Hi
So as you may have surmised, I went to the Hollywood Bowl last night to see Les Miserables. Having seen it 7 times (though one I was too little to remember) and being in it, I am no longer able to come out of it thinking “that was really good!” or “ehh…not so good.” Instead I do pretentious shit like this!
So I sit down in my seat (section D far right) with a glass of wine and a pillow and I wait anxiously for the damn star spangled banner to end.
The orchestra starts. The overture always sends tingles up my spine, and this experience was no different. The orchestra was very good for the most part (although I remember detecting a few odd mistakes…could have been the awkward changes/cuts), but the location, obviously, made for a different experience. I’m so used to being in an enclosed space and hearing the orchestra boom against the walls and fill the whole theater. Here, with the openness of the outdoor arena, it felt much smaller. Then of course I would look behind me and see scores of people and the experience grew. But it was an interesting thing to have to adjust to.
I was SO excited to be seeing this show again and with an allstar cast! Then I notice that the line “you’re here until you die” goes straight to the look down stanza ending in “you’re standing in your grave” (skipping the entire convict solo bit) which then skips right to Javert’s “now bring me prisoner 24601!” Me: “…whaaaaa?” It was a incredibly jarring. Then I realize I should have anticipated some cutting in this “concert” version (although it was entirely costumed and staged, so besides the massive cuts and the space there was little difference). But we’ll get to cuts later.
Brian Stokes Mitchell: the whitest black man in Broadway. That’s just my little joke about him; this man is amazing. I would say he was probably the most famous and the most experienced of the entire amazing cast, and he did not disappoint. Even Brian Stokes Mitchell, brilliant as he is, couldn’t quite reach the standards that Phillip Quast has set for Javert in the dream cast recording (damn that man, he’s ruined the show for me forever with his ridiculous talent!), but I thought he was fantastic. Probably better than any Javert I’ve seen live. For some reason, Javert’s rarely do it for me. Maybe because I really love the role and expect so much from it, but I generally find Javerts to be lacking in strength and passion, usually reflected in their slightly weak phrasing somewhat casual demeaner. But Brian Stokes Mitchell harnassed all that missing passion and more and brought it to his performance last night.
Oh, there was one choice he made that I found very interesting. After the runaway cart (which was severely botched) when Javert confesses his suspiciouns about the Mayer’s strength, BSM (no more writing that name out in full) took his character in a different direction. Javert, obviously, suspects the Mayer of being a bit shady, or he wouldn’t even have this thought to bring up. However, most Javerts choose to treat the suspicion as more of a glimmer of a thought, not fully developped, and one that they cast off as nonsense, remembering that the “real” Jean Valjean has just been rearrested (and he comes to court today…hehe). BSM, however, seemed almost already convinced that the Mayer was Jean Valjean. This was especially clear in the line “Forgive me sir, I would not dare.” Every Javert that I can recall seeing/hearing delivers this line with fear and humility, but BSM seemed almost to be bating Valjean. It was an interesting choice, one that I both agree and disagree with (it needs further reflection), but I applaud him for exploring the plot and character enough to make his own, less established choices.
Onto Valjean (J Mark McVey): holy bejesus was he incredible. Really, really incredible. It was interesting: Valjeans usually have a very traditional “tenor” sound. They belt as if to say “be impressed, I’m a god!,” their falsettos seem suspiciously easy, and their lower notes always feel like a bit of a push for them. Not so with McVey: he had this gorgeous, smooth, deeper, richer voice than others I have heard (including the gods among men Colm Wilkinson and Gary Morris, and I know I’m unpopular in my devotion to Gary Morris but still). This worried me a bit; I wasn’t sure his belt would cut it, and I was worried for Bring Him Home, but no, this man can do it all. And in addition to his flawless vocals, he was incredibly strong and passionate and layered. I really loved him.
Before I go any further, I have to mention this. Partially because of the INTENSE amount of cutting they did (no, I will not be shutting up about my outrage over than any time soon) and partially because the plot is thick and difficult and they assume their audience is retarded, the show was constantly peppered with little plot descriptions of the screens. It was actually really funny, and very successful in taking me out of the performance and making me wish I had more wine in my picnic basket.
Okay, factory time. Girl 5 (Sarah McMahon’s part, hehe) was not at all good. She swallowed half her words, and I think she may have even laughed at one point. Also Fantine’s character wasn’t even introduced because they cut the whole part with the gossiping factory girls (including my solo! humph).
But the important part: Fantine. Wow! Jan Levinson formerly Gould, congratulations! To be honest, if she had been some unknown Broadway performer, I would not have accepted her as much. I probably would have commended her on her acting and been less enthused about her voice. But considering the fact that I really wasn’t expecting much at all from her vocally, she really blew it out of the water. A few parts her vocally strange or inconsistent, but in general I thought she was fabulous. And it barely mattered, because she acted the role with such passion and desperation that I really, truly felt for her. I even cried when she was hallucinating about Cosette and then when she died, which rarely happened.
They cut FAR too much of her storyline though. In Lovely Ladies, they cut Fantine selling her locket, selling her hair, and being convinced to become a prostitute and jumped straight to “Come on Captain you can wear your shoes.” It did not bode well for the character, because we couldn’t track her journey from pure and innocent to broken and hardened. They also cut Javert’s “Tell me quickly what’s the story” and just had him enter and stand there, which really made me burn.
Okay, moving on. Blah, blah, blah, the Thenardier’s inn. Young Cosette was very cute. Nothing special, unfortunately, but better than some of the young cosettes I’ve seen recently. She was a little older than they normally are, which is good. I hate what they’re doing to those roles (Gavroche and Cosette). Originally, Gavroche was always about 11 or 12, and Cosette was like 10 or 11. Now I see 7 year olds starring as Gavroche on Broadway, and it kills the tragedy because they can’t die properly. Anyway, back to last night.
Thenardier was great. Fun, nasty, evil, and I really liked him in the sewers singing “the harvest moon shines down” and all that. Mm. Thenardier was also very good and surprisingly enough…NOT ROSIE O’DONNEL. I first saw her and I was like “Rosie lost some weight…hmm…” and then I noticed the leaflet in the program telling me that a woman named Ruth Williamson was playing her part and I was like “ohhhhh it all makes sense.” I have no idea what happened to Rosie O’Donnel, I’m going to have to look it up.
Okay, I HATED HATED HATED this. They cut the storyline that Eponine was their spoiled little daughter! There was no little Eponine! Ahh! Which means they later cut Eponine’s Errand, which is extremely important in showing depth to Eponine’s character and relationship between Eponine and Marius. Not to mention PLOT. Uggh. Also, they cut (which often happens and I hate it) Marius’ line at the wedding to the Thenardiers: “when I look at you I remember Eponine…etc” which is one of my favorite little moments in the show.
Alright, Paris and its poor and destitute. Thank the LORD Gavroche was great! This was a touch surprisng too, since the kid was 8, but yay! They finally found a little kid with some acting and singing chops! Take a hint from this, Broadway and National Tours! Of course this song was horrible cut as well, no surpise.
Okay, so Marius. Boring. He was fine, he sang nicely, he acted so-so, but he did nothing with the role. I even liked him a little in A Little Fall of Rain, so I was ready to forgive him of his blandness and let myself like him. But then he sang Empty Chairs at Empty Tables. It was SO weak and restrained and…casual. It’s such a beautiful, haunting, moving song, and he completely ruined it. So I was not too much a fan of his.
Enjolras, however, was a difference story. Hot damn this man was fantastic! He had this booming, powerful, deep sound which in my opinion is very necessary for the role. Also not QUITE to the level of the amazing Anthony Warlow, but he actually came very very close. And his voice was actually kind of like Anthony Warlow’s, which helped, but ya, he was one of my favorites. Which makes me happy, because I love the part and it too often disappoints me.
Want to know something weird? Sometimes, I remark on this now because I remember it happening in during the ABC cafe, they just…changed lyrics. Just changed em. To what, I don’t remember, but…what? Why? Why would this happen, I don’t understand! So strange…
Anyway. Eponine: YES YES YES. Lea Michele was fantastic. I could listen to this woman sing forever. She maybe didn’t channel all the dirt and the grit of the character, but still managed to be likeable and relatable and escaped the trap of being an annoying Eponine (which can happen all too easily). Man, this girl’s voice is like butter. And she belted! EXTREMELY well! She brought her own soft sopranoism to the role and fused it with this amazing hidden belt that she whipped out exactly when she needed to! I wept like a baby when she died (as I always do), and she hit On My Own out of the park. When she hit that high amazing note on “known” it was so perfect I nearly died!
Cosette time. I personally was not a fan. I read in the program that she played Eponine on Broadway, and maybe she was good at that, but I did not buy her as Cosette. I don’t like it when they don’t cast true sopranos as Cosette, you can always tell. And unfortunately for her, any depth that the composers attempt to give Cosette was stricken from the performance. They cut almost the entirety of In My Life. They jumped from “so many things unclear, so many things unknown” to “in my life, I’m not longer alone now the love in my life is no near.”
One Day More, I love you. It made me sad remembering we couldn’t do the Les Mis marching in our school production :(. Something really really odd happened after One Day More though…it’s the end of the fucking act, the last note happens and the lights go out, right? Wrong! After that amazing, strong, beautiful note, everyone stood there a moment, and then someone yells “To the barricade!” and then they run off shouting and THEN the lights went out and it was intermission. WHY??
Okay, I have to go help Sarah on the piano with On The Steps of the palace. This has been a review of Les Mis Act I that I sincerely doubt anyone will have the patience to read all the way through.
Be back soon with Act II.
