Les Miserables

Thirteen_Black_Roses · Has No Life Joined: 22 Aug 2004 Posts: 510

I'm guessing this would go here, cause the whole show is sung. Anybody else like it? I've gotten addicted to the London cast recording thanks to a Theatre class. Out of curiosity, does anyone out there like Cosette more than Eponine? Cause everyone I know (my class, professor, dad, sister, boyfriend) all like Eponine better. I just think she's more interesting cause Cosette seems like a cardboard, cookie-cutter romantic female. Not a thought in her pretty head. Anyone care to refute that?

layzcarter · I used to work here Joined: 31 Dec 1969 Posts: 3988

I'm listening to Master of the House right now...........
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Rebus · Very bored Joined: 23 Jul 2004 Posts: 224

Love Les Mis. Saw it a couple of times in London, although once the sound system was a little off and Javert had a bit of a rattle <_<
They've now moved theatres though... I may need to go again Cool

I can't imgaine why they'd leave The Palace though Sad

I definitely prefer Eponine to Cosette, although I'd say Fantine trumps both of them. They all had more spirit in the book mind, but Cosette is still eminently dislikable. She has everything too damn easy.

The book had more to say about Fantine as well... it's a shame the musical gave her story so little time.

Thirteen_Black_Roses · Has No Life Joined: 22 Aug 2004 Posts: 510

Rebus, I envy you so much right now. I haven't ever seen it performed. I'm still kicking myself for got getting out to see it when it was in town a couple months ago. My sister saw it (to suck up to her French teacher, the class was going) and she didn't even like it. It could've just been a bad show, but... She only liked two people. "That one little kid", and "that girl once she grew up." With some prompting we figured out it was Gavroshe and Eponine.

Yeah, it's a shame that Fantine lost so much of her story, and I'm sure the same thing happened to Les Amis, but I haven't got that far yet in the book. I'm working on it. But I guess it makes sense, they had to have something hold the whole thing together, and Valjean and Javert are the only characters that are in all five volumes. I don't know if Fantine trumps Ponine though, she could've used just a [i]little[/i] bit more sense in her affair with whats-his-name. But then again, I haven't read Eponine as an adult yet.

I like the London soundtrack better than the Broadway...in the Broadway it just feels like they're overacting. For example, I really prefer the sad, wistful version of "I Dreamed a Dream" on the London to the really [i]angry[/i] version in the Broadway. Either way though, "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" is the best song ever. Powerful stuff in this show.

eclipsedmoongoddess482 · Elder In Training Joined: 31 Dec 1969 Posts: 3703

I've heard a lot about this musical. What's it about? I might suggest it to my drama teacher as an idea for another musical. We need new ideas to follow up from last year's excellent performance of Runaways. ^_^
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Jailcrow_of_Mandos · Still very bored Joined: 26 Apr 2004 Posts: 313

I saw the play a few years ago at a University theatre, and I also loved the music. I did feel at times, though, that the story would make more sense if I read the book, which I sadly haven't gotten around to doing. I've seen the older movie, but I'm sure that doesn't match up to Hugo either. It's so much harder to get to know the characters otherwise. While I do love the more emotional pieces, I really prefer the comedy they worked into it, like in the song where they're putting all sorts of things into the food.

The direction was really neat for this one, with the rotating stage. I'm not sure if it's the same everywhere, but it added a lot of motion and liveliness to it. They also did this cool thing where when Javert jumps off the bridge he just steps off, and the bridge gets hoisted up and the lighting filter thing makes the stage look like water.

I love the story and the music, but I can't remember any of the song names O.o I have the written pieces for Clarinet from my sister- same key as for my trumpet, but I never get around to playing it :/ I think it's a musical I'll have to buy, whatever the case ^.^

Thirteen_Black_Roses · Has No Life Joined: 22 Aug 2004 Posts: 510

[quote]What's it about?[/quote]

Well, it's about a lot of things. The thing is around 1500 pages long in my guesstimation, the version I got from my school's library is in 5 volumes. Each volume is subdivided into books, then chapters. I've seen it referred to affectionately as "The Brick." ...I'm gonna hide this so people can skip it so they don't ruin the entire plot of the musical for themselves if they don't want to.

[b]QUOTE[/b] (spoiler)

The short short [i]short[/i] version then, musical-verse which is slightly different from book-verse... Guy named Jean Valjean steals bread to feed his sisters kids, is arrested and is in jail for 19 years. They uped the time for multiple escape attempts. He's freed at the end of his time by Inspetctor Javert, who I swear was the model for the obsessive FBI Agent Jerard in the movie The Fugitive. After a religous experiance brought on by a kind old Bishop who gives him silver candlesticks and a long time jump, he becomes the mayor of a small town where he runs a factory making necklaces and bracelts out of jet beads. There's a woman named Fantine working in the factory, sending money to the Thernadiers who have been caring for her daughter in an inn in another town. She is accused of prostitution, fired, and becomes an actual prostitute. JV hears that there's a man accused of being him in Paris, and after some soul searching runs to clear the other mans name, thus alerting Javert that the mayor is JV. JV gets back just in time for Fantine to die of pnemonia, then he escapes from Javert to go get F's daughter Cosette from the Thernadiers, who are bad people. Big Time Jump! Then we randomly meet a group of student revolutionaries (Les Amis de l'ABC), who've got some wicked cool songs that make you want to run out and overthrow the government (Do you hear the people siiiiing singing the soooong of angry...sorry...), which is what they are trying to do to help the poor people (les miserables, hence the title). One revolutionary (Marius) sees Cosette (all grown up now) and they instantly and predictably fall in love. Eponine, daughter of the Thernadiers, is not happy cause she wants Marius, and he only sees her as a friend. Cue angsty singing. The death of a general cues the start of the revolution, and they go out to build a barricade (I'm still not sure how that's supposed to help, but I haven't got that far in the book. Maybe Enjolras' thinking is a bit more fleshed out.) The attack goes badly, and Eponine is fatally shot while returning from bringing Cosette a letter from Marius. She gets a beautiful death scene with a wonderful, heartbreaking song. The army attacks again, killing all of the students (Enjolras... Sad

) except Marius who JV rescues cause he knows Cosette loves him. Javert, who was discovered spying on the plans of Les Amis, had his life spared by JV, which breaks his brain cause he's been hunting this man for the past...20? years (I'm not quite sure the actual time frame) and he jumps off a bridge into the Seine, killing himself. Marius wakes up wounded, and hallucinates that he's in the ABC cafe, and in a beautiful, heart-wrenching song (Empty Chairs at Empty Tables, which I love to death...bad pun not intended, sorry...) begs his friends forgiveness for his survival when they all died. Marius and Cosette get married, and JV dies, of old age I'm pretty sure. Then there's a wonderful reprise of 'Do you Hear the People Sing' so you don't leave the theater all depressed. It's a lovely show. Brutal, but soooo good.[/quote]

Yes, that's the short version. It's a great show, and lots of parts, so it would be good for a school. You can always add lots of people to the crowd scenes, and the Lovely Ladies, and Les Amis. If you do get to do this I will be soooo jealous. I'd want to be in Les Amis. Probably would have a chance too, if I actually got in. We never had enough guys.

Jailcrow, I'm pretty sure the uber-cool rotating stage is standard to all productions of Les Miz. At least, I've never heard of a production done without it. Always one of the first things mentioned. *pouts* I wanna see it!

If you get the soundtrack, get the London cast. The Broadway...overacting, and Thernadier's voice through most of the play makes my throat hurt just listening to it. Yeah, the story probably makes more sense with the book, looong time jumps. I heard the movies aren't very good though, but there's a concert DVD of the music that I [i]must[/i] get my hands on. I think the song you referred to is 'Master of the House' sung my M. Thernadier in his inn. "food beyond compare, food beyond belief, mix it in a mincer and pretend it's beef, kidney of a horse, liver of a cat, filling up the sausages with this and that..." that the one? Yeah, he's funny.