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Post by fiyerorocher on Sept 25, 2021 23:28:25 GMT
Tonight, with the reopened fully staged production, it was, as far as I could make out, ‘here comes a prince, he’s nouveau riche, this one looks queer, I bet he likes quiche.’ And just WHAT? Why quiche? What on earth is going on here. That was the line when I saw it in the concert production a few weeks ago. It seemed odd to me then, but I did a search and found out they've been using the quiche line for a few years now. I've still no recollection of ever hearing it before, so I presume they must cycle the lines around in some manner. Really? I've never heard it before and I've been seeing Les Mis at least once a month for almost a decade! (until the Covid lockdowns ruined it) |
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Post by inthenose on Sept 25, 2021 23:31:21 GMT
That was the line when I saw it in the concert production a few weeks ago. It seemed odd to me then, but I did a search and found out they've been using the quiche line for a few years now. I've still no recollection of ever hearing it before, so I presume they must cycle the lines around in some manner. Really? I've never heard it before and I've been seeing Les Mis at least once a month for almost a decade! (until the Covid lockdowns ruined it) Me either, strange. Didn't bother with the concert productions, maybe they did it there? |
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Post by shady23 on Sept 25, 2021 23:38:09 GMT
I don't remember them using that in the last concert production (with Matt Lucas), just the latest one.
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Post by fiyerorocher on Sept 25, 2021 23:56:56 GMT
I think last time I saw the concert performance it was 'Here comes a prince, so parvenu, this one's a queer' and then Madam T interrupting with 'and what about you?'
They're clearly aware it's possibly the least PC verse of the show, since it's practically the only part they keep changing, but I really don't know how adding quiche to the equation does anything but baffle and confuse.
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Post by inthenose on Sept 26, 2021 0:31:25 GMT
I think last time I saw the concert performance it was 'Here comes a prince, so parvenu, this one's a queer' and then Madam T interrupting with 'and what about you?' They're clearly aware it's possibly the least PC verse of the show, since it's practically the only part they keep changing, but I really don't know how adding quiche to the equation does anything but baffle and confuse. And as you said before, if he's a prince he is the opposite of "parvenu". It is like they don't know what the word means. Unless... he points at the man in the first pair who waltz past as "a prince", then the second one comes by is "so parvenu", third one etc. That's the only way that lyric could work. But even then, being "so" something - especially with no preceding determiner like "it's", "he/she's", "that's", is rather anachronistically modern and not in keeping with the stoic language of the show whatsoever. Why am I now reminded of "That's *so* Raven"? |
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Post by sophie92 on Sept 26, 2021 0:58:39 GMT
I think last time I saw the concert performance it was 'Here comes a prince, so parvenu, this one's a queer' and then Madam T interrupting with 'and what about you?' They're clearly aware it's possibly the least PC verse of the show, since it's practically the only part they keep changing, but I really don't know how adding quiche to the equation does anything but baffle and confuse. I don’t think I saw the concert this year with that line - at the opening performance it was the original but with the Madam T “and what about you” and all the other times I went it was the “nouveau riche…quiche” version. Apparently when Cameron Blakely was on, he sung the original lyrics. I can appreciate that they want to change those lines but quiche is not the answer. |
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Post by fiyerorocher on Sept 26, 2021 1:40:56 GMT
Yes the most recent concert opened with 'there goes a Jew'. They had changed it to 'so parvenu' five days later, at the most, at which point there was still no quiche involved
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Post by forevercolours on Oct 2, 2021 6:34:53 GMT
Does anyone have any idea why the rush tickets disappeared? On Wednesday/Thursday I was able to find rush tickets until 3pm but sadly I was unable to go. I tried again yesterday at 10am but the option for rush had disappeared on the app and it still isn’t there.. In the past did they previously not do a rush for weekend shows? The rush advertisement isn’t even on the ticket page anymore
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Post by mkb on Oct 2, 2021 9:34:43 GMT
...They're clearly aware it's possibly the least PC verse of the show, since it's practically the only part they keep changing, but I really don't know how adding quiche to the equation does anything but baffle and confuse. I don't understand why the producers think they have a problem. Characters behaving un-PC does not make a show un-PC. Especially when they are demonstrably disreputable. (The characters, not the producers!) |
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Post by theatrefan77 on Oct 2, 2021 12:05:00 GMT
Maybe I'm in the minority here but I didn't like the new set at all. It looks like a cheap touring Bill Kenwright production. The barricade scene looses most of its impact without the revolve. I've seen Les Mis more than 30 times over the years but not planning to see it again in its current form.
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Post by inthenose on Oct 2, 2021 13:45:27 GMT
Maybe I'm in the minority here but I didn't like the new set at all. It looks like a cheap touring Bill Kenwright production. The barricade scene looses most of its impact without the revolve. I've seen Les Mis more than 30 times over the years but not planning to see it again in its current form. No, I absolutely agree. |
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Post by Mark on Oct 2, 2021 13:54:50 GMT
Does anyone have any idea why the rush tickets disappeared? On Wednesday/Thursday I was able to find rush tickets until 3pm but sadly I was unable to go. I tried again yesterday at 10am but the option for rush had disappeared on the app and it still isn’t there.. In the past did they previously not do a rush for weekend shows? The rush advertisement isn’t even on the ticket page anymore A shame if it’s ended already - maybe they’ve just decided not to offer it anymore. |
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Post by danb on Oct 2, 2021 14:58:59 GMT
I don’t think they struggle to fill the house at the weekend or matinees. I once returned some weds matinee tickets because I’d bought better ones and they nearly ripped them out of my hand to re-sell.
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Post by Mark on Oct 3, 2021 10:41:22 GMT
Mary Poppins has also removed from Todaytix rush (replaced with dayseats online from DMT) so I guess it remains to be seen whether or not Les Mis will offer something similar.
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Post by scarpia on Oct 3, 2021 16:46:53 GMT
Maybe I'm in the minority here but I didn't like the new set at all. It looks like a cheap touring Bill Kenwright production. The barricade scene looses most of its impact without the revolve. I've seen Les Mis more than 30 times over the years but not planning to see it again in its current form. No, I absolutely agree. Given how eternally popular the staged concerts seem to be, I'm surprised Mackintosh doesn't just decide to evict the "new" 2010 version from the Sondheim and just do the concert thing for ever (and call it 'even more spectacular', of course). |
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Post by scarpia on Oct 3, 2021 16:49:23 GMT
...They're clearly aware it's possibly the least PC verse of the show, since it's practically the only part they keep changing, but I really don't know how adding quiche to the equation does anything but baffle and confuse. I don't understand why the producers think they have a problem. Characters behaving un-PC does not make a show un-PC. Especially when they are demonstrably disreputable. (The characters, not the producers!) I agree with this. I also think that, as the years have gone by, the presentation of the Thénardiers in this show has descended ever more firmly into anodyne 'comic relief' territory at the expense of making clear just how abhorrent they are. Keeping the line as it was written originally might remind people of that. |
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Post by sleepflower on Oct 5, 2021 18:43:58 GMT
Rush tickets didn't last long  Hope they return |
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Post by matilda1 on Oct 5, 2021 22:18:41 GMT
Any reviews on how the production is going?
How are the new Principals doing?
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Post by fiyero on Oct 6, 2021 8:16:32 GMT
Any reviews on how the production is going? How are the new Principals doing? Most of the principals are out (Cossette, Fantine, Eponine and Enjolras) |
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Post by matilda1 on Oct 6, 2021 10:29:44 GMT
Is that due to Covid?
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Post by fiyero on Oct 6, 2021 11:05:51 GMT
I believe so, whether directly or indirectly. |
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Post by danb on Oct 6, 2021 11:15:12 GMT
…or the stupid cold/cough virus thing that is also doing the rounds that would make it impossible to perform.
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Post by wardrobemistress76 on Oct 7, 2021 23:23:36 GMT
Not sure if this should be a new thread or not, but…
As Les Mis celebrates its 36th birthday today (8th Oct), I’d love to hear everyone’s favourite - or ‘ultimate’ - production / version of this show in its 36 year history.
(Dream casts / cast recordings also welcome.)
One year more…
WM
X
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2021 10:16:15 GMT
Not sure if this should be a new thread or not, but… As Les Mis celebrates its 36th birthday today (8th Oct), I’d love to hear everyone’s favourite - or ‘ultimate’ - production / version of this show in its 36 year history. (Dream casts / cast recordings also welcome.) One year more… WM X I always think if there was one performance of any show that I could go back in time and see (that I never saw the first time round), it would be the first preview of Les Mis at the Barbican. But from the performances I've seen, the most memorable are from around the mid-90s. The first UK tour in Edinburgh in 93/94, with Jeff Leyton, Michael McCarthy, Rebecca Thornhill...and I also managed to catch Linzi Hateley as Eponine, when she did the final 4 weeks of the run just after Joseph closed. Round about the 10th Anniversary was great too, when Lea Salonga did the London production at the start of 1996, with Matthew Cammelle, Phil Cavill, David Bardsley and Grania Renihan. And it was the original production at the Palace before they started chopping it down. Of the new version (which I do enjoy, but find inferior to the original), the Spanish production was excellent (Madrid and tour). They cast the students much older than they have in recent years in the UK, so the voices were rich and powerful, and it sounded amazing. |
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Post by inthenose on Oct 8, 2021 14:26:29 GMT
The show was better at the Palace, the move and downsizing refreshed it in some ways, and harmed it in many others.
I have seen the show live at the Palace, Queens, every UK tour, Broadway and multiple concerts. I haven't seen the "newest" Les Mis or the most recent concerts as I've completely fallen out of love with the direction the show has taken, much like Phantom. I'd estimate I've seen it as a patron well over 50 times and probably touching 100.
Last time I saw it was just so, so poor and I haven't even considered rebooking. Most of my issues are the liberties taken across the board. When the show moved to the then Queens Theatre, it was an opportunity to freshen things up - which they did. This included many cuts and a zippier tempo. The last time I saw it, it felt like a race to the finish. Nothing had time to settle, the MD was pushing slow, poignant moments into the light speed.
And liberties continued with the cast. Bradley Jaden had no business being Javert, a grizzled veteran. His affected deep baritone and comically overdone make up reminded me of Les Mis: Kids Edition. And this has been going on for years; performers who are wonderful and appropriate in parts right for their age and voice getting pushed to the moon in parts which simply don't suit their characteristics - especially their age.
Character flourishes? Dead in the water. The current policy for a "fresh take" on a character are "sing louder, and add notes not in the score". Alternatively, sing in a completely jarring style to everybody else (R&B) and call that a character trait. Comes off as "hello fellow kids", a desperate plea for relevancy to the yoof in the audience. I cringed through the last "On My Own" I was subjected to.
Then there is the same issue going on at Phantom in terms of casting policy. Les Mis and Phantom are top-tier shows, known for their excellence in production values, world class casts and being the pinnacle of an aspiring performer,a career. Playing Jean Valjean , Javert or even Eponine is a top credit, and used to be one earnt but learning the craft with years of seasoning. Auditioning every year and getting closer and closer, until you're "ready".
Now, the cast is full of drama school leavers. Making their professional debut... not in rep, not in a regional pantomime or small tour. In the longest running and most beloved musical in the West End. Well, surely if you're good enough, age isn't an issue? Many of them simply aren't appropriate for roles they are being pushed headfirst into. One poor lad looked completely lost, a deer in headlights when I saw it. Blew a couple of lines. Was not ready for the big time. This lack of quality control and desperate lack of steady hands in the cast is at critical mass.
With all that said, I still have amazing memories of some outstanding performances over the years, and with some thought my cast is thus (limited only to live performances).
John Owen Jones (Valjean)
Hans Peter Janssens (Javert)
Carmen Cusack (Fantine)
Gina Beck (Cosette)
Paul Manuel (Enjolras)
Ramin Karimloo (Marius)
Emily Bull (Eponine)
Barry James (Thenardier)
And just for fun, some memorably bad ones. Nb. I am sure every one of these performers is excellent in their own right, particularly in others shows/roles - or their performances were simply not to my taste!
Sean Kingsley/Drew Sarich (Valjean, the "dork age" of the show, when it was set to close)
Bradley Jaden (Javert)
Daphne Rubin-Vega (Fantine)
Gary Tushaw (Marius)
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Hope they return
