Les Mis: What a Shame!!!- Page 2

[Justin D]

Posted: 5/26/14 at 12:52pm

thats what I was thinking, how can you be a fan of the show and not know that this is a re-concieved version and not the original.

thats like a fan, of Phantom going to see the new tour and being surprised that it looks different

[GlitterandBeGay2]

Posted: 5/26/14 at 5:49pm

I got the impression while reading the original poster's message that English (one of the toughest languages to master) is not his primary language either. Even if it is, I've made the mistake myself of typing too fast/occasionally demonstrating the wrong subject-verb agreement/seeing others' misspellings/grammatical errors, etc. on numerous boards to draw attention to that. I don't follow "Les Mis" religiously and would not have known about the revisions if I were not a frequent reader of this board. I AM aware that "Les Mis" is a Cameron MacKintosh (sp?)-produced show and that Cameron has a reputation for ensuring that official productions replicate/maintain the high-quality values of the original ("Les Mis," "Cats," "Phantom"). Maybe the version that's been done internationally has been based on the original London/Broadway production with the turntable. I don't know. I can empathize with the original poster on many points but agree it is unfair to compare this new version to the original, simply because it is not meant to be a carbon copy.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/26/14 at 6:11pm

Maybe the version that's been done internationally has been based on the original London/Broadway production with the turntable. I don't know.

Mostly. But the most recent UK tour, US tour, Toronto, Spanish, and Korean productions are or were all based on the 25th anniversary staging. And they're not super-new productions, either. (There may be more, but that's what I'm remembering right now.) It's the new Mackintosh replica production.

[rjm516]

Posted: 5/26/14 at 9:18pm

I think the OP just really needs to research/realize what a 'revival' is.

[SweetLips]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 2:06am

Care to comment OP ?

[ajh]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 8:48am

Certainly agree with the OP about the sheer speed of the tempi in the current Les Mis (this frantic pace has also been adopted in the London production which still uses the original design and staging). It makes emotional connection very hard when the cast and band are rushing through the score as though there's someplace they have to be within minutes of the curtain coming down. "At The End Of The Day" was always fast but now it has turned into the kind of tonguetwister that might give Danny Kaye pause for thought.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 2:23pm

When I saw the tour of this production last January, they blasted through "I Dreamed A Dream" so fast it must have only been about two minutes!

[forgetmenotnyc]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 2:56pm

This is kind of a stretch, but this OP reminds me of why original restaurants that franchise eventually give up & close. Once a standardized menu is established & customers become those who visit for a kind of predictability - surprises of fresh approaches most of the time are frowned upon. Boring familiarity IMHO. On the other hand though, I guess there is meaning to the idiom "Don't throw out the baby with the wash water" & I esp. liked the observation of how the selling & eating of snacks has denigrated the nobility of our beloved temples.

Updated On: 5/27/14 at 02:56 PM

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 3:01pm

"The revivals of PIPPIN. CABARET and CHICAGO are MUCH BETTER than the originals"???
Uh, NO, they are NOT!

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 3:29pm

In several hundred theatre experiences I have NEVER been late. It can be done

Good for you. Of course, your experience has nothing to do with the unforeseen circumstances of others.

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 5:05pm

Sometimes things really do happen, and being late cannot be avoided. I was recently late due to the bus i was on taking an unscheduled 1 hour detour. Normally i'm at the theater when the house opens, if not before.

The food, however, needs to go. With the possible exception of Cabaret's table service.

[Joviedamian]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 5:19pm

I've never been late to anything in my life. I would rather be 1 hour early than 1 minute late!

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 5:21pm

Sometimes things really do happen

Of course they do. On more than one occasion, I arrived in plenty of time, but was held up by the box office and missed the curtain due to their incompetence (I worked box office for 10 years, so it's not like I don't know about their jobs). And both times, they refused to do anything about their own admitted error. They simply walked away from the window.

And yes, the food needs to go, but the theatres love the money, so it's not going anywhere. The biggest shock for me was the $10 Sprite at the Cort. I guess they charge extra for the ugly cup nobody wants. That is the funniest bitch move I've seen in theatre concessions yet.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 5:22pm

I also think it's funny how the OP was shocked, SHOCKED that latecomers were sat during At the End of the Day. They've been doing that since the beginning, in every production I've seen since I first saw LM in the mid '90s.

[Steve721]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 5:27pm

In almost 40 years of theater going in NY, I've been late only once. I live in Houston, and due to weather delays my plane to NY was 5 hours late. I showed up at Spring Awakening about 15 minutes into the first act, and the staff was very understanding and seated me in the back until intermission. So it does happen, despite the best of intentions.

[DAME]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 6:19pm

Glad to see that some have opted not to take a negative tone with the OP. Interesting to see how broadway is regarded and to what standards it is looked at from all over the world. It SHOULD be a event. The latecomers SHOULD be looked down on ( yes.. things happen.. that is understood) . And NO ONE should have to research a production before going. What counts is what is up there on stage. That for many of you this quick money making sh*t is ok with you is what is so sad and pathetic.


Question.. Are they really selling popcorn? When I saw the show in Madrid they were selling popcorn. But I thought maybe that was a local thing.. and it certainly was not Broadway.

Updated On: 5/27/14 at 06:19 PM

[SNAFU]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 6:32pm

Too bad the Broadway Houses don't do what the Opera does: You're late, you are escorted to a room where you can watch the performance on a monitor until a break.

Updated On: 5/27/14 at 06:32 PM

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 6:55pm

And the unforeseen circumstances of others shouldn't interrupt my enjoyment of my experience in any way

Plan ahead and get there on time

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 9:26pm

How was the rest of your trip?

Updated On: 5/27/14 at 09:26 PM

[T.C.]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 11:55pm

The recent touring company here in Toronto was an excellent and a refreshing take on the original. Several scenes were cut - namely the women's chorus (Turning, Turning) - and the opening was staged to resemble the film, where you see Jean Valjean working at a ship yard, rather than in a chain gang. Having seen Les Mis 4-5 times over the last 15 years I was actually very pleasantly surprised by how well this revival was done. Can't say the same about the Phantom with its score revisions and recent casting choices.

[winston89]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 1:39am

SH*T happens, people, I am sure don't intend to get there late. But, that's why they are called unforeseen circumstances, because, well, they are just that. Unforeseen.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 9:55am

The recent touring company here in Toronto was an excellent and a refreshing take on the original.

That wasn't the tour. (And all the changes you mentioned are standard to the 25th anniversary staging.)

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 10:34am

And the unforeseen circumstances of others shouldn't interrupt my enjoyment of my experience in any way

Plan ahead and get there on time

Plan ahead to have your enjoyment interrupted.

[Pasdechat]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 12:39pm

My thoughts:

1. clearly the OP has a first language other than English. Nothing wrong with that, some should ask themselves if they are half as fluid in a second language as the OP obviously is in English, so please show some respect.
2. I second the comparison with opera houses both in terms of food and in terms of dealing with late comers. What is it with food and beverages on Broadway, that is just so extremely wrong and profane. and there was a time when not only men were kind but food was forbidden in a theater.... As for late comers, yes, things happen, but then again, like with kids: what message does it give if late coming is not "sanctionized"? It starts with being OK b/c traffic was a mess and then it is sort of OK b/c some people just don't care. the inhouse TV seems like an OK option as well as letting people stand all the way back. By the way, in terms of comparing to opera houses: those two little things in a way show that people tend to "respect" opera more than musical theater (being more "serious" or "difficult"), which of course is another discussion on its own. still, I consider both being a sign of respect which should be granted to musicals just as much!!
3. In terms of an original production with a revival: another interesting discussion on its own! Think about the great Russian ballets or Balanchine: there, I think of any alteration a NO, but then again, there have been some remarkable modern approaches, think Matthew Bourne or Mats Ek on Swan Lake. Still, at least to me, the original will always have a superiority which cannot be outdone. In musical theater, revivals of original shows ( even those hard core original productions of Cam Mack) happen in a mere 30 years of its original premiere, which I find remarkable, without saying it is bad, even though I think some original productions should never be touched ( like "Cats"), b/c I think it would simply alter but not improve. So to sum this long posting up, I would find it interesting to discuss when a revival is due or well done or even exceeding the original and when it is indeed a shame on the original.

Updated On: 5/28/14 at 12:39 PM

[MichelleCraig]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 2:35pm

I thought the design of the new production was magnificent. I never missed the turntable...but where was the CD player?