Monday, March 16, 2015

Les Miserables (Take 2)

I have to preface this post by saying that yes, there are a million and one other shows I should've/could've seen this weekend. But instead I chose to see Les Miserables... again. Why? Because as over-hyped and totally over-commercialized as it is, it still does something to me, makes me feel something. 

My cousin once said that she is happy to buy a cheap ticket to Phantom of the Opera just so she can sit in the back, close her eyes, and listen to the music. At this point that's how I feel about Les Mis. And it was especially true this time because I was sitting in the very last row of the balcony. 

Now aside from all the mushy-gushy lovey-dovey feelings about why I chose to see this production again, there was actually a legitimate reason. The cast recently changed over and I was curious to see how the newbies stacked up. Eponine, Fantine, Marius, Thenardier & wife, and Enjolras were all new. 

Marius: How could you not want to experience Chris McCarrell? He's positively adorable. His voice is stronger than Andy Mientus', but the character choices were pretty much the same, and definitely in keeping with the incredibly awkward feel Eddie Redmayne brought to the part in the movie. 

Eponine: As much as I love Nikki M. James, her voice never fit the character of Eponine for me. Brennyn Lark, making her Broadway debut, sang beautifully. Other than that there's nothing all that inventive or interesting about her Eponine, but she was great.

Fantine: Another Broadway debut -- Erika Henningsen was great. Like Brennyn, she didn't bring anything new to the part, but her voice was lovely.

Thenardier: So, I saw Gavin Lee at the Goodspeed in Holiday Inn a few months ago and thought he was amazing. I mean, he's so light on his feet for such a tall guy. How can you not be impressed by the way he moves?! I'll admit him being cast at Thenardier was a deciding factor in seeing this production again. Gavin did not disappoint. He brought so much to the character and it was obvious they did a bit of re-staging to showcase Gavin's talent. I don't remember Thenardier ever dancing around quite as much. He was just fantastic, bringing life to a part I never much cared about. 

Madame Thenardier: I literally have nothing to say about the re-cast of this role because there was nothing interesting or special about Rachel Izen. She was great, just didn't bring anything new to the role.

And now... for the biggest, most important moment of this entire post... DRUMROLL PLEASE...

We all know how I feel about Enjolras. He is my home boy. I would marry him if he weren't a fictional character... or dead. I want everyone to take a minute and re-read (or read for the first time) how I felt about Enjolras last year when I saw this production:
  • Kyle Scatliffe as Enjolras. Okay, Enjolras is and has always been my favorite character in this show. I've always been fascinated by him and I always have high hopes for Enjolras when I see the show. This was the absolute worst casting decision I have ever seen on a Broadway stage before. Scatliffe acted like Marius' father, scolding him when he was late to the meeting, treating him like a baby. There was no friendship there AT ALL. The relationship between Enjolras and Marius is one of love, not romantic but brotherly and admiration and absolute love. Marius makes an incredible choice to "join [his] brothers there" rather than run after Cosette. In this production there was no chemistry. In fact, I don't know when I've ever seen such a freaking lack of chemistry between two characters before in my life. Like I can't even express how saddened and angry this made me. Enjolras is supposed to be a strong man, who is really still a child, fighting for a cause that he believes in so strongly that he's willing to sacrifice his life. From Scatliffe, all I got was an egotistical douchebag who didn't care about anyone else but himself. He was dragging everyone else down with him because of how badly he wanted to win, not giving a second thought about the "friends" that might die. Scatliffe and Mientus just didn't connect at all, and it was disappointing because I truly think that relationship is one of the most important in the entire show. Enjolras' death is the most iconic death in the show, the way it is traditionally staged with the barricade turning and we see him hanging by his foot with the flag draped over him. I felt nothing but "thank goodness" when Enjolras died here, and boy if that didn't make me furious.
"This was the absolute worst casting decision I have ever seen on a Broadway stage before..." Pretty intense, right? I truly want to believe that Kyle Scatliffe grew into the role in the months after I saw him. It was still previews, after all. Maybe he was just finding his footing. He's clearly not a bad performer, I just think this wasn't the role for him - or at least not playing alongside Mientus. Maybe I would feel differently now if Scatliffe was playing alongside Chris McCarrell. 

Anyway, back to the present. Wallace Smith is the new Enjolras. I'm pretty sure Wallace is the one actor I've seen on Broadway the most times - twice in American Idiot, twice in Godspell, once in Rocky, and potentially once in Hair (I can't remember if I actually saw him as the replacement for Hud or not). So naturally, when Wallace's name was announced, I was excited. His voice is just one of those voices that sticks with you, makes your soul break because you wish you could wrap his voice up in a blanket and sleep with it for the rest of your life. 

Wallace did not disappoint. Now the one thing I can say is that this production of Les Mis just doesn't do justice to Enjolras as a character. I'm not sure why I felt such a strong connection to the character when I saw the show in London all those times, but there was something else there. Even though I loved Wallace Smith's Enjolras, I didn't get the feels like I did in London. So last year it wasn't ALL Kyle Scatliffe, it was the production's take on Enjolras. But, Wallace as Enjolras matched Chris as Marius ten million times better than Kyle and Andy. And man, I just can't with Wallace's voice. Those moments when he comes out of nowhere with high notes and you just want to sob because you know he's going to die. Ugh. Gets me right in the feels. 

Obviously, even Wallace can't save the lack of epic Enjolras death, but I felt a heck of a lot more when he was in the wagon than I did last year with Kyle. 

So, I saw Les Miserables again. It was fun, and intense, and beautiful, and everything I ever want this show to be. I didn't walk out of there with my mind blown - although I'm so happy I got to hear Ramin sing "Bring Him Home" again. I'll forever be in love with this show no matter how overrated it becomes. And, like always, I'm interested to see how much longer it lasts this time around. 

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