Friday, November 19, 2010

Yes, I am obsessed with Les Miserables.



Wednesday was one of the best nights of 
my life.

The musical of Les Miserables has been an obsession of mine for the past month or so, aided by Anna Olivia, and my sister. I listen to I Dreamed a Dream every night at least once, 
and sing "Red... the blood of angry men!" sporadically around the house. 

So when we found out that the 25th anniversary concert was playing for just one night in a theater not far from our house, we decided to go. 


There is so much I could say about the concert, but it would turn into a 20-mile long post.

Basically, 
1. It was absolutely beautiful. 
I liked some of the singers much better than in the 1995 version that I am super-familiar with.


2. Nick Jonas actually pulled off Marius. I think this is impressive, considering he's only 18, and is a pop star. I actually liked how his voice wasn't super powerful and mature, because that's more fitting for Marius. And he looked great for the part. I haven't seen hair I liked that much in a long, long time.


3. I adored Javert like never before. My sister has always loved this character, and I have repeatedly reproved her for this. However, Norm Lewis' Javert was so amazing, I couldn't help but adore him.

4. Jean Val Jean didn't do anything for me. I didn't like his voice or looks much at all. 

5. The costumes were to die for. I wish there were more pictures I could show you, but there is shocking lack of them on the internet. There were scrumptious cravats and white shirts with rolled-up sleeves and boots and vests and newsboy hats. I nearly died.


6. I didn't actually ever weep, which is pretty impressive. The closest I ever got was when Michael Ball 
(the Marius that I love from the 10th anniversary version) 
got on stage at the very end and sang "One Day More" with several other singers from that cast.
I nearly burst into tears. His voice is so powerful and amazing
It's cocoa butter for my soul.

Enjolras on the left. Marius... is singing... LOL.
7. Enjolras was awesome. His hair wasn't great, but he looked very French, and was perfect.

8. I was totally rooting for Javert and Eponine instead of Val Jean and Cosette, as I ought.
Cosette sang well, but I don't like her part very well, plus, as a character, she bothers me.
Eponine and Marius totally needed to get together. OR Eponine should've married Enjolras.

9. The filming and sound and close-ups were so amazingly breathtaking in the movie theater. 
I wish they showed concerts like that more often.


If you want to see videos of the performance, and more extensive commentary, 
read my sister's post about it. 
We feel basically the same about the entire thing.

I have now added two things to my list of things to do before I die:
See Les Miserables live.
Read the entire book.



If you haven't listened to the musical before--
buy it, 
find it on Grooveshark
or just watch a whole bunch of YouTube videos, 
because it is amazing.
And if you have seen/heard the musical, what do you think?

21 comments:

  1. I would love to see/hear this musical. I've heard a lot about it. A friend of mine likes it too and she also read the book.

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  2. I'm glad you finally agree with me about the whole Javert thing, even if it was a rather roundabout conversion. :-)

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  3. To answer your questions about Rebecca: I haven't read the book (but I want to). And there is a musical production. But according to Wikipedia it won't be on broadway until 2012. It's an Austrian production and was a big success here and they are translating it at the moment.

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  4. I want to see it! I'm assuming there'll be a DVD eventually from this performance?

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  5. Woo hoo! Looks like I'm reelin' in the fans!!!!! ;) heehee. So glad, that along with your sister, I've helped bring on your love for the musical. This makes me happy. It's unspeakably fabulous, isn't it?!...and yeah, I'm crazy about that story! <3

    How can Ramin Karimloo (Enjolras) look French if he was born in Iran? lol. ;) ;)

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  6. I know, I thought he would be actually French, and then I found out he was from Iran... :P He looks French to ME! :-)

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  7. Ok, I just read your whole post. How exciting. My feedback for your opinions on the concert? - Nick Jonas is NOT the ideal Marius...but I feel bad for him...he looked miserable when it came time for him to sing with Michael Ball. I think Les Miz is too big a production to throw in a pop celeb like Nick. I suppose that the makers believe that by putting in people like a Jonas brother, it will help popularize Les Miz. WRONG. It's only to please our modern generation... the replies to his performance in the concert (currently he also sometimes stars as Marius in the original production of the show,) were mostly negative. So, I don't like him as Marius, but I do feel sorry for him. ;)

    I agree with you - Alfie Boe makes a poor Valjean! JOJ and Colm Wilkinson are the best ever, hands down.

    And isn't 1830's fashion FABULOUS?! Such a dashing, masculine look for the guys...lovelovelove the waistcoats, rolled up sleeves, tie cravats, EVERYTHING! Gah! ;) Les Miz has been quite a history lesson for me - by discovering 1830's style, the Paris Uprising...amazing stuff.

    Katie Hall makes a marvelous Cosette. But Eponine and Marius...together? I have opinions on that. Yeah. ;) I don't think they'd please you. haha! Someone should've totally had some kind of romance with Enjo. But then again, his apathy toward women kind of makes his character all the more interesting. HE IS MY FAVORITE LES MIZ CHARACTER EVER...from the very start of my Les Miz experience earlier this year, I. Was. Smitten with him. ;) ;)

    Les Miz is touring! You can see it!*!*! We're seeing it in April (the new 25th Ann. version of the show.) You should, you should, you should! It'd be fun to compare opinions on that if you do. =D

    I haven't read all the book but I know the whole original story. It's EPIC, of course, but the musical just gets me something wonderfully fierce. ;)

    <3

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  8. Cool! Looks interesting. I haven't seen/heard it, but from what you said, I might look into it! Thanks for sharing! :)

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  9. Anna Olivia,

    I have similar views on the whole Nick Jonas thing...
    But apparently as a little kid he played Gavroche on Broadway and it's always been his dream to play Marius. Kind of cool...but still, we could have enjoyed someone else more.

    Yeah...anyways...

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  10. We're going to see it in Portland next year! It's coming!
    As for reading the book... good for you. I read all the way through, and I'd love to discuss it with you. It's quite the book.

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  11. Yaaaay! Les Miz is my second-favorite musical and I absolutely loved your post! How LUCKY that you got to see the concert! We other poor souls had to content ourselves with a few YouTube clips.

    I pretty much agree with Anna's opinion. Nick just seemed overpowered by the other talent (especially next to Michael Ball (*the* Marius IMO)). Lea Salonga...I loved her Eponine, and she was an awesome Fantine.

    Alfie Boa was terrible, honestly. NOTHING compared to *the* Valjean, Colm!!!

    And last but not least, Ramin Karimloo...just awesome, awesome Enjo. But his hair was suuuuper wierd for some reason.

    Anyway! Enjoyed this post!!!

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  12. I'm sure if I had watched it, or ever do watch the musical/concert, I will prolly end up drooling over the outfits like you did!
    BTW, I want to steal all the outfits from the Narnia movies, well, specially "Prince Caspian" and "Dawn Treader". I've seen soo many pix from that movie, and ohmystars, THE OUTFITS ROCK MY NAIL POLISH! :) They are amazing. Like, I LOVE Peter's outfit (brown outer shirt, blue underneath shirt) when he and the other kids rescue Trumpkin from the Telmarines on the beach. HA HA HA. Anyhoo, ttul
    Love,
    Manda
    http://jesusothersyou.blogspot.com

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  13. Okie-dokie. ;) Fun post! Its neato reading everybody's opinions. Now here's mine (yes, ANOTHER opinion! hehe)

    Nick Jonas is NOT Marius. Period. First of all, he's just way too young (Marius is supposed to be at least 20,) and though I think the character is meant to be a bit insecure (I've read some of the book and quite a bit of the Cliffs notes,) I don't think he was as "weak" as Jonas portrayed him. Plus Nick just isn't a very good actor. (lol - I am VERY opinionated when it comes to singers. :P )
    Like Anna said, I do feel sorry for him though, since the response he got from the performance was pretty tough. It was just way too big of a job for someone so inexperienced on Broadway - HOWEVER, he definitely has potential. ;)

    Alfie. NOT Valjean. Opera singers and convicts just don't mesh, ya know? So agreed there! :)

    Norm Lewis was ok. I like Phillip Quast and Earl Carpenter better, personally. Norm seemed a little weak in some songs, and stronger in others, or no??

    Samantha Barks (Eponine) I really, really didn't care for. Then again, Eponine is pretty much my least favorite Les Miz character. (wow, I am sounding so positive! ;) hehe )

    Now...Katie Hall on the other hand is lovely! But then I DO like Cosette. ;) Even so, she has a pretty voice. :)

    Last but certainly not least - Ramin Karimloo is fabulous. When he doesn't "whine" he has a very nice, strong voice. Hey, if your interested, see my post here: http://thelastroseofsummer-michaela.blogspot.com/2010/09/cast-of-my-dreams-les-miserables-week.html (Ramin is featured near the bottom)

    Thanks for putting up with my critique! lol Les Miz is the bestest - and I love talking about it with fellow fans! Different opinions/comparisons are a blast!

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  15. Ahhh!!!! I LOVE LES MIZ!
    It's one of my favorite musicals ever :). You have great taste. And I think Nick Jonas did I great job too! It was really surprising. I listened to the YouTube video of him singing the role, and I was shocked. "Whoa- He can actually SING!" :)

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  16. Ahhh!!!! I LOVE LES MIZ!
    It's one of my favorite musicals ever :). You have great taste. And I think Nick Jonas did I great job too! It was really surprising. I listened to the YouTube video of him singing the role, and I was shocked. "Whoa- He can actually SING!" :)

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  17. I LOVE LES MIZ!!!!! Its one of the best musicals ever!!!
    xo,
    Madeline

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  18. been watching some clips on youtube, I would loooove to see the whole thing. I remember when this was on- my boyfriend has the remote and kept flipping past it! I thought he's get bored, so I didn't insist on watching. I should have!

    Enjolras is AMAZING! What a voice. I agree about Nick with the other folks, he's a bit out classed, but I think he did a fine job. I mean, they had Ricky Martin in the role once, so it can't be much worse than him!

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