Les Miserables Lovers...3rd UPDATE 10/18: Movie Dates!

[ugadog99]

I saw this at the Kennedy Center in DC before it went to Broadway. I've loved this show ever since.

"I am agog, I am aghast, is Marius in love at last. I have never seen him oooo and aaaah....we talk of battles to be won, and here he comes like Don Ju-an, it is better than an opera!"

So much good music from this show and some of it is even a bit funny, too!

 

[Syrreal]

When I saw it for the 1st time, I went with this guy that I was kind of semi seeing and he bought tickets (beacuse I "told" him to) he thought that intermission was the end of the show and FELL ASLEEP during the 2nd act. How can you fall asleep with all the canon and gunfire???

 

[ugadog99]

Fall asleep...during the second act? Seriously?? That is too funny!

 

[Syrreal]

Sadly, I am very serious.
And when I told him that the break was only intermission, he actually WHINED "You mean we gotta go back?!" I told him he didn't have to that I would have no problem getting a ride home. We did NOT last long after that.

 

[ugadog99]

Sadly, I am very serious.
And when I told him that the break was only intermission, he actually WHINED "You mean we gotta go back?!" I told him he didn't have to that I would have no problem getting a ride home. We did NOT last long after that.

I totally understand. He wouldn't have lasted around here long, either!

 

[Syrreal]

I took DH to see it a couple of years ago. He really liked it. There IS a reason I married him
Luckily, he is a good sport and goes with me to see all these musicals. Recenty he saw Wicked with me, and just to show what a great hubby he is- he went to Legally Blonde too and didn't complain once. LOL

 

[ugadog99]

If you all go to lesmis.com and register for the newsletter, you will get all the updates on cd, dvd, tour, etc.

 

[marshallandcartersmo]

Has anyone seen the traveling show yet??

I just rented the 25th anniversary special (thanks Redbox!). Is the tour similar to the special or the original play?

thanks! excited either way!

 

[Deb in IA]

Has anyone seen the traveling show yet??I just rented the 25th anniversary special (thanks Redbox!). Is the tour similar to the special or the original play?

thanks! excited either way!

YES!!!

Saw it on March 13 in Louisville, KY. (Kids were on Spring Break and my parents live just outside of Louisville)

I'll copy my review from another thread:

I was afraid the emotionality of this show would be blunted for my kids, since so many of the songs have become so familiar, but they were totally awed by this production!

The new restaging of Les Miz is wonderful. The revolving stage is gone and the barricades seems smaller, but the lighting and the projections of Victor Hugo's landscape paintings are fantastic.

The sewer scene and Javert's Suicide were especially breathtaking, I thought.

The show we saw had Joe Tokarz as Jean Valjean. While I would have liked to see Lawrence Clayton, Joe did a wonderful job and his "Bring Him Home" made me cry, as it always does. Andrew Varela was wonderful as Javert - I love his rendition of "Stars".

Chasten Harmon was excellent as Eponine. Lots of sniffling after her "A Little Fall of Rain".

That said, I think they speeded up the tempo of the songs too much, and jumped too quickly from one number to another, without letting the emotional punch sink in first. I think they shaved almost 1/2 hour from the original version, and it shows.

All in all, it is still a wonderful show. A much better "restaging" than some that I've seen (I hated the re-staged version of Sweeney Todd, for example )

 

[Deb in IA]

Oh, and to answer your question: The tour is the full blown show, with acting, props, scenery, visuals, etc., and not a "concert version".

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

They've been playing the 25th anniversary concert on PBS lately. It's soooo long! Funny that a Jonas brother plays Marius!

 

[Deb in IA]

They've been playing the 25th anniversary concert on PBS lately. It's soooo long! Funny that a Jonas brother plays Marius!

I think it is long because of all the fundraising breaks!

I ordered the DVD - hopefully, it will be shorter!

 

[disneyismyname]

I saw the PBS special...loved it. Bawled my eyes out. Then I checked through the movie guide and Les Mis (with Uma Thurman and Claire Danes) was going to be on the next day on a Christian channel! So I watched that...loved Liam Nesson! And I checked if Les Mis was in town and they were! But the 5 days (two showings each day) were all SOLD OUT!

 

[MiniGirl]

Another big fan here. I used to be a f/a and had many London layovers. I would go see this every night I was there. I just could not get enough of it -- always the cheap seats, but I was still there.

Anyway, did anyone see it with Gary Morris? I used to be a big country music fan and just loved him. I have the CD version with him, too.

 

[Deb in IA]

I saw the PBS special...loved it. Bawled my eyes out. Then I checked through the movie guide and Les Mis (with Uma Thurman and Claire Danes) was going to be on the next day on a Christian channel! So I watched that...loved Liam Nesson! And I checked if Les Mis was in town and they were! But the 5 days (two showings each day) were all SOLD OUT!

So sorry.
I think they were in Columbus, OH a few weeks ago too. Right after they were in Louisville.

 

[Deb in IA]

So, I pulled out the 10th Anniversary Concert DVD, to compare to the 25th Anniversary one.


I remembered how much I LOVE Colm Wilkinson, and how amazing Lea Solanga was/is. And how much better Michael Ball is as Marius, compared to Nick Jonas.

But during the "Castle On A Cloud" song with Young Cosette, there is a terrible BANG offstage!! I never noticed that before. Has it always been there? What happened?? To her credit, the young girl who is singing never flinches, and goes right on . . . what a trooper!

 

[JenM]

I remembered how much I LOVE Colm Wilkinson, and how amazing Lea Solanga was/is. And how much better Michael Ball is as Marius, compared to Nick Jonas.

Love Michael Ball! I saw him on Broadway ages ago in Aspects of Love, and his voice is just amazing. He was playing Edna in Hairspray when I was in London a few years ago (and he won the Olivier Award for it!), but I didn't get a chance to see it.

But during the "Castle On A Cloud" song with Young Cosette, there is a terrible BANG offstage!! I never noticed that before. Has it always been there? What happened?? To her credit, the young girl who is singing never flinches, and goes right on . . . what a trooper!

I've heard it was a chair that fell. She was a trouper, though. You can even hear the "BANG!" on the CD and her voice jumps for a split second, but she didn't stop at all.

I remember reading awhile ago that one of the kids playing Gavroche in the original Broadway production once flung his ammunition bag into the audience by accident during his death scene one night. Whoever caught it actually threw it back, and the kid reached out and grabbed it and continued with the scene.

 

[Deb in IA]

I've heard it was a chair that fell. She was a trouper, though. You can even hear the "BANG!" on the CD and her voice jumps for a split second, but she didn't stop at all.

I'm surprised that with all the technology these days, someone hasn't figured out a way to digitally remove that "BANG!" from the CD/DVD.

But maybe it just adds to the charm of a live performance!

 

[DisneyCP2002]

Just had to share with other Les Mis fans! This coming December it will be in Dallas, TX. The run is 12/20/11 - 1/2/12. I still cannot decide what day(s) I will be going!

 

[Mikelly1221]

I'm a new Les Mis fan...I saw the 25th Annversary concert on PBS and LOVED IT! I TiVo'ed it and have watched it again and again..and of course I had to order the DVD. Since I'm a newbie, I really don't have any comparisons, but I really, really, REALLY liked Alfie Boe as Jean Valjean!

I asked DH if possibly we could see the touring production in January/February when it comes to our neck of the woods. He said yes!!!