Originally, the 25th Anniversary staging did not let us see the death of Gavroche; it all happened on the other side of the barricade, out of sight of the audience. It was followed by one of the characters yelling out, "Nooooooo!" which actually generated laughs from the audience the night I saw it. Anyone who saw the original staging knows how powerful that death was; to go from that to snickers is not good. For the Broadway revival that just played the Imperial they had the good sense to have Gavroche climb back up the barricade and get shot just as he reaches the top, so the audience sees him die. This was a much more effective way to stage his death, and brought the new staging of that scene almost up to par with the original. And, it eliminated the snickering from the audience.
I remember when it first started at the Paper Mill Playhouse that you did not see Gavroche once he went behind the barricade. It's much better and dramatic that you see him when he gets shot the final time, especially because it's the shot that kills him.
On another note, did anyone notice Valjean stopped saying "make way Javert, there is a life to save"? I noticed it was gone as soon as the 25th opened. I still can't figure out why that line was removed but I thought maybe they want to focus on Javert just letting him go and him not being able to handle it.
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joined:6/7/05
joined:
6/7/05
Posted: 7/24/17 at 5:25am