Les Miserables - The Staged Concert

^Money!

Saw it tonight.

I think Killian and Nic on the tour beat Alfie and Michael hands down.

I enjoyed it but it didn’t quite work for me. Without the dramatic element it loses a lot I think.

In the ballroom scene

Not a spoiler then!

So when Marius thumps Thenardier, Matt Lucas responded so vigorously that his wig fell off to much merriment and mirth.

That might end up being like Sheridan's moustache and start happening every night.

That was me - and I’m back for the matinee today - another JOJ show hopefully - assune Alfie did the Monday and Tuesday so JOJ will be well rested

JOJ did the Monday show.

I wonder if there are words to say "more than perfect".

Anyone had any luck with returns on a Sat? Have a free coach trip in a couple of weeks so was thinking of trying.

Has anyone been distracted by the way this is performed in the concert style? It’s largely played to the audience apart from some very rare moments where the characters look at each other or direct their singing to someone else on stage. I just thought it looked odd for someone, for example, dying in someone’s arms to be singing out to the audience instead of looking at the person holding them. It seemed incongruous all the way through really, and I couldn’t get past the fact that they were all very much in character without actually interacting with each other. 
I also found the artifice of the mic stands at the front a bit distracting when they were all wearing microphones. 

I watch it fully expecting the concert-style blocking and with it, reduced interaction between the actors. It's not entirely a change for the worse, in my opinion- subtle acting can be as powerful without resorting to full blown body movements. Good actors/those who are naturally expressive really shine through in this format; facial expressions and emotive singing still do a lot. (This is where you can tell the stark difference between JOJ and Alfie, but that's another can of worms for another day.) 

Most of the time the context can still be inferred from the lyrics, but I agree- when the line refers to a particularly detailed bit of blocking that the concert omits (like the runaway cart sequence, or when Enjolras hands over a gun telling Valjean to use it well)- it's a bit jarring not to have seen what led up to this lyric.

Lol, just 4 times. Not obsessed at all. But only once in the (overpriced for me anyway) stalls, I balanced that out with slip seats and stood one time. I think standing tickets are a good deal if you can endure it and don't care too much about not seeing the projections or orchestra, in fact I'm considering doing it again, if only to compare the performances of certain actors and see how much they've changed over the course of the run.

Speaking of changing over the course of the run, has anyone found Michael Ball's Javert consistent? It's like seeing a different interpretation each time, and at different levels of proficiency shall we say. And of course wildly different from Earl's Javert, in terms of acting choices and pacing of the songs.