2,041 posts
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Post by 49thand8th on Jan 14, 2020 16:29:30 GMT
Are you posting via morse code?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2020 16:47:23 GMT
Is it Parsley with a new style of writing??
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19,676 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 14, 2020 17:08:09 GMT
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Post by theoracle on Jan 14, 2020 21:41:41 GMT
Managed to get tickets to tomorrow nights “gala evening”, does this mean I have to dress up? Sorry if this seems silly to anyone. What dort of stuff expect from such an occasion? Also, with the new layout, is E15 still considered a good seat? Thanks
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2020 23:43:50 GMT
As Patsy Stone famously said, you can never have enough hats, gloves, shoes and Les Mis threads. |
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Post by danb on Jan 15, 2020 12:20:12 GMT
As Patsy Stone famously said, you can never have enough hats, gloves, shoes and Les Mis threads. Even Amanda DeCadenet could remember the word accessories darling! 😂 |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2020 12:26:47 GMT
As Patsy Stone famously said, you can never have enough hats, gloves, shoes and Les Mis threads. Even Amanda DeCadenet could remember the word accessories darling! 😂 Love it :-) !!!! 1992 Wiki tells me. God I feel old.... |
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Post by danb on Jan 15, 2020 13:13:22 GMT
Even Amanda DeCadenet could remember the word accessories darling! 😂 Love it :-) !!!! 1992 Wiki tells me. God I feel old.... We were a house full of unbearable Ab Fab quoting students...I remember it hazily/well. As if it was nearly 30 years ago...that needs one of our uni meet-up boozy lunches to celebrate! 🎉 |
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Post by danb on Jan 15, 2020 18:56:30 GMT
We were a house full of unbearable Ab Fab quoting students...I remember it hazily/well Do you, darling, do you really? No...not really. I know that I was there, I still have the friends but the memories are patchy at best. There may be a degree certificate somewhere? |
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241 posts
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Post by justafan on Jan 16, 2020 10:26:47 GMT
If the loss of the revolve allowed the brilliant restaging of ‘javert’s suicide’ that I saw last night, I’m glad the revolve has gone !! 😍
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Post by starofwonder on Jan 16, 2020 15:03:43 GMT
got to admit I used to think Les Mis was based on the french revolution of
1789 ... but of course its based on the Paris Rebellion of 1832
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2,041 posts
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Post by 49thand8th on Jan 16, 2020 15:31:01 GMT
got to admit I used to think Les Mis was based on the french revolution of 1789 ... but of course its based on the Paris Rebellion of 1832 Many people did. And some people who even read the clarifying text in the opening of the 2012 movie still do. |
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Post by starofwonder on Jan 16, 2020 16:06:40 GMT
fOR A YOUNG up and coming writer of musicals... maybe the 1789 French Rev could be a good subject to choose.....
Marie Antoinette the tragic heroine.... and Louis 16 the weak minded king....
..... could be a brilliant Musical.....
or maybe Lloyd Webber and Tim could come together for one last bash and pull off a masterpiece......! |
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2,041 posts
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Post by 49thand8th on Jan 16, 2020 16:33:21 GMT
fOR A YOUNG up and coming writer of musicals... maybe the 1789 French Rev could be a good subject to choose.....
Marie Antoinette the tragic heroine.... and Louis 16 the weak minded king....
..... could be a brilliant Musical.....
or maybe Lloyd Webber and Tim could come together for one last bash and pull off a masterpiece......! |
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241 posts
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Post by justafan on Jan 17, 2020 0:00:43 GMT
Seeing a few curtain call pictures on social media tonight. Just wondering why it’s acceptable to do this on Press Night but not on other nights
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5,149 posts
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Post by Being Alive on Jan 17, 2020 0:17:15 GMT
Seeing a few curtain call pictures on social media tonight. Just wondering why it’s acceptable to do this on Press Night but not on other nights I'd argue it isn't acceptable on any night really. Some shows invited it (Six, Waitress) but otherwise it's a no from me. |
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Post by Seriously on Jan 17, 2020 4:06:16 GMT
Seeing a few curtain call pictures on social media tonight. Just wondering why it’s acceptable to do this on Press Night but not on other nights I think it's more a case of... it's not acceptable on other nights, but is on Press Night. |
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5,817 posts
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Post by mrbarnaby on Jan 17, 2020 23:09:45 GMT
Was at Luke McCall's debut yesterday as alt Valjean and enjoyed his performance so much I had to come back and change my rating in the poll! His Valjean really is a highlight, have been following him since the 2015/16 Queen's cast, such an excellent actor and lovely person to boot. The rest of the cast also seem to have settled quite well since the first preview, I expect everyone will be excellent on opening night. Ian Hughes is a fantastic Thenardier, if you can do catch him before he leaves to re-join the tour in Zurich! This must be the ‘Hot Valjean’ I’ve been hearing about. When is he scheduled to go on for Jon Robyns? Are there set days? |
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651 posts
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Post by greeny11 on Jan 18, 2020 6:30:49 GMT
Whoever is Jean Valjean normally gets a Monday off, and since Luke had his debut on Monday, I assume this is continuing.
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4,361 posts
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Post by shady23 on Jan 18, 2020 9:09:57 GMT
They do the same on the tour.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2020 9:23:32 GMT
This was a couple of weeks ago, so Monday nights may have been agreed since then...
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19,676 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 18, 2020 10:06:23 GMT
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Post by 141920grm on Jan 18, 2020 18:44:04 GMT
This must be the ‘Hot Valjean’ I’ve been hearing about. When is he scheduled to go on for Jon Robyns? Are there set days? Lol! Luke plays Valjean every Monday. A charismatic Courfeyrac on other days. |
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Post by scarpia on Jan 18, 2020 18:52:19 GMT
I sometimes have a feeling that Andrew Lloyd Webber, despite all his glittering success in musicals perhaps envies the success of Les Mis...... which in many ways has risen above all of his achievements. In which ways, specifically? Phantom has made more money across the world than Les Mis has. And unlike Mis, its iconic original production is still running on both sides of the Atlantic with an orchestra double the size. Mis also got worse reviews on its opening back then. The only ways Mis has outdone Phantom is that it has played more countries and had a far better received film adaptation (though I didn't like the films of either show). Incidentally, has anyone read the review of the "new" Miz in The Sun? Not linking as I don't want to generate clicks for Mr Murdoch, but God almighty it's awful. The writing of the review that is, not the review's comments about the show. It reads like a 5-year-old wrote it. 'I liked Les Mis. It was very nice. I had a nice time. You should go'. That review is a testament as to why the loss of informed theatre criticism from major newspapers is a tragedy. |
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Post by David J on Jan 19, 2020 23:09:59 GMT
I saw the gala night show last Wednesday.
First off the revelation of the night was certainly Jon Robyns as Valjean. Completely different from when I saw him as Enjorlas nearly 10 years ago. Vocally strong, looks the part, has gravitas and nuanced in his acting. I believed his Valjean and his suffering from the get go which made his character arc more poignant. The best Valjean I've seen at the Queens/Sondheim since Geromino Rauch.
Glad to see the new set still extends into the extended façade over the boxes. Right down to the little entranceway from below on the bottom left hand side. The other good news is the stage is lowered so anyone in the front row will get a crick in their neck. I think there's more animations in the projections as well. That's what I thought looking at the curtain.
The crane is there thankfully there for Javert's suicide and I could swear Javert is raised higher before being pulled back in this production so it looks more dramatic. The set is nicely packaged on the Sondheim stage and I really like the barricades here. In the UK Tour I could see the ends of it. Here it fills the length of the stage so it looks like a proper barricade.
Like the little additions here and there. Right down to the bell ringing in the distance when morning dawns on the barricades. I liked that Fantine and the factory women are amongst the beggars at the start of At the End of the Day and at the last moment they throw off their rags. In One Day More the Thenardiers now run on stage to sing their little bit and go off to stand in the alcove in the façade. Better than poking out of a little window high up above.
Liked Carrie Hope Fletcher as Fantine. Harry Apps has improved since I saw him as Marius in Newcastle. Recently I've seen Thenardiers that don't play up the comedy whilst Madame T annoyingly clowns it up. Here Josephina Gabrielle doesn't overdo it, which makes her and Ian Hughes the better pair for it. Lily Kerhoas and Ashley Gilmour are fine as Cosette and Enjorlas, just unmemorable as usual.
Sadly Bradley Jaden didn't do it for me this time as Javert. I like how he throws himself into roles, and despite his age when I saw him back in the July I appreciated how he didn't let that hold him back as Javert and gave his own interpretation of the character. Here he resorts to shouting the lyrics so many times. To the point where in the first bit of his soliloquy he goes between straight up singing and shouting each word. Very distracting watching an actor who is not old enough for the role overegg it. Just pull back Bradley.
Couldn't help noticing Shan Ako resorting to riffing during On My Own. Also Ciaran Bowling was a bit OTT as Grantaire.
Otherwise call me biased towards the older production but the London show has now lost its unique look. Where it was down to the cast to bring Victor Hugo's huge story to life with the occasional big set and the turntable keeping the show flowing thanks to a visionary creative team. It now feels like any other West End/Touring production in the past decade.
What annoys me most is that I wanted the new production to improve the orchestrations so I can hear the music boom out as it does in the touring production. Nah, its just as underwhelming in that small orchestra pit as it was in the old version.
Maybe it was me sitting in the dress circle instead of the front of the stalls for the first time. Maybe I'm feeling burned out after seeing Les Mis so many times last year. But something was missing for me, and it doesn't inspire me to come back for years on end.
I'll come back later in the year to try the front rows and see Jon Robyns and Rachelle Ann Go again (though I must say Luke McCall has so much presence in the ensemble with some strong vocals that I kinda fancy seeing his Valjean). I hope the production will persuade me otherwise sitting up close again. Still, the music and lyrics still lives on but for me this isn't the same Les Mis anymore and I'll only go if there's a performer I want to see.
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