A review you say?!

Catherine · A review you say?!

Yep. Well I'm back from London, and I have a review! The first I've ever written (for a musical), so be gentle.

I'm only gonna review the actors coz I don't really have much to say about the set and stuff, just it was very good and barricady.

Mmmkay.
Drew Sarich (Valjean)
You guys all know I'm a big fan of Drew, and he definately did not disappoint. I noticed a lot more this time, and oh yes, I loved his Valjean to itty-bitty pieces. He had the whole, intense, "I'm NOT just an innocent saint, no siree" aura abotu him throughout the whole thing, you could see him flickering between decisions throughout the show, and I bascially adored it. Especially the Prologue actually: he's just settling down in the corner (practially on top of the people in BB on the other side, might I add) and the Bishop comes along (can't remember who he was, seeing as the normal Bishop was playing Javert) and he is just going "for the night is cold out there" and you can see Drew going "Well you're not gonna want to take me in when you see my yellow ticket, mate" and holds it up, and ahhhh, that was great! Is that normal blocking in London? Or is it just a Drew thing? Eh, whatever. Anyway, his Valjean was brilliant, really tender and lovely with both Cosette and Little, resenting Marius but still caring, amazing me with his effortless performance of Bring Him Home, and wrenching my heart out in the Finale. It was beautiful. He was a realle nice guy at the stage door as well. That's all I ask.

Stephen John Davies (Javert)
As you may know, Stephen doesn't normally play Javert, he's normally Bishoping and Combeferring it up, but I must say I wasn't at all disappointed with his Javert. He was a cold man of the Law, and he had to be really, seeing as Drew positively towered over him! He hit the low F in Confrontation, his Stars was... good, not amazing but you could definately see the religous devotion and such. I loved Fantine's arrest too, he was really quite nasty towards the whore he holds when he first comes in, and to be honest, I kinda wanted to slap him for being so unfeeling towards poor Fantine. His was slightly going through the motions, it wasn't as intense and emotional as it could have been, but his voice was flawless.

Ahhh, I'm tireddd. More later. =]

bigR · Re: A review you say?!

I just loved his interactions with the bishop aswell. Specially how he is all defensive and even agressive when the bishop approaches him with the chandeliers. I'm definitely going back to london before he leaves, but I'll wait until they change the cast.

eponine5

I saw it recently as well, and I have to say that I did really love Drew's Valjean. Either he's improved since last time, or I have just stopped comparing him to JOJ.
I loved how he did that scene with the Bishop (I was in BB on that side). I don't remember seeing other Valjeans holding up the ticket of leave quite in that way, so I think it was just something he did.
By the way, how are the row BB seats on the audience's right? I've never sat there because I always think of the various Valjean Javert scenes which happen on that side, and then I remember the spit flying from Hans Peter Janssens' and Drew Sarich's mouths throughout the show.

bigR

Catherine

Continuing with my review.

Fantine - Joanna Ampil
I liked her. Her death was beautiful and moving, but she didn't stand out in the ensemble scenes like ATEOTD or Lovely Ladies. Her vibrato kinda annoyed me too, but she wasn't bad. Not too much to say really. Oh! And also Fantine's Arrest was good. I loved the "There's a child... etc"

I'm gonna say ensemble now coz that's when they come in really.
Chain Gang - Good. I didn't like the male ensemble that much to be honest, but I liked the chain gang.

Factory workers - Great! Great taunting of Fantines (esp. the factory girl, played by Alice Fearn). The whole of ATEOTD was good really. I liked it when the beggars were all beggaring it up in your face =D. Foreman (Richard Woodford) was good, very masculine, polar opposite to his Grantaire.

Prostitutes & Crones - Great! I loved Lovely Ladies, really raw but entertaining too. Pimp was good as well.

Inn Tennants - Great! I liked the little details (I couldn't take notice of too many) but like the Travellers making friends and such was very good.

Parisians - Entertaining. I liked the Whore Duet, and all the little stuff going on in different places.

Thenardier's gang - Great! Claquesous (or was it Babet? Can't remember. Whichever one walked really campy with a cane) was all pretendingtobegentlemanly like which was funny. I actually noticed Montparnasse with his stabby knife all over the place and when everyone was looking at Valjean when he was attacked, heh, I was looking at Parnasse with his knife up against Marius! (Damn you Loony!). Didn't really notice Brujon to be honest.

Students - slightly boring. The Do you Hear... wasn't the best I'd ever heard it, not in terms of singing, which was good, but they really didn't feel it. It was just like "What? A revolution? OK, I'll go if you'll go". Same with Red and Black.

Ladies (Turning) - They made Turning look good. That's all I need!

Wedding Guests - Didn't notice them really. It wasn't bad.

Finale - Very good. Not much to say about it. Good singing.

Mmkay.
Little Cosette (not sure)
Cute girl who didn't try to belt. Lovely little "la la la la" duet with Valjean. Had a good rapport with Drew. Very good.

Thenardiers (Chris Vincent and Melanie La Barrie)
Mme. was very good. She wasn't that mean with Little Cosette, which would have been good, but overall a great performance. Didn't overdo all the "hilarious" lines so they came out much funnier than normal. What I loved was in Look Down, instead of making constant baby-cry noises, she was just holding it, and when Thenardier nudged her, she just brought it out and went "Wah!" once. That was very funny. She sometimes seemed like the couldn't be bothered (the character) like she was just bored with all her husband's stupid schemes, but she got passionate when she could do the ordering around. I liked it! Thenardier was very good. Extremely creepy in Dog Eats Dog. Chris Vincent played him quite drunk, which worked, but didn't make him stand out as much in Master of The House. He got a lot of laughs though. Was good in Waltz of Treachery, esp. when Drew tries to leave and he pulls him back and Drew has this look of disgust on his face (should that be in the Drew review? Whatever) and you could tell he didn't like Valjean from the moment he came in and was never satisfied, even when he got the money. I liked it. Great performance overall.

OK, I'll do Enjolras now because I know BigR has been waiting for it, then I have to go do some revision.

Enjolras (Will Barrett)
Much much better than Edward Baruwa. I was so glad when I saw the sign to see that he'd be doing it instead. Beautiful voice. Brilliant "Come when they call!" Strong and leaderish. Good Enjolraic quality. He forgot his rifle in One Day More, so he was a bit like Michael Maguire in the TAC, with just his hand in the air (like you just don't care). It wasn't without faults though, they still had the stupid throwinghimselfatGrantaire in Drink With Me (which I'm gonna blame on the director now), and the looking dumbfounded at Marius when he got shot at looking to Grantaire for help, for God's sake. But! He didn't pop his head back over the barricade when he got shot! He got down and stayed down! Hurrah! After he'd got over the shock of Marius, he worked it to his advantage, and was like "OK, I'm still gonna fight this frickin war!" and waved the flag. Which was very Enjolraic of him (I'm using that a lot aren't I?). Anyway. His death danglingoverthebarricade wasn't great: he looked more like he was relaxing, but I'm not gonna minus points off him for that.

So there you go! Part 2 of review has finished! Tune in next time for part 3.

kozafluitmusique

can't wait!

Catherine

I might be a bit slow with this review guys, sorry, its just I want it in its entirety, and I've got an exam on tuesday and wednesday, so I'm gonna be revising.
So I'll apologise in advance! =]

EnjolrasForPresident

My God, you're lucky that you got to see Will Barratt. The four times that I've been to see the current cast, I've hoped that Edward Baruwa will be off so that I can see Will. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with Baruwa!Enjolras (well.... maybe a few things...) but I've heard that Will Barratt is brilliant. I have to say that his Bamatabois is one of my favourite characters!

Anyway, great review so far, and whenever your exam madness is over, please continue!

mastachen

I've always wanted to see Joanna Ampil ever since I discovered this picture:

I found it hot.

bigR

Hi, Catherine. We really did see the same production! I think that I agree with everything you've said.
I also think that the female ensemble is stronger than the male ensemble. What you describe is the exact impression they left me "a revolution? all right... if there is nothing better to do tomorrow...".
And it is weird how memorable Alice Fearn is!
Not only as the working girl, but also at the barricade, and the whole lot little roles. She seemed to really put an effort into acting and not just going through the motions as most of the male ensemble did.

And yes, Chris Vicent Th�nardier was a bit invisible during MOTH, but on the other hand, wonderfully creepy DED! And I really liked his resentful and not too clownish Th�nardier.

Catherine

Part 3!

Cosette - Claire-Marie Hall
Really liked her. Lovely energetic, worked great with Drew, beautiful voice. I felt sorry for her because Gary Watson (Marius) was a bit unfeeling towards her, but overall, great! She really got the "I love you dad but I wanna get outta here!" thang which was cool. I genuinly loved watching her onstage, and that doesn't happen often, especially in the massive ensemble scenes, but she really made her presence felt and I think it was a great portrayal.

Marius - Gary Watson.
Didn't like him that much. Sure, he was OK, but I honestly can't remember one single thing about his performance. Normally, see, when I see a show, the actor's voices stick in my head for at least a few days afterwards, but his was like... nope. He had about as much stage presence as one of the ladders on the barricade, and he was just too flirty with Eponine, dammit! His voice was good, I just don't remember much of it!

Eponine - Cassandra Compton
She was... OK. She kinda had the whole "Hiyaaaa, my life is crap but I'm still gonna act happy with the guy I luvv coz I'm Eponine and I've got spunk!" Thank God she didn't take her hat off and run to the front in On My Own, she stayed in one place and was kinda angry - which is a step in the right direction, I guess. Her belt annoyed me aswell, she riffed way too much.

Richard Woodford - Grantaire
Dah! I'm so sorry I can't remember a thing about his performance so I can't say too much about this, but erm... He was alright, thanks to Will Barrett, the power dynamic between Enjy and R wasn't switched around, and after Enjy threw himself at him in Drink With Me, he had this really dumbfounded expression on his face like "What happened just now?" which was good! So yeah, good overall. =]

Catherine

And I believe that's it! Hope you like the review!

Brunnhilde

Enjy throws himself at Grantaire?! WTF?

Grantaire, you lucky bastard! Twisted Evil

bigR

eponine5

The funny thing about Cassandra Compton is that when I first saw her at the beginning of her run I really disliked her Eponine, but then she seemed to improve the later times I saw her so by December I remember that she gave quite a good performance and had lost most of her pop manerisms. But she seems to have regressed in terms of her performance, and in the past month or so I think her performances were more like what they were at the beginning...I just thought I'd put my opinion out there.

Anyway, I thought I might as well post on an already existing thread, but on Saturday I went to see the final matinee performance of the cast. There were quite a few...unexpected occurances during the performance!
During Fantine's Arrest there's normally a couple who come out to watch the arrest (I normally glance at them during the scene because they have quite amusing reactions) but this time I noticed something wrong: The 'woman' had her hat pulled right down over her face, so only a chin covered in stubble was visible. Laughing

This ensemble membered also appeared onstage during Turning wearing the same as the regular Turning women, and sung no lines while he towered over the women onstage.
An ensemble member who I couldn't identify also appeared beside Eponine during Attack On Rue Plumet when she hid at the side of the stage from Thenardier and Patron Minette, and they stayed there to watch the rest of the scene.
Something else notable was the extra onstage kissing, first from a couple in the ensemble who stood in Valjean's way during the Prologue, and between male members of the ensemble during Master Of The House. Laughing

Orestes Fasting

West End final matinees are legendary. Products of previous cast-change days have included "Here's to pretty boys who went to our heads" and Peter Corry's revision of an entire verse, ending in "Concentrate their force, take us from behind."

bigR

Last matin�e! I really have to go and see it someday. Very Happy

eponine5

Sadly those two only got up to a kiss on the cheek before the turntable took them to the back of the stage; the actual kiss was from one of the other couples which sprung up around them.

My favourite last matinee kiss, though, was the kiss on the cheek Jeff Nicholson (Grantaire) gave Simon Bailey (Enjolras) during Red and Black. Mr. Green

flainers

I saw the show for the first time a week before the cast change, and thought it was wonderful. As I had only arrived in London the day before (from Toronto), jetlag prevented me from thoroughly enjoying the show, but I do remember walking out of the theatre with the songs stuck in my head. But I ended up going back (spur of the moment) for the Saturday matinee, and fell in love with the show. The cast was fantastic and just everything about the show was just so incredible!

One question though... it's been bugging me ever since I last saw it. I know that the theatre typically announces if an understudy is on before the show, but is there a chance they sometimes don't? I didn't notice the casting on the board near the entrance doors until my second time, so I wasn't able to see who was on the first time around (and even so, it lists the entire cast, rather than who's playing who, like at Phantom of the Opera, which is what I'm use to). I have a feeling I saw an understudy for Eponine my first night (who I thought was incredible); Cassie Compton was on when I saw it for the second time, according to the board. Vocally, I preferred the first Eponine, and a few things she did stuck out for me - a distinct little giggle/chuckle during On My Own, and I found her death more dramatic/believable. And well, overall, the first Eponine blew me away, whereas Cassie didn't. Could it just have been fatigue or an off day for Cassie?

EnjolrasForPresident

In London they don't actually announce the understudies that are performing - they're listed on the board in the foyer and on the framed pieces of paper next to the "store". Also, Cassie Compton's performance was exactly the same the four times that I saw her perform. So I'm guessing that you saw the understudy.

groda

They do announce the understudies before the show, just after the welcome and before the whole thing about the use recording equipment being strictly forbidden and all that. And there's the board which lists all the performers alphabetically and understudy lists in the box office and foyer (on a pillar right next to the merch desk).

EnjolrasForPresident

They must only announce the understudies at some performances, because it's never been announced when I've seen it.

flainers

I didn't notice the board until my second time there unfortunately.

Would it be inappropriate to email Cassie's agent to find out if it was her?

mastachen

Why not just email Cassie?

Or send her fanmail!

flainers

^ How do I get in touch with her? I know she has a myspace account, but I don't. I found her agent's email through londonmusicalsonline.com.

mastachen

You can send her mail straight to the theater. I don't know how to get her email address though.

she's universal

flainers

LesMisForever

I have seen the show 13, or 14 times, and they always announced the understudies if they were any.
Also, as "goda" said, you can see the list in the box office.

If it means so much to you to know then maybe you can try the theatre first.

Glad you liked the show. I think first timers almost always love the show regardless of the cast. Of course i am biased, lol, but i think this is due to the fact that the show itself is the biggest "star". The material is very strong. And, while the cast varies in quality, they are never outright stinkers, and there are at least 2, or 3 very good ones.

On the whole, the departing cast wasn't one of my favourites, but i guess when you see the show too many times, you start to become picky.

I will give the new cast a month, or two to get used to each other, and then i will go.

she's universal

flainers

LesMisForever: To be honest, I didn't LOVE the show right after (after I saw Phantom for the first time, I couldn't stop talking about it for days). I had insanely high expectations for it, and walked out a bit disappointed and bored (jetlag + an unfamiliar 3hr show wasn't the best idea), even though many of the songs were stuck in my head. Plus, I sat around the worst audience members ever - a bunch of women who have seen the show several times, and therefore felt they were entitled to make little inside jokes and comments throughout, and a man sitting right next to me who would not stop moving in a squeaking chair. But all that is besides the point Wink

But I have an addictive personality, and with the songs still stuck in my head two days later, I thought I'd give it another try Smile

she's universal

flainers

LesMisForever

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A review you say?!

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