London new cast

LesMisForever · London new cast

Wednesday 16/07/2008

Drew Sarich (Jean Valjean): The first impression I got was that he is young, and I couldn�t shake that away. He never convinced me as an old man, although that wasn�t only due to his appearance.
He played the role with intensity, and anger. Now, I do like that in the early stages of the show, but Drew kept that anger, and intensity throughout the show. I believe that is not how Valjean should be played. Valjean grow calm, composed, and almost never angry.
He stressed too many words with anger (Even during the confession scene with Marius he was angry!!)
His scene with Cosette wasn�t good at all. He didn�t look like her father AT ALL.
His reading of Marius� letter was disastrous in my opinion.
He also annoyed me with small things. I am not sure how to describe them, but I would say that he has done many �modern gestures�. The bargain with Thenardiers was full of smirks, sneers, and all sorts of hand movements.
I am sorry if I am not making myself clear, because they are small things, but if you see him, you would think he is living circa 2000, rather than late 19th century.
Vocally, he was good, but nothing exceptional. He didn�t impress me in any of his songs.
Overall, I wouldn�t say he is a complete disaster, but he is the worst live Valjean I have seen.

Earl Carpenter (Javert): A very good Javert. The only thing stopping me from saying a great one is the way he spoke. He spoke with clenched teeth, and with bursts. Vocally though, he was great. His �Stars� in particular was excellent!.

Allyson Brown (Fantine): Poor Fantine. I didn�t like her voice. It was weak, and I was rather pissed off since �I dreamed a dream� is one of my top favourite songs.
She is nowhere near Jo Ampil.

Jimmy Johnston & Jackie Marks (Thenardiers): They were good Thenardiers. Better than most, but the acted over the top, and �milked� their scenes.

Jon Robyns (Marius): Well, while he is vocally good, and up to it, he is very uncharismatic. His face doesn�t provoke emotions in you either way. His ECAET was good if not spectacular. There wasn�t great chemistry between him, and Cosette either.

David Thaxton (Enjolras): One of the best Enjolras I have seen live. A good voice (although his initial �ariiiiiiiise� could have been better), charismatic without being overly masculine. He is one of the closest to the book in terms of appearance.

Now, I am sure OF would like to know about his interaction with Grantaire lol. He rebukes him quite strongly in the �put the bottle down� (I always like it that way), but without looking solely on him. He was talking with others over the maps, and then he spotted him, rebuked him, and went back to talk with the students.
The barricade scene: Grantaire gives him the bottle. He thinks about it for quite a bit, and then he takes the bottle and drinks. Then he smiles at him, and they embrace in a camaraderie way.
Leanne Dobinson (Cosette): I am sorry, but I don�t really care who play Cosette. I don�t care about the character, and I don�t particularly care for her songs.
Comparing her to others, she wasn�t really that good. Not amongst the best, that is for sure. She wasn�t helped though by either Valjean, or Marius.

Nancy Sullivan (Eponine): Very good Eponine. She looked the part, and sang the part. Very good �On my Own�. She is not a shabby actress either.

Overall, I wouldn�t say this is a better cast than the last one (while JOJ was still there). Disliking Valjean & Fantine is a major drawback. The first 30 mins are normally amongst my most favourite parts, but thanks to them it was only so-so. However, due to very strong performances from Javert, Enjolras, and Eponine, the show was most enjoyable between �Paris� and the fall of the barricade.

I think Drew is leaving sometime this year, and when Allyson goes on holiday, I will probably have my next visit.

Catherine · Re: London new cast

Nice to see a review of the new cast. I totally disagree with you about the Drew thing, I really like his insensity, I think it gives more flavour to the otherwise "Oh I'm a saintly old man" kinda character, but I can see why people would dislike that

Each to his own I suppose.

LesMisForever · Re: London new cast

Catherine

Nooo, course not. I know what you mean, absolutely. I suppose Drew does give a different spin to his roles A LOT (I mean, he did it for his Enjolras and look how that turned out) but I think that after the Prologue, even though he's reformed, Valjean should still be making decisions and I think its only human that he's fighting with himself and wondering what to do. Its not just that though, its that I think Drew totally gets Valjean's relationship with Marius, and he is really angry with him and resents him. Maybe its a bit too insense, maybe he goes a bit far, as he sometimes does, but I really loved it.
But as I said in my post before, I can definitely see why people wouldn't, if you get what I mean.

eponine5

Wow, I think this might be the first non-shining review about this cast as a whole that I've seen!
I do personally rate Drew Sarich quite highly (after seeing him more than once as Valjean. I have nothing to say about when I saw him as Enjolras on Broadway). True, his interpretation isn't what I would first think of for the character, but I do think that it works. He does perform some scenes (particularly What Have I Done) with anger as the dominating emotion, but I think it allows him to constantly vary how he sings phrases and make it especially interesting to watch. As for his letter scene, I have to say that I am intrigued about his ability to draw an audible laugh from the audience!
Drew Sarich is leaving in November, I think.

I'm going to be able to post a review of this cast very soon!

LesMisForever

Eponine5...the fact that you mentioned that he made the audience laugh cut my work here Smile

.
I find it absolutely horrible that he made the audience laugh. We are not supposed to laugh at that scene. What is there to laugh about?. The letter is not funny, Marius' predicament is not funny. Valjean's position is not funny. So, why he thinks that we should laugh?. Quite frankly, i am shocked that the director is letting him get away with it.
This is not "interpretation". This is just taking liberties.

The anger is not unique to him as if he came up something new. I have seen Sean Kingsley, and JOJ both playing the part with bitterness/anger at the beginning. But, while they correctly adjusted their acting according to the development of the character (Cathrine mentioned that it is more human to be angry. I agree with that, but Hugo didn't write Valjean that way, and we have to respect that), he kept doing the same to the end. He even shouted at Fantine in the very last scene!!
That is IMO bad acting, and disregard to the source material.

And don't get me started on the bargain scene lol, where i almost expected him to draw a pistol and start shooting lol.

wicked_boy

I'm begging my Mum to take me to see the new cast.

I worked with Helen Owen in The Wizard of Oz, she played Dorothy, (effin amazing) and she's in the ensemble and playing a Whore in the new cast.

bigR

I love Drew's Valjean but I totally understand why you don't like it and I think that your reasons are really valid. Actually, that's one of the first things I thought when I saw him, that his performance was one of those things that you either love or hate, there is not in between. And since half the last cast seemed to be sleeping through their parts when I went to see them, for me, only that love or hate was a good thing.

Now, I perfectly understand why you didn't like his Valjean. Book!Valjean is always calm and kind and always does the right thing. Totally opposed to Drew's interpretation of the character. BUT the book reader knows, because Hugo tells him, that below that calm appearence there is a constant fight and inner turmoil. With Drew's performance the audience gets to see what is below that saintly appearence and behaviour, you get to see the true Valjean.
Valjean hates Marius. Even while he is saving his life. Hugo says that while he is dragging him through the gutters, he stops and looks at him with unspekeable hatred. When the bishop saves him, Valjean doesn't feel grateful. He resents him because he has broken his calm. He acts calm with the Th�nardiers, but he hates/despises them strongly... So, from my point of view, while betraying Valjean's calm appearence, Drew brings out the true Valjean, the man who is constantly fighting, someone who hates the man whose life he is saving. In the musical we don't have a narrator to tell us about how is Valjean feeling inside, and so, the true Valjean gets lost. With Drew we see it.
I also understand why you hate the laughs with the letter. This kind of thing (when an actor/director decides to completely change the meaning of some action, betraying the original text) usually pisses me off. But you know, with Les Mis, some comic relief is always welcome. The Th�nardiers aren't funny in the book. Marius appearence in the garden isn't funny either in the book. But they are funny in the musical because without the Th�nardier's comic relief the audience may feel like comiting suicide, and Marius would be too corny for modern audiences if his "a heart full of love" wasn't done in a comic way. Valjean is so much heavy drama from beginning to end, that I don't mind having him get some laughs from the audience at some point.

Now, I am dying to see David Thaxton's Enjolras. Everybody speaks wonders of him. I was planning to go to london in november, but now I think that I'll maybe jump on a plane before the end of the summer...

Catherine

^ Totally agree with you. I'm so crap at expressing myself... lol.
I wanna see David Thaxton too!

LesMisForever

bigR...regardless of our opinions, i loved your reply. You put it quite nicely Very Happy

Having said that, i don't agree with you. I think you already know the reasons, so i won't repeat them. In my opinion he changed the nature of the character.
I always said on this forum that the one thing that bother me most in the musical is The Thenardiers. I do however realise the importance of a comic relief, so i accept them but rather grudgingly.
Marius comic attempts are not so out of context, which i can't say about the letter scene.

I guess it is a matter of evaluation, because we kind of agree on the "Whys", and understand each other point of view. We just disagree on the outcome.

(OF: i tried to read your review of him, but couldn't find it. Could you please remind of the thread title. Thanks)

eponine5

May I post my review here?

I would say that David Thaxton is without a doubt the best Enjolras I�ve seen. He completely holds the stage and stands out in all the student scenes (which is more than I can say for Edward Baruwa) and his voice is amazing! I could completely believe that the other students would follow him into battle, and he was so confident that despite the fact that I�ve seen the show tons of times, read the book and know that according to history, this revolution simply cannot succeed, I half believed they would win.
And to add to the Enjolras/Grantaire interactions, during Do You Hear the People Sing, Enjolras stopped walking with the crowd and turned around to look sternly at Grantaire. Enjolras then held out his hand (as if asking him �are you going to do this or not?�), and after a pause Grantaire took it and Enjolras smiled and put his arm around him.
Another noticeable moment (which I�m not sure was intentional) was when Grantaire was doing his Don Juan impression during Red and Black. Enjolras looked at him disapprovingly, but then stole the tiniest glance downwards. Suddenly it all made sense to me: that was Granaire�s plan all along!
Drink With Me seems to have been different to when LesMisForever saw the show � Grantaire hugged him and at first Enjolras looked kind of shocked, but then hugged him back. Right afterwards they leaned towards each other and nearly touched foreheads, smiling, and for a second I thought they were going to kiss then and there, but then Enjolras turned away and put down the bottle without drinking, while smiling knowingly.
During the final battle, right before Enjolras goes up the barricade to wave the flag, the two hugged again.
Shocked

Wow� quite a lot of subtext�

Earl Carpenter is a very impressive Javert. He has a lovely, powerful voice and he depicts Javert�s breakdown very clearly in the lead up to his suicide. I only wish that he wouldn�t start waving his arms around wildly until after he�d �landed� in the river.

I agree with LesMisForever about Allyson Brown. I don�t think that either her acting or her singing was particularly amazing, although her acting was better than her singing. It does detract a bit from the first part of the show.

Leanne Dobinson was a great Cosette, IMO. She has a really good voice and is very sweet. One thing which she could improve on is making the style of her singing more consistent, since at times it sounds very classical and at others it sounds�not. But I was amazed to hear her sing the �in my life� of the �I�m no longer a child� verse in a powerful chest voice - nearly a belt! I thought it worked well though in portraying her frustration.

Nancy Sullivan is pretty amazing as Eponine. She naturally has quite a sweet voice, but she does not let that sweetness get into her performance; neither is she the overconfident modern Eponine which sometimes finds her way into the musical. I particularly liked her A Little Fall of Rain, because I think (and this may be over-interpretation) that in this song she showed traces of Eponine�s not-quite-straight head, just from the way she acted. I thought that her interpretation was close to book Eponine (no holding the book upside-down as if she can�t actually read Rolling Eyes

). And I found out at the stage door that Nancy Sullivan has read Eponine�s pages in the book! Hallelujah!
Something which lesmisloony might also be interested in is how during Attack on Rue Plumet, when Montparnasse tried to get rid of Eponine, she kicked him where it would hurt most Laughing

I agree with what LesMisForever has said about Jon Robyns as Marius. He isn�t bad, it�s just that he did nothing which made me want to watch him rather than the other characters onstage with him.

Jimmy Johnston and Jackie Marks work well as a couple, although the one problem is that there doesn�t seem to be a �smart one� at all with this couple. Nevertheless they are very funny and they don�t just use the same old jokes.

Overall I would say that this is a very strong cast, and (a lot) better than the previous one (bearing in mind that I consider Drew Sarich to be part of the old cast). Very Happy

Catherine

Nice review, I really wanna see the new cast now

flying_pigs

Just like to say that David Thaxton is my favourite Enjolras, I saw him when he was an u/s early 2007 and I loved him. Such a good interpretation, finally a good London Enjolras (haven't had one for a while!).

I'm seeing the new cast tomorrow (finally!) and I cannot wait! Not fond of Sarich's Valjean at all, but then I am amazingly bias toward John Owen-Jones. But I'll try and keep an open mind! Shame that Jon Robyns is not getting the best reviews, London needs another stand out Marius!

I'll try and post a review tomorrow or sometime after!

eponine5

Catherine

Erm... kind of!

flying_pigs

Just thought I'd throw my review in.

To start off with we only just got to the theatre in time and were quickly ushered to our seats so I had no time to check the understudy board. I held my breath when the understudy announcement began, hoping I would see the cast members I really wanted to see. Luckily, only one understudy and it was for Valjean, which was a nice surprise! So we had:

Jonathan Williams as Valjean! First of all, he looks like Christian Bale! Anyway, I remember him from the 2004 cast as Enjolras understudy so I was a little apprehensive with the character jump. His acting throughout was amazing, from desperate chain-gang member to an old man, such a good interpretation! Singing was good for the most part, a few lines were flubbed, he was occasionally ahead of the music which meant there were a lot of pauses. Didn't hit the notes in "took my fliiiiight" or in Who Am I? so was slightly apprehensive about BHH but it was beautiful. Didn't hold the note as long as JOJ (but then who does?!) Also missed some blocking, such as not giving Little Cosette the blanket and sitting in an...odd position with Cosette in One Day More. Also knocked a chair over in The Bargain and had to inconspicuously nudge it away with his foot! But yes, a good Valjean, I still miss John Owen-Jones though haha!

Earl Carpenter: Loved him! Don't like his Phantom too much but loved his Javert, Stars was brilliant! The Confrontation was great, such intensity! Great new addition!

Allyson Brown: Nope, did not like her. Forgettable. IDAD was boring as was Come to Me, my attention wandered to the new window they have in that scene!! However, liked her performance in the finale.

Jackie Marks: Very funny, however, perhaps was aiming for laughs too much. Wasn't very sinister. Loved her falling over in BATF and almost breaking the hand of one of the dancers! Also, I could've sworn she was flirting with the drunk at the wedding!

Jimmy Johnston: Again funny, but not sinister enough. Loved MOTH, he led a great ensemble number! Also loved him in BATF.

Leanne Dobinson: Has a very operatic voice. Great singing, acting wasn't too great, she wasn't forceful enough. Made such a cute pair with Jon though!

Jon Robyns: I really liked his performance, people have said his ECAET isn't too great but I thought he acted and sung the song well. Didn't like his interaction with Eponine, I prefer Marius' who tolerate her and try and be as polite as possible about it. However, ALFOR was lovely as was all his stuff on the barricade. Thought for a second that he and David were going to start punching eachother when isn't allowed to collect bullets!

David Thaxton: Love him! My favourite cast member. Amazing performance, great interaction with all characters (especially Grantaire haha!) His "Let others rise....." was beyond awesome, he really puts everything into it! So yeah, I like an Enjolras who can belt, and act! Was very sad when he died! Also very charismatic! I'd follow him into battle!

Nancy Sullivan: has a very weird run! And is blonde! We don't see enough blonde Eponines! Thought her Eponine could have been a bit more bratty, but still enjoyed her performance. Parts of OMO were a bit wobbily but I'm sure she'll improve with time. The "I love him"s at the end were heartbreaking!

Ensemble: very strong! I watch the ensemble a lot, such as ATEOTD and all the barricade scenes, just to see what they're doing and they were great all the way through! I love how I can spot David Thaxton in every scene he was in since the beginning! The first sailor in Lovely Ladies was so funny and I love Feuilly, he looks like a hobbit! The Gavroche was also beyond cool!

Overall, I'm very impressed with the new cast. But will probs wait to see who the new Valjean will be before I go again!

bigR

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