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| Electricity24601 |
Broadway revival review. (Warning- looong review inside)So here's my amazingly long review. Enjoy! Sorry for any typos and such- I was trying to write as quickly as I could to get down all my thoughts before I forgot them
We got cheap seats: Fourth row from the front, all the way to stage right. (The audience�s left) The stairs leading down from the stage, exit to back stage and ladder from the balcony were literally six inches in front of us. It was great to sit so close and see and hear all the little details on stage. Several entrances and exits happened right in front of us, the most memorable being when Javert ran off in pursuit of Valjean after the barricades. This is also a personal milestone for me: 5th time seeing the show! (3 times in London, twice here). The last time I had seen the show was November, during the first week of previews. I�m pleased to say that the show has come leaps and bounds since then. Alexander Gemignani (Valjean)- A disclaimer here: I�ll try to give a fair review, but for me no-one will ever compare to the amazing John Owen-Jones in London. But I think that Alexander has improved immensely since November, and is becoming a pretty amazing JVJ. - I�m not really sure how to phrase this, but the one thing that really bothers me about Alexander is that his JVJ reminds me of� an animal. I�m not sure what it is- but something about his movements bring to mind some form of beast. Somewhere in his acting and mannerisms he looses the relate-ability (I totally just made that word up) that makes JVJ seem, well, human. Sorry if that didn�t make any since� - Even with that in mind, his acting has gotten soooo much better. Actions seem less forced (i.e. no more super-palsy shaking in the finale and a lot less singing straight to the audience). I have some nit picky things, like the blocking for BHH (I just don�t like him standing up and holding his gun). One thing that really bothered me was that during the beginning of Who Am I, he started laughing at the fact that ��he thought that man was me, without a second glance.� That just seemed out of place to me. However he turned the emotions around quick enough that the rest of the emotional journey of the song remained intact. - His voice did not blend at all with little Cosette during the well scene. Not sure if that was Cosette or Alexander though. - I think his voice has improved a lot too- his high notes are beginning to sound sweeter and less forced. The singing on Bring Him Home was very good. Norm Lewis (Javert)- Norm has improved so much since November. I love his voice. It�s so deep and rich- absolutely gorgeous. His acting has improved a lot. He�s more animated and shows more emotion, which was all that was lacking from his performance before. - Stars was beautiful� I don�t have anything intelligent to say on it other than that. - Suicide was great, so perfectly acted. The actual jump was a little corny� the scream could be toned down a bit. But other than that, it gets an A+. Ali Edwolt (Cosette)- I loooooooooovvvvvvvvveeeeeee this girl. Ali takes Cosette past the shell of a character she usually is and makes her the fleshed out character she deserves to be. She is the sweetest thing with Adam (Marius) and her relationship her father is very complex: she loves him dearly but is also a little frightened of him, and never thinks to disobey him. Even though she is clearly maturing and becoming a young woman her mannerisms are still that of a child. Some random points: - AHFoL: So good. When Marius runs up to her, she turns away from him, with this adorable expression of surprise, joy, and fear on her face. He turns away from her and starts walking away, she races towards him. He turns around to face her and she quickly turns her back to him, with the same expression on her face. So funny and cute! Her and Adam have great chemistry and they work so well together. - Every day: So sweet- Marius was all tucked up in his shell, all hardened and grief stricken, but when Cosette started singing, he just melted. Ahhh. They grasped each other�s hands, but quickly snatched them back when they spotted Valjean. (Who looked incredibly sad to see his daughter moving away from him. Alexander�s acting has improved a lot, but we�ll get to that later.) At the last note he put their hands back together. Perfect! - Ali�s really improved her high notes since last time, which is something I complained about before. Last note of One Day More was especially nice. We can�t talk about Ali without talking about Adam Jacobs as Marius! I really like him- his Marius always seems very young and innocent to me, but not in a bad way. I totally believe that he really is smitten for Cosette, and his devotion to his friends and pain at their loss is evident throughout the show. - AHFoL: I love how he basically dives over the fence and rushes at Cosette, and then has this huge look of mortification on his face during �I�m doing everything all wrong�. So cute. - Empty Chairs at Empty Tables was just great- the pain embedded in the song was almost palpable. - Adam�s relationship with Eponine is really enjoyable. He obviously values her as a friend, and likes to talk with her and tease her, but he never crosses the line from friend to flirt (thank goodness!). A Little Fall of Rain is perfect- you can tell that at first he is confused and a little disgusted by the idea of having someone die in his arms, especially someone who is proclaiming their true love for him. But gradually he realizes that he wants to allow Eponine to be happy for her last moments of life. The lines �� if I could heal your wounds with words of love,� are clearly sung for Eponine�s benefit, not because he is really in love with her. Adam�s look of grief and confusion after the song is the perfect response to the events his character just went through. Okay, on to Megan McGinnis as Eponine. I was disappointed when I found out that Celia wouldn�t be on, but I had nothing to worry about. Even though this was only Megan�s fourth show, she did a marvelous job, becoming my favorite Eponine to date. I really loved her voice, which not the typical �Ponine sound. She had more of a mezzo, legit sounding voice, instead of the typical alto belter. - Her relationship with Marius was quite perfect- flirty but not overly aggressive towards him and appropriately wistful when he didn�t give her any attention. - On My Own was beautiful. Her voice sounded wonderful on all the notes and was gloriously free of any shelting (shouting + belting, for those who don�t know). She invited the audience to understand and experience her emotions, instead of forcing the audience to pity her. Even though she didn�t move around a lot, her feelings of bliss from imagining herself with Marius and pain when she realizes he can never be hers were evident on her face. - Rain was appropriately acted- very realistic dying (that doesn�t sound like a compliment, but it is J) and beautiful interaction with Marius. Hopefully I�ll get to catch her again as Eponine- that girl shouldn�t be an understudy! Now that we�ve talked about three great performers, we might as well get the one bad performance out of the way. Unfortunately, Aaron Lazar called in sick (No!!!!1) so Drew Sarich was on as Enjolras. Even though I really liked his Grantaire, Drew was a big let down as Enjy. Uncommanding (is that even a word?) stage presence, bleh voice, and zero charisma. I even felt like there was still some Grantaire in his acting- occasionally he swaggered like a drunk! - For some reason, he always seemed sort of doubtful that the people would really rise and help the barricaders out. And during �The people have not stirred�� he actually sounded and looked terrified! I understand that Enjolras might have experienced some fear, but he never would have showed it to his friends- he was an inspiring leader right up until the end. - During Grantaire�s verse of Drink with Me, even after much prodding from various barricade boys, he refused to go sit with Grantaire. This wouldn�t have been such a big deal to me if Grantaire wasn�t the sweetest most loveable thing on the face of the planet who absolutely deserved Enjy�s sympathy. But we�ll get to that in a minute� Okay, so since Drew was on as Enjy, Stephen Trafton, a swing, was on as Grantaire. He was really good (and super cute too!). For some reason I seemed to have developed an extreme affection for Grantaire�s character- I should start a fangirl club J. -Stephen portrayed Grantaire differently than I�ve seen before- he was less sarcastic and devil-may-care and much more sincere. He was appropriately funny in red and black (It�s better than an op-er-a!), but the real highlight of his performance was Drink with Me. He seemed to be truly questioning whether or not this fight would really make any difference, and what importance his or anyone else�s at the barricade�s life really had. I was worrying whether or not Drew�s understudy would play the guitar like he did, but I shouldn�t have. Stephen played the guitar part beautifully, really putting the emotion of the song into his playing. - I enjoyed watching his relationship with Enjolras. He obviously highly admired him, and quietly longed to at least be friends. He didn�t really play up the homosexual aspect of the character, but the possibility was still there. Either way, he was truly dedicated to Enjolras and willing to do anything for him. He seemed really surprised when I stopped him at the stage door and asked for his autograph. Nobody else recognized who he was but when he signed my program he had a big smile on his face. Ahh! Nikki Renee Daniels as Fantine was a breath of fresh air after having to experience the horrific performance of Daphne Rubin-Vega. Although vocally she didn�t blow my socks off (a la Kerry Ellis), her performance was great; I loved her I Dreamed a Dream and her acting was sincere and honest. -Arrest scene was nice and angry- her lines towards Valjean were especially passionate and for once the spitting didn�t seem totally out of place. -Death scene was realistic and touching. �Take my hand�� ripped a little hole in my heart. I think she transitioned really well from delirious and fevered to weak and subdued to actually dying. (Unlike some Fantines who belt it out like the second before they bite the dust J ) Jenny Galloway and Gary Beach (Thenardiers)- These two work well together- they have nice comedic timing. Occasionally I think they go a little too comedic though, and neglect the sinister element. Nothing that bothers me too badly though. -Master of the House was good, although I will admit that I was paying more attention to the ensemble than the Thenardiers. The table with the choking costumer was right in front of me� so funny! At one point the girl got a dish of food and Thenardier �accidentally� knocked her face into it! I love watching the ensemble interaction like that. Anyway� -They messed up their first bit in One Day More� they were off tempo, talking way to slow. -Dog Eat Dog was very good. Gary did a little dance thing with his hands (not really sure how to describe it) in between his verses. Took me a minute to decide, but I think I like it. Funny but still dark. If he would give me a good growly note at the end it would be perfect. The ensemble has really gotten their act together since the last time I went (Nov). Master of the House was great, I loved watching the little things going on in the background. Same with the other ensemble pieces. One Day More was a lot stronger and sounded fuller and lusher than Nov (which is good, because I was starting to worry about that song). I�m not sure if it was because I was sitting closer or because they�ve been tweaked and changed a little since November, but the orchestrations seem a lot fuller than before. I must admit that I do miss the synthesizer though. There�s still a very funky chord during Valjean�s entrance during In My Life. It sounds like an entrance for a villain! |
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| Orestes Fasting |
Oooh, thanks for the long review. Looks like we had very different reactions to some of the cast members, haha. Now... excuse me while I bombard you with questions.
Is Alex still being excessively stern with Ali? That was one of my few complaints about him when I saw it in early December--I was quite taken aback by how angry he seemed in In My Life. Anything else to say about Nikki? I should just shut up and be patient, since I'm seeing her the day after tomorrow, but I'm curious. Still haven't quite wrapped my mind around Drew's Grantaire--seeing him as Enjolras must've been quite a headtrip. Judging from an audio bootleg only, he seemed really angry and bloodthirsty in the final battle; did this carry over into his live performance? |
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| Electricity24601 |
He's still pretty stern, but like I said before, I think he's turned down some of the more extreme (and out of place) emotions, at least since I saw him last. I do agree that he seems to have a much more controlling attitude towards Cosette than I think is usual or appropriate. It makes me not like JVJ as much but at the same time makes me like Cosette more. It makes the fact that she is growing up and beginning to deny her father is much more interesting.
For some reason I can't think of a whole lot of little nit-picky details for her like I did for everyone else... hold on, let me think... She was very good during the arrest scene- like I said before I like it when they get really angry. Her despair when pleading with Javert was evident, and the transition into anger at Valjean really worked. I guess what I'm trying to say is that her emotions always felt real and believable, as did her portrayal of Fantine's downward spiral . I think the reason I'm not coming up with any more detail is because she played Fantine the way I'd want and expect her to be played, so I can't think of any little complaints or strange observations to throw in.
I must admit that I was trying not to concentrate on him too much  He seemed to alternate between extremely angry and just about ready to pee in his pants. Not exactly sure what the thought behind that was, but whatever it was it didn't work.
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| kitty17794 |
That was a great review, thanks for sharing!  It was a good read...made me wish I could see the revival before it closes.
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| Aimee |
Wow, thats fab! We don't mind long reviews. Keep 'em coming.
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| LesMisForever |
Thank you very much for this review
I have one comment though. If my memory serves me right, Grantaire has no homosexual side to him at all, so i am not sure how did you get this feeling? |
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| Electricity24601 |
Depending on how you want to interpret the book/show material, Grantaire could be viewed as homosexual. No matter how you look at it though, he always has a slightly larger-than-normal admiration for Enjolras. Here's a good quote: "Still this sceptic had a fanaticism. This fanaticisim was neither an idea, nor a dogma, nor an art, nor a science; it was a man: Enjolras. Grantaire admired, loved, and venerated Enjolras. " |
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| The Very Angry Woman |
Google Enjolras/Grantaire slash. You'll come up with enough stuff to make a book AS long as Les Mis�rables. Drew Sarich certainly isn't the first to put a rainbow spin on the R. |
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| LesMisForever |
Electricty: I don't see any homosexual hints in that quote. I do love, and admire many men, wihout having the slightest sexual desires for them. Grantaire simply admires Enjolras. His case is not unique at all. There are many people, who are fascinated by charismatic leaders.
TVAW...I am not sure i fully understand your comment, but on the Internet you can find lots of stuff. Enjolras has been paired with Eponine as well. You can find all sorts of combinations. |
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| Electricity24601 |
I guess what I'm trying to say, LesMisForever, is that a lot of people interpret Grantaire's admiration for Enjolras as romantic attraction. However there are probably just as many people who don't see that. It's totally up to personal interpretation, however many fans (especially fanfic writers) tend to lean toward the homosexual side.
As TVAW touched on, if you're going on the show, it really depends who you see in the role. Drew Sarich made it more than obvious that he was going for the homosexual interpretation while other actors I've seen haven't. Which is the really the reason I commented on it in the first place- I think it makes watching each new actor's interpretation really interesting. |
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| LesMisForever |
Electricty...I think this is a symptom of the too much debated works of art. When, a show, play, or a novel has been done for very long years, people always try to find new things, whether they have substance in the original, or not.
I mean, the stuff that has been written about Hamlet is just mind boggling. Actors, sometimes try new takes on a role for the sake of it. Personally, i don't like this trend. I would rather see the sme thing hundreds of times, rather than see "new" interpretaion for the sake of it. I went to the book and here are some extracts about Grantaire "He knew.....nicest girls." And after mentioning how a famous lady expressed her revolution about him "......But this in no way discouraged Grantaire, who gazed tenderly and fixedly at all women with an air of saying "If I chose", and strove to persuade his comrades that he was universally sought after" For me, those are clear indications where Grantaire's interest lies, unless he was bisexual  .
Fanfiction...ah! . That is more like it.
Of course, i don't want to impose my opinion, but i feel that trying to tie these two romantically is more out of trying to force new things to explore, rather than any real substance. |
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| Orestes Fasting |
Bah, silly people. Enjolras/Grantaire isn't quasi-canon just because Grantaire has a possibly-platonic crush on Enjolras. It's quasi-canon because Hugo feels the pressing need to invoke Antinous, Harmodius and Aristogeiton, Achilles and Patrocles, Nisus and Euryalus, Alexander and Hephaestion, and Orestes and Pylades in conjunction with said crush, which makes it almost certainly not platonic. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Electricity24601 |
Thanks for that Orestes. The lovely abridged version I read didn't include those quotes. I guess I shouldn't enter into a debate (even if it's a friendly one like this) without having the right quotes to back it up.
LesMisForever, I had fun discussing this with you- you made me consider opinions I haven't thought of before. I don't think either of us is really right or wrong; it's just a matter of personal taste/interpretation. Truce?
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| Lazarus (Adam G) |
I think it's time for another "Gay Miserables" thread... |
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| LesMisForever |
There was never a war
As you said, it was a friendly discussion, and since i am also going to look at the matter more closely, and do some further reading, i believe the discussion achieved its goal
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| TonyB |
Re: Broadway revival review. (Warning- looong review inside)
Great job, Electricity24601!
I couldn't agree more. I saw the revival for the second time last night after seeing it back in November as well. We has great seats - 8th row right orchestra. The players (no understudies) all seemed more comfortable, confident and polished in their roles. I saw the original run 3 times and this performance was one of the best I've ever seen, however I still miss the verses cut out of Come To Me, Castle in a Cloud and the Attack on Rue Plummet.
I thought the laugh was a nice touch as if to imply that Javert was a fool.
Yes, she is a cutie and I enjoyed the movements in the AHFoL scene very much. If her voice was a little stronger, she would be perfect.
He was flawless.
We saw Celia. Her attempt to kiss Marius with her last breath is superb.
We had Aaron and he was great. I'm glad we didn't have Drew because I can't stand him even as Grantaire. I just don't like to way he carries himself on stage.
This was the biggest improvement in the show. I couldn't stand Daphne's voice. I'm curious to go back and see Lea Salonga.
Yes! I liked the finger dance and I too, miss the growl on the "n" in down. |
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| The Very Angry Woman |
Of course you can, but if you check, the E/R slash is extremely pervasive. It's also often Baby's First Slash Fic. |
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| Lara |
Thanks for the review! I saw it in November and I hope I can see it again before it closes in August. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Electricity24601 |
Glad you liked the review. Somehow I'm thinking it might be around longer than August... this is from Cameron Mackintosh's paragraph in the program: "... this new production opening on Broadway to enormous success and looks likely to run for some time." I also talked to some stagehands (before the extension to the summer was announced) who said that it was never ment to be a limited run- they've pretty much always wanted a long run. Cameron Mackintosh is tricky that way 
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| Eponine93 |
^ For some reason, I'm not shocked.
What bugs me about Alex is that whenever I see him, I automatically think Brian in Avenue Q. I didn't see him in Avenue Q. I actually did not know he even played the part of Brian until very recently. I don't intend to think that, I don't want to think that. It's almost like a reflex. And when you're watching and hearing "Bring Him Home" and all you can hear in your mind is "I'm Not Wearing Underwear Today," it's not a good thing. |
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| LesMisForever |
Think of him wanting his underwear to be brought home.
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| lostquiche |
Thanks for the review! And I never knew about that side of Grantaire. Interesting...but i've never really understood why all the popularity.
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| Eponine93 |
OMG... this is #1 on my how to ruin serious moments in musicals list. |
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| Orestes Fasting |
Of Grantaire, or of Enjolras/Grantaire, or both? Either way, it's probably due mostly to the book. They both have much bigger roles in the book. |
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| LesMisForever |
I am re-reading some parts of the book, but still can't see how Grantaire might have more than admiration for Enjorlas. OF...can you point to a certain part please? But, even if somehow we accept that about Grantaire, there is no way that Enjorlas was interested in Grantaire. He always showed him contempt, and he MEANT it. |
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| The Very Angry Woman |
EnjoLras. | ||||||||||||||||||
| LesMisForever |
hahaha Mitigating circumstances: It was around 00:45 after midnight. |
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| Orestes Fasting |
*shrug* I'm not arguing that the romantic aspect was two-sided, though it's a defensible position, only that Grantaire's affection for Enjolras was almost certainly not platonic. If you really wanted to, I suppose you could argue that since the fundamental tension in their relationship gets resolved in their death scene, the sexual tension is resolved as well. As for parts that support a homoerotic undertone to Enjolras and Grantaire, mostly this:
But only in conjunction with this:
And this, especially:
I would have trimmed that down a bit more, but I think the way Enjolras' appearance is presented is important, because Hugo's practically setting him up to be the object of homoerotic (or pederastic, if we're talking ancient Greek, as many 19th century references to homosexuality do) desire. He also mentions, not just voluntary chastity for the sake of his ideals, but complete lack of interest or desire for women. So we have Antinous, Harmodius and Aristogeiton, Castor and Pollux, Achilles and Patrocles, Nisus and Euryalus, Alexander and Hephaestion, Orestes and Pylades, and even Dubreuil and Pechmeja. If that's not enough to set off your classical gaydar, what is? |
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| LesMisForever |
I have to say you have a case here. I have never saw this when i read it though. I think partly because it is not really that important to the story, and frankly, i didn't warm to either of them. Enjolras is much more loveable in the musical as far as i am concerned. |
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| lostquiche |
Grantaire. He just doesn't appeal to me in the musical. The book is probably another matter. Enjolras is probably my favorite character, or one of. He IS lovable, in a gruff, manly way.
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| Orestes Fasting |
The overview of a very long and mostly pointless review that I'm about to post in my LiveJournal:
- Alexander Gemignani: Mixed feelings here. There are certain parts of the show he has definitely put a lot of thought into, and he's excellent at conveying not only Valjean's emotions but the flow of his train of thought during "What Have I Done?" and "Who Am I?" He also has some really nice little touches, like the manic chuckle before "He thought that man was me!" and his frantic attempts not to be recognized in the Robbery/Javert's Intervention. But in some scenes, like the well scene/Valjean's spiel to the Th�nardiers/Waltz of Treachery, if he put effort into coming up with an interpretation, it's not showing. Maybe I've been spoiled by all the tales of JOJ's eyebrow acting, but Alex seemed really blah in Waltz of Treachery. There were also some things I just flat-out didn't agree with, like how angry his Valjean was. There's something bestial about his performance that works really well in the prologue, but later in the show it just morphs into Crankypants Valjean. The only times I caught him showing actual tenderness were in the epilogue and to Fantine; you could tell he was tormented about having to hide his past from Cosette, but that didn't stop him from being incredibly stern with her most of the time. He also sounded downright pissed off at Javert when he let him go, like there was an unspoken addendum of "I'm a man, no worse than any man, and if you persist in assuming I have no morals I am going to smackabitch." Vocally I am not impressed; he's great in full voice, but his falsetto is really strained and in the Saturday matinee he even cracked on the first line of BHH. (And that icky, icky vowel on "how soon they fly on and on" just yanked me right out of the song.) - Norm Lewis: Has improved since early December. The first time I saw him, Norm had a very definite thing going on with Javert: as stiff and machine-like as possible for the entire show, contrasted with a spectacular breakdown in the Suicide. It's a valid interpretation, but it made him really boring to watch until his last ten minutes onstage. He's loosened up quite a bit since then. Still stiff, but it doesn't impede his performance anymore, except that last bit of Javert's Intervention before Stars ("Could it be he's some old jailbird," etc.), which he still insists on singing like a human metronome. I was really enjoying watching him this time around. His deterioration in the second act is also much more gradual and built up to than the sudden snap in December--he goes through stages of fury and bewilderment when Valjean lets him go and when he finds him in the sewers, with an accompanying gradual loss of control. His random shouting in these last few incidents and in the Suicide, however, implies histrionic actor more than it implies upset character. If he ditched that he'd be fine. And his voice, of course, is made of awesome; you don't really get the full effect during most of his scenes, but in Stars? Yum. - Daphne Rubin-Vega: We all know her voice sucks by now, don't we? She sounded like she was losing her voice the whole time, and whenever she pushed it she also sounded like she was hurting herself. At least she sounded appropriately consumptive during Come to Me. Her acting was fairly good, at least, though I'm still not sure exactly what she was trying to do with the character. I definitely got an impression of a Fantine trying desperately to hold on to the last scraps of her dignity in Lovely Ladies, the bit with Bamatabois (where she was definitely one sassy bitch), and the Arrest, but at the same time she was really playing up the broken, hopeless aspect of the character. She didn't seem to know what to do with IDAD at all, just gestured a bit at random moments. Definitely the weak link in the revival, and I'm so glad she's gone. - Nikki Ren�e Daniels: Okay, guys, after having seen nobody but Joan and Daphne in the role of Fantine, I was almost crying with relief over Nikki's performance. She's great, and also the first good Fantine I've ever seen live. Beautiful, beautiful voice. Acting was solid but nothing new; a lot of the power of her performance was riding on her voice, but hey, when you have a voice that pretty, it works. And apparently the blocking changes to IDAD were mostly Daphne's thing, because Nikki was doing the same old bit with her back turned to the audience and letting her hair down and all that. (Haviland Stillwell, however, faced the audience. I guess there's a lot more room for blocking changes in the revival.) I have, alas, already forgotten whether it was Nikki or Haviland who played most of the show post-IDAD as totally shell-shocked and numb, but I think it was Nikki. - Haviland Stillwell: 2nd u/s Fantine, or I suppose she's first u/s in the weeks that Nikki's principal. One tough cookie of a Fantine. She was totally ready to brush off Locket Lady and Hair Hag, and was looking at Bamatabois like "Oh, bugger off, you creep." Okay, maybe my perception of her as tough was influenced by the fact that I wasn't close enough to see the nuances of her performance, so I kept having to blink and remind myself that she wasn't Factory Girl anymore. But I remember those incidents pretty clearly. Pretty voice also, though she seemed to be having some support or register problems. [The friend I was seeing the show with] didn't notice, but I have the same problems singing Fantine's parts and know what it sounds like, so maybe it's only noticeable to people with a break around E flat? Heh. She came in with "Take my hand" a verse too early in the finale and had to repeat it, but it was her first performance so the appropriate slack has been cut. - Tess Adams: No longer tries to belt Castle on a Cloud, yay! Is, however, copying the OLC now, so her accent comes out really funny in places. - Kylie Liya Goldstein: Still trying to belt her parts, and it still sounds ew. Also does not blend with Alex at all when they're in counterpoint. - Gary Beach: Not funny. Okay, mildly amusing in places, but it's hard to be Th�nardier and miss every joke. He's trying too hard to break the mold and go after different things, things which he cannot wring humor out of and which cause him to miss opportunities to be actually funny. The finger thing in Dog Eats Dog just makes me go o_O, and he completely destroyed the timing on some of my favorite moments in the Waltz of Treachery. He did look like he was having fun, but the ensemble totally upstaged him in Master of the House. - Jenny Galloway: Amazing, though who would've expected anything less? Vulgar, awful, hilarious, knows how to milk the laughter out of a crowd for all it's worth, added in a thousand amusing little touches like harmonizing with the orchestra during Beggars at the Feast. The only times she seemed "off" were when she was singing with Gary. - Brian D'Addario: Cute Gavroche. There was nothing I particularly loved or hated about him. - Jacob Levine: Goddamn annoying. Brian has stopped shouting every other word, if he even did that in the first place, but Jacob still does it and it irritates me. - Celia Keenan-Bolger: I was rather nonplussed by her the first time I saw her in early December; I didn't catch on to what she was doing with Eponine and frankly wasn't paying that much attention to her. After comparing notes with a few friends who described her as creepy!Eponine, stalker!Eponine, and lack-of-social-skills!Eponine, I went back and saw her again and loved her. She's not afraid to present a grubbier, creepier, and less sympathetic Eponine than fangirls are used to--she's overly forward with Marius, then wonders why he doesn't like her. She seems to spend most of the second act (okay, and part of the first act too) building up to a state of complete emotional breakdown, until she's cringing and panicking about the slightest thing in the letter scene, and her OMO is more an outgrowth of her acting than a chance for her to sit back and show off her voice. I liked that she actually looked and sounded like she was dying in ALFOR, and I liked the slightly crazy look she had about her in Look Down, though I wish she'd done more of it. Adam Jacobs: I know he's sort of "either love him or hate him," but I happen to love him. He's just so cute. I don't like his voice, which is still nasal and has funny vibrato, but I'm willing to overlook that because of how adorable his Marius is. When I saw him on the national tour I loved how much he played up the funny aspect of AHFOL, and he does it even more in the revival--he has a good sense of how goddamn ridiculous it is for a random boy to drop into Cosette's garden and start singing about hearts full of love, and he and Ali play off each other wonderfully. He also wasn't too touchy-feely with Celia during ALFOR; he was definitely only trying to comfort her, and one never really got the sense that Eponine was a rival for Marius' affections. I do rather wish he'd tempered his adorable dorkiness with a bit more seriousness, but all in all I like him a lot. Ali Ewoldt: Is also made of adorable, and has improved since I last saw her. In December I remarked (though I might not ever have posted it) that Ali had a beautiful voice, was cute as a button, and only had about three facial expressions. She was trying, but she didn't really express Cosette's frustration with Valjean, her curiosity, and her feelings for Marius as well last time as she did this time. This time I just wanted to hug her, and it was not Alex but Ali's grief over Valjean dying that made me almost burst into tears in the finale. Her Cosette is just so likeable. Aaron Lazar: Wow. Just wow. He's just so... Enjolraic. He's quite serious about not being taken for a "GI Joe Enjolras" (his words), and like Celia the influence from the book is obvious. Solemn, reserved, quite capable of being nice to Marius but on the whole rather distant from the rest of the students. He and Drew Sarich have subtext so thick you could practically grab a handful of it. Orgasmic voice, too--baritenor but with very powerful high notes, only complaint is that he has a tendency to go sharp now and then. Drew Sarich: A guilty pleasure. XD His Grantaire is way different from anything in either the book or the musical--he's still drunk and boisterous and likes to take the piss, but there's an odd sincerity underneath. He's ludicrously over the top with his Grantaire the Flamingly Gay thing, but around Drink With Me it dissolves into a nice warm glowing UST with Aaron. And he has cute puppy dog eyes. |
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| Electricity24601 |
Thanks for the review O F. (Can I nickname you that? ) I think we should be gigantic review buddies.
Exactly!!!
The stories are true... it's amazing d
You seem much better at putting my thoughts into words than I am! Exactly what I thought- it's such a refreshing portrayal.
Good point! I love how he's all blushy and embarrased. Awwww!
This made me laugh out loud, rather loudly. That is such a funny description!
I want to pick her up and give her a big hug or pinch her cheeks or something! First time I ever payed more attention to Cosette then Eponine/Marius
That's my new favorite adjective. |
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| LesMisForever |
Very nice review, thanks
What Thenardier does with his finger? I think you should put in bracketts what he does for those who haven't seen it. |
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| Orestes Fasting |
It's really hard to explain. In between verses he does this weird finger gesture that I guess is supposed to be funny. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Electricity24601 |
He sort of turns them in a circle to the beat like he's directing the orchestra inbetween verses. It's supposed to be funny, but I still think it's a little sinister. I haven't quite decided if I like it or not... |
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| The Very Angry Woman |
One of my friends called it a sort of "cha cha" move. He hated it. (I haven't seen the revival yet, though.) |
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| LesMisForever |
Thank you ladies
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| Eponine93 |
Amazing review OF, really helpful.
I want to thank you for putting in the mention of the understudies. It's good to know that even if Lea Salonga isn't performing next Sunday (which she should be, but you never know...) that I'll see a good Fantine. Also, it's interesting that you weren't crazy about Gary Beach's Thenardier, because I've heard a lot of good stuff about him. Also, thanks for mentioning the little kids. I'm glad you're not afraid to critique their performances, I would never be able to say something negative about the performances of someone who's nine. Does anyone know what the schedule is for them? Just from the teensy little clip I've seen of AHFOL, I think Ali and Adam make an adorable couple. I found a bootleg MP3 file of Adam's ECAET from when he was on the tour, and I actually think his voice is quite good, though. Who do you think is the best cast member? |
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| The Very Angry Woman |
Eugh, from here? He seems to bray less these days, but it's a bray nonetheless. |
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| Eponine93 |
Yes. Maybe it's just my preferences, but I loved his ECAET, in a guilty-pleasure sort of way. I wouldn't say he's my favorite Marius of all time, but I'm definitely partial to him. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Orestes Fasting |
I think my final rankings were: Drop-dead amazing: Aaron Lazar, Ali Ewoldt, Jenny Galloway Good stuff: Celia Keenan-Bolger, Nikki Ren�e Daniels Mixed feelings, but mostly positive: Norm Lewis, Haviland Stillwell, Adam Jacobs Thoroughly mixed feelings: Alexander Gemignani, Drew Sarich Didn't like at all: Gary Beach, Daphne Rubin-Vega (though Gary didn't flat-out suck like Daphne did) And yes, if Lea's out the role of Fantine is still in very capable hands. |
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| Eponine93 |
OF, I'll post a real review tomorrow but my views were pretty much exactly the opposite of yours.
Adored: Lea Salonga, Aaron Lazar, Alexander Gemignani Pretty great (but didn't make or break the show): Gary Beach and Jenny Galloway Just OK: Adam Jacobs, Megan McGinnis (I think that's who I saw as Eponine, not entirely positive) Thoroughly disliked: Norm Lewis and Ali Edwolt I was very dissapointed with Ali, because I've heard great things about her, but I'll post that later. I feel terrible saying I disliked Norm, because I got to talk with him after the show and he was so sweet. But I felt like he was just there- vocally solid but not commanding onstage. |
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| Orestes Fasting |
It's always like that--it must be some cosmic law that the people whose performances you disliked are always the nicest to you at the stage door. Daphne was really sweet in December when she found us diehards waiting in the freezing cold an hour after the show ended; asked our names, scribbled little messages on our playbills, thanked us for waiting. Same on the tour with a few people whose performances I didn't enjoy but who were really, really nice. Edited to add: Norm didn't really seem comfortable in the role of Javert. I enjoyed his peformance mostly because of his vocals and because I could see what he was trying to do with the role, but I'm still not sold on his interpretation. Really nice man, though. Cheerfully put up with us pestering him about whether he'd be in Little Mermaid. |
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| gavvie86 |
Re: Broadway revival review. (Warning- looong review inside)[quote="Electricity24601"- I�m not really sure how to phrase this, but the one thing that really bothers me about Alexander is that his JVJ reminds me of� an animal. I�m not sure what it is- but something about his movements bring to mind some form of beast. Somewhere in his acting and mannerisms he looses the relate-ability (I totally just made that word up) that makes JVJ seem, well, human. Sorry if that didn�t make any since� [/quote] i went ot see the show on friday *insert huge happy sigh here* for the seeventh or so time and i think this cast is going on one of the best ones ive seen as a whole. but on to my point: i really liked the anamalistic approch to JVJ. the fact that he started as almost a wild animal right after being released from toulon and then slowly had to develope back into a man. it seemed to make the point fo what 19 years of prision can and will do to a man--completely break him. i dont know if it was like that when you saw it too but for me they upped the physicallity of the scenes an awful lot, particularly in JVJs case at the begining wheres hes being thrown out and across the stage instead of just gingerly pushed away. again i found it effective. i also sawmegan mcginnis as 'ponine and i adored her id be suprised if celia could have better cemestery with our dear m. pontmercy (though ive never seen her so i cant know for sure. and i saw lea as fantine and let me tell you i was on my knees thanking the heavens daphne was no longer in the roll because i never saw her in the part but it jsut didnt look as if it could end good. end though: what did you think about the changes in lyrics in places such as the end of red and black or on the barricade. so many of them just seemed unnecisary for me merci, gavvie86 |
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| Orestes Fasting |
The lyric changes in "Lamarque is Dead" have been around for a while. Which doesn't mean I like them, just that they're not unique to the revival. That bloody stupid "certain as the eagle flies" line has been in use in London for a while, and I don't know why they felt the need to import it. |
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| Eponine93 |
Re: Broadway revival review. (Warning- looong review inside)
I wasn't too pleased with Megan McGinnis. She has a beautiful voice, but not right to Eponine. I think it was actually more of a soprano than a mezzo. IMO, she would have made a much better Cosette than Eponine. I didn't really agree with all of her acting choices. She could have been a lot more pushy when it came to Marius. Eponine and Marius aren't really supposed to have chemistry. |
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| The Very Angry Woman |
Re: Broadway revival review. (Warning- looong review inside)
I was really surprised when I found out she was going to cover Eponine. I'd only heard her as Beth on the OBC of Little Women, but it's such a Cosette-sounding voice that I'm not surprised to read that Eponine may not have fit her very well. |
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| kitty17794 |
Re: Broadway revival review. (Warning- looong review inside)
They have the friendship chemistry. That 'I'm always the friend, never the girl' type thing going on, you know? |
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| Eponine93 |
Yes, I'd have to agree with you guys there. They did have good friendship chemistry. I just couldn't get over the fact that she was a soprano- a good soprano, but a soprano in an alto role. | ||||||||||||||||||
| gavvie86 |
Re: Broadway revival review. (Warning- looong review inside)
completely agreed. they way they portray the character it makes them seem more like buddies and less like marius is using eponine left and right which i think makes their relationship more dynamic and to me believable. |
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| Eponine93 |
Yeah, I did like how Megan made it very obvious that Marius was using her and she knew it and was upset by it, but didn't know how to end it. She was pretty good for someone who was in the wrong role.
That's the thing about the revival. A lot of the actors are really good, for people who were cast in the wrong roles. I don't understand some of the casting choices. For example, Alex Gemingnani did a great job with the role with someone who was 28, but if he takes the role ten years from now, he will be beyond fantastic. |