Les Miserables - The Staged Concert

The general public seem to love the lyrics changes and Gavroche giving Javert the finger etc, but it just grated on me - that's not what Les Mis is...

I was impressed when I saw it, very little clapping along. 

I agree about the crass parts, seems to be done to make up for gavroche not having much to do now 

Saw this yesterday and had a fair few criticisms. The rest of the audience seemed to love it though, applause was rapturous and the standing ovation was almost immediate at the curtain call.

There are some gems in the cast - for me, Jon Robyns, Jamie Muscato, Gerard Carey and Josefina Gabrielle were all top notch and as good as the best I've seen before in those roles. Jenna Innes (2nd cover on for Eponine) was also sensational. Lucie Jones and Harry Apps are good but are victims of the direction of this production - in the hands of a great creative team I think they have fantastic performances in them but here they don't quite come to fruition. Everyone else is fairly mediocre in my opinion - the girl playing Cosette is the blandest I'd ever seen and Bradley Jaden's Javert verges on the ridiculous.

Having said that, the entire cast have to contend with the sometimes baffling choices that have been made by the creative team, not least of which is that I am sure this is more 'staged' then the original version at the Gielgud. I know it must be cheaper to run this production than a fully staged one, but there were entire sections of the show where the standing microphones seemed entirely superfluous, since all the principles were mic'd up anyway and spent a lot of time interacting properly.  In some sections it feels like the cast have been told to shout instead of sing (not helped by the fact that where I was sitting, the vocals were notably louder than the band) and of course the Thenardiers have those awful new lines added in.

If I remember correctly (and there's no guarantee that I do!), in the Gielgud incarnation of this production, Alfonso Casado was remarkably restrained as MD and paced the show quite well. He is still listed as MD for this version, but was definitely not conducting yesterday. Under the new conductor's baton, the tempi are fast. Sometimes it felt like we were rushing through the show, but then moments of rubato/pauses were milked for all they were worth and it sounded a bit ridiculous in contrast with the otherwise lightning pace. The fast tempi also don't help with diction, which was poor for several cast members.

There also seems to be a tendency among the cast to bend the rhythms. I'm sure this is also in part due to the speed at which they have to go through some sections of music, but the rhythms were written that way for a reason and in my opinion it really hurt the music when they were messed with. I'm usually a fan of a good riff but when every other bar of music is altered (it felt that way sometimes!) it's quite detrimental.

And then there's the buttons. The buttons! Lots of transition music is cut, and instead of flowing smoothly from scene to scene, some numbers now end on a painfully extended note and a big fanfare chord that triggers the audience's applause. I don't recall whether this was the case at the Gielgud, but it felt really cheap yesterday.

In a nutshell, it feels like every last drop of nuance has been drained from this show. I can't see into the minds of Trevor Nunn, John Caird, et al but I'm fairly sure they'd be dismayed by this version of Les Mis. As I said though, rapturous applause all round, so clearly they're still doing something right. Or maybe Les Mis is just bulletproof and is so beloved that it will survive in any incarnation, no matter the quality.

Does anyone know what size the band is for this specific production?

Thanks in advance!

WM

Ditto!  I did briefly consider it but I'd have had to run for a train and then have half an hour to get from Euston to the theatre, and making that journey in that heat doesn't appeal in the slightest.  This afternoon's audience are in for a great show.

She was a fabulous Fantine (as indeed she also was in Miss Saigon).
Be great if she did return for the main show!

My second visit to the concert (for this run) took place last night. Probably my final visit, although I do enjoy the concert more than the fully staged version so I might see what Rush tickets are available next week.

On that note, I made the mistake of booking this ticket way back when seats went on sale and I could have got much better value nearer the time. Third row Upper Circle, but the row (and several behind) were practically deserted, so I was able to move across from the end to get a much better view. Lots of people had the same idea during the interval and it was musical chairs then, including people moving backwards from the front row. But despite my best efforts, I couldn't completely avoid the leaners.

Plus side, Covid-19 passports were being properly checked. Negative side, few people kept their masks on (although I did manage to keep some distancing in place).

The other main negative is this is another theatre that just doesn't like anyone in the "cheap seats" to know what cast they are seeing. I recognised most of the leads. I think the scheduled actors were on as the Thénardiers, but it's hard to tell at a distance. There weren't as many "ad-libs" as there used to be, but how long have they sung about "quiche" at the wedding (I'm sure someone will say it changed years ago and I've just never noticed)?

Danny Colligan was on as Marius. He sings nicely.

As I say, an enjoyable evening, but with such a lot of empty seats around the theatre they could more pro-actively look at moving people around (or even make some better options available through Rush).

I never knew Moulin Rouge was a juke-box musical until reading your comment. Totally agree.