Little things you notice

Orestes Fasting · Little things you notice

I know we had a thread like this ages and ages ago, but I don't feel like getting yelled at for dredging it up. Laughing

If it's still even there.

Anyway, what little things have you noticed in the show, references to the book or just neat little touches that you have to look twice to get?

A few of mine:

- I'd always known the lineup in the Robbery/Javert's Intervention didn't include all the members of Patron-Minette, but it took me until my 23rd viewing or so to notice that the missing people are Montparnasse and Claquesous. Who are, of course, the ones who slipped away from the Gorbeau arrest in the book.

- In Dog Eats Dog, just as Th�nardier says "I raise my eyes to see the heavens, and only the moon looks down," look up and to the right. The spotlight shining on him looks just like the moon.

flying_pigs

Eponine and Cosette face each other of the Rue Plumet gate and mirror each other's movements as Marius climbs the gate. Took me 3 viewings to notice!

Also, when Eponine dies, Marius keeps her hat, sticks it in his belt, loses it when he dies, Grantaire picks it up but then ends up flinging it over the barricade when he dies. This took my fourth viewing to notice!

There's porbably more but these are my two prominant ones!

Orestes Fasting

And speaking of Eponine's death, it took me a while to notice the bullet hole in the back of her coat. Probably because Marius has his hand over it through most of ALFOR--ouch!

EponineMNFF

This didn't take me that long to notice, but it reminded me a lot of the book.

In the revival, during One Day More, when Marius is trying to decide whether to stay with the barricade boys or go off with Cosette, Eponine holds her hand out and together they join the triangle. (...Well maybe that wasn't just in the revival and I only noticed it when I saw the revival. )Anyway, it very much reminded me of when Eponine gets Marius to go to the barricades in the book.

I'll edit more when I can think of more. X_x

Orestes Fasting

This is probably not deliberate, but last time I saw the revival I noticed that when the bright white spotlight goes up at the end of One Day More, Marius and Cosette were slightly in shadow. (And we all know what the bright white spotlight means, lol. "Tomorrow we'll discover what our God in heaven has in store" indeed.) I'll have to watch again to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me.

Elin

This is probably not deliberate, but last time I saw the revival I noticed that when the bright white spotlight goes up at the end of One Day More, Marius and Cosette were slightly in shadow. (And we all know what the bright white spotlight means, lol. "Tomorrow we'll discover what our God in heaven has in store" indeed.)

Exclamation

christinadaae

eponine5

It took me a while to notice Valjean folding and packing Cosette's little mourning outfit and her doll during ODM

I've never noticed the light thing before - now that you've mentioned it I hope it was deliberate! Because of course, the Thenardiers would have been shaded from the light too because of the trap door!

EponineMNFF

Oh one more thing I've noticed. It took me three times before I saw this! When Cosette and Marius are singing "And I swear that I'll be true," Valjean looks at his candlesticks and mouths along!

christinadaae

EponinesRain

Hehe, these are great. Smile

Now if only I had enough money to see the production again and look out for all these little things! And somebody should find out if the triangle formation and the lighting are deliberate!

This may not be as good of a revelation and it probably doesn't require any close observation at all, but I was watching the TAC video with my parents last night (their first time) and looked to see what the actors did when they were sitting down, as their fellow cast members sang. When Grantaire picks on Marius in "Red and Black", you can see Lea Salonga reacting to Michael Ball's chuckling. Whenever Ball giggles like a little school girl, she's smiling/chuckling as well. Guess it's like laughing-gas.

Then, when Judy Kuhn sings "In My Life", you see Quast say something to Wilkinson about her, as if both were going, "Yes, she's a marvelous singer" or something. Giving approval, I guess.

Is this old news? I dunno- I just thought those were funny. Smile

Aimee

Eponine93

phantomphan85

God, I'm stupid. I've seen Les Mis so many times and I've never noticed any of these.

Elin

Next time you watch, be sure to watch the kids playing Gavorche and Little Cosette. I give them a lot of credit for sitting through the entire thing (you wouldn't catch me sitting through the entire thing if I was eight or nine.)

They were older than that - 13 (Hannah Chick) and 15 (Adam Searles).

Orestes Fasting

EponineMNFF

Okay, I'm bumping this thread a lot but I just saw the revival and wrote down a few of the things I noticed.

During the prologue, right before Javert comes in, one of the constables is sleeping! When Javert enters, he springs back to life.

Madame Thenardier pulled down the front of her dress during the Waltz of Treachery and thrust her chest in Valjean's face. Hahaha.

After The Robbery, when Valjean and Cosette runs away from Javert, they run off stage left. Marius goes upstage and asks Eponine (who is now standing above him on the bridge) where they went [this is all in the background of Javert's intervention]. Eponine points him towards stage right! Hahah - I was the only one who noticed, but I got a kick out of it.

During Red and Black, Enjolras says to Grantaire, "Our little lives don't count at all." And then during Grantaire's solo in Drink With Me, he sings, "Is your life just one more lie?" with a very pointed stare towards Enjolras.

During One Day More, after Cosette and Marius are finished singing, Enjolras runs in between them and separates them. Kind of symbolic, eh? ^^

I'm not sure if this is really intentional or not, but Eponine mirrors Valjean's backing up all the way upstage (during "I am reaching but I fall...") at the end of On My Own.

Marius took a swig of Grantaire's wine after A Little Fall of Rain.

During the first attack, one of the students yelled "GET A GUN, GRANTAIRE!" Grantaire just stared at them and kept drinking.

During Drink With Me, Marius tried to wipe Eponine's blood off of his hands.

This was specific to the last performance I saw, but Gavroche died without his hat on - it was really sad.

After Gavroche dies, Grantaire keeps his copy cat flag.

This is specific to the new orchestrations, but when Javert is singing, "I am reaching, but I fall and the stars are black and cold..." the background music was this... I can't really explain it, but it was the kind of music you'd hear in a movie when someone is having a breakdown. It was actually pretty cool... well I think I'm the only one who likes the new orchestrations on the board, but I thought it was cool. ^^

At the wedding, the Thenardiers start dancing with Cosette right before Beggars at the Feast and she looks extremely concerned.

There's a drunk man at the wedding. Razz

Orestes Fasting

The Very Angry Woman

OMGitsASH

Near the end of Red and Black Gavroche took Grantaires bottle (which he left on the table) and took a few drinks

I started laughing and people in the row infront of me turned around

Orestes Fasting

Bumping this thread because I seriously never noticed this before.

In In My Life, just as Valjean enters and comes through the gate, there's another man onstage in shadow in the back. I always thought it was either a stagehand or a random passerby, but on Saturday I realized it was Montparnasse. Who is, indeed, the one to sing "This is his lair, I've seen the old fox around."

It also still amuses me that he and Claquesous are the only ones to escape the police after the robbery scene in Look Down, since it happened the same way in the book.

Quique

^ I've never noticed that before. Must be new. Then again, it could be that I always thought it was a stagehand since they are there to cart off the gate.

I need to see the revival again. I was going to go again this month, but now it'll have to wait until at least early next year, grrr.

Orestes Fasting

I didn't even notice him until a month or two ago, and then I thought he must be a stagehand. Who wasn't doing anything, or moving anything, or helping anyone else do anything. He's really not very visible, and the only reason I recognized him on Saturday is because someone abandoned their front row seat and I moved up. You can see everything from front row. Laughing

How early? JOJ's going to be on vacation the first two weeks of January.

Quique

I'm aiming for February.

And I want to see the show sober this time. Laughing

Wayne and I had been at a bar all afternoon the day of the show, and while I do remember a lot, some parts are a blur, lol. I feel like I need to see it again.

I hate it when that happens. XD

mastachen

This is a good bump, Orestes.

I'm going to watch it during winter break, hopefully, I'll see JOJ and Judy Kuhn, and I'll be looking out for all these little things.

lesmisloony

*cries* You people are so privileged! This thread makes me feel bad for not paying enough attention when I get to see the show AND being too poor to go to New York and see it over and over and over...

After I get out of college, I am hellbent on moving to NYC. I know everyone says that, but not everyone MEANS it like I do. I'm like Fantine; I'm going to seek my fortune in the big city. But probably won't get knocked up. *is rambling* Anyway, my point is that the moment this happens, LM better still be running, and I will watch it ALL THE TIME. No matter what it takes.

mastachen

Yeah I was surprised that the "this is his lair" line was no longer sung by Thernardier, although I'll admit, when I first saw it, I had no idea who was singing it, but now that I know it was Montparnasse and how that fits into how he was lurking earlier and stuff, it just seems really brilliant now.

Fantine

It does kinda pave the way for a fanfic, doesn't it?

lesmisloony

mizzie

Grantaire and Gavroche are always together during A Little Fall of Rain. ALWAYS.

Jennifer Lynn

I love threads like these. That's the beauty of live theater...a director can put a moment in, an actor can read a single line a new way, and suddenly you're looking at a character in a different light. (For example, take My Fair Lady. There's that part where Pickering asks "and have you tried the pline cake?" in a Cockney accent. Wilfred Hyde-White in the movie played it as if it were an unconscious mistake, but I've seen others do it on purpose to get Higgins' goat! Which is a very nice way of giving Pickering some extra dimension than just a stuffy Colonel Blimp.)

It's been years since I've seen a Les Mis production, but one bit I remember is Madame Thenardier busily stuffing her clothes with the silverware during the wedding, and then having it fall out with a clatter after Marius and Cosette exit. She then distracted the company by thumping the major-domo's staff herself, which touched off "Beggars At The Feast".

lckysvn777

The only thing I ever noticed was that Megan McGinnis(Eponine) always smells good Laughing

. I would always sit on the right side of the theatre where she spends part of the show up in the side boxes. I also took notice that she is very shy at the stage door. Very nice but shy.
I guess I should have paid more attention to everything else seeing as I never took notice to what everyone else said in this thread.

lesmisloony

Man, I would LOVE to sit in the left-hand box, where horny sailors enter for Lovely Ladies... I've seriously, seriously considered shelling out the $200plus to get the seats when we see the show, but sense holds me back.

Stupid sense.

Orestes Fasting

Pssst, the front boxes--the sailors enter through Box A--are only $35. You have to ask at the box office though, and there are only two seats per box.

lesmisloony

Whaa ? I've been trying to go through ticketmaster/telecharge and never seen such delightful prices. Do I need to call the theatre for this amazing deal ?

ETA: Is it worth it to sit in the box ? Have you... sat... there ? Can you see the stage relatively well ?

Orestes Fasting

The only $35 seats available through Telecharge are the very back row of the mezzanine, alas. I'm not even sure you can call the theater to get the box seats--I've only been able to get them by showing up in person and asking at the box office.

There are six boxes; the front two, Box A and Box D, are cheaper because they have a very restricted view of the stage, but they're also the boxes the actors come through. The other four boxes are the price of the other restricted view seats.

I've had Box A three or four times. It's a lot of fun in Act I, but nobody comes through it in Act II so you're stuck with a restricted view. The last time I sat there I was spying on the orchestra level whenever there was enough light to see if there were any empty seats, and managed to move down to the fourth or fifth row at intermission.

lesmisloony

Sorry to keep on this... harangue... but this is a fascinating idea for someone who's never been closer than the back of the balcony. In June, we were literally in the back row. We're poor college kids, so. ...I've forgotten, but do actors enter and/or exit through the other side (box D) ?

When I saw the show in June I swore that I'd do what I could to sit in the box after seeing the actors come barrelling through, but since this will definitely be the last time I see this particular revival on Broadway, I'm wondering if I should sacrifice a view of the stage for a few toes trampled by lusty sailors. Though the cheapest seats after Christmas seem to be $66 on telecharge, so, assuming box prices don't go up, we'd actually be SAVING money... and it would be especially fantastic if we could sneak down to the orchestra level (another thing I've never experienced) during intermission.

Thanks so much for sharing all of your valuable knowledge and experience with me, by the way. I can only sit back and envy people close enough to the city to see the show frequently, so I suppose there's a bit of vicarious living going on here... (*hopes that made enough sense*)

Orestes Fasting

Yep. Box A on the left gets the sailors in Lovely Ladies, a beggar in Look Down, a random DYHTPS woman, and Babet in the Rue Plumet robbery. Box D... I've never sat there, but I know Eponine enters through there in Look Down and hangs out there for a while, and Enjolras exits through it later in the scene.

If you don't want the boxes--and it's often impossible to get them the day of the performance--or the $66 restricted view seats, try broadwaybox.com. They usually offer discount codes that will get you front side orchestra, rear center orchestra, or mezzanine seats for $66 instead of $110.

Sneaking into abandoned seats is awesome. If I have a crappy orchestra seat, I often move up during the applause break after I Dreamed a Dream, since all the latecomers are usually seated by then. (You'd be surprised how often there's an empty front row seat... and I cannot in good conscience let those go abandoned. Wink

)

lesmisloony

Oh, thank you so very very much for the veritable fount of information. Now I must make a few phone calls and visit a few websites... *admits to doing a leettle happy dance*

mastachen

Gah! The more I think about it, the more nervous I am that I won't be able to get student rush tickets for the week before Christmas.

Orestes Fasting

If it makes you feel better about your chances, I haven't seen a "This performance is sold out" notice since... April, I think. And now that Lea's left you won't have to fend off half the population of the Philippines.

And there's always SRO, for about the same price as student rush.

mastachen

Whats sro?

The Very Angry Woman

lesmisloony

Just wanted to say that it's true (of course) that box tickets can only be had in person at the box office. But fanatacism finds a way...

Fantine

Standing room only? You serious?

mastachen

It doesn't matter anymore b/c my mom is really against me going to NY.

I think worse comes to worst, I would be standing room tickets though

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Little things you notice