Les Mis Virgin

luckystar_30 · Les Mis Virgin

Ok, so I love musical theatre, I was actually a musical theatre major and somehow I just never got into Les Mis. I own a copy of the cast recording (no idea which one) and I enjoy it and listen to it every so often. Yes, I know the basic story line, blah blah.

Anyways, so I'm heading off to New York in Dec and was picking musicals to see and figured, why not? It's going to be great and I'm going with my Mom so, if not, I'm sure she'll at least enjoy it.

So my question is, what would you guys suggest I do before seeing it? Watch the non musical movies? Read the book? Watch the concert dvd? Do nothing and be totally surprised?

I guess my question is that, since you guys seem really knowledgeable about the show (understatement?? hee hee), if you could go back and see it for the first time, knowing nothing about it, how would you prepare yourselves?

(wow, that was a long post)

sunshinekate

I can't help you lol, but I have actually never seen it either!!! Weird. Ha. But I'm going in November!

luckystar_30

Nice! We'll have to compare notes Smile

Orestes Fasting

If you can find the concert DVD, watch it. Great cast for the most part, it's good for picking up a working familiarity with the show, and the slightly stripped-down concert presentation means that there will still be unknown goodies in store when you actually see it live.

I think the DVD is currently out of print, but many libraries have a VHS copy, and the VHS isn't hard to come by used.

As far as the book goes... either read it for its own sake, or don't bother with it unless you get really into the show and want to dig deeper. I wholeheartedly recommend it as a work of art in its own right, but don't feel like it's a prerequisite for seeing the musical or anything.

Oh yeah, and even if you know the basics of the plot, find a synopsis somewhere and read it a few times. The plot of Les Mis is presented pretty straightforwardly, but it still twists and turns a lot, so it's good to have a synopsis on hand from time to time.

luckystar_30

Oh yeah, I also have tickets to see to see Colm Wilkinson in two weeks! Hoot. Possibly a good introduction!

mastachen

LaurelDP

I never liked Les Mis until I was in it.

Holly

Quique

The Very Angry Woman

My suggestion to everybody is to NOT overstudy any show you're about to see -- I used to do that, and nowadays once I find out I'm about to see a show for the first time, I usually try not to learn anymore about it except maybe get the cast recording, if it's been released. It really prevents you from overthinking during your first experience and can make it far more enjoyable and less distracting in your own head.

With Les Miz, a little background helps just because it's so dense, but don't go too far.

Quique

I used to do that too. Nowadays, not so much.

I usually do end up enjoying a show much more if I am totally in for a surprise.

I used to follow the lyrics carefully and do research and stuff. By the time I got to the theatre, I knew exactly what to expect, which is not always a good thing.

Fantine

I'd say not do anything before hand.

I used to watch the TAC a 1000 times before I actually got to see the show and then the show dissapointed me because it wasn't as "grand" as the TAC. I expected TAC but saw something quite different. You'll enjoy it more if you go in tabula rasa like.

TAC = Tenth Anniversary Concert.

It's after you've seen the show that you should check out the book and the films. Smile

Moci

I wouldn't recommend reading up on the story too much, but I will admit to liking a fair idea of what the setting and so on is, even if I don't know all of the plot points. I'd consider this especially important with 'Les Mis' because everytime I mention to anyone that I'm a fan of it, if the person I'm talking to has seen it, then the two reponses that I tend to find I recieve are, "Oh, it's so long!" and "I really enjoyed it, but I didn't have a clue what was going on."

Also, with scores, I often find that I appreciate having listened to the cast recording beforehand, if possible, just because often I will warm considerably to a score that I didn't like the first time I listened to. For example, my favourite score for a musical is 'The Secret Garden', but I was bought the OBC for my birthday once and hated it, yet I grew to love the score. However, I know that if I saw it on stage having never heard the music, I'd have probably just thought that the score was un-melodic and not very good. Becoming over familiar with the music, can of course be a problem, but I always feel that a good production of something that you're familiar with can bring out nuances that you would never notice the first time you saw it, of course though the choice is up to you.

LesMisForever

Whatever you do, don't watch a movie.

I would say listen (rather than watch) to the TAC, or do nothing.

The book as OF said is a stand alone piece of art, that should be read, but it is not a must.

I agree with TVAW that too much study, and prior knowledge take away from your enjoyment.

luckystar_30

Thanks guys! That's all really helpful.

I'm seeing Colm Wilikinson just in a concert tour he's doing called Broadway and Beyond or something. So, hopefully there will be a little Les Mis going on.

LesMisForever

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Les Mis Virgin