Archive for Musicals.Net Musicals.Net
 


       Musicals.Net Forums -> Les Miserables
Moci

Les Mis FAQ

The Les Mis FAQ

So what is the musical about?
It’s based on the novel, ‘Les Misérables’ by the French writer, Victor Hugo.
Orestes Fasting wrote:

In brief: Jean Valjean is a redeemed ex-convict being hunted by Inspector Javert, a rather black-and-white type who doesn't believe criminals can be redeemed. Other dramatis personae include Fantine, an unwed mother who loses her job over her illegitimate child and is eventually reduced to prostitution; Cosette, aforementioned illegitimate child, confided into the care of a pair of innkeepers who beat her and use her as a slave; the Thénardiers, the innkeepers, both scoundrels; Marius, a young student who ends up falling in love with Cosette after she grows up; Eponine, the Thénardiers' daughter, who has an unrequited crush on Marius; Gavroche, [a street urchin; Enjolras, a revolutionary leader; and assorted whores, beggars, townsfolk, students, etc.

Setting is in assorted towns of post-revolutionary France after it had fallen back into another faceless regime. Starting with the song "Look Down," the end of Act I and the beginning of Act II take place in Paris after a ten-year time jump.

For a more detailed synopsis, try the one on the official Les Mis website, or Wikipedia

Where can I see ‘Les Misérables’ on stage?
At the moment, the original London production of ‘Les Mis’ is playing at the Queens Theatre in the West End. See the official website for more details. There are also some regional productions in the US and Australia and the Schools Edition, which is pretty much everywhere. Upcoming productions include the Netherlands, China and possibly Australia.

So 'Les Mis' isn't playing on Broadway?
No, the Broadway revival closed on January 6th 2008.

Which cast recording should I buy?
There are four major English language recordings of ‘Les Mis’ to choose from (the Original London Cast Recording [OLC], the Original Broadway Cast Recording [OBC], the Complete Symphonic Recording [CSR] and the Tenth Anniversary Concert [TAC]) and these are discussed in this thread. There are also many foreign language recordings, some of which are discussed here.

Has ‘Les Misérables’ been made into a film or the stage production released onto DVD?
No and no. Many film and television adaptations of the original novel have been made, but none of them are the musical version. The original stage production hasn’t been filmed, but a concert version has been. This concert version was staged at the Royal Albert Hall, London in 1995 for the tenth anniversary of the West End premiere and has since been released onto video and DVD. Unfortunately, the Region 1 DVD seems to be out of print at the moment, but it is still available in Region 2 from www.amazon.co.uk, amongst other places and can be viewed by those outside Europe with a multi-region DVD player

So how do I pronounce..?
There’s a useful guide on the official ‘Les Mis’ website which should help.

My school is performing ‘Les Misérables: Schools Edition’, what cuts are made?
It’s worth having a read of This thread where the cuts are displayed and discussed indepth, but slightly more briefly, this is what is missing from the complete score (some, but not all of these cuts are also in the professional version and have been performed in London and on Broadway, since 1997)
- There are significant cuts in the Prologue (Valjean’s exchanges with the Innkeeper and his wife).
- A section of ‘What Have I Done’ (a.k.a. ‘Valjean’s Soliloquy’) is missing.
- Part of ‘Lovely Ladies’ is cut, including the part where Fantine sells her necklace.
- The exchange between Fantine and Bamatabois after she has attacked him, but before Javert arrives is gone in ‘Fantine’s Arrest’
- Valjean’s end note in ‘Who Am I’ is lowered.
- Part of the Chorus part in ‘The Runaway Cart’ is missing, as are some of Valjean and Javert’s lines just before ‘Who Am I?’.
- The counterpoint section of ‘The Confrontation’ is gone.
- The second verse of ‘Castle on a Cloud’ has been removed, as have Young Cosette’s lines before the entrance of Madam Thénardier.
- The Drinker’s section before Thénardier begins ‘Master of the House’ has been cut.
- The ‘Well Scene’, which was added in 1997 isn’t present.
- The exchange between Valjean and the Thénardiers before ‘The Waltz of Treachery’ is gone, as are Valjean and Young Cosette’s lines after.
- The Prostitues/Pimp part of ‘Look Down’ is gone.
- The first section of ‘Stars’ has been cut, so it begins with ‘Stars, in your multitudes’.
- Sections of ‘The ABC Cafe/Red and Black’ are cut.
- ‘The Attack on Rue Plumet’ has been trimmed.
- The students’ (that aren’t Enjolras or Marius) parts have been cut in ‘Upon These Stones/At the Barricade’)
- ‘Building the Barricade’ is gone.
- A section of ‘Javerts Arrival’ has been removed.
- The lines between Enjolras dealing with Javert after ‘Little People’ and Eponine’s arrival at the barricade are cut.
- Verses are gone from ‘A Little Fall of Rain’.
- The students’ (except Enjolras) lines after the ‘First Attack’ are missing as are some of Javert’s lines as Valjean frees him.
- ‘Dawn of Anguish’ is cut.
- Parts of ‘Dog Eat Dog’ are cut and some is rearranged.
- A section of ‘Turning’ is gone.
- Some lines of ‘Every Day’ are cut.
- ‘Wedding Chorale’ is cut as is some of the exchange between Marius and Thénardier at the wedding.
- The “Prince/Jew/Queer” lines of ‘Beggars at the Feast’ is gone.
- Valjean’s solo is shortened in the Epilogue.

I’m auditioning for... Can you recommend a song for me?
If you want any specific information on a character, what songs they sing and so on, then somebody on this forum should be happy to help you, but if it’s help with a song choice, or a monologue that you need for your audition,there is a forum on Musicals.net which is dedicated to advising and helping with auditions and you’ll probably have far more luck posting there.

Who is better as Eponine? Lea Salonga or Frances Ruffelle?
Several topics have been discussed far too much on the forum and anyone initiating a debate on them is likely to have somebody jumping down their throat. Lea Salonga vs. Frances Ruffelle is one of these topics. Other subjects which should probably be avoided for the sake of peace and sanity are:
- Dream Casts of ‘Les Mis’.
- Anthony Warlow’s Enjolras vs Michael Maguire’s Enjolras.
- Favourite recordings of ‘Les Mis.’
- Casting a ‘Les Mis’ Movie.
- Cosette vs Eponine.
- British accents in the show.
- Favourite songs.
However, if you are overcome by an overwhelming desire to post your own answers to the above question, we have a thread where your thoughts (serious, or not) on the subjects are welcome.
Its also worth checking the forum to see if what you’re about to post has been discussed already. It’s easy to do this as Musicals.net has a search feature, found at the top of the page. Just type in what you’re looking for and select the ‘Les Miserables’ forum.

OMG!!!1! i am so lyke in lurve wiv dis guy bt he doesnt lurve me i am so lyke totally eponiine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good spelling and grammar really are appreciated on the board as they make sure that you can be understood. This doesn’t mean that you have to become stressed about having all of your semicolons in the right place, but capital letters, full stops, the ability to spell Enjolras and in fact, as few misspellings as possible make things easier for all.





Hopefully this might relieve some of the repeat topics that have been happening. If anyone wants to add anything, or notices some inaccuracies that need changing, feel free. Very Happy

Updated 13/2/08 to mention the closing of the Broadway revival.
herkind

Wow. It was nice of you to type all of this up. *gives cookie* This should really be a sticky...
Sweeney Hyde

I agree! This would make an excellent sticky!
Orestes Fasting

Great work. Very Happy Thanks for taking the time to compile this.
The Very Angry Woman

More useful links:
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/lesmis/
http://www.josef-weinberger.com/weinberger/lesmizframes.html
http://lesmis.cafemusain.com/faq.html (outdated but fun)
luckystar_30

Thanks, thats pretty helpful. I just bought tickets for the broadway revival for mid December. I've never seen it and don't know much about the show. I know the basic story line and have heard the cast recording a few times, but, other than that, thats it.
EponinesRain

Wow, how long did this take you? Thank you so much for doing this, Moci. I'm very impressed and will be referring to this often. Smile Awesome job. Thank you to our very own linking-whore, TVAW, for the supplements, too! You know I mean that in the good sense! Wink
Fantine

We've tried stickying this before if I recall correctly...
LesMisForever

Yes, Moci put up even a better one in the past.

Now, i think this has some very useful stuff, but there is something i categorically disagree with. The issue of frequently discussed topics.

While Moci is right in giving a warning, i think people who start a topic that has been discussed shouldn't be attcked, because it is against the very core, and spirit of this forum.

Just try and put yourself in their shoes. Try and remember when YOU first saw Les Miserables and were desperate to talk about it. Why denying other people something that you enjoyed? This is very unfair.

If there are enough people who want to discuss who was the better Eponine/Enjolras, i say good luck to them. I probably won't join, but let them enjoy the ride.

And so what if some teenage girl thinks she is like Eponine? Giving her the same answer that "You are not living in the street blah blah blah" is becoming just as boring as the statment itself.

If you don't like the topic, leave it alone.

At the end of the day, the purpose of this place is to talk about Les Miserables, and it seems absurd to me to attack people for doing that.
The Very Angry Woman

LesMisForever wrote:
While Moci is right in giving a warning, i think people who start a topic that has been discussed shouldn't be attcked, because it is against the very core, and spirit of this forum.


Well, yeah. But again, Moci's FAQ is not advocating attacking anybody. However, it is WARNING the newbies that this may happen to them. There's a big difference.

I also think there should be some expectation that a newbie at least takes some time to check what's been discussed before starting one themselves, and if they don't it's a free-for-all -- or maybe I should lower my standards.

Quote:
Try and remember when YOU first saw Les Miserables and were desperate to talk about it.


It was 1995 and I didn't have regular internet access. I have no sympathy.
Jordan

The Very Angry Woman wrote:
Quote:
Try and remember when YOU first saw Les Miserables and were desperate to talk about it.


It was 1995 and I didn't have regular internet access. I have no sympathy.

Ouch. Bandaid please?
LesMisForever

The Very Angry Woman wrote:
LesMisForever wrote:
While Moci is right in giving a warning, i think people who start a topic that has been discussed shouldn't be attcked, because it is against the very core, and spirit of this forum.


Well, yeah. But again, Moci's FAQ is not advocating attacking anybody. However, it is WARNING the newbies that this may happen to them. There's a big difference.

I also think there should be some expectation that a newbie at least takes some time to check what's been discussed before starting one themselves, and if they don't it's a free-for-all -- or maybe I should lower my standards.

Quote:
Try and remember when YOU first saw Les Miserables and were desperate to talk about it.


It was 1995 and I didn't have regular internet access. I have no sympathy.


Regarding the 1st point, i WASN't criticizing Moci, and i am sorry if it came across that way.
I just thought it is a good opportunity to express my opinion about certain phenomen.
I respect your opinion, and it has some validity, but ultimately i beg to disagree.

Second point: hahahaha (....and you are still angry about it? Razz )
Quique

LesMisForever wrote:
Yes, Moci put up even a better one in the past.

Now, i think this has some very useful stuff, but there is something i categorically disagree with. The issue of frequently discussed topics.

While Moci is right in giving a warning, i think people who start a topic that has been discussed shouldn't be attcked, because it is against the very core, and spirit of this forum.

Just try and put yourself in their shoes. Try and remember when YOU first saw Les Miserables and were desperate to talk about it. Why denying other people something that you enjoyed? This is very unfair.

If there are enough people who want to discuss who was the better Eponine/Enjolras, i say good luck to them. I probably won't join, but let them enjoy the ride.

And so what if some teenage girl thinks she is like Eponine? Giving her the same answer that "You are not living in the street blah blah blah" is becoming just as boring as the statment itself.

If you don't like the topic, leave it alone.

At the end of the day, the purpose of this place is to talk about Les Miserables, and it seems absurd to me to attack people for doing that.


Wholeheartedly agree with every point you made.
Moci

LesMisForever wrote:
Yes, Moci put up even a better one in the past.

Yes, I rather stupidly seem to have misplaced the disc that I'd saved it on and it was deleted from the forum when it was pruned. I tried to include everything that I could remember being important, although some things were now pretty unnecessary (I seem to remember that a chunk of it helped with dates for the 3NT and that there was a question asking "Is 'Les Mis' going to be back on Broadway soon?", to which I'd replied saying that it was unlikely and give it ten years or so!).

LesMisForever wrote:

While Moci is right in giving a warning, i think people who start a topic that has been discussed shouldn't be attcked, because it is against the very core, and spirit of this forum.

Just try and put yourself in their shoes. Try and remember when YOU first saw Les Miserables and were desperate to talk about it. Why denying other people something that you enjoyed? This is very unfair.

If there are enough people who want to discuss who was the better Eponine/Enjolras, i say good luck to them. I probably won't join, but let them enjoy the ride.

And so what if some teenage girl thinks she is like Eponine? Giving her the same answer that "You are not living in the street blah blah blah" is becoming just as boring as the statment itself.

If you don't like the topic, leave it alone.

At the end of the day, the purpose of this place is to talk about Les Miserables, and it seems absurd to me to attack people for doing that.


I have to admit, the repeating of topics is one of the reasons why I re-wrote the FAQ. You are right that it's not particularly correct to yell at people for starting a topic and I wouldn't set out to condone it, but it happens and is going to continue happening and avoiding these areas of confrontation by not starting the topics in the first place, to me seems like a fair solution. I completely agree with your statement of "If you don't like the topic, leave it alone", but thinking back to when I was 13 or so and first started posting on messageboards, at first one of the things that I was most interested in was other people's responses to threads which I'd started. Whilst I would never presume that anybody else was the same as I was, I always think that it's nice and welcoming to post on a thread that a 'newbie' starts, yet I have absolutely no intention of posting my thoughts on my favourite song in 'Les Mis' for the considerable future. The topics mentioned above though are naturally ones which people understandably want to post their thoughts on when first entering the fandom, which is why in the FAQ I've included a link to the 'Dead Horse' thread. Although it was probably started by OF as a place for taking the mickey out of the oft-posted questions, it does seem to me to be as good a place as any for people to post their thoughts, without expecting too many responses, as you might to a nice, shiny new thread. That was, we can all hopefully ignore it better contained in one thread, whilst still having the ability for those who we are welcoming to the forum to post their thoughts and if any particularly interesting ideas are brought up, then they can be replied to. For example, if anybody posted that their favourite song was 'Turning' or that Hal Fowler in 'Hey Mr. Producer' was a considerably better Enjolras than Warlow and Maguire put together, I'd be most interested in discussing it with them and finding out why and would be perfectly happy to return to a thread that I'd normally not reply to.

I don't know if anyone will consider this a satisfactory response, but I felt that I should try to justify my reasoning for placing what I did into the FAQ. Very Happy
soph-les-mis

OK sorry, I know I'm not part of your discussion, but I just read Les Mis FAQ and wondered something about the show I thought maybe you "veterans" can answere.. Smile

What cast was actually part of the Tenth Anniversary Concert, where did they sing ten years ago? I started to wonder, because when I saw the show at the Queen's two weeks ago (this very evening Wink ) i got this big brochure that had a list of the persons who were part of the Original Cast, 21st Anniversary etc, but only a few of those in the 10th Ann. Concert stood there...? Like Philip Quast for example, in what show has he been Javert before? Question

I'm confused! Razz
Moci

soph-les-mis wrote:
OK sorry, I know I'm not part of your discussion, but I just read Les Mis FAQ and wondered something about the show and thought maybe you "veterans" can answere..

No need to be sorry and feel welcome to join in any discussions that you'd like to. Very Happy

soph-les-mis wrote:

What cast was actually part of the Tenth Anniversary Concert, where did they sing ten years ago? I started to wonder, because when I saw the show at the Queen's two weeks ago (this very evening Wink ) i got this big brochure that had a list of the persons who were part of the Original Cast, 21st Anniversary etc, but only a few of those in the 10th Ann. Concert stood there...? Like Philip Quast for example, in what show has he been Javert before? Question

Here's a list of the TAC cast and where they'd been in Les Mis before, to the best of my knowledge:


Valjean: Colm Wilkinson
London- 1985 - 1986
Broadway 1987 - 1988
Toronto 1998 - 1999
UK Tour (Dublin) 1999
Third National Tour (San Francisco and Shanghi, China) 2002
Tenth Anniversary Concert 1995
Hey Mr Producer! Segment 1998

Javert: Philip Quast
Sydney, Australia 1987
London 1989
Adelaide, Australia 1991
Brisbane, Australia 1991
Auckland, New Zealand 1991
UK Tour (Manchester) 1992
Tenth Anniversary Concert 1995
Hey Mr Producer! Segment 1998

Fantine: Ruthie Henshall
London 1992
London 1996
Tenth Anniversary Concert 1995
Chelmsford Concert 1997
Hey Mr Producer! Segment 1998

Thénardier: Alun Armstrong
London 1985-1986
Tenth Anniversary Concert 1995

Mme Thénardier: Jenny Galloway
London 1993/4
Broadway 2006/7
Tenth Anniversary Concert 1995
Sweden/Norway/Denmark Concerts 2002

Marius: Michael Ball
London 1985 - 1986
Tenth Anniversary Concert 1995
Hey Mr Producer! Segment 1998
(Jean Valjean at Windsor Castle Concert 2004)

Eponine:Lea Salonga
Broadway 1993
London 1996
Third National Tour (Honolulu) 1996
Tenth Anniversary Concert 1995
Hey Mr Producer! Segment 1998
(Fantine on Broadway 2007)

Cosette:Judy Kuhn
Broadway 1987-8
Tenth Anniversary Concert 1995

Enjolras: Michael Maguire
Broadway 1987-8
Tenth Anniversary Concert 1995

Grantaire: Anthony Crivello
Broadway 1987-8
Tenth Anniversary Concert 1995
(Javert on Broadway 1987/8-ish)

Little Cosette: Hannah Chick
London 1993/4
Tenth Anniversary Concert 1995

Gavroche: Adam Searles
London 1994
Tenth Anniversary Concert 1995
Chelmsford Concert 1997
UK Tour (Plymouth) 1997

Convict: Craig Pinder
(Courfeyrac)
London 1985-6
(Valjean)
London 1988

Convict: Mark McKerracher
(Valjean)
Broadway 1992 - 1993
London 1993
UK Tour (Edinburgh) ?
First National Tour ?

Convict: James Staddon
(Comberferre)
London 1992
(Javert)
London 1993 - 1995

Convict: Phil Cavill
(Valjean)
London 1994 - 1996
London 2006
UK Tour (Edinburgh) 1998

Convict: Jeff Leyton
(Valjean)
UK Tour (Manchester & Edinburgh)- 1992/3
London 1995
London 1997
UK Tour (Bristol)- 1998
UK Tour (Manchester) 2000
Chelmsford Concert 1997
Belfast Concert 2001
London 2003/4

Farmer: Halcro Johnston
(Brujon)
London 1989-90

Labourer/Jean Prouvaire: Peter Polycarpou
(Jean Prouvaire)
London 1985 - 1986
(Grantaire)
London 1986
(Thénardier)
1992 - 1993

Bishop: Paul Monaghan:
(Bishop/Lesgles)
London 1992/3
(Bishop/Combeferre)
UK Tour 2000
London 2000 -2002

Constable: Jonathan Hart
(Jean Prouvaire)
London 1995
(Grantaire)
Sweden/Norway/Denmark Concerts 2002

Constable: Glyn Kerslake
(Swing)
London 1988
Enjolras 1996-8

Factory Foreman: Michael McCarthy
(Factory Foreman/Combeferre)
London 1990-91
(Javert)
UK Tour (Manchester & Edinburgh) 1992/3
London 1995-7
Sydney/Melbourne, Australia 1997/8
London 2001/2
Third National Tour (San Francisco & Shanghai, China) 2002
Broadway 2003
London 2003-2005
Chelmsford Concert 1997
Sweden/Norway/Denmark Concerts 2002
Windsor Castle Concert 2004

Worker: Nigel Richards
(Factory Foreman/Combeferre)
London 1992
(Grantaire)
London 1993

Worker: Christopher Beck
(Joly)
London 1985-6

Worker: Gary Huddleston
(Feuilly)
London 1985 – 1987

Worker: Catherine Breeze
(Ensemble)
London 1992/3
(Mme Thénardier)
UK Tour 1997-9

Worker: Rachel Spry
(Ensemble)
UK Tour 1992
Chelmsford Concert 1997
London 2001
Sweden/Norway/Denmark Concerts 2002
Windsor Castle Concert 2004

Worker: Sally Bourne
(Swing)
London 1995/6
(Ensemble)
Sweden/Norway/Denmark Concerts 2002

Worker: Sally Mates
(Ensemble)
London 1985/6

Factory Girl: Jackie Marks
(Factory Girl)
London 1985
(Fantine)
London 1985/6

Sailor: Shaun Kerrison
(Swing)
London 1992/3
(Feuilly)
London 1993/4

Sailor: Graham Gill
(Joly)
London 1986-8

Sailor: James Powell
(Joly)
London 1993-6

Crone: Beverly Klein
(Crone)
London 1985/6

Whore: Juliet Alderice
(Swing)
London 1986/7

Whore: Rosemary Ashe
(Mme Thénardier)
London 1992/3
London 2002/3
Exeter & Romsey Concerts 2004

Whore: Valda Aviks
(Ensemble)
London 1990-2
(Crone)
Sweden/Norway/Denmark Concerts 2002

Whore: Mary Louise Clarke
(Cosette)
London 1988

Whore: Lindsey Danvers
(Swing)
London 1992
(Fantine)
London 1993-5
UK Tour (Bristol and Manchester) 1999-2000

Whore: Sarah Jane Hassell
(Cosette)
London 1990-2

Whore: Liza Hayden
(Ensemble, u/s Gavroche)
London 1985- 87

Whore: Lisa Hull
(Cosette)
London 1989/90
London 1996

Whore: Alison Jiear
(Ensemble)
London 1993

Whore: Aline Mowat
(Ensemble)
1985-7

Whore: Jayne O’Mahoney
(Little Cosette)
London 1985-6
(Ensemble)
London 1995
London 1997
UK Tour 1999/2000

Whore: Fiona Sinnott
(Cosette)
UK Tour 1992/3

Whore: Gemma Wardle
(Ensemble)
UK Tour 1992/3
(Eponine)
London 1993-5
London 1997/8
UK Tour
London 2004/5

Whore: Helene Witcombe
(Ensemble)
UK Tour 1992/3

Pimp: Andy Reiss
(Combeferre)
UK Tour 1992/3
London 1994

Bamatabois: Gareth Snook
(Grantaire/Bamatabois)
London 1988

Old Prostitute: Jill Martin
(Ensemble)
London 1985-6

Madeleine: Jacinta Whyte
(Ensemble)
London 1989
(Eponine)
UK Tour 1993
London 1995

Combeferre: David Bardsley
(Combeferre)
London 1994
(Grantaire)
London 1994
(Enjolras)
London 1995/6
UK Tour (Dublin) 1999
Chelmsford Concert 1997
Exeter & Romsey Concerts 2004

Feuilly: Matthew Cammelle
(Jean Prouvaire)
London 1993/4
(Feuilly)
London 1994/5
(Marius)
London 1995/6
Chelmsford Concert 1997
(Enjolras- alternate for the nights when Glyn Kerslake was in ‘Martin Guerre’)
London 1997/8
(Enjolras)
London 1998
Sweden/Norway/Denmark Concerts 2002
(Ensemble)
Windsor Castle Concert 2004

Courfeyrac: Jérôme Pradon
(Marius)
Paris 1991
(Javert)
London 2002

Joly: Darryl Knock
(Marius)
London 1992

Lesgles: Mike Sterling
(Feuilly)
London 1991/2
(Marius)
UK Tour (Manchester) 1992
(Valjean)
London 2002
(Combeferre)
Chelmsford Concert 1997

Montparnasse: Keith Burns
(Montparnasse)
London 1985-6
(Enjolras)
London 1992/3

Claquesous: Stephen Matthews
(Babet)
London 1993/4
London 1999 - 2000

Babet: Tony Timberlake
(Jean Prouvaire)
London 1990/1
(Thénardier)
UK Tour (Manchester) 1992
London 2001
Bournemouth Concert 2002
Exeter & Romsey Concerts 2004

Brujon: Nick Holder
(Brujon)
London 1988
(Thénardier)
London 1997/8

Loudhailer: Christopher Howard
(Enjolras)
London 1988/90
Stage By Stage: Les Misérables
Fantine

Thank you Moci, that was very interesting.
I always noticed that on the TAC there is a young girl (well, young woman) singing along with Turning. Is that the woman who had been understudying Gavroche?
Moci

Fantine wrote:
Thank you Moci, that was very interesting.
I always noticed that on the TAC there is a young girl (well, young woman) singing along with Turning. Is that the woman who had been understudying Gavroche?


The standby for Gavroche was male- Ben Evans- he's one of the Gavroches at the end. He's in the West End production of LOTR now.. Lucy Evans was a standby for Cosette, who seemed to have played the role 1995/6-ish, so I'd presume that she was a current little Cosette at the time. This is her website, so you can see what she looks like now. I've no idea if she was in the ensemble, sorry.
Fantine

Moci wrote:
Fantine wrote:
Thank you Moci, that was very interesting.
I always noticed that on the TAC there is a young girl (well, young woman) singing along with Turning. Is that the woman who had been understudying Gavroche?


The standby for Gavroche was male- Ben Evans- he's one of the Gavroches at the end. He's in the West End production of LOTR now.. Lucy Evans was a standby for Cosette, who seemed to have played the role 1995/6-ish, so I'd presume that she was a current little Cosette at the time. This is her website, so you can see what she looks like now. I've no idea if she was in the ensemble, sorry.


She wasn't that young, lol. I think that she must have been around 17 years old at the time (well, she looked that age to me). She is singing in 'Turning.' Still, I found that pretty young to be in such a concert.
Moci

Fantine wrote:
Moci wrote:
Fantine wrote:
Thank you Moci, that was very interesting.
I always noticed that on the TAC there is a young girl (well, young woman) singing along with Turning. Is that the woman who had been understudying Gavroche?


The standby for Gavroche was male- Ben Evans- he's one of the Gavroches at the end. He's in the West End production of LOTR now.. Lucy Evans was a standby for Cosette, who seemed to have played the role 1995/6-ish, so I'd presume that she was a current little Cosette at the time. This is her website, so you can see what she looks like now. I've no idea if she was in the ensemble, sorry.


She wasn't that young, lol. I think that she must have been around 17 years old at the time (well, she looked that age to me). She is singing in 'Turning.' Still, I found that pretty young to be in such a concert.


There's no way that she was 17. I remember her on CBBC in Microsoap and she was about 12 or 13 then, in 1998.
soph-les-mis

Wow:D I'm not going to quote all you wrote to my answere, Moci, but thanks, that was brilliant!! When I get obsessed with something (mostly musicals) I always look for the details...So this suited me perfect! Wink

((Like when I was going to tell my family the story of the show, (who saw Les Mis with me two weeks ago) they got really annoyed and told me to get to the point, I was constantly going into the details... Razz but hey, they asked for it! Razz))
Fantine

Moci wrote:
Fantine wrote:
Moci wrote:
Fantine wrote:
Thank you Moci, that was very interesting.
I always noticed that on the TAC there is a young girl (well, young woman) singing along with Turning. Is that the woman who had been understudying Gavroche?


The standby for Gavroche was male- Ben Evans- he's one of the Gavroches at the end. He's in the West End production of LOTR now.. Lucy Evans was a standby for Cosette, who seemed to have played the role 1995/6-ish, so I'd presume that she was a current little Cosette at the time. This is her website, so you can see what she looks like now. I've no idea if she was in the ensemble, sorry.


She wasn't that young, lol. I think that she must have been around 17 years old at the time (well, she looked that age to me). She is singing in 'Turning.' Still, I found that pretty young to be in such a concert.


There's no way that she was 17. I remember her on CBBC in Microsoap and she was about 12 or 13 then, in 1998.


No what I mean is that is must be another person. Not the little Cosette.
Moci

Fantine wrote:
Moci wrote:
Fantine wrote:
Moci wrote:
Fantine wrote:
Thank you Moci, that was very interesting.
I always noticed that on the TAC there is a young girl (well, young woman) singing along with Turning. Is that the woman who had been understudying Gavroche?


The standby for Gavroche was male- Ben Evans- he's one of the Gavroches at the end. He's in the West End production of LOTR now.. Lucy Evans was a standby for Cosette, who seemed to have played the role 1995/6-ish, so I'd presume that she was a current little Cosette at the time. This is her website, so you can see what she looks like now. I've no idea if she was in the ensemble, sorry.


She wasn't that young, lol. I think that she must have been around 17 years old at the time (well, she looked that age to me). She is singing in 'Turning.' Still, I found that pretty young to be in such a concert.


There's no way that she was 17. I remember her on CBBC in Microsoap and she was about 12 or 13 then, in 1998.


No what I mean is that is must be another person. Not the little Cosette.


Ah, I get you. Very Happy
Elin

Hey Moci, you forgot the choir/chorus! Mr. Green

Liza Hayden didn't understudy Gavroche, she played the role regularly.
(At one time, 2 out of 3 London Gavroches were female. The line-up was LH, Zoe Hart and Ian Tucker.)

Jayne O’Mahony understudied Cosette (and went on at least once) when she returned to the show.
LesMisForever

Moci...I know it is late, but your answer to me made perfect sense, and more, or less i agree with you Very Happy
Fantine

It's been stickied! (is that a word? - rhetorical question).

I'll try to take a screen shot of the girl I'm talking about.
(some day at least).
lesmisboy

I have a quick question - when was Denise van Outen in Les Mis in London and who did she play? And Moci thanks for taking the time to post the list of TAC performers Applause
The Very Angry Woman

lesmisboy wrote:
I have a quick question - when was Denise van Outen in Les Mis in London and who did she play? And Moci thanks for taking the time to post the list of TAC performers Applause


She was Young Eponine, so obviously it was quite some time ago.
Moci

The Very Angry Woman wrote:
lesmisboy wrote:
I have a quick question - when was Denise van Outen in Les Mis in London and who did she play? And Moci thanks for taking the time to post the list of TAC performers Applause


She was Young Eponine, so obviously it was quite some time ago.


I've read that she was 11 and Google tells me that she was born in 1974, so that makes it 1985/6, so she must have been a fairly early replacement for the role at the Palace.
soph-les-mis

I have another question.. Is there any recording of Les Mis with JOJ as Jean Valjean? I know he is in the choir in the TAC and that he recently has given out a CD, but apart from that?
flying_pigs

soph-les-mis wrote:
I have another question.. Is there any recording of Les Mis with JOJ as Jean Valjean? I know he is in the choir in the TAC and that he recently has given out a CD, but apart from that?


There isn't an official recording with him, but there was a concert version on BBC Radio 2 last year for the 21st Anniversary.
Orestes Fasting

Replying belatedly regarding the Dead Horse thread:

Quote:
Although it was probably started by OF as a place for taking the mickey out of the oft-posted questions, it does seem to me to be as good a place as any for people to post their thoughts, without expecting too many responses, as you might to a nice, shiny new thread.


Well... when I started it, I was half-considering posting serious responses. Then I figured it was a place for everyone to vent their feelings concerning the various dead horses, and my feelings at the moment were mostly sarcastic exasperation.

So yeah, feel free to use it to get your real thoughts on Cosette vs. Eponine out of your system.
Catherine

Wow, this thread is really useful!
Thanks!

I didn't realise Confrontation was cut for the school edition... thats just cruel!
Ahh, never mind.
Quique

Grrrrrr. Growl, Grrrr. F*ck. Grrrrowl.
Orestes Fasting

Quique wrote:
Grrrrrr. Growl, Grrrr. F*ck. Grrrrowl.


What?
curlyhairedsoprano91

Orestes Fasting wrote:
Quique wrote:
Grrrrrr. Growl, Grrrr. F*ck. Grrrrowl.


What?


Yeah, really.
Quique

What? Is there a problem?
Orestes Fasting

*blink* What prompted that?
Quique

It's called posting, then responding in the wrong thread @ 4 a.m.--I thought this was the one about the orchestrations. Embarassed
EponineMNFF

Laughing

That was so confusing.
Futuretonywinner

So what are the school lyrics for A Little Fall of Rain?
Fantine

Futuretonywinner wrote:
So what are the school lyrics for A Little Fall of Rain?


I believe they are the same.
EponineMNFF

I'm not sure--a SE I saw cut the "The rain that brings you here is heaven blessed..." stanza. On second thought, it was probably just that one production.
The Very Angry Woman

EponineMNFF wrote:
I'm not sure--in a SE I saw cut the "The rain that brings you here is heaven blessed..." stanza. On second thought, it was probably just that one production.


They did that in one I saw. The other (which had illegally done a lot more modifications anyway) added it back.
Moci

I've put the cuts in italics.

EPONINE
Don't you fret, M'sieur Marius
I don't feel any pain
A little fall of rain
Can hardly hurt me now
You're here, that's all I need to know
And you will keep me safe
And you will keep me close
And rain will make the flowers grow.

MARIUS
But you will live, 'Ponine - dear God above,
If I could heal your wounds with words of love.

EPONINE
Just hold me now, and let it be.
Shelter me, comfort me

MARIUS
You would live a hundred years
If I could show you how
I won't desert you now...

EPONINE
The rain can't hurt me now
This rain will wash away what's past
And you will keep me safe
And you will keep me close
I'll sleep in your embrace at last.

The rain that brings you here
Is Heaven-blessed!
The skies begin to clear
And I'm at rest
A breath away from where you are
I've come home from so far
So don't you fret, M'sieur Marius

I don't feel any pain
A little fall of rain
Can hardly hurt me now

That's all I need to know
And you will keep me safe
And you will keep me close

MARIUS(in counterpoint)
Hush-a-bye, dear Eponine,
You won't feel any pain
A little fall of rain
Can hardly hurt you now
I'm here

I will stay with you
Till you are sleeping

EPONINE
And rain...

MARIUS
And rain...

EPONINE
Will make the flowers...

MARIUS
Will make the flowers... grow...
Orestes Fasting

I think it's time to have the Thread Necromancy Talk.

In general, the seach function is a wondrous and awe-inspiring thing that can keep you from asking the same question ten other people have already spammed the forum with, among many other useful things. However, the threads that the search function usually turns up are dead and buried by forum standards, and people can get a little tetchy when you blithely drag them out of their peaceful rest just to say "I agree with Joe" or "i luv eponine, cossette r teh suxx0rz!"

Now, there is a time and place for thread necromancy. If you read through a topic and think it's interesting, and you have something new and different to say that would justify dragging the thread up from the dead, by all means go ahead. Just be aware that this is the conversational equivalent of resuming the heated South Park vs. Family Guy debate you and your friends were having an hour ago, even though you've spent the past twenty minutes talking about cars. Make sure it's worth it, and at least acknowledge what you're doing: "I know nobody's posted to this thread for six months, but..."

Also, if the contents of the thread are better suited for the Dead Horse Thread (and you can find a partial list of such topics on the first FAQ post), do us all a favor and just let it lie. If you absolutely must regale us with your thoughts on Lea vs. Frances, that's what the dead horse thread is for.
SomeoneLikeYou

What I don't understand is why some fans hate Cosette.

Look, I KNOW that ya'll wanted Marius to choose Eponine, but that's no reason to despise Cosette. She has beautiful songs and is a very sweet girl, and deserves Marius just as much as Eponine.
curlyhairedsoprano91

Dear SomeoneLikeYou:
On this forum, you're not going to see much Cosette-bashing. I came here and I was absolutely delighted to find that someone like myself, who absolutely adored Cosette, was not going to be met with the typical "Ew NO EPONINE'S SO MUCH BETTER AND MARIUS IS STUPID FOR MARRYING COSETTE." Brick wall

I guess some people hate her because isn't everyone OMG just like Eponine in the sense that they've liked someone who didn't like them back? And so they identify with Eponine and think of Cosette as someone who just sits around and gets the guy.

What these people don't take into account is the fact that class differences would have made it almost impossible for an Eponine/Marius pairing to work (regardless of the fact that Marius didn't have feelings for Eponine). They also don't take into account the fact that Eponine was not a Lea-Salonga-pretty "hot girl in rags" (as I've, sadly, actually seen her described).

Every anti-Cosette rant I've heard types her as a boring, emotionless, pretty bitch. These people also obviously don't listen to the lyrics of "In My Life." I consider that song to be way more emotionally revealing than pop-anthem "On My Own."

Meh. I've never understood Eppie-boppers. Or Cosette-haters of any stripe. But that's just me.
mastachen

SomeoneLikeYou wrote:


Look, I KNOW that ya'll wanted Marius to choose Eponine, but that's no reason to despise Cosette. She has beautiful songs and is a very sweet girl, and deserves Marius just as much as Eponine.


Nobody on here really things that Eponine deserves Marius. Really, between this thread and that other thread in the Social Forum, it really seems like you don't have a feel for the opinions of the members of this board. And so to go on assuming that our opinions usually match those of the uninformed general theater fans of youtube and broadwaysecrets is just wrong.. and slightly annoying.
SomeoneLikeYou

I'm sorry. I didn't mean that at all. I don't assume that everyone shares those opinions, I was just stating that some people do. And I do respect everyone's own opinion, I just feel very strongly about my own.

Again, I'm sorry if I came off that way.
EponineMNFF

I mean, that's understandable. Before I came here, all of the Les Mis communities were like that, so hey. Smile
mastachen

To anyone's knowledge, has any of the cuts in the SE been restored?
SomeoneLikeYou

Not that I know of. Basically all that's cut is lyrics from about a quarter of the songs...but I haven't heard of any restorations.
The Very Angry Woman

mastachen wrote:
To anyone's knowledge, has any of the cuts in the SE been restored?


Schools do that illegally all the time.
music is my life!!!

speaking of which, in the finale is it mandatory that fantine sings "and you will be with God" up the octave, or do some school Fantine's sing it down the octave like they do in Professional productions? I'm auditioning for Fantine in May, and can reach that low note most of the time....
curlyhairedsoprano91

I can't imagine that it's mandatory. Shows change keys and put things down/up octaves all the time. If your show had a low mezzo/alto Fantine who wanted to show off the low D, I don't see why taking one line down an octave would be a problem.
music is my life!!!

^ That's good! I can reach it most of the time, but it just seems that most school fantine's i've seen do it up the octave... maybe they're scared, or maybe it's the MD that's scared... Rolling Eyes
SomeoneLikeYou

Crap, I might actually have an audition for this in December.

OhMyGod.

It'll be a dream come true if I make it!!!!!
       Musicals.Net Forums -> Les Miserables
Page 1 of 1