Les Meserables is touring the USA! :))

 

Les Miserables is one of my most favorite books I've ever read by Victor Hugo. Naturally, as a theater kid- we are truly a special sort- I always had my nose crammed in a book. The book was fashioned into a Broadway production that grows in popularity each and every year. Les Miserables the Broadway musical follows the storyline of the book quite acurately and also speaks a wonderous tale of conviction, freedom, hardworking people and their claim for a better lifestyle. Luckily for me, living in New York, I'm able to see a variety of the amazing shows put on by Broadway including Les Miserables. Now I saw the musical in New York last winter, but I was so thrilled after the announcement of the production's US tour that I couldn't resist posting my personal review about the show along with another's. 

http://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/reviews/lesmiserables06.htm - This is a relavent review of the performance in New York. I know that the US tour of Les Miserables will differ from the New York production just a tad bit, simply because the New York showing is the motherland of the production in the first place. I mean, come on, you've got to understand this. Anyway Barbara Mehlman, the author of this fabulous review, mentions a few key pointers I just can't help but agree with: 

"After an absence of 19 years, there's a new and reduced 'Les Miserables' on Broadway, and though the story still has the power of Victor Hugo's original novel, its new size is sort of like watching 'Lawrence of Arabia' on your iPod. The characters are the same, the scenery's the same, and the dialogue's the same, but the grandeur is missing." Unfortunately this is an acurate opinion (if there is such a thing, really) for the simple reason I believe the musical lay dormant for so long. Unfortunately Broadway's efforts in matching their production to the real set of Victor Hugo's Les Miserables just didn't cut it when they used Daphne Rubin-Vega as Fantine. Sorry to say this, but the audience really feels a character when they look the way they're illustrated in the original novel- she just wasn't waif enough I guess. 

"I appreciate their commitment to a multi-cultural cast." And this is true, the New York Broadway production really pulled all kinds of strings to make this production the most colorful you've ever seen when it came to their selection in actors and actresses. I was thrilled for the show I witnessed, for they really worked hard at accomplishing the impossible in the most beautiful of ways- creating a cast as colorful as a bag of skittles. 

Mehlman also includes a nice listing of what the critics said, so as our mutual opinions aren't so biased. 

Here's the link to the Les Meserables US tour: http://www.lesmis.com/home_usa.php

And las but not least, check out awesome tickets from ClickTicket- I swear they have THE BEST ticket prices I've ever seen: http://clickticket.com/performer/les-miserables-tickets

Okay, until next time!

Amy <3