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angelofmusicMusical: Les Miserables
Production: Live
Theatre: Queen's Theatre, London, England
Date: 12/06/2008
An advanced warning - this will be quite long, I fear. You see, I heard Drew Sarich was doing the show and figured I'd grab a ticket and ended up on the last seat of a u-shape balcony. What was not mentioned was the fact that this meant I was virtually sitting on top of the stage. I mean that quite literally. I looked over the edge and if he had stretched up and I had stretched down, I could have touched Valjean while he was on the stage. This also means I had close-up views of everything, so I could see every little bit of action.
However, since it'll be a long review, will start with actors first, then some details of scenes I loved:
Drew Sarich as Valjean: Really, this was the reason I saw the show, and oh, he was worth every penny. He was the most intense, fierce Valjean I have ever seen. From the beginning, he has a simmering air of anger and doesn't hesitate to use it, bitter and sardonic. He started out looking fairly young, with wild, long black hair and a temper from hell, getting in people's faces and hitting out as soon as someone crosses him. But after his encounter with the Bishop, he becomes so vulnerable.
When the Bishop put the silver in his bag, he looked like he wanted nothing more than to flee, and he tried to force it back into the Bishop's hands, and as soon as he's alone, he throws it away from him and rocks on his knees, as he has his epiphany. He looked so utterly lost.
Interestingly, though, this original Valjean is still there underneath his veneer as he ages. He has moments of intense ferocity, when he grabs people, be it to warn them, be it possessively or to direct them. You can see he has the capacity to be violent and dangerous, but he chooses not to be, and that's what makes him such a strong Valjean. He can be dangerous, but you know he has made the conscious choice not to be and will do what he can to avoid it.
You can see why he would be feared and respected, especially as the Mayor. There's an air of danger and power about him, and no one would want to cross him. Even Javert (in one of the rare moments of actually Acting) looked a bit wary of him. Especially in the "btw, you're strong like an ex-con... er... " and Valjean snickers, making Javert go "...um.. so I'll shut up now" and Valjean just raises his eyebrows and gestures lazily and says "Say what you must." Poor old Javert clearly expects to get it in the neck.
In "Who Am I?", he really does feel as if he's having a crisis of identity, and in so doing, you see the guilt of him performing his one single selfish act of saving his soul in saving the man accused of his own crimes. Of course, this then leads into Fantine's demise, and oh, the minute he walked in and Fantine is telling him to look at the children playing, and the heartbreak and guilt on his face, realising he brought her to this.
He tries to leave and she begs him to stay, and when he sits close, she hugs him. He looks shocked and despairing and after a moment of shock, hugs her as tightly as he can, rocking her and holding her closer, as if he loved her as much as he would love her daughter. So, when Javert comes for him, you have Valjean more vulnerable than I've seen him at this scene, trying to be rational and calm and even trying to run, but all the while trying to not to disrespect Fantine's passing. And of course, chair-smashing o' doom. I suspect the staff get annoyed with him, because he really doesn't hold back and that chair ends up in tiny, tiny, tiny pieces ;)
Being a dad, in his next scene, he knows how to treat kids, and the haggling for Cosette brought out his RAR side again. Really, the man likes breaking and throwing furniture and out of frustration and fury, he turned on the Thenardiers and the chair he'd been on went flying. I do like a fiercely protective Valjean who looks after little kidlet Cosette.
I do believe he has 3-4 wigs throughout the show: long and dark, salt-and-pepper shorter, greyer, and white, which really does wonders for the aging. Most Valjeans start greyish and go from there, but starting out with a Valjean in his 30s, still not broken, fierce and strong, worked for me.
And for once, we have a Valjean who doesn't forget he's aging throughout the show. As time continues, he gets older and stiffer and wearier. Normally, by the time it gets to Bring Him Home, I'm never convinced by a Valjean saying "take me instead", but Drew plays it like a man truly aging and knows he only has a little time left, and knows it's the right thing to do. The moment he got the letter, the sadness as he looked at the house where Cosette was, knowing what he was about to do was absolutely heart-breaking.
Although, it didn't stop RAR!Valjean from popping up now and then on the barricades. He grabbed Marius to stop him being a suicidal ammo-collecting muppet. He grabbed one of the students. He grabbed and almost threw Javert. I think he grabbed Enjolras as well. Actually, every single lead got grabbed at some point by him, in various degrees of either rage or protectiveness or caution. It worked for him too. Didn't make him angry, but rather, controlling himself and keeping things calmer around him. Seriously, you're grabbed by him, you stay still and do what you're told.
By the end of the show, he looked utterly done, and even when Marius was spilling about his identity, he knew he was fading and spent the whole scene just gazing at Cosette with such affection and stroking her hair, even when she was listening to hubby. By this point, I'd worked through half a pack of tissues and when he died... well, lets just say I wasn't the only one sniffling. He fully deserved the standing ovation :)
And since I'm being picky, I'm doing this by favourite characters:
Richard Woodford as Grantaire: Depending on who's playing him, Grantaire can steal the show and Richard did that in spades. He played Grantaire as if he was an older friend of Enjolras who didn't really particularly believe in what Enjolras was doing, but came along to be snarky, passing dry comment on his BS and generally being there for semi-immoral support.
He's also clearly the most popular student and Richard was fantastic at doing little things to win attention from a completely serious overblown Enjolras. He teased people, he played mock-arm-wrestling with Gavroche, he constantly poked fun at Enjolras in an affectionate way that said "I love you, but you're a stuck up twit sometimes".
However, he also managed to break my heart. Him and Marius combined. When Eponine is shot (and for the record, 'Little Fall of Rain' breaks my heart when it's done right), Grantaire is the one to notice, and when she's carried away, he knelt down beside the stunned Marius and gently touched his shoulder, then hugged him when Marius clung on him. He also stopped Enjolras trying to reassure Marius about Eponine's martyrdom by glaring, and sat and kept him company, making sure he lay down and rested.
In 'Drink With Me', I could finally see an ensemble who were beginning to understand the severity of the situation, and Grantaire brought it to Enjolras' attention, kneeling in front of him and saying "don't you get it? They don't care?" and Enjolras dropping to his knees with much manly hugging and assurance of loyalty.
As if that wasn't bad enough, as the person who clearly adored Gavroche, you can imagine how heartbreakingly he played Gavroche's death. He sat, silent, staring, and as people started preparing another defence, he just buckled and buried his face in his hands.
So, his final moment was sob-inducing. He saw Enjolras shot off the barricade and ran up and you could see Enjolras trying to reach up to be pulled back, and Grantaire reaching desperately down to him, despite being shot again and again and again. I was sobbing buckets.
Gary Watson as Marius - I never thought I'd see a day when I liked a Marius. He only pips Fantine to the post because he was on-stage longer than she was (technically. She was miraculously reborn as a cross-dressing boy-student on the barricade ;D). Most Mariuses are love-lorn sops, but I loved the way Gary played him.
As one of the women said in turning, "they were schoolboys, never held a gun", and this is what Marius was. Young, idealistic, and in love, and when Eponine, clearly one of his closest friends, dies in his arms, he was actually shaking and crying. Instead of every other production I've seen where there's instant recovery, he seems to go into shock. He got angry when Enjolras proclaimed that "she was the first to fall" and it seemed like he wanted to make a point that she was a person, not just a symbol.
Then, after the first attack, he's still in shock, which I really liked. He was sitting on the barricade, hugging the rifle, looking completely numb, until Grantaire gently pulled him down and made him rest. He looked like a lost kid and so fragile and dazed by this situation he'd ended up in.
And best of all, this dazed shock continues into 'Empty Chairs at Empty Tables'. That song is the ultimate emo song and I've heard it done badly and over the top and just in plain "this is my big number" ways. This time, no. He was grieving, he was guilty, he was angry and he was still in shock as he recovered. This was Marius on the edge of a breakdown from survivor's guilt, a Marius you could believe was seeing ghosts and felt that he wasn't meant to still be alive.
And when Cosette, all frills and pretty, insists "don't think about, Marius", he gave her such a look, as if hating her in that moment for not understanding why it was important to him. Of course, she calmed him by being gently soppy at him, but the anger and grief was still there. I've never seen a more angry Marius when Thenardier confronts him and when he thumped him, I wanted to cheer. This was a Marius who had lived through hell and seen almost all the people he loved dead, and he's got the scars to live with. A mature Marius. Who'd'a thunk?
Joanna Ampil as Fantine - Like Marius, she surprised me. I've not seen may Fantines that elicit a reaction that is anything more than "meh", but Joanna brought so much to it. I mean, she crawled to Javert and clung to his boots in desperation, she threw herself around, and in her death scene, she was so broken and fragile and beautiful it was heart-wrenching. Did I mention the crying like a baby?
Cassandra Compton as Eponine - I like a good Eponine and this was one. The interplay between her and Gary as Marius was lovely. There was genuine affection there, which made Little Fall of Rain absolutely heart-wrenching. Even if he wasn't in love with her, he loved her and that was enough, and oh, again with the sobbing. Plus, she had a lovely voice.
As for everyone else... well, the Ensemble was good on the whole, but as for the leads...
Hans Peter Janssens wasn't a very interesting Javert. I don't know if this is because Drew was onstage and chewing the set to pieces or if he's just a more subdued performer. There were a couple of moments (ie. the moments when he actually bothered to show some intensity) that weren't bad, but I can count them on one hand (the flight from the barricade, the search of the barricade and the final confrontation). Also, I found his accent very distracting. When he sang so strongly accented, it was difficult to make out the lyrics sometimes. It's shame, because he does have a good voice. If only I could have understood them.
The Thendardiers were all right, but I've seen better, which always makes it a bit disappointing. Cosette had a very, very shrill voice. She was cute and all, but the voice was like nails on a blackboard to me. And lastly of the mains, Edward Baruwa as Enjolras was playing him as such a complete prig. I couldn't stand him and normally, I love Enjolras to bits. Maybe that's why I loved Grantaire so - taking him down a peg or two.
Scene-wise, my favourites were... um... any involving Valjean. Or Marius. Or Grantaire doing cool stuff. Really, those 3 alone were worth seeing the show for, although on the whole it was a good ensemble, even if I am incredibly picky. 3 good actors took my heart and smashed it into tiny, tiny, tiny pieces and I finished my packet of tissues. And there was a full standing ovation and it was deserved. There was even whooping, which there isn't enough of in theatre. I approve :)
And lastly, I find it fun to listen to what various people hum aloud as they walk out of the theatre. Or what they pick up from the person humming next to them. The popular favourite is 'One Day More'. I counted at least 5 humming that as they left.
And now that's out of the way, I have to say that I found it strange to be at not one but three shows without the systematic Hungarian clapping routine. My last 6 musicals have been Hungarian and when they clap, they do it formally. All this indepedent applause was a puzzle to me!
Production: Live
Theatre: Queen's Theatre, London, England
Date: 12/06/2008
An advanced warning - this will be quite long, I fear. You see, I heard Drew Sarich was doing the show and figured I'd grab a ticket and ended up on the last seat of a u-shape balcony. What was not mentioned was the fact that this meant I was virtually sitting on top of the stage. I mean that quite literally. I looked over the edge and if he had stretched up and I had stretched down, I could have touched Valjean while he was on the stage. This also means I had close-up views of everything, so I could see every little bit of action.
However, since it'll be a long review, will start with actors first, then some details of scenes I loved:
Drew Sarich as Valjean: Really, this was the reason I saw the show, and oh, he was worth every penny. He was the most intense, fierce Valjean I have ever seen. From the beginning, he has a simmering air of anger and doesn't hesitate to use it, bitter and sardonic. He started out looking fairly young, with wild, long black hair and a temper from hell, getting in people's faces and hitting out as soon as someone crosses him. But after his encounter with the Bishop, he becomes so vulnerable.
When the Bishop put the silver in his bag, he looked like he wanted nothing more than to flee, and he tried to force it back into the Bishop's hands, and as soon as he's alone, he throws it away from him and rocks on his knees, as he has his epiphany. He looked so utterly lost.
Interestingly, though, this original Valjean is still there underneath his veneer as he ages. He has moments of intense ferocity, when he grabs people, be it to warn them, be it possessively or to direct them. You can see he has the capacity to be violent and dangerous, but he chooses not to be, and that's what makes him such a strong Valjean. He can be dangerous, but you know he has made the conscious choice not to be and will do what he can to avoid it.
You can see why he would be feared and respected, especially as the Mayor. There's an air of danger and power about him, and no one would want to cross him. Even Javert (in one of the rare moments of actually Acting) looked a bit wary of him. Especially in the "btw, you're strong like an ex-con... er... " and Valjean snickers, making Javert go "...um.. so I'll shut up now" and Valjean just raises his eyebrows and gestures lazily and says "Say what you must." Poor old Javert clearly expects to get it in the neck.
In "Who Am I?", he really does feel as if he's having a crisis of identity, and in so doing, you see the guilt of him performing his one single selfish act of saving his soul in saving the man accused of his own crimes. Of course, this then leads into Fantine's demise, and oh, the minute he walked in and Fantine is telling him to look at the children playing, and the heartbreak and guilt on his face, realising he brought her to this.
He tries to leave and she begs him to stay, and when he sits close, she hugs him. He looks shocked and despairing and after a moment of shock, hugs her as tightly as he can, rocking her and holding her closer, as if he loved her as much as he would love her daughter. So, when Javert comes for him, you have Valjean more vulnerable than I've seen him at this scene, trying to be rational and calm and even trying to run, but all the while trying to not to disrespect Fantine's passing. And of course, chair-smashing o' doom. I suspect the staff get annoyed with him, because he really doesn't hold back and that chair ends up in tiny, tiny, tiny pieces ;)
Being a dad, in his next scene, he knows how to treat kids, and the haggling for Cosette brought out his RAR side again. Really, the man likes breaking and throwing furniture and out of frustration and fury, he turned on the Thenardiers and the chair he'd been on went flying. I do like a fiercely protective Valjean who looks after little kidlet Cosette.
I do believe he has 3-4 wigs throughout the show: long and dark, salt-and-pepper shorter, greyer, and white, which really does wonders for the aging. Most Valjeans start greyish and go from there, but starting out with a Valjean in his 30s, still not broken, fierce and strong, worked for me.
And for once, we have a Valjean who doesn't forget he's aging throughout the show. As time continues, he gets older and stiffer and wearier. Normally, by the time it gets to Bring Him Home, I'm never convinced by a Valjean saying "take me instead", but Drew plays it like a man truly aging and knows he only has a little time left, and knows it's the right thing to do. The moment he got the letter, the sadness as he looked at the house where Cosette was, knowing what he was about to do was absolutely heart-breaking.
Although, it didn't stop RAR!Valjean from popping up now and then on the barricades. He grabbed Marius to stop him being a suicidal ammo-collecting muppet. He grabbed one of the students. He grabbed and almost threw Javert. I think he grabbed Enjolras as well. Actually, every single lead got grabbed at some point by him, in various degrees of either rage or protectiveness or caution. It worked for him too. Didn't make him angry, but rather, controlling himself and keeping things calmer around him. Seriously, you're grabbed by him, you stay still and do what you're told.
By the end of the show, he looked utterly done, and even when Marius was spilling about his identity, he knew he was fading and spent the whole scene just gazing at Cosette with such affection and stroking her hair, even when she was listening to hubby. By this point, I'd worked through half a pack of tissues and when he died... well, lets just say I wasn't the only one sniffling. He fully deserved the standing ovation :)
And since I'm being picky, I'm doing this by favourite characters:
Richard Woodford as Grantaire: Depending on who's playing him, Grantaire can steal the show and Richard did that in spades. He played Grantaire as if he was an older friend of Enjolras who didn't really particularly believe in what Enjolras was doing, but came along to be snarky, passing dry comment on his BS and generally being there for semi-immoral support.
He's also clearly the most popular student and Richard was fantastic at doing little things to win attention from a completely serious overblown Enjolras. He teased people, he played mock-arm-wrestling with Gavroche, he constantly poked fun at Enjolras in an affectionate way that said "I love you, but you're a stuck up twit sometimes".
However, he also managed to break my heart. Him and Marius combined. When Eponine is shot (and for the record, 'Little Fall of Rain' breaks my heart when it's done right), Grantaire is the one to notice, and when she's carried away, he knelt down beside the stunned Marius and gently touched his shoulder, then hugged him when Marius clung on him. He also stopped Enjolras trying to reassure Marius about Eponine's martyrdom by glaring, and sat and kept him company, making sure he lay down and rested.
In 'Drink With Me', I could finally see an ensemble who were beginning to understand the severity of the situation, and Grantaire brought it to Enjolras' attention, kneeling in front of him and saying "don't you get it? They don't care?" and Enjolras dropping to his knees with much manly hugging and assurance of loyalty.
As if that wasn't bad enough, as the person who clearly adored Gavroche, you can imagine how heartbreakingly he played Gavroche's death. He sat, silent, staring, and as people started preparing another defence, he just buckled and buried his face in his hands.
So, his final moment was sob-inducing. He saw Enjolras shot off the barricade and ran up and you could see Enjolras trying to reach up to be pulled back, and Grantaire reaching desperately down to him, despite being shot again and again and again. I was sobbing buckets.
Gary Watson as Marius - I never thought I'd see a day when I liked a Marius. He only pips Fantine to the post because he was on-stage longer than she was (technically. She was miraculously reborn as a cross-dressing boy-student on the barricade ;D). Most Mariuses are love-lorn sops, but I loved the way Gary played him.
As one of the women said in turning, "they were schoolboys, never held a gun", and this is what Marius was. Young, idealistic, and in love, and when Eponine, clearly one of his closest friends, dies in his arms, he was actually shaking and crying. Instead of every other production I've seen where there's instant recovery, he seems to go into shock. He got angry when Enjolras proclaimed that "she was the first to fall" and it seemed like he wanted to make a point that she was a person, not just a symbol.
Then, after the first attack, he's still in shock, which I really liked. He was sitting on the barricade, hugging the rifle, looking completely numb, until Grantaire gently pulled him down and made him rest. He looked like a lost kid and so fragile and dazed by this situation he'd ended up in.
And best of all, this dazed shock continues into 'Empty Chairs at Empty Tables'. That song is the ultimate emo song and I've heard it done badly and over the top and just in plain "this is my big number" ways. This time, no. He was grieving, he was guilty, he was angry and he was still in shock as he recovered. This was Marius on the edge of a breakdown from survivor's guilt, a Marius you could believe was seeing ghosts and felt that he wasn't meant to still be alive.
And when Cosette, all frills and pretty, insists "don't think about, Marius", he gave her such a look, as if hating her in that moment for not understanding why it was important to him. Of course, she calmed him by being gently soppy at him, but the anger and grief was still there. I've never seen a more angry Marius when Thenardier confronts him and when he thumped him, I wanted to cheer. This was a Marius who had lived through hell and seen almost all the people he loved dead, and he's got the scars to live with. A mature Marius. Who'd'a thunk?
Joanna Ampil as Fantine - Like Marius, she surprised me. I've not seen may Fantines that elicit a reaction that is anything more than "meh", but Joanna brought so much to it. I mean, she crawled to Javert and clung to his boots in desperation, she threw herself around, and in her death scene, she was so broken and fragile and beautiful it was heart-wrenching. Did I mention the crying like a baby?
Cassandra Compton as Eponine - I like a good Eponine and this was one. The interplay between her and Gary as Marius was lovely. There was genuine affection there, which made Little Fall of Rain absolutely heart-wrenching. Even if he wasn't in love with her, he loved her and that was enough, and oh, again with the sobbing. Plus, she had a lovely voice.
As for everyone else... well, the Ensemble was good on the whole, but as for the leads...
Hans Peter Janssens wasn't a very interesting Javert. I don't know if this is because Drew was onstage and chewing the set to pieces or if he's just a more subdued performer. There were a couple of moments (ie. the moments when he actually bothered to show some intensity) that weren't bad, but I can count them on one hand (the flight from the barricade, the search of the barricade and the final confrontation). Also, I found his accent very distracting. When he sang so strongly accented, it was difficult to make out the lyrics sometimes. It's shame, because he does have a good voice. If only I could have understood them.
The Thendardiers were all right, but I've seen better, which always makes it a bit disappointing. Cosette had a very, very shrill voice. She was cute and all, but the voice was like nails on a blackboard to me. And lastly of the mains, Edward Baruwa as Enjolras was playing him as such a complete prig. I couldn't stand him and normally, I love Enjolras to bits. Maybe that's why I loved Grantaire so - taking him down a peg or two.
Scene-wise, my favourites were... um... any involving Valjean. Or Marius. Or Grantaire doing cool stuff. Really, those 3 alone were worth seeing the show for, although on the whole it was a good ensemble, even if I am incredibly picky. 3 good actors took my heart and smashed it into tiny, tiny, tiny pieces and I finished my packet of tissues. And there was a full standing ovation and it was deserved. There was even whooping, which there isn't enough of in theatre. I approve :)
And lastly, I find it fun to listen to what various people hum aloud as they walk out of the theatre. Or what they pick up from the person humming next to them. The popular favourite is 'One Day More'. I counted at least 5 humming that as they left.
And now that's out of the way, I have to say that I found it strange to be at not one but three shows without the systematic Hungarian clapping routine. My last 6 musicals have been Hungarian and when they clap, they do it formally. All this indepedent applause was a puzzle to me!
