Les Miserables Review

Overall Rating

If you've never seen Les Mis, you will enjoy the show.

If you have seen past productions of Les Mis, you will not enjoy the show.

Les Miserables Broadway Show Review of 12/16/06

Showtime; 8:00 pm
Venue: Broadhurst Theatre, New York City
Seats; Orchestra M Row, Center, about 20 rows back from the stage

Les Mis is my favorite all-time musical. Since 1988, I've seen it sixteen times on Broadway, London, Boston and other cities. I have children that are now at an age that they can appreciate the story, and I was thrilled to hear that they were reviving the show.

I attended the 12/16/06 performance at 8pm with my wife and kids. Compared to past Les Mis Broadway shows/casts, what we viewed was a "fast food" version of Les Mis with a junior varsity cast.

"Fast food" because the director did not take the time to craft the production, with all cast members seemingly rushed in their delivery. For example, Jean Valjean, played by Alexander Gemignani, had an adequate voice for the role, but was mechanical and often hurried in his delivery. He did not take the time to act out his role, thereby impacting his effectiveness.

"Junior Varsity" cast because, compared to past Les Mis productions, the voices were simply inferior. The voices of past cast members would literally send chills up your spine at some points in the show. This production however, had none of those moments. Fantine had such a dry-throated voice that you wanted to give her a glass of water every time she opened her mouth.

The standout from an otherwise mediocre cast was Javert, played by Norm Lewis. I thought he gave a world class acting and singing performance, worthy of any past Les Mis cast. Other notables include Thenardier and Madame Thenardier. Most of the cast however, gave uninspired performances and lacked any passion for their roles.

The set, set transition, lighting and costumes were all good. The music was as powerful as ever. The sound however, was a problem. You could not hear some of the solo's clearly, and raspy Fantine was barely audible much of the time. The sailor's voices during the "Master Of The House" number cut out entirely in places.

My children did not know the difference, as they were viewing the show for the first time. It did not however knock them off their feet, and the experience left me wondering why the finest cast would not be offered to theater-goers at the center of the musical capital of the world.


CW
Mendham, New Jersey