Gammage Goers
A panel of ASU Gammage theatregoers shares their opinions throughout the season.
Les Miserables
June 7 - 12, 2011
Video Reviews
More Reviews
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Gammage Goer Sarah's review of Les Miserables
Les Mis has always been one of my favorite shows since I started theatre. The music, plot, and the characters always fascinated me. So, when I went to see the show, I had really high expectations. Of course they were reached! I absolutely loved the show.
Jean Valjean was god like in his performance. He was like a high tenor from heaven and graced the Gammage stage with his powerful voice. And of course I LOVED the rest of the cast as well, especially Javert, Marius, and Enjolras (He had the coolest hair EVER! That’s another reason to go see this show).
The music is beloved by so many theatre lovers, so if you appreciate a good score, go see it! The technical aspects of the show were simply stunning! When Jean Valjean was helping Marius through the sewer tunnels, the stage scrim showed them “traveling” through different tunnels by projecting different images on it, It was such a cool sight to see!
My only criticism for the experience of watching the show was that the sound system was not so great. The actors microphones would be off sometimes when they would sing. It was frustrating because we missed some plot points and singing that should have been heard.
The other thing is, if you are thinking of seeing this show do not bring little children if you are a parent. The show is 3 and a half hours long and the little ones would not be able to sit through that. Plus, some of the themes are dark and might not be suitable for little children, And be warned, the show has strobe lights, smoke, and gunshots, so I would say get a babysitter for the younger kids the night you go. I think this show is for ages 12 and up, unless you have a child who is a huge fan of it and is younger than that. But, I loved the entire show and I would definitely recommend it to anyone. It is a fantastic story, set with fabulous music, an amazing set, and some really talented performers giving their all into the show!
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Gammage Goer David's Review of
Les Misérables
June 7, 2011 7:30pmLast night’s performance of the award winning musical Les Misérables pulled off the amazing feat of both doing justice to the novel on which its based and living up to its lofty reputation. Based on the 19th century Victor Hugo novel of the same name (which admittedly I’ve yet to read), Les Misérables is a very involved story that mostly follows the life of Jean Valjean, basically a good man trying his best to survive through the ups and downs of tough times and situations. His story is intertwined with that of several others (as you would expect in a 1,400 page text) over a period of nearly 20 years. With the length of time covered and the many subplots that make up the story (which is considered to be the best example of French literature for the period), you would expect it to be difficult to express in a single musical production. Les Misérables proves these misconceptions to be wrong in being able to tell the story in a way in which the storylines and characters are all understood.
The Broadway production is centered on a few main characters played marvelously by this traveling cast. The lead character of Jean Valjean was played wonderfully as the emotions of the story’s events were expressed and passed through to the audience by J. Mark McVey, whose talents are at or near the top of what we’ve seen at Gammage this season. Mr. McVey’s vocal talents even served as a show stopper at one point with a midscene standing ovation reminiscent of the boys from Kaper Inc. Not to be outdone, the characters of Cosette, Éponine and Marius also showed great talent in vocals and performance. For myself, I was blown away by the actors that portrayed Jean and Éponine, but it was clear by the audience’s reactions that these were not the only top performers. The entire cast was great from lead to ensemble and the overall performance was top notch and in my humble opinion, probably the best of what has been a wonderful season.
In addition to wonderful performances by the cast, I would be remiss in not pointing out the crew that designed, put together and staged the show. Stage, lighting, sound effects and transitions were nearly flawless and did more than just accentuate the production. This portion of the show was one of the best I’ve ever experienced. As we’ve come to expect, the orchestra played wonderfully and unobtrusively helped to set the mood for the on stage action. Together with the cast, these professionals helped immensely in making the show a great experience.
Overall, I was blown away by the musical Les Misérables and would recommend it to anyone and everyone looking to experience Broadway here in the Valley of the Sun. Once again Gammage has come through with obtaining a top quality production and finishes its season leaving me with a great deal of anticipation for the upcoming season’s shows. Thank you Gammage!
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