[tsxmitw]

I thought it would be a good idea to start a new thread where we can discuss and post our thoughts on the new Les Mis tour. This way we don't have to trawl through 20 pages of months-old speculation!

I have done my best to collect all the thoughts recently expressed in the previous thread...

So a fried of mine just got out from seeing the opening night of the Les Mis 25th Anniversary tour in Cardiff.

Changes include Prologue being set on a boat.

This was a pretty well-known change, and aside from the obvious there have no been no drastic changes to the show.

On to Gareth Gates. He was, apparently, really good as Marius, and friendly to meet at the stage door!

More to come when I go and see the show next week!

The show was a massive success for its 1st preview...within seconds of finale being played the sold out audience stood to its feet.

Cameron and his new creators have raised the bar once again and have taken Les Mis to a new level. The huge sets depicting scenes from factory workhouses with long tables, the paris streets with balconys, harbor settings and the opening scene on the ship look marvelous. Not to mention the clever use of projected backdrops as well as drawings by V Hugo.

The sound - was superb. We have here is an open large acoustic sound not one which is condensed by use of modern digital technology. It comes alive. The sound of the orchestra is big and bold, bright and yet delicate when required. Just right.
The new orchestrations are similar to those of the Dutch Production of 2008, so its very rich in texture. Not too distant from the original John Cameron version that we all know, but its small enhancements never distract you from what you may already have fixed in your memory.

The case where on great form. John was superlative, as you would expect. Earl was immense. In fact all of the leads did a fantastic job. Gareth Gates did the job excellently well. His diction, which he had obviously been working on, was crystal clear and no doubt when he relaxes into the role he will flourish in the role. Nothing to worry about there - casting, as you would expect from Trevor jackson, was spot on.

So, in all, a wonderful night out was had with a superb show. Its one of the best Les Mis production one will see, so you all have every right to look forward to it.....
After a few run ins in Cardiff and a bit of tidying up in time for the press night and Im sure the run of this production will be very successful.

And before I leave, despite a couple of tiny, and i mean tiny little flaws, as one would sometimes expect at the start of any production, they didnt distract in anyway. Im saying this because I hope nobody will have the indecency to mention them at this stage.

This is a fantastic production and thank you everyone involved for making my evening so enjoyable!

Here is a review of the first night.
http://quazen.com/arts/theatre/first-night...iserables-tour/

I went on Monday night and can say that it is the best show I have ever seen - the theatre, orchestration, staging and all the performances are absolutely outstanding and all the performances were flawless as far as I could tell. I saw Les Mis when it toured about 10 years ago in both Manchester and Liverpool and thought that very good but this show raises it to another level.
Considering this was only the second night that the show had been performed I can't see how it could be done much better, absolutely wonderfu,l with the audience again giving a standing ovation!

I saw the show in Cardiff. I love and respect the original's direction which has been loved for over 20 years too.

But this time, I liked the way they added some more calm colors with Victor Hugo's beautiful paintings on the stage.
Each scene looked like a beautiful picture or one scene of a film than before.
I felt the atmosphere of Paris in the 19th century more than before..silhouettes of trees, a beautiful sky with full of stars, a harbour, etc...tasteful.
The new orchestrations sounded really dramatic and exciting with horns and percussions especially in the scene "Look down", so it aroused a fighting instinct.

Casts were fantastic and very talented. JOJ and Earl are needless to say amazing.
Their songs and performances, expressions were very strong and powerful ...they were Valjean and Javert on the stage really.
Other principals and casts were wonderful too, Fantine Madalena alberto was a beautiful woman and sang "I Dreamed a Dream" passionately.
Enjolras Jon Robyns wore a blond wig and I was surprised at first but he also looked very charismatic. Enjolras is a charming and intimidating man with angelic beauty.
I think he will become more powerful as a student leader later.
Cosette Katie Hall wore a long-blond wig too and she looked very beautiful and had a lovely voice.
We can understand Marius fell in love with her at first sight.
The scene Gareth Gates Marius declared his love for her standing in a balcony like Romeo and Juliet was sweet and song sounded romantic.
Rosalind james Eponine played her hopeless love for Marius with wonderful R&B voice.

It's a really wonderful show deserves Les miz 25th anniversary, I wanna see the show again soon!

I too saw this last night at the WM.

I've seen the London production twice before but not for a few years so was very excited about seeing this, especially the new staging and updated score.

I booked cancellation tickets on wednesday evening which were smack band in the middle of the front row of the circle, I was very chuffed.

First is the obvious change of the prologue being on the boat, this worked a lot better I feel because I never really understood where it was meant to be set (apart from just some work camp) thought this added clarity to the scene.

The second thing I noticed is the revolve had gone! Obviously it wasn't necessary but wasn't expecting it not to be gone, Les Mis is iconic for it's revolving stage! (This isn't a down point, it was just a surprise) Like someone else said, the ever adapting set then becomes a farm with pitchforks, hay, wood torches etc. Then, a really nice touch I thought, at the end of the prologue two flats fold in acting as curtain and a 'Les Misrables' title is projected on and the flats unfold again like a story book onto the 'beginning of the story'. Felt that was really magical, yet simple touch.

I could go through every scene but I think that would spoil the effect of seeing the new staging, I really enjoyed not knowing what to expect on how they would do each scene. But seriously the 'ever adapting staging' is not an understatement. Every scene is like a tableaux from a boo, which, with the added sketches, I guess is the idea.

Javert's suicide got most people whispering "that's clever!", the virtual effects are a nice added touch too.

I thought without the places and times being projected it may get confusing, but, maybe this is just because I've seen it and am familiar, but I felt it's fully explained in the script how much time has passed, and the location is never really an issue to the story, they all had british regional accent's anyway. (I'm sure Mrs T was yorkshire) Possibly for the effect that, really this could happen anywhere.

Cast was fantastic, my mum wasn't a fan of the lady who played Fantine, but possbly because Su Bo has owned 'I dreamed a dream ( Cam Mack's words) that people now will always compare to her. And she dies towards the begining so she didn't have to suffer her for long anyway! Not a fan of the Marious/Cosette love scenes but they were really well played.

Two negative points though. WHERE WAS 'LITTLE PEOPLE'?!?!? Possibly one of my favourite songs but they only had bits where he calls Javert a liar and when he dies. Not the full song. Anyone know why this has been cut?

Secondly, I prefer the barricade of London town. Here it's already build when the curtain goes up, and splits in half. Prefer in London where it build in front of you from two halfs on either side of the stage then spins around. (One of the +'s about the revolve I guess)

Despite these they don't remotely spoil an awesome night out to see a magical and beautiful show.

Although, when I see it I always wonder why it's a musical and not an opera because it must be 98% singing. Although, am i just showing that i'm uneducated in what is the difference?! Ho hum.

I saw the show last Wednesday and thoroughly enjoyed it. Although I noticed quite a few changes to the west end production, it's too long since I saw that to be able to provide any kind of detail. I thought the cast was great on the whole, with special mentions for John Owen Jones as Valjean, Earl Carpenter as Javert and Gareth Gates as Marius. I really liked Rosalind James as Eponine apart from her rendition of On My Own, but I'm afraid I wasn't at all keen on Madalena Alberto as Fantine - not a pleasant noise at all during I Dreamed a Dream!

I hope everyone planning to go enjoys the show

Jon Robyns is handsome and cool but his face looked pale white and I couldn't see his facial expressions well due to a long blond wig and reflections of much lights on the stage.
Actresses can put on makeup and they looked beautiful.
I think Jon Robyns also had better wear some makeup for the stage like lipstick or rouge on his cheeks. He might look more healthy.

And the sound of the backstage distracted me a little when staffs moved big sets.

Firstly I have to say, the Cardiff theatre is one of the finest I have been in and all the staff most generous in their guidance and helpfullness.

Onto-Wow! What a Production!
This whole set appeared more chique and stylish.
The scene on the bridge received a huge Wow, followed by great applause from the audience.
I particularly loved John OJ (sorry Colm Wilkinson, but he is now the best Jean).
Gareth Gates was a superb Marius (yes, even better than Micheal Ball)
and Fantine so fantastic (every bit as good, if not better than Ruthie Henshall).
All the cast were so absorbed in each and every part, the infectiousness of it, translated into the audience.
At the end of the production, after a huge standing ovation the people next to me just looked in amazement. They were simply lost for words and I think that is how I felt too.

Have found these on Youtube
One Day More

Empty Chairs

I Dreamed a Dream

This has just made me want to see it again (and again). Writes last minute letter to Santa

Review - 24th December 2009, Christmas Eve Matinee

Well I'll start by talking about the set, the orchestra and the lighting. The scenery and direction is quite different from the London production. There is no revolve, which makes scene-changes slightly less dynamic, but still, most of them work quite well. Victor Hugo's paintings blend beautifully into the set: during 'I Dreamed a Dream,' you can see smoke rising from the chimenys far in the distance, and in the battle scene, the painting shakes and distorts as an explosion rocks the set. It's quite impressive, and really rather visceral. I will say, however, that at times it looks like a high-school production: the windows that flank the stage during 'One Day More' and other scenes look like they could fall down at any moment. The lighting is fantastic: rich and golden during the tender love scenes, cold and harsh in others. The battle is very impressive.

The orchestra surprised me insofar as it's quite different from the original orchestrations. The instrumentation is rich during 'The Prologue' and 'Look Down,' with driving beats, heavy percussion and quirky guitar riffs aplenty - very dynamic. A new verse in 'Lovely Ladies' and the occasional line change/swap in other places. All worked well and didn't detract from anything the original production had.

Couple of other notes: some slight costume changes. They've ditched Cosette's horrible costume and gone with something much better. Eponine looked a little different too, but not drastically so.

So now my vocal highlights...

Soliloquy and Who Am I? - I can't praise John Owen-Jones enough in this role. He really is the epitome of a perfect Valjean - he knows the role so well and his performance was note-perfect. He did seem to do a lot of things differently: for example, different emphasis on certain lyrics, holding notes for slightly longer lengths or changing the phrasing around a little. I suppose this fits into his desire to play with the role a little.

I Dreamed a Dream - Madalena Alberto has a very strong Northern accent! I enjoyed her performance, despite what others have said. She does occasionally drop into a kind of bluesy-Beyonce Fantine ("So different from this hell I'm living!") But otherwise, stellar acting, much better than the recent London Fantine's. Her lines in the epilogue were haunting.

One Day More - Hm, not sure about this. It seemed a little lacking, perhaps the ensemble weren't large enough. The orchestrations were fantastic but it seemed a little 'stop-start' - the counterpoint didn't blend as well, and it sounded like a bit of a mess.

On My Own - Absolute highlight of the show. Rosalind James is one of THE BEST Eponines I have ever had the privilege of watching. Think a British Lea Salonga crossed with Frances Ruefelle, but with a unique, dynamic, bluesy-twang to her voice that just ROCKS. She starts the song sweetly, throwing in the odd vocal frill ("I walk with him till morning"), a tantalising hint of the tour-de-force of vocal prowess approaching. Then it happened - on the line "I've only been pretending," Rosalind did the most amazing bluesy riff on 'pretending' - my reccolection tells me she goes from the C, to the D, quickly to the E and then trills the C/D. I may be wrong, but regardless - it was simply the most incredible belting moment and raised scattered applause! I think that just demonstrates how unique this production is - it's taking Les Mis as it has been for decades and doing something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!

The rest was very good, and I must compliment Gareth Gates in the role of Marius. Few minor points - scenery changes during songs (usually the quiet ones) were very loud, often detracting from the atmosphere I'm afraid to say. Also, the blend in from 'At the End of the Day' to 'I Dreamed a Dream' was messy as hell, and needs to be sorted out in my opinion. They kind of thrust Dreamed a Dream on the audience without building up the mood as the London production does. Valjean's journey through the sewer was very, very impressively done with projections, as was Javert's suicide (the end of which recieved little applause sadly.)

But still - great show, amazing cast (everyone needs to see Rosalind James as the best Eponine in years), with only a few changes needed!

Please post any other thoughts or reviews, however small, as we all love hearing them!

[Tootsie]

I saw this last week and, having been a huge fan of the London Production for years, I was slightly concerned about how it would be.
I think that it was such a breath of fresh air - A fantastic production, with some brilliant new ideas. Everything which I thought "how are they going to do this?" was done brilliantly.
I thought the cast were wonderful singers and absolutely loved John Owen Jones in the central role. I was disappointed with the Thenardiers though.
It was a wonderful new design and it was so lovely to see Cosette in a bright colour rather than the somber black she wears in the original production. Definitely worth seeing.

[tsxmitw]

I was disappointed with the Thenardiers though.

I heard a lot of people say this in the interval, but I can't quite understand it. I thought they were great, Lynne Wilmot especially had great comic timing and really played for the laughs - I loved her reaction to when Marius punches Thenardier at the wedding!

[scaramouche]

Thanks for doing this. I'm so gutted about having to wait, but have no patience, so I've been reading every review and spoiler I can find as well as pestering friends who have been! I have noticed that most people love the Thenardiers, but there are a few who just aren't so keen. It seems to be personal preference, rather than any criticism of the individual performers, which I suppose becomes inevitable if you are doing something that provokes a reaction.

What is clear is that everyone has been very impressed by the show as a whole, with several claiming it's the best staging and cast they've ever seen, and everyone else at least saying they were all very good, and this is just a couple of weeks in. I know most of the principals have done the West End Les Mis before, but I also imagine that most people are comparing against casts who have been in their particular role for more than a few weeks.

Well said!! i cant wait to see it Manchester on Feb 3rd. yey!!!!

[Tootsie]

I just didn't find them as interesting as I have with other casts in London. I think perhaps in a more "colourful" version of Les Mis as this one is, they lose their impact? Just personal taste really though I think.