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hermes-whistle · 2 years ago

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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

#les miserables #les mis #Les miserables us tour #nick cartell #hayden tee #Haley Dortch #Matt Crowle #Christina rose hall #harrison fox #Devin archer #Kyle adams #Gregory Lee Rodriguez #addie morales #Christine Heesun Hwang

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enjolrasling · 9 months ago

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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.

#les miserables #les mis #les mis tour #review #rambles #text post #kyle adams #nick cartell #devin archer

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