#Haley Dortch

[meringuehearts]

with their voices soft as thunder

commission i did for @valjorts !!! thank youuu as alwaysss ^_^

[hermes-whistle]

LES MISERABLES 22/23 CAST REVIEW

Wednesday, November 30th, 2022

ACT 2

Cast:

Nick carnell-Jean Valjean

Hayden Tee-Javert (temporary replacement)

Haley dortch- Fantine

Matt Crowle-Thénardier

Christina Rose Hall-Madame Thénardier

Hazel Vogel- little Cosette

Cora Jane Messer- Little Eponine

Christine Heesun Hwang- Eponine

Addie Morales- Cosette

Gregory Lee Rodriguez-Marius

Devin Archer-Enjorlas

Kyle Adams- Grantaire

Gavroche- Harrison Fox

Well uh, unfortunately my theater decided that they weren't gonna flicker the lights to let us know to go back to our seats so I missed all of building the barricade and eponine giving the letter

On my own

-"Now I can make believe he's here" that tone she had was gorgeous

- I couldn't focus on most of the number because some kids behind me decided to get chips during Intermission because they were bored

- the blocking feels a bit stiff

-the lights where pretty tho

-again unfortunately I couldn't pay attention due to the kids behind me

-bUT oh my God when that barricade comes out with all the fog, one of the best scenes ever

At the barricade

-seeing the boys climb over the barricade was funny ngl

-the barricade bits are blurry in my head sorry yall

Javerts return/little people

-it looked like javert picked up a stick and started drawing

- this is a Gavroche Stan page

- gav tried jumping off the barricade like enj does

-gav flipping javert off might be my favorite thing

-marius in the back literally went like :0

-meanwhile after that grant picked gav up for "your the top of the class" after enj had his whole speaking bit he came over and ruffled gavs hair

A little fall of rain/ night of anguish

-during the small battle scene or whatever happened (I'm sorry I'm writing this In a car and can't remember so) ep moved marius and got shot perusal, she had a very small scream but it was at the same time the gunshot went off so it wasn't as noticeable

-she basically stumbled off the barricade with marius

-the way he said "oh god it's everywhere" was chilling tbh, he sounded scared almost

-miss girl basically falls onto him and then he carefully lays her down

-towards the end Gav ran over, taking a few moments to realize what happened

-Enj and grant then walked in (more like enj strutting) gav then clung to grants leg once ep actual died

-rip bad bitch, you will be missed

-IM SO SORRY THE WAY THEY CARRY HER OFF IS SO FUNNY

- FELT LIKE I WAS WATCHING THE QUEENS FUNERAL OR SMTH

-"her name was eponine,," lawd that was a kick to the gut huh

Valjeans revenge

-wake up babes daddy is climbing

-javert is back on stage (I don't know if he left)

-the hesitant 'he belongs to you'

-jean pushes javert down onto his knees facing the audience

-javert stayed looking forward while Jean approached him from behind (📸)

- he kept shaking his head as Jean was talking, he then grabbed the gun and forcibly put it in his hands then made Jean angle it at him

-Jean seemed clearly upset about this and the way he says "you are wrong,," sounds like he was trying to remind himself that

- he then continued to grab onto his jacket while saying "clear out of here"

- the gunshot scared me and my mom, we knew it was coming but it's so loUD

Drink with me

-once Grant starts singing and goes to the middle, Enj now looks over and starts getting off the barricade

-"marius, rest please" was very gently said

-the boys gave a small cheer when grant started singing

-grant lightly shoves one of the boys

-once he sees enj his mood changed

- during "can it be your death means nothing at all?" Enj clearly tried to hug him and grant pushed him away then walked away

-gav was standing right by enj and then held onto his leg

-grant goes over where the sewer is and puts his head against it, enj looking down and told gav somthing

-gav then ran over and hugged grant for behind (more like his legs since grant was tall) and he then put his hand over gavs arm

Bring him home

-chills the whole song

-nick gave it all ON A RANDOM WEDNESDAY NIGHT

-he really does sound like he's begging for marius to be alright

-enj is at the left top of the barricade, has his head slightly tilted down watching (I can't blame him)

-grant and gav are still sitting against the sewers, it was dark where they where but I think grant was holding him while he was sleeping

-the way my soul actually left my body at his last note

-breath support is all I gotta say

Second battle/Gavroches death /Final battle

-I don't remember much pre gav dying sorry

-everyone is dead silent the second gavroche starts singing

-Enj holds out his arms for gav then puts his fist up for "you better run for cover when the pup grows u-" and then he's shot

-gav falls onto enjs shoulder, enj took a second to hold onto him and slowly turned around clearly looking upset before giving him to grant

-everyone looked horrified at what they just saw

-grant held him close to his shoulder

-eventually when the shooting did happen Jean ran over and took gavs body and took it off stage then returned

-Randy Jeter was really slaying for the loud hailer

- the "until the earth is free" note gets faded into the music

-I don't know if it was on purpose or not but when enj is supposed to be kicking people down from the other side he nearly fell off, thankfully one of the fake boards was there and he pulled himself back up

-enj waving the flag has got to be the most beautiful thing I've ever seen omg, he was waving it very desperately

- the first one to go is Enj, before he starts falling grant starts trying to get up the barricade to grab him, only missing his hand by a little bit

-I'd like a moment to appreciate Jean basically t-posing while laying unconscious on the ground

-grant is the last one to die

-jean woke up then crawled over to marius whispering "shhh your okay please get up, get up" and then drags him off stage

-javert comes running over the barricade, the live fire torch looked so pretty for the scene

-when he got down he watched as the barricade opened

-Enj was vibing on the cart upside down per usual

-only one of his arms was hanging which is important in a second

-Javert walked over to Gavroche, prays over his body then lets the other dude pick him up

-gav gets thROWN in

-when the cart starts getting rolled off, enj was a little too far off the edge of the cart so it looked like he was gonna fall off, his other arm now fell off the cart

sewers/dog eat dog

-okay this scene deadass is my guiltly pleasure

-I got a tiny bit dizzy with the back screen visual

-the way Thénardier draggs one of the boys by the ankles💀

-I just love the song, it's so groovy

-valjean let go of marius and he just fell like the tower of terror

-when Thénardier goes over by marius he takes his hand like singing and puts it on his cheek acting as if it's his own hand

- "only the moon looks down" is still one of my favorite vocal moments, it scratches an itch in my brain

-"vALJEAN😧😧😧😧 AINT THE WORLD A REMARKABLE PLACE😧😃😧😃😧😃😧"

-marius seems to be like slightly awake

-I TRIED SO HARD NOT TO LAUGH WHEN IT CUTS 3 TIMES TO HIM CARRYING HIM DIFFERENT WAYS

- instrumental was such a bop

-javert is already waiting in the dark by the time Jean comes out

-once Jean looks over and sees him, javert points a gun at him (is this a new thing?? I don't remember seeing it before in boots)

-just gay old men arguing

-when Jean leaves with marius he looks back at him the same way javert did to him at the beginning, same places on the stage

Javerts suicide

-This is one of the scenes that is so so much better in person

-i personally think Hayden is one of the javerts that perform this scene best

-the stage is completely dark during the first Part

-but in the background you can see the bridge coming together on both sides which was so cool to see

-I definitely got more of a panic attack vibe from him instead of angry

-he kept on literally reaching out but his hands where extremely shakey

-javert was very slow about getting up on the bridge, he seemed hesitant

-"I am reaching but I fall" part was almost the exact same way nick as Jean performed it at the beginning with his hand reaching up

-once javert starts his final note I wasn't expecting the bridge to come out from Underhim and MANS WAS FLYING

-ofc he was up on wires but I never seen them and was shocked because I didn't know the scene is done like this (usually the bootlegs are taken from a weird angle for this scene)

-the visuals behind him are going down and eventually he gets pulled back into the darkness, the last thing you see is his hand reaching out

Turning

-interesting but sad scene transitions

-some of the women where dressed upperclass and half lower

-the little girl :((

-I'm not sure which actress is the one who says "what's the use of praying when nobody will hear??" But it was said very raw and emotional almost angry

-very beautiful song though

Empty chairs ar empty tables

-the tree is back

-yet another nice song transition

-love the performance but I don't have much to say???

-when le boys came in enj was the closest to him

-they pick up the candles, marius then waves his arm behind him like he was trying to make them go away during "don't ask me what your sacrifice was for"

-everyone blows their candles out except marius and enj

-enj is the last one to leave, marius looks over then enj blows his candle out then goes bye bye

-marius raises his candle at the end

Everyday/valjeans confession

-marius In his emo era then there's Cosette westing purple like hey lol

- cosette helps him walk over to the bench, once he sits down Cosette takes his cane and puts it behind the bench

- pretty vocals but everyday is kinda a basic song

-here comes the dilf, and he's got his limp again

-when he tells Cosette to go inside Cosette kinda looks between them like what's going onnnn and then leaves

-the change in tone when Jean talks to marius is interesting

-"who am i?" Idk man you tell me

-its 2:34 am when I'm writing this sorry I ain't remembering much

Wedding/beggers at a feast

-holy shit that is a very fast quick change for marius, I know he wears his coat over the wedding costume but sTILL

-again height difference between Cosette and him>>>

-Cosette's veil is gorgeous it's a shame it's only worn for like 5 minutes

- them dancing is the cutest thing ever and they kissed again before walking off the the side of the stage

- Marius introduces her to someone then goes over by the Thénardiers

-i was focusing on Cosette dancing

-the way the ensemble and cosette dance is interesting because they are clearly listening and moving to the tune

-Marius punching Thénardier was a slay per usual

-once they run off the plates drop ofc, overall the audience loved them

- the little hops during "among the elite"

- the line is back to "there goes a jew, this one's a queer but what can you do"

-the chaos that is the rest of the number>>>

Epilog

-Lmfao the change between songs

- he struggled for a sec to light the candles but got them eventually

-Nick made me appreciate jeans final solo part

-the chills I got when fantine comes out, I know she's an angel and she looked like one, she came out from stage right and had an orange haze casting over to her

-Jean looked relieved when he heard her, just ready to die

- Nick said a few times that his favorite line in the show is "she's the best of my life" and it shows 🥲🥲🥲

-Fantine got about 3 feet away, she was reaching out for him then Cosette comes running in

-this part is a bit of a blur since I was trying to get my phone out to get a small audio

- Marius comes in a few seconds after her, then he goes over behind the candles and looks at them until "you must forgive a thoughtless fool" then he sits by Cosette

- during the confession he slowly reached over and gave it to her, during "those who always loved you" He booped her nose again

- cosette is holding onto his hand until he gets up, more like he dies

-i wasn't paying attention to eponine I was trying to figure out why my camera didn't show the stage, turns out it was facing the wrong way

- "to love another person is to see the face of god" I'm not religious but that line always gets to me

-by the time Valjean gets up the chorus is starting, and the bishop comes out

-listen I know some people think it's stupid but I do like the Jean and bishop hug💔

-marius is holding Cosette and kissing her hair while rubbing her arm

-the ending just is so🤌🤌🤌 probably one of my favorite musical closers

Bonus if you made it this far

[sixthemusicaldreamcasts]

Haley Dortch as Jane Seymour

[womenoflesmis]

[itriedsohard]

Les Mis US Tour ‘24 Is Beyond Amazing

just saw the Les Mis tour (it’s like my 4th time seeing it live) and can I just say this was my FAVORITE production I’ve seen, SO MANY ENJOLRAS AND GRANTAIRE MOMENTS my heart 😭😭😭, every single cast member sounds incredible literally a perfect cast (Nick Cartell my beloved)(now obsessed with Kyle Adams aka Grantaire)(Preston Truman Boyd as Javert healed me actually) AAAAAAHHHHHHH 10/10 would recommend

[ancientbread]

Oh my god the OTHER thing I did yesterday was see the les mis us national tour and holy SHIT it was incredible. also if Kyle Adams who plays Grantaire needs anything- a kidney, my firstborn child, my immortal soul- he’s welcome to it

[jelepermets]

Yeah shoutout to Kyle Adams for forever changing Grantaire's look in my brain (and for being an 11/10 Grantaire and for making me cry and being super cool when I met him at the stage door - yes one of these days I will publish my 4k words worth of thoughts on seeing the musical)

[asagaciousmind]

TOUR THOUGHTS

Saw the Les Miserables Tour at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto on May 21 2024; here are my thoughts (Long read, sorry I have a lot of feelings)

Prologue/Look Down/Valjean's Soliloquy

We got like, holographic waves crashing and the men are rowing a boat LIKE THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE it's awesome

Oh my god the pipes on the background actors were so good. THE SUN IS STRONG ITS HOT AS HEEELLL BELOW

I miss Javert's stupid guard hat. Was bareheaded as he gave Valjean his yellow ticket

PETIT GERVAIS?????????? Valjean steals a little boy's coin when he's roaming the countryside 😭

Randy Jeter as the Bishop blew me away. Not just his voice but his acting was FANTASTIC every single movement was like. I am an old bishop. This is how an old bishop moves. Idk idk it was really good

Nick Cartell did a great job w Valjean overall, but I totally loved him as pre-MsurM Valjean the most. He acts like a feral animal, grabbing the wine out of the nun's hands and the bread from the priest all hunched over and practically snarling - very very cool and awesome

At the End of the Day

Not a negative but when we went to At the End of the Day there was very minimal lighting and my first thought was Oh no the lighting broke hope they fix it and we don't have to have a brief intermission but then when they went 'At the end of the day there's another day dawning' the lights went up and I was like OHHHHHHHHHHHH so that's just me not understanding lighting direction

Foreman killed it, so did all of the factory workers I love all the interactions and ad-libbing in the background it makes me so happy to see

Every time I saw a tall graceful ensemble member I was like '"That's Kyle Adams" and 8/10 times I was right. Otherwise it was Daniel Gerard Bittner

I Dreamed A Dream

OKKKK VOCALS???? Haley Dortch has such a beautiful, clear, emotional sound and she left not a dry eye in the house. Literally the second intermission hit my parents and myself were like. Holy shit dude what about that Fantine

I got her autograph after the show and she was so so sweet 🥺 She accidentally messed up her signature and had to redo it and was apologising to me and I was like GIRL you brought the house down you could stab me right now and I'd be like 'Thanks have a good one'

Lovely Ladies / Fantine's Arrest

Bamatabois (David Andino) was a standout performance, really chewed the scenery and I adored every second he was on stage (Plus his costume was fantastic)

The other girls defending Fantine 🥺

I like that after the police show up and they basically arrest all of the ladies and pimps, regular well-off citizens come out to witness Valjean defending Fantine from Javert. Thought it was a nice touch

Fantine's Death

My first and only cry of the evening, Haley Dortch no one does it like you

The Confrontation

If you've heard me talk about the confrontation you'll know that I absolutely hate the new chain choreography, HOWEVER. I really really liked it this time. Preston in particular gave it a lot of physicality that I enjoyed

Nick Cartell is a little guy and I don't really believe that his Valjean managed to knock out Preston's Javert

For some reason the percussion was really loud and I could barely hear the vocals so I don't have many thoughts on them

Master of the House / Waltz of Treachery

MATT CROWLE YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS

Both Thenardiers were fantastic, not a crazy amount of ad-libbing but when they did they made it count ("BYE, BAGUETTE")

Madame in particular was hilarious

Master of the House is very busy in a good way, everywhere you look interesting things are happening. Another number where the ensemble shines and you can tell everyone is having a blast

The Bargain was funny as hell, Thenardier tells Cosette to die in his arms and she goes limp when he's saying she's 'often been ill'

Valjean gives Cosette Catherine!

Look Down / The Robbery

Gavroche was super charismatic and confident, really great child actor (Milo Maharlika)

Eponine tosses Marius' book across the stage and he goes "I like the way you always ... tease 😐" They're such cute friends together

After Enjolras and the boys are done their preaching Enjolras gets stopped by a policeman and is told off 😭

During the robbery Montparnasse keeps Marius away by brandishing his little knife at him which I thought was cute

Also! Montparnasse is the only member of Thenardier's gang to escape during the Robbery!!! Which is a nice Brick reference

After Thenardier's 'In the absense of a victim' spiel he does this exact pose

Gavroche's little 'Clear the streets' 🫡moment is so cute

Stars

God I love Preston Truman Boyd

His Javert is so stalwart and reserved and dedicated, he's kind of robocop and it really really works, and you get to see just a smidge of vulnerability peek out in this song

ABC Cafe / Red and Black

I DON'T REMEMBER A LOT bare with me

Grantaire was absolutely the standout. Slapped Marius' butt with his coat. Stuck his wine bottle dick in Enjolras' face. Offered Combeferre a sip of his wine (who reluctantly accepted). Blew a kiss at Enjolras

Kyle Adams physicality is probably my favourite aspect of his Grantaire - he moves very assuredly, like a cat, in a way that is like okay he's drunk but he's so used to being drunk that his stumbling is more like dancing. I remember reading a fic that described Grantaire's movements in a similar way and I wonder if that was one of the fics Kyle took inspiration from?

OOH they did the wine bottle keep-away thing with Grantaire and Marius which I didn't know they still did so that was exciting

J.T Wood is such a cute Joly I love his voice

In Do You Hear the People Sing Grantaire grabs a gun and holds it at arms-length like it has cooties before handing it off to another student

Combeferre waves the flag both times (Here and in One Day More) and I'm not sure if it's always Combeferre who does that or if it's because Andrew Marks Maughan is clearly the most physically strong of the Barricade Boys

In My Life / A Heart Full of Love

Delaney Guyer is a really good Cosette in that she has a gorgeous voice and also has a lot of personality and actually reacts to things going on around her

Marius (who was played by Christopher James Tamayo for this performance) is such a cute little nerd. You can see him try to figure out what he's going to do, then he throws a rock at Cosette's window and kind of cringes at the noise - he's so unsure of himself and awkward

Cosette is very excited that he's here and closes the window right away, which prompts Marius' 'I'm doing everything all wrong!' until she reappears downstairs and they get to be cute dorks in love

Attack on Rue Plumet

I don't remember a lot but I DO remember that Eponine was really good here

When Valjean is like 'Tomorrow we'll away' Cosette goes 'WHAT? NO!'

David Andino is so good as Babet he is a chronic scene stealer at this point

One Day More

If you know Another thing about me you know I hate the One Day More box-step but it actually did not bug me this time. They put Grantaire next to Enjolras for the marching portion which is cute

On My Own

Holy shit Mya Rena Hunter delivered the most heartbreaking and powerful rendition of this I've ever heard

The Barricade

Loved Feuilly in his little part

Javert is a good spy. If I didn't know the plot of Les Mis I would've been like Holy shit that's Javert? Crazy. I love him drawing the 'plans' he'd overheard into the ground with a stick

Gavroche flipping Javert off >>>>>

Buff Combeferre is one of the two to drag Javert away to be tied up lol

A Little Fall of Rain

The only version of ALFoR that actually made me feel something

Marius and Eponine get a lot of time to be cute together before the barricade actually notices that she's dying - and Gavroche is the first to notice and gets a front row seat to her death which is heartbreaking

The First Attack

Grantaire's "AND SO THE WAR WAS WON!" was sooo scathingly sarcastic

Javert waited, like, 30 seconds to leave after Valjean freed him, with his back almost against the barrel of Valjean's gun as if he were hoping to be shot

When the gun went off the entire barricade abruptly snapped their heads to look at Valjean and the audience laughed 😭

Telling Valjean 'Well done' for shooting a tied up hostage is a strange choice

Drink With Me

I still hate 'For certain as the eagle flies' I think it's the dumbest line in the entire musical

Grantaire's part was very grand - His voice has like noticeably changed at this point in the musical to give it a sort of hoarse hopeless quality to it which absolutely hits you in the feels

Enjolras comforted him and I swear Grantaire let his hand linger on his cheek for a few seconds longer than normal before pushing him away

Gavroche hugged Grantaire from behind and Grantaire couldn't even turn around at first because he was so distraught and kind of blindly reached for him 😭

Chris Tamayo's Marius is such a poor little meow meow

Bring Him Home

Absolutely jaw-dropping performance from Nick Cartell

He sings Bring Him Home like it's a lullaby - which it's supposed to be

I don't exaggerate when I say that the applause went on for about a minute straight, and was the loudest of the night by far

Death of Gavroche / The Final Battle

Oh poor thang

Grantaire near the end of Gavroche's singing was turned away facing the audience like he knew Gav was going to die and couldn't bear to watch 🥺

Later on in the final battle Grantaire spends most of the time next to Gavroche's body in like a catatonic state

The SPOTLIGHTS representing BULLETS as Les Amis died almost made me lose it

Grantaire dies last, I'm sure he said something before he started climbing the barricade but I couldn't hear it 😭He and Enjolras still have their moment over Marius' body

The Sewer

Javert comes across Enjolras' cart-carried body (Still hate the cart but I can learn to appreciate it) and looks a bit uncomfortable

Then he stumbles upon Gavroche's corpse, kneels, and does the sign of the cross over him

Almost made me cry ngl

DOG EATS DOG WAS SO GOOD I LOVED IT

Javert looked like he wanted to shoot Valjean as he walked away with Marius

Javert's Suicide

HOOOOOOLYYYY SHIIIIITTTTT

It was so good

Preston Truman Boyd you will always be famous I fully believe that Javert had completely lost his mind at this point in the play

I don't have many thoughts on the rest but I loved Marius and Cosette reading Valjean's confession as he walked away with Fantine - and the Bishop hugging him as he arrives in heaven

Also Kyle Adams as Major Domo mincing about the stage in The Wedding was an absolute delight

Am very sleepy now but overall 10/10 I love this cast so much

[mortdeheros]

Saw Les Miserables US Tour Today. Feeling very Not Normal about Kyle Adams as Grantaire. His dynamic with Gavroche literally restarted my Les Mis unwellness. If you’ve been following me since my blog started (unlikely but I was live-in-tricolor) You know how Special Grantaire is to me and he just GOT it.

He has a way of moving and acting in a very, it was all in his body for real. His line in Drink with Me has so much anger ugh 10/10 understanding of a cynic who joins a revolution for the privilege of sitting next to someone who Only believes in the revolution.

His reaction to Gav’s death? Killer.

Now I have to also give my flowers to Haley Dortch’s Fantine she was mind blowing but this ain’t about her but it should be.

[enjolrasling]

I saw the Les Miserables US tour on Tuesday and am still IN MY FEELINGS about it, so here’s a random assortment of somewhat coherent thoughts/rambles/write up/review.

(Note: I saw the entire principle cast except Randy Jeter (who was out) and two ensemble swings. Andrew Marks Maughan was pulling double duty as both the Bishop and Combferre.)

• I didn’t know anything about Nick Cartell going in, but holy fuck, that VOICE. Tone is immaculate. Lungs of fucking steel.

• “Another story must beGINNNNNN” are you kidding me Nick. Who gave you the right to be this talented. Why is this man not more famous?!

• Preston Truman Boyd as Javert - voice is great, nice deep baritone. I wanted a smidge more from him acting wise though (this improved over the course of his performance).

• Nick and Preston sound phenomenal together, their voices work SO WELL.

• Haley Dortch has the voice of an angel and I loved her portrayal of Fantine.

• I appreciated that when Fantine was attacked/arrested all of the lovely ladies kept trying to stop it/help her. A nice staging touch.

• The whole transition into the courtroom was fantastic. Nick with that ending note of “Who Am I?” 🤯 I feel like I heard a few nods to Colm’s Valjean throughout Nick’s performance, this being one, which I appreciated on a cellular level.

• Confrontation sounded sooo good. It is a little goofy looking because Nick is so much shorter/smaller than Preston, which made the whole Valjean-as-stronger-man thing a bit silly. The blocking here didn’t do much for me. But what can you do. However! The “you’ll wear a different CHAInnn!” *cue Present with the chain hitting the stage floor* was fierce.

• It took a minute but Matt Crowle really won me over as Thénardier. Acting choices were 💯 without going over the top.

• There was a lot going on during “Master of the House” and it was a lot of fun, but also hard to catch everything.

• Gavroche was delightful. As usual.

• I’m not sure why Enjolras’ blonde wig was so bad, but it was really distracting. Devin Archer does a very decent Enjolras, but man that wig was not doing him any favors.

• Marius’ entrance was forgettable. I think this was more a staging issue than a reflection on Jake David Smith maybe? All the students kind of looked the same at this time. I had a hard time telling Les Amis apart all night, honestly. Except for Enjolras and Grantaire, obviously, which brings me to….

• Kyle Adams. You freaking fan-servicing national treasure. Cards on the table, seeing reviews of Kyle’s Grantaire was the single biggest reason I decided to catch this tour, and I was really, REALLY hoping to see him in the role. I did not think anyone would ever come close to eclipsing Hadley as my R of all time, but Kyle is right up there in his orbit. Omg that scene stealing little shit. He really put his all into “the drunk one”. Blowing the kiss to E at the end of Red and Black. Continually slapping people with his coat jacket. The dick-bottle in Enjolras’ face. Constantly goofing around with Gavroche. It was all gold. I really appreciate an actor who’s done their homework, and Kyle is very obviously well versed in both the source material and the rabid E/R fan fiction. His performance is a love letter to the fans - to those of us who have cried over the brick, who have watched every musical version we’ve been able to get our hands on over and over again - and I love that for all of us.

• Anyway, back to “Red and Black”. Devin is great, really brings the sassy Enjolras energy. Marius is….kind of forgettable again. Sorry, Jake. Enjolras when he grabs that flag…Devin is really serving.

• “Do You Hear the People Sing” was wonderfully rousing, as always. One of my favorites forever. The transition to the streets was very pleasing. Again, Devin with that damn flag. I might end up shipping Enj with the flag as much as E and R, he’s that passionate with it 🤣

• Delaney Guyer was a perfectly pleasant Cosette. No criticisms, I just haven’t really ever cared about Cosette much as a character. Her songs do very little for me. But Delaney was lovely.

• Mya Rena Hunter as Eponine was somewhat “meh” for me. Her vocals are killer and “On My Own” got one of the biggest ovations of the night, but I didn’t love her acting choices. Or maybe lack there of, it didn’t seem like there were any. I dunno.

• The staging/choreo for “One Day More” was really entertaining. Much better than the underwhelming marching I saw in the 2012 production. Devin serving sassy, dramatic Enjolras with flair and a rifle is a whole ass mood.

• I fucking love the barricade set. Seeing Les Amis climb all over that thing is such a moment. Enjolras literally leaping off the set multiple times. Dude gets AIR.

• Gavroche flipping off Javert was an audience favorite.

• “A Little Falls of Rain” was underwhelming. The staging was a bit awkward and there was no scene chemistry between Jake and Mya. I really wanted to feel something. I didn’t. Just eh.

• “Drink With Me”, on the other hand, was so wonderfully emotional. Kyle’s stying of R’s verse is an angrier, grittier interpretation and I’m sooo here for it. Enjolras goes to console him and R pushes him away. The pain feels so real.

• “Bring Him Home”….Nick. Fucking. Cartell. I have no words. He cast an absolute SPELL over the theater. His breath control is super human. His last “home” note went on FOREVER. Absolutely phenomenal. Hands down best version I’ve ever heard live. Biggest ovation of the night.

• Gavroche’s death 😭 So sad, so well done. It was very striking how he was shot just as Enjolras’ hand reached up for him as he returned. The timing, the lights, sound everything was excellent. Then he crumpled onto E’s shoulder. E handed his lifeless body to R, who was just devastated. I love the relationship they created between Gavroche and R this production. The entire build up of their interactions made this moment so poignant and believable.

• Christopher Robin Sapp really took his 5 seconds of National Guard Officer/Loud Hailer time and absolutely slayed it. I want to see more of this guy in the future.

• The choreo of the final battle was very satisfying. I totally missed Marius getting injured and just mistook him for another student because again….Marius was just not catching any of my attention this tour, lol. The frantic moment between E and R in this scene was so raw and well done by both actors. R reaching for E’s face, clasping hands so very briefly. Ugh.

• Then E with the flag again. This scene is so striking and Devin gives it EVERYTHING. Then R climbing up after E once he gets shot and falls off of the barricade. The way it takes a few moments for R to die after being shot and Kyle freaking Adams makes sure the audience knows it…

• I was lucky enough to see a production with the revolving stage back in the day and I’m really glad I did, because the reveal of Enjolras’ body hanging upside down off the other side of the barricade with the flag is one of those theater moments that will haunt me forever. Enjolras’ lifeless body in the cart just doesn’t have quite that same punch, but it’s timed very nicely with the music swell, and the way his body shifts/almost falls out of the cart when it’s carried away again is quite effective.

• Ok so the sewers. That was cool. I felt like this production used just enough of the screen to really assist the set design without relying on it too much. It worked really well for the orchestration and gave depth to Valjean just dragging Marius across the stage 3 times.

• Thénardier dragging in that corpse by his ankles for “Dog Eats Dog” lol. Matt really showed up for this scene. I think he did a good job of dipping into the “comedic” aspects of Thénardier as well as balancing the really rotten parts - this was a really great rotten part. I thoroughly enjoyed his turn as the infamous innkeeper.

• Javert is such a little drama queen.

• “Stars” was A++++. One of my forever favorites anyway, but Preston took this song to church. Also, I do NOT remember this staging, if it’s what I saw in 2012 (I don’t think so?!) and holy shit. I was not expecting what they did, which got quite a few gasps from the audience. The falling/floating/reaching while holding that last “ONNNNNNN” was a fucking MOMENT. Props to this production set up. Major props to Preston. Just wow.

• The transition from “Turning” to “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” was beautiful, and I love love love the candle choreography. When Les Amis blow their candles out….ugh 😭 This number was a bit of redemption for Jake David Smith, who until now had kept slipping into the background. I found his Marius to be a bit uninspired and unrecognizable for the most part. He did not bring much of a presence to the role until this moment. But his vocals were great here, and the anguish felt genuine.

• I don’t have much too say about “Beggars at the Feast” because I was too busy watching no one but Kyle Adams as Major Domo for the entire scene 🤷🏻‍♀️

• But omg the change of Thénardier’s lyrics from “this one’s a queer / but what can you do?” to “this one’s a queer / I might try it too” and then he dips that random wedding guest dude was a giant yes from me.

• Finale left a touch to be desired blocking/staging wise. I remember feeling that way with the 2012 production as well. Les Mis is just such a powerful musical, I feel like it deserves a bigger ending than basically everyone just standing in two lines behind Cosette and Marius. The cast’s vocals made up for the lack of production though. Truly so, so good.

• In conclusion: Nick Cartell has an otherworldly voice and Kyle Adams is the Grantaire we all deserve. I am so, SO glad I got to experience this cast.

[breadvidence]

Les Misérables 6/9/2024 at the Fox Theater, GA

Sometimes purchases made on two too many glasses of wine are the wisest buys of all: saw the musical live for the first time, which seems like it oughta have come before at least three other adaptations I've watched at this point, and is an experience that gets into your guts in a way any film will struggle to match. I was in the mezzanine in the cheap seats which lost me a back corner of the stage and hearing whatever Kyle Adams was getting up to, but still gave me a solid view. There are so many ways in which this is the best adaptation of Les Mis, and finally experiencing music live that I've been listening to for decades—there are no words. So, since I can't express the profound side of the experience, I'm gonna write up a li'l commentary of mostly jokes:

"Overture": I notice the playbill does not list "The Confrontation" among the numbers and feel surprised no Valvert fan has had a public meltdown online about this change. Shrug it off, because people are starting to go uhhhUH on stage and Broadway will hardly give me my money back because they didn't deliver on the expected level of homoeroticism.

"Look Down": Oh, we're doing the boat? Are we going to dock the boat before Valjean gets his papers and—? Ambiguous? Missing scene: Valjean has to swim to shore because the cruelty of state punishment means when your time is up they simply force you to walk the plank to "freedom". Also, this iteration of Javert outsources his violence to underlings, which is an interesting choice. Boyd comes across solid and straightforward, even dignified, which is not the bared-teeth nasty energy I personally thrive off of from a musical Javert, but I have no comment on his technical skill.

"On Parole": Cartell masterfully handles the most important line in the Les Mis musical, Valjean's sippy of freedom water. He moves throughout this sequence with a cautious, loose, sometimes hunched body language, feral. If adaptations were about fidelity as such I'd bellyache about the violence, but it works fine visually, I'll go with it. At some point, I oughta mull on why musical Valjean is such a more violent character than in the novel. On the other hand, the Petit Gervais reference I will simply call clumsy and bad, if you don't know the book it just makes Valjean look like a dick and if you do it jars even worse. Cartell's rendition of "fliiiIIIIIIIⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱght!" is solid, all my ears want from that line is to feel like the actor is making a weird noise they will not elsewhere be repeating.

"The Bishop": Randy Jeter is a distractingly attractive Myriel. I would fall on my hands and knees and put my ass in the air too, Valjean. Hot fuckin' damn.

"At the End of the Day": Coming off of 3.1.12 in Les Mis Letters had me primed to view the opening moments in which we see the "the Poor" as dehumanized figures, shrouded, moving strangely, almost monstrous, to consider the political implications of that, but it's bomb visuals so I don't much care. Haley Dortch is a fuckin tree of a person and I mean that in the best way, really interesting physical presence to be cast as Fantine. They seemed, from my distance, to be not insignificantly taller than Cartell, which I'm unduly delighted by. Speaking of Cartell: I believe the word the kids would use for his outfit as Madeleine is "cunty", those coat tails have so much swish.

"I Dreamed A Dream": The crowd howled for Dortch at the end of this song, and well-earned too. Briefly distracted by wondering what the theater theory is behind actors doing little runs around the stage—just sayin', I promise I will not lose interest like a leopard gecko presented with unmoving prey if they stay in one spot.

"Lovely Ladies": My awareness that I should feel badly about this depiction of sex workers vs eye-catching costuming and choreography, oh no. Boyd continues to be solid and uninteresting in this scene, but that's fine. At the end, the constables take Dortch under the elbows and drag them offstage backwards with their heels bumping along the floor, which prompted a totally inappropriate laugh from me, sorry to everyone.

"Who Am I?": Another case of end-of-number unintentional comedy as a gendarme holds out the handcuffs for Boyd to snatch when he runs after Cartell.

"Fantine's Death": I've seen the staging before where Valjean gets ready to dip partway through and has to be called back to the deathbed and—I'm sorry, this is a very moving duet, Cartell and Dortch did admirably, but that bit was funny.

"The Confrontation": The playbill lied! Unfortunately Boyd continues to do nothing for me and I'm neutral at best on the handcuff/chain choreography. The very brief choking laying him out has me dubious about his stamina.

"Master of the House": My awareness that I should feel that the use of the Thénardiers as comic relief cheapens their role in the novel as a complication of the inherent goodness of humankind and the redemption of the 'criminal class' vs eye-catching costuming and choreography, oh no. I enjoyed the hell out of this number, sometimes despite itself. There was a pegging joke, can I be blamed? Also, someone in the audience exclaimed in distress over the gag of a parrot being thrown into a meat grinder, bless them.

"The Well Scene": lay me out on the ground and cover me in dirt because I perished, I am too invested in these characters and Cartell brings such warmth to this scene.

"The Bargain": If you need me I will still be under my dirt over the continued sweetness of how Cartell plays his interactions with the little Cosette actor. It's my understanding he has children, and I'd be curious to know if his performances prior to becoming a father had this depth. I have always appreciated the impulse behind adding "Suddenly" to 2012, and I know that there are fans who feel it calls back to the novel meaningfully, but this production did fine with the material from the original libretto communicating the sense of Valjean's immediate devotion to this child.

"Look Down": Over twenty years listening to this musical and only at this moment do I realize that the meaning of the lines is "Lamarque is the only man who speaks for the people here below" and not "Lamarque is the only swell who runs the show". Shame. Because my brain is a Rat King of adaptations, Devin Archer's Enjolras reminds me distinctly of Yūji Kishi's.

"The Robbery": It didn't take more than hearing here you can always catch me out to know there was going to be a fucking killer rendition of "On My Own" in my future. It is difficult to sell me on Javert's line in this number without some bitchin' guitar as back-up, and honestly—I'm writing this two days later, I do not remember Boyd's clearly. Unfortunate.

"Stars": The crowd didn't trumpet quite so loud for this number as it did for "I Dreamed a Dream" and, later, "On My Own", but there was a big response, and—I don't know, I don't hear the vision. The use of street lamps in place of star imagery makes me wonder whether someone involved in constructing the set has been following @everyonewasabird's thoughts on the connection between those and police surveillance.

"Éponine's Errand": Half the theater was convinced at this point that we were at intermission o' clock, maybe because the most forward piece of stage machinery that closes had closed up? People stood up, we shuffled about, there was a surprised and flustered resettling when Mya Rena Hunter emerged with Cosette, now I remember!

"The ABC Café": Kyle Adams and the directing choices around Grantaire are both delightful and a distraction—like, sorry every other student, I didn't even try to keep track of who's who. There's something very lovely about being in a time and place that allows an explicitly gay reading of this story to be acted out on stage, that there's trust on the part of the cast and creative team in the audience feeling a connection to one man being a comedic tender mess at another.

"In My Life": Even if Brick Valjean never found his way to being honest with Cosette, Cosette would have been a healthier psyche were she able to express this level of frustration with her father, and I grant the slim chance he might've listened to her, some day. This exchange marks one of the big gaps between the musical and the book, IMO. None of which is relevant to this specific performance, they all have this. Cartell does an interesting thing here, either he was tired this night or a little off-balance or he was deliberately playing the character as having a limp or he'd forgot which bit of the play he was in and was moving like pre-Digne Valjean or he had not forgot at all and wanted the character to be, for a minute, like when he was feral and weary, in the beat between Delaney Guyer exiting and his following her off-stage.

"At the Barricade" (?): The bit where Éponine delivers the letter—return of the violence inherent to musical Valjean; this isn't the first one I've seen rough up Éponine a little, startled to find her outside the door, amped up by the awareness there's a threat lurking, and it's both outside the book character's nature and markedly more normal as human behavior. Cartell's voice pitches up all incredulous and alarmed on now that I know that you love me as well?, which got a cute audience reaction.

"On My Own": I thought the audience had demonstrated its greatest, loudest excitement over "One Day More", and I was VERY incorrect. Wailing whistling whooping excitement for Mya Rena Hunter, the roof near came off. By far the most intense reaction of the night even if not the longest.

"Javert's Arrival" / "Little People": I continue to be perplexed by the Grantaire & Gavroche side plot, but godspeed, I guess, I have no opinion one way or another for how that impacts reading any of the characters involved. It feels like this staging decided to put all its eggs in the Grantaire basket, so far as giving any of the Amis a reason to hold the audience eye.

"A Little Fall of Rain": There are so many people involved in producing and staging and acting Les Mis who know the theory and technique of theater better than I can ever hope to grasp, but: pulling the tied-up Javert back on-stage during the final moments of this number, disruptive movement and noise in the corner of the stage, feels like, hm. A decision being made that I do not understand.

"The First Attack": Boyd continues to have the erotic energy of an off-brand Ken doll, I don't in the least understand how tied up and manhandled and with Kyle Adams queening it up all over him that I get nada. Even Cartell tossing him up against a wall did nothing for me. More interestingly: the hesitation as the students decide how they feel about a restrained man being shot, the quiet before one of them thumps the butt of his gun on the ground and says—more or less, I forget the line—good job, is a curious, tense choice. The consensus among the Amis in the novel appears to be that Javert, as an agent of the state, a spy, has earned his execution just as much as Le Cabuc—and, given his capacity to inform against those who did leave the barricade, it's not unreasonable. All the same, it's uncomfortable, as a modern reader, and this production is giving us plenty of space to feel that emotion.

"Drink With Me": This was a crime against me personally, a gay not prepared to feel so strongly about Grantaire/Enjolras. Devin Archer reciprocates the care and attention Adams put into the dynamic to a degree that makes it read a lot more like a strained relationship than one-sided pining, which I'm fine with.

"Bring Him Home": As Cartell shivered through his last note, someone in the audience member lost their grip, they whooped like a hyena, brought me back to being a person and not just ears hanging on the climb and drop of the song. As a kid I always skipped "Bring Him Home" while listening to the soundtrack, put off by the softness, the pitch, and while I've grown to appreciate the skill that goes into it and feel far more deeply the summers die one by one, damned if I've ever got the song to the degree I get it now, having experienced it in person. & once the rest of us had got caught up with the hyena in the audience, worn ourselves out clapping and whistling, into the silence he gave another whoo whew!!, which prompted a laugh I think we all very well fucking needed.

"The Sewers" (?): Boyd took his hair down and now he's wild, good for him. Frantic, agitated, his scurrying bolting searching across the stage, the frustration with the sewer grate, he's lost his shit—I didn't expect him to bring any energy into the role, given I found him bland up to this juncture, but apparently he was saving all the interesting for the breakdown stage of being Javert.

"Dog Eat Dog": Low-key a favorite song of mine, probably for the same reasons that I listen to folk punk. Matt Crowle dropped the comedy utterly from the harvest moon shines down—it resonated, gave me a shiver.

"Javert's Suicide": Boyd redeems himself some—I will not be swayed, and unsteady on his feet. The aching vulnerability that Philip Quast brings to this number has not yet been unseated in my heart, and I've seen a clip of Tam Mutu in hysterics that was interesting and impactful, but this wasn't a bad take. There was an undignified quality to how he kept his knees bent after climbing up onto the parapet, a mimicry of that caution and fear of falling that is absurd in the context of a jump to death, that felt human and exactly as embarrassing as I want Javert's life to be. Now, unless you're going to break the actor I don't think there's a way to play the suicide that I'm not going to find comedic—I'm an unforgiving watcher—but they did their best.

"Empty Chairs at Empty Tables": Somewhere around here it was they lit the flame I began to hear sniffling and by oh my friends my friends forgive me it escalated to outright weeping. Big ol' butch bald man there with his girlfriend was two seats down from me and he utterly lost his shit during this number, bless him, and no wonder: Jake David Smith, who was a very charming Marius, you forgave him the stalking, but not particularly noticeable, all a sudden demanded our attention. I do wonder whether that audience member had lost friends, whether something about this spoke to him personally.

"A Heart Full of Love (Reprise)" / "Valjean's Confession": Throughout I debated whether Cartell's gait was a little odd, if I was misreading, if he was dragging his left foot, but here there's no doubt here, he's playing it up like he miscalculated his fluid intake and worked out hard, he's bodily fucked, Marius please lend this man your cane.

"Beggars at the Feast": Delaney Guyer pauses, uncertain, a flicker of fear, as she crosses close to Victoria Huston-Elem, and—listen, Hugo sure as hell doesn't ever give Cosette the space as an adult to so much as think about the Thénardiers, I don't know that I've seen it in any film adaptations, I hope it's out there in fandom but I'm in the wrong corner to know for sure (with one exception offhand), and it says how much I'm hungry for that deep-dive that seeing it acknowledged for ten seconds on stage has me writing in this tone about the topic.

"Epilogue: Valjean's Death": Cartell embraced Randy Jeter and I shed one (1) tear. Then he stopped, pulled away from being led to paradise to turn back around to Delaney Guyer to love another person is to see the face of God and—it's a cheesy line! it's absurd! it's not even Hugolian, goddamnit! the lyrics borrow a suspicious amount from Gillenormand! I refuse to provide you the tear count at this juncture.

"Finale": Dissociation! at the Broadway. Too fucking good for my brain to stay present.

In conclusion, were I to write the fic based off this one specific performance, which I have definitely not considered: I would proceed as firmly rooted in the musical as possible, and let be for the moment all those many Brick details in preference of saying: what are these characters doing? What did it mean for Cosette, to sometimes see from the corner of her eye her father with his sore leg dragging, his shoulders hunched, a feral dog light in his eyes? Was part of the strain in Grantaire and Enjolras' relationship that lingering attention Enjolras has for Marius, and does Marius ever think about the man whose ghost hesitated so long with his attention fixed on him? Do the Thénardiers circle back around, and how does Cosette reckon meeting her childhood nightmare as one woman to another? If I had no other context, I would say that Javert's breakdown is half at least about being held captive, with Jean Valjean a wretched complication—as he stood on the parapet, could he still smell the brandy on the breath of the murderous drunk who clutched arms around his chest, weighed down his back, all around them the gunfire and the smoke? Does Jean Valjean get to screw around with incredibly hot Myriel in the afterlife? This is not a musical experience that inspired fix-its; the dead are dead. It would have to be a story about ghosts.

[loracarol]

For all that I love Les Misérables (the musical), I've only seen it once on stage; when the local high school was performing it, and I was in elementary school/early middle school. (I don't know why my Mum took us to see it, but some things definitely went over my head lmao.)

So my brother got my Mum and I tickets to see the US tour, and holy shit. Holy. Shit.

Some of the things I enjoyed may be common to the play! Maybe I'm just out of the loop! But I still really liked them! (In no particular order.)

Nick Cartell and Preston Truman Boyd were really good as Jean Valjean and Javert, but I have to give a special shout out to Haley Dortch whose Fantine was exquisite and Randy Jeter who played the Bishop and whose breath control/ability to hold long notes I envy deeply.

Gavroche flipped Javert off at the barricades. 🤣

Is Grantaire caring for Gavroche a common theme in the musicals? Because in this one, Gavroche ran to give Grantaire a hug during one point at the barricades - I think after Eponine dies? And then Grantaire gave Gavroche his coat to sleep under. Later it's Grantaire who takes it the worst when Gavroche dies, and is the one to hold him and take him down from the barricade.

I have a confession… I don't actually know the difference between the different Les Amis. I know that they're popular, and I know some of their names, but I have to double check the lyrics to see who Grantaire was. >>; That being said, they're death scene was really amazing but also probably be very careful if you're sensitive to flashing lights. They had spotlights flash to represent the bullets as each Les Amis died and it was gorgeous and brutal.

Our barricade wasn't a turntable, but the sets in general were really cool. They had a projector screen on the back that they used to great effect, especially during the sewer scene and Javert's suicide.

THE RUNAWAY CART. I have no idea how they did that but it was so well done.

The Turning transition to Empty Chairs at Empty Tables and how each lady in Turning left a candle and then each dead Les Amis picked one up and toasted like it was a cup. Ugh. Gut punch.

The Thénardiers were terrible and hilarious as always. We were high up in the cheap seats, so I couldn't always tell what everyone was doing, but the Thénardiers were always so over the top that I could always tell what they were doing.

Diversity win, one of the worst characters in the musical made canonically bisexual (?) with the lines in Beggars at the Feast changed from, "This one's a queer \\ But what can you do?" to "This one's a queer \\ I might try it too." At which point M. Thenardier started dancing with the gentleman in question and dipped him.

I really could see why Marius would be clueless about Eponine's affections; every time he actually is interacting with her, she's either teasing/friendly bullying him (pick-pocketing his book then throwing it across the street), or helping him find another woman. It's only in her asides/inner monologue that she acknowledges it. It gave very, "boy pulling pigtails" vibes and I would understand why Marius wouldn't necessarily see it.

In general, Marius and Cosette were adorable. His "I'm doing everything all wrong" was pitch perfect and he had the audience laughing.

...I know that J/J (?) Valvert (?) is the most popular pairing, but honestly I came out of the first act wanting an AU where Fantine's illness is less deadly, and she ends up leaving w/ Valjean, and they figure the easiest way to hide is to get married and pretend to be a family; it hides Cosette's parentage, and gives them a cover in Paris; Javert is looking for Single Convict Jean Valjean, not Married Family Man Normal McLoving-Husband-and-Father. And later Javert can join in making them a weird poly trio, as a treat. (Not weird because they're poly; weird because Javert is Like That.)

(...Maybe in a modern AU where Javert gets some major therapy.)

(My first thought was fake-marriage AU where Valjean marries Fantine to get her on his health insurance and then I remembered that that's an American Problem Probably.)

(I'm not saying it would work for all versions of Valjean and Fantine, just in this one.)

The Bishop was with Fantine and Eponine in welcoming Valjean to heaven and that's when I started crying.

In the applause, all the child actors held hands with Valjean and did a bow with him & then he picked up the child!Cosette of the night and carried her. It was adorable. Everything about Valjean and child!Cosette was adorable.

In general everything with the children was so fucking cute.

I already loved the songs, but hearing them echo and reverb in the theater was amazing and I'm super jealous of people who can go on the reg. |D

Just. Ugh. It was so good. I didn't realize how much I missed live theater.

I even bought merch for the first time. 🤣(A keychain and some pins, nothing fancy admittedly.)

I wish every traveling group put out their own soundtrack. I want to listen to these guys 5ever.

[hermes-whistle]

LES MISERABLES 22/23 CAST REVIEW

Wednesday, November 30th, 2022

ACT 1

Cast:

Nick cartell-Jean Valjean 

Hayden Tee-Javert (Temporary Replacement)

Haley dortch- Fantine

Matt Crowle-Thénardier

Christina Rose Hall-Madame Thénardier

Hazel Vogel- little Cosette

Cora Jane Messer- Little Eponine

Christine Heesun Hwang- Eponine

Addie Morales- Cosette 

Gregory Lee Rodriguez-Marius 

Devin Archer-Enjorlas

Kyle Adams- Grantaire 

Gavroche- Harrison Fox

Look down

-It looks like Valjean was about to tussel with the other convict 

- javert has a very sassy walk, as he should 

- when he's giving him the ticket of leave they both hold onto it longer than someone straight would💅

-once the convicts and everyone leaves its only Jean and javert on the stage, javert glances at him and then leaves 

On parole/the bishop

-Jean stealing from petti garvis (which is later played Gavroche) was included it's when he says "the dirt beneath their feet" I believe 

-otherwise I don't really have much to say on parole most of the time it is the same so-

-bishop comes behind him like hey girly and touches him on the back, making Jean move away

-from what I had heard nick carnell doesn't usually go all out for the flIGHHHHHT, but he does now and it's high 

- when the bishop gives Jean the bag he pushed it away, only for the bishop to put it back in his hands 

Valjean soliloquy

-WHATHAVEIDONESWEETJESUSWHATIHAVEIDONE

-"my life was a war that could never be won" was yelled

- it was really fast at first and then got slow (that's what she sai-)

-he held up the ticket at "I am reaching but I fall"

-he sounded a bit like Jon robyns when he started as jvj

-"begIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN" was held for so long

At then end of the day

-the transition into the factory women is really cool

-fantine is the tallest

-when fantine gets her letter she's standing away from the other girls but the male workers are walking past her, being snarky

-foreman goes over to her and starts pulling on her skirt

- ofc the gorls start fighting and Jean comes in and ZAMN THAT MAYOR FITTT

-fantine is still tall, taller than Jean but he was actually short to a lot of people

-when he leaves, he stops halfway up the stairs listening, which is at the same time she is talking about Cosette. Some foreshadowing it seems

- once fantine is thrown out she lays on the ground for a few moments, really letting it soak in with the audience as the factory women who read the letter went off stage laughing

I dreamed a dream

-beginning of the song she's sitting as if she's telling a story to someone, she keeps on having a sad smile

- she uses her hands a lot during the number

- "he took my childhood in his stride" was more sad than angry

- again as much as I loved the performance there wasn't a ton that stuck out to me this specific part since it's been performed so many times in similar ways

Lovely ladies

-the 3 men ofc come out with their parts while the rest of the stage is dark

-as soon as the prostitutes start singing the stage lights up on the staircase

-fantine has a green shawl now

- ima be honest I was trying to find the Cosette and ep actresses during this number so I wasn't paying that much attention to fantine at the beginning

-I love the prostitute with the hat and red dress, she's also the one that talks to fantine the most

- when fantine comes back with her hair chopped off, it's almost not that noticeable?? Maybe because I was sitting farther away but it looked like it was just in a bun (which probably wasn't the case since she had a lot of long hair and wouldn't of have been able to pull it back like that)

-the foreman is her first 'customer'

- they still kept it as the prostitutes singing the beginning of "Come on captain, did you wear your shoes?"

-fantine doesn't sing her part until "easy money"

Fantine's arrest

-Probably the fight that looked the fakest

-ima be honest again I was watching javert in the back because he came out on stage way to early and had to play it off

-Jean was hanging around in the back watching

- javert's baton skills are kinda 🏃‍♀️

-"this prostitute attacked me😧😧😧"

-javert tauntingly lifts fantine's chin with the baton while saying "save your breath, save your tears"

-when Jean is on the floor by fantine She is grabbing him per normal, she's honestly death gripping him

- the way they drag her off- they don't even bother lifting her anymore, they drag her by her arms off stage

Runaway cart

-before Jean lifts the cart he takes off his coat, looks around, sees javert, and then hesitates before lifting the cart up

- after that whole thing javert had picked up his coat and hat

-he helped Jean up after holding his hand for like 20 seconds

- javert continues to hold his hand until he gives him the coat

-then of course they had their whole gay conversion

- javert held onto jeans hat until "he couldn't run forever, no not even Jean Valjean" HE GAVE HIM THE HAT WHEN HE SAID JEAN VALJEAN IDK THE ATTENTION TO DETAIL, it's like he was addressing him as it too

Who am I

-Ngl I was focused on how fine he looked

- javert was at the court (which is probably normal but shh)

- nick was really good at holding his notes as jvj like okay pop off king

Come to me

-the bed is on the side of the stage

-fantine doesn't get out of bed anymore, she just sits up and reaches out

- "where the children play" and "see her when I wake" where very light and softly sung

-the light got brighter on her when Jean laid her down

-you could see javert in the shadows for his entrance

The confrontation

-The chain hit the floor when he says chaiiinnnn which was satisfying

-they where very in tune with each other, vocally and blocking wise

-to the point where when then turn their tailcoats kinda fly a little bit at the same time and it looks snazzy

-MYRACEISNOTYETRUUUUUNNN

- ofc Jean strangles javert with the chain for a few seconds which was a little sus

-javert was coughing and gasping while Jean was singing to fantine

-he got up very quickly then ran at him, he ended up running into his side back which I'm sure didn't feel good

-he actually lifted up Jean a little bit and I thought he was gonna KO his ass for some reason

-there wasn't any chair breaking either

-just Jean knocking javert out

Castle on a cloud

-little Cosette just💔

-she's just adorable and I feel bad for her

-you could hear her sweeping

-madame came in with a bucket and threw in down on the ground, making Cosette go back to taking the stools of the table

-eponine comes skipping in, she's standing on the table across from Cosette

- ep points at Cosette who was holding the bucket, Madame then says the line "still there Cosette??"

-Madame mocks Cosette when she says "Please do not send me out alone"

Master of the house

-Thénardier was laying on top of the inn set apparently, him sitting up was a shock💀

-I love the inn ladies

-there was so much happening

-SHOUT OUT TO THE WOMEN WHO WAS PEGGING HER MAN AT THE TOP OF THE INN‼️‼️‼️(implying it ofc)

- Feathers came out of the 1820s version of a blender

-really loved the number but there was so much going on to the point where it's hard to remember

Waltz of Treachery

-Cosette is pulling her bucket, she accidentally tips it over and covers her face out of frustration

- I think nick becoming a father in real life really showed in his moments with Cosette

- he's got a very light voice while they are singing the la la la la laa

-when they get back to the inn Cosette was already hiding behind Jean

- madame came over and started trying to seduce him, causing him to pause and look at the audience looking completely done

- Jean had placed his bag by Cosette who was holding it while sitting

- Thénardier went over and dragged her by them, Jean instantly sat up straighter

- Thénardier picked her up at "if she hadn't so often been ill" , Cosette was literally straight as a plank. But then as they mentioned the medicine she went limp and put her hand over her head

-when Jean starts on his part after that he's on his knees singing to Cosette "Cosette shall have a father now"

-once they leave he gives her the doll and coat, she instantly hugs him, he hesitates but hugs her back

- then they did their little dance before men yelling came onto stage he quickly picked her up and left

Look down/Paris at your feet/the robbery

-everyone loved Gavroche

-Enjolras and marius run through the people, you can probably spot marius a mile away since he's t a l l

-they stand on these blocks now instead of the barricade looking things

-the set seemed very clustered

-BEFORE OUR BARRICADES ARISEEEEEEEEE

-eponine is watching marius from a distance

-she then goes up behind him, he turned around at the exact moment causing her to run into him

- marius seemed very nervous talking to her

- she took his book at "I know a lot of things I do" and trailed the book down his torso, he grabbed her arm after a few seconds

- she yEETED his book while he was in the middle of "I like the way you always- *book gets thrown* …tease"

- Cosette was giving to the poor women while Jean was off talking with someone else

-cosette was on the way back to Jean when marius ran into her

- marius helped Cosette up by taking her hands, he was gonna kiss her hand but let go when he saw Jean

-Jean walked with Cosette and he death glared at marius

-Cosette and Jean separated again to different sides of the stage

- once montrapzee ran up to Cosette with the knife marius pushed him away and got in front of her, she was very close behind him. God I just love how much of a simp he is

-ITS JAAAAAAAVEEEEERRRRRRT

- javert came over to Valjean, helped him up as normal, then looked at him for a few seconds then let go

-Jean checked Cosette if she was hurt instantly then they ran off

-the way marius just 🧍‍♂️🧍‍♂️🧍‍♂️🧍‍♂️ in the background

-Marius eventually ran off, you could tell because he ain't quite at all

- Thénardier was smooching up to javert at "it was me who told you so😗"

Stars

-pretty scene overall

-stars personally is a pretty boring number to me I'm sorry

-still good vocals

Eponine's arron

-all of these sets are really pretty

-"what's become of me" sounded very pretty

-you can always tell when marius shows up by the sound alone

- HE RAN INTO THE FUCKING WALL

- I DON'T THINK IT WAS PLANNED EITHER

-eponine was giggling half way through the number due to that

-you could tell that they are besties though

Red and black

-Hottie enjolras

- Grantaire's hair is half up half down

- "marius your late🙄"

-marius is still the tallest of the cast

-i zoned out half of it on accident

- grant wrapped his arms around marius at "Is Marius in love at last?"

-enj was sitting on the table, clearly dealing with them

-when grant got up on the table and swing his bottle around for "here he comes in just like Don juan" he was air thrusting very close to the back of enjs head💀

- marius snatches the bottle, and grant jumps off, puts his hand ontop of enjs head as support to get down

-Grant and marius start acting like they are sword fighting

-when enj is thrown the bottle, grant runs into him and quickly backs up like whoops

-when marius goes up on the stairs for his part grant gets on the other table which made enj look over at him like 'seriously??'

- "Grantaire put tHE bottle down🙄🙄🙄🙄"

- Enj was very gentle with Gavroche, he lifted him in the air in front of him for a few seconds (like how Russell Crowe as javert did basically)

- Enj put up his arm when he sung "they'll Come when we call" I think it's just how he's able to hit the notes though since he did it 3 times

Do you hear the people sing

-to tHE STREETS

- the visuals are so pretty

-grant is holding Gavroches hand the whole time when they were in the back

-The one barricade boy who sings on top of the set that gets spinned around sounded really good

-enj wrapped his arm around grants shoulder for a few seconds during that

- when they start walking again Enj is either holding a gun or a flag I don't remember

-but grant and Gavroche are in the front following now

-during this ep and marius run out on stage, they talk, marius looks very concerned. Then he runs off only to come back 2 seconds later because he's confused and then ep drags him off

In my life

-God I love the lighting and THE SETS AGAIN

- Cosette runs in giggling

-"can people Reaaaallly fall in love this fast?" It sounds like she was asking the audience

- Addie has got to have the poofiest dresses for Cosette I've ever seen

-her dress is also more off the shoulder than how it usually is

- I love how it's more of Cosette just rambling

-Jean comes in through the gate then locks it again

-during one of her lines he booped her nose

- "in your eyes I am just like a child who is lost in the woods" for some reason I had thought the line was "I am still like a child" but I was wrong

-you can hear ep dragging marius again, they sound like a stampede, they hide behind the pillars that hold the gate

-after Jean and cosette go in marius runs out to the other side of the stage singing per usual

- "eponiNE your the friend who has brought me here :DD" they then hugged, lifted her up, and spin a little bit during that line which was cute cuz besties

- watching marius try to climb the gate-

- while singing 'there is someone who touches my life' he was sitting on top of the fence gate thing for dear life

-you could see Cosette's shadow in the window which was a little sus

-marius then gets down, grabs a rock and yeets it at her window

A heart full of love

-cosette opens the door and stands there like bro what are you doing here

-marius's voice cracked, Cosette went like 😟😃😀 and then went back in the house SLAMMING THE DOOR SHUT LOUDLY

- marius started having his crisis then when walked to the bottom door, Cosette came out at the same time almost running into him

- I think this is one of the cutest HFOL I have ever seen, they really did act in love unlike some other actors where it seems very forced

-once eponine comes out the lights get a bit dimmer on Cosette and marius

-ep looks over as they kissed

- both of them giggle and cosette pulls him off stage, making him nearly trip

The attack on rue plumet

-ep was blocking the main door most of the time

- Thénardier was holding onto Cosette's balcony railing, trying to get up there while saying his lines

- her threatening them was so girlypop

- the sound of marius running alone could scare the gang away (no I'm not gonna stop bringing this up)

-Cosette was very gentle helping eponine up

-they locked the gate on Cosette per normal

-again nick becoming a father irl really showed again

- Cosette was frantically looking around while making up the lie

- "Cosette my child what will become of you,,," sounded really dark or sad, I don't know how to describe it

-when Jean is going on his rant Cosette and marius now talk by the fence not the gate

One day more

-one slay more, another day another Yass queen

- ep on the right stage of the side by marius I think that's how it's always been tho

-Enj has the brightest spotlight, he does the whole show

-lowkey thought someone was gonna run into javert on accident

-THE BARRICADE PEOPLE WEAVING WHILE MARCHING WAS SO COOL

-jean now had a limp when he walked back on stage

-the way they sound at the end, chills

[serafimo]

on the docket to make (in no particular order):

colleen rose curran appreciation gifset

jon robyns phantom hands

maiya hikasa as meg giry

holly-anne hull's last show gifset(s) still crazy that i commissioned the vid tbfh...

katie hall as fantine

haley dortch as fantine

lulu-mae pears as cosette

nathania ong as eponine

ruby church as eponine

les miserables 10th anniversary concert

les miserables 25th anniversary concert

les miserables 2019 concert

aimee lou wood as sally bowles

grace hodgett-young as eurydice and all of uk hadestown tbfh

isa briones as eurydice and jfish!

aaron tveit as sweeney todd

josh and annaleigh's last show

maria bilbao appreciation gifset

jojo levesque as satine appreciation gifset

solea pfeiffer in hamlet

phillippa soo in camelot

elizabeth teeter in beetlejuice

isabella esler in beetlejuice

love never dies 2023 concert

frozen west end and na tour

[bobcatmoran]

Just got back from seeing Les Mis for the…4th? Yeah, 4th time. Twice the last time the national tour rolled through the Midwest (once in Madison, once in Minneapolis), and once when it was in previews the last time it was on Broadway.

Quite different this time, since I was not up in the balcony, but instead waaaaaay up front, waaaaaay to the side. I could've thrown something onto the percussionist in the pit easily (though, of course, I would never, because that would be an incredibly jerk thing to do)

More under the cut to spare everyone's dashes.

First of all, Nick Cartell as Valjean was freaking amazing. What a voice. Like, he did definitely hold out the last two notes of "Bring Him Home" almost uncomfortably long, but it was a flex he could absolutely pull off. His Valjean was actually someone you could buy as a "dangerous man" pre-Bishop (though during the scene where he helped out with the harvest, one of the women gave him a very appraising up-and-down look and then ran over to her friends, where they were clearly checking him out). Probably one of the more violent stage Valjeans I've seen overall, though he also very clearly cared for Cosette (both in tiny and grown-up editions) and when he told Éponine to take care after she'd delivered Marius' letter, it was with a fatherly-type air.

Second of all, kudos for whoever came up with the, "In 1832, very few people had cameras or cell phones. Therefore, we ask that you put them away for this performance," announcement.

Haley Dortch was the first Black Fantine I've seen since watching Les Mis Dallas, and she was also really good. Just an absolutely heartwrenching "I Dreamed a Dream." Unfortunately, my below-stage seating angle meant that the foot of her bed perfectly blocked her face for most of "Come to Me," but vocally it was amazing. I did notice how her post-haircut wig(?) still had the hair along the temples pulled back, which might be because otherwise, that hair type with a shoulder-length bob would just be a chaotic poof, possibly getting in the actress' face.

Bamatabois was played by Ben Cherington, the understudy, for this performance, and I credit that with him being the least weirdly swishy Bamatabois I've ever seen live. This guy was a rich asshole, but his threat came from his willingness to use violence (he raised his cane threateningly multiple times) and the fact that he knew the police would be on his side. He wasn't, like, foppish, and that helped give his character a weight that he doesn't usually have in recent productions.

I noticed that overall, this production did less of what I've noticed with a lot of more recent performances, where you'll get people ACTING to the point where the rhythm of the songs is lost. This cast generally didn't do that, except for chunks of "Lovely Ladies" and "Master of the House," which incidentally are the two songs that have been drifting towards becoming "comedic" over the years. (I have Opinions about that trend)

Little Cosette (Olivia I. Lu) for this performance was an understudy, and unfortunately, it was kind of obvious that she was. Just. Not a great singer. Very cute, though. Did a great bit where she just ragdolled when Thenardier picked her up.

Little Éponine (Cora Jane Messer) got in some good bits during her 15 seconds of stage time, pulling faces at Cosette and then snapping to being a sweet, innocent darling while her mom sang about what a delightful girl she was…and then sticking her tongue out at Cosette again.

I was kind of surprised at how Mme Thénardier was the biggest ham in "Master of the House," but then I figured out during intermission that M Thénardier was played by an understudy, which might explain why he was relatively subdued. But only relatively. Still played the character completely for laughs, zero menace.

Honestly, I spent most of "Master of the House" tracking a couple of guys — who I'm pretty sure were played by Joly and Lesgles' actors (Les Amis were surprisingly multicultural, which helped a lot in telling them apart) — who came into the inn together and were doing a bit about, "Why did we come here, this place is sketchy," on the corner of the stage nearest to where I was sitting.

Hayden Tee was Javert for this performance — apparently a recent cast addition since his bio was a loose page in the program despite being listed as Javert for December 6–11…and also today, I guess. Vocally, I loved his performance. Unfortunately, his body language struck me as weirdly fruity for the character, and I think it might've been because he would very precisely walk putting one foot directly in front of the other, which does things to your hips while you walk that definitely read a certain way. He also did this amazing snappy little twirl with his police baton before tucking it under his arm. Like, he had the very stiff, stick-up-your-butt, razor-sharp precision that works for a certain Javert interpretation, but it was undermined by a lot of other body language elements.

I also, thanks to my seating position, could see the robot(?) (that's what some folks who were sitting next to me called it) that stealthily comes up behind Javert during his final scene on the bridge and hooks onto him for the "jump." If you were watching it, you could catch the moment it actually hooked onto him, because he had a little hiccup in his singing.

Devin Archer was Enjolras, and he had this intensity to his performance where you could absolutely buy that this guy was suffused with revolutionary fervor. It was almost enough to distract from the truly terrible blond wig he was wearing. At least, I'm hoping that's a wig, otherwise he has done a great injustice to his actual hair.

Grantaire was also an understudy for this performance, played by Daniel Gerard Bittner, who's usually Feuilly and is also the understudy for Enjolras, Bamatabois, and Grantaire, which is quite the range. I wouldn't have had any idea he was an understudy. The fact that Grantaire was the last to die on the barricade, after climbing up, weaponless, to the top of it was a big oof.

Feuilly, for the record, was played by Christopher Robin Sapp, a swing, and again, I'd have had no idea if I hadn't taken a photo of the standee in the lobby with tonight's cast and cross-referenced it with my program. He nailed that one shining moment that Feuilly gets, where he's like, "THE BLOOD OF THE MARTYRS WILL WATER THE MEADOWS OF FRANCE!"

I kind of loved how David Young, who played Prouvaire, and is Black, had a hairstyle that looked almost exactly like some contemporary illustrations I've seen of young Alexandre Dumas. Very vertical in its poofiness.

Harrison Fox, who played Gavroche for this performance, was the tiniest Gavroche I've ever seen. Even when he climbed up on a table to announce, "General Lamarque is dead," he was barely taller than the members of Les Amis. Nothing to write home about, acting-wise, but. so tiny.

Gregory Lee Rodriguez and Addie Morales as Marius and Cosette, respectively, were perfectly adorkable. There was some great body language in "A Heart Full of Love" where Cosette was the one taking initiative, which I really liked. Their body language while reading Valjean's final message at the start of the "Do You Hear the People Sing" reprise was also just so good. Cosette, absolutely heartbrokena and overwhelmed, and Marius supporting her, which was a perfect mirror of how Cosette had supported a grieving Marius during "Every Day." Also, yay for Black!Marius and Brunette!Cosette!

Grownup!Éponine was played by Christine Heesun Hwang, who's actually from the local area. She was very solid, definitely played up the musical character's very sassy, independent nature, and had a few bits with Montparnasse threatening her and her being like, "a knife? Is that the best you got?"

I definitely noticed, especially during the "Waltz of Treachery" that the Thenardiers seemed like they were coming from a completely different play than Valjean and Little Cosette. The "comedy" drift of those characters has been that bad, which I feel does a disservice to the story. For Cosette's situation to really hit home, it needs to feel like she's in an actually terrible situation, not a slapstick comedy.

Other people have noted this recent lyrics change, but the "Beggars at the Feast" lyric switch from "This one's a queer/but what can you do" to "This one's a queer/I might try it too" both undermines Thenardier being an asshole (the line directly before it, "This one's a Jew" has stayed intact, and works better in terms of "oh hey, this guy's just a prejudiced jerk") and, especially with the choreography I saw, where Thenardier pulls the "queer" from his (female) dance partner to twirl and dip him, actually makes it look like being "queer" is something Thenardier is on the side of. And he's a TERRIBLE character. No one is supposed to want to be like Thenardier, but here they are, saying Queers are something he enjoys and supports. Ick ick ick. Last time I saw the musical, they didn't have this lyrics change, and I don't like it.

Overall, a really solid performance. I'm sure there's some folks out there who disagree with "race-blind" casting going, "How did a Black woman give birth to an Asian kid who grew up into a white lady?" And honestly, I'd love to see a cast someday with a POC Cosette and a white Éponine, since it's always the other way around.

But on average, this was probably one of the strongest casts I've seen, and they absolutely deserved that standing ovation that they got.