commentary on society. I realized the hypocrisy of using my phone for such a purpose, and resisted.

 

Nonetheless, the play was great. Exceeded my expectations. Although Id only seen it once before, its one of my favorites so it was comforting and familiar. Miss Saigon is here soon... guess I'm a Boubil & Schönberg fan... Ill try to see that too. Phantom arrives next month - I wont bother.

[bnm73]

Based on the TV commercials, it looks like it's a recreation of the original Broadway production. While it's been a long time since you first saw it, did not notice any significant changes/differences in the two?

[LaffingBear]

Different staging. No turntable. Same operetta script/proceedings. Some newer projected scene elements... so Valjean escaping through sewers with Marius... or Javert's bridge... actually looked more realistic.

 

Faster tempo was what I noticed most. Im tempted to get the newer cast recording and compare song duration to the original. I still loved the performances, but each character's big song seemed to be faster.

• Fontine, I dreamed a dream
  
• Eponine, On my Own
  
• Marius, Empty Chairs at Empty Tables
  
• Javert, Stars
  
• Ensemble, Do You Hear the People Sing?
  

The only songs that felt like original pacing were Thenardiers Master of the House and, thankfully, Valjean's Bring Him Home

[bostonman]

Run times that I see listed in various sources tend to say either 2:50 or 2:55, which sounds right to me. After the 3 hour mark, the orchestra (and I believe also the crew?) goes into overtime pay. So I assume they're keeping the tempos up to insure the show doesn't run long. (The show did originally run over 3 hours - they had to keep cutting it down to make it cost-worthy. I have a friend who played in the band for the original tour in the 80's-90's, and he said they kept making all sorts of tiny cuts that the general audience wouldn't even notice.)

 

Comparing the tempos on the cast recordings may not help. Tempos are often sped up a bit on show recordings, to compensate for the energy that you miss by not having a visual element. (As a musical director, that's one of those things that can be really hard to explain to directors who are way too used to the recorded tempos and are always trying to push me to go there, lol.)

 

I just looked at the tour site - I had no idea that one of my former students, and also another Boston colleague, are both in the ensemble.