Prouvaire

Prouvaire, 11 months ago

I watched a video of the 1981 Broadway revival with Richard Harris before watching this Lincoln Center revival (or revisal?) and do think that Sorkin markedly improved on Alan Jay Lerner's original book (which Lerner himself revised somewhat for the 1981 production, taking some cues from his screenplay for the 1967 movie).

Sorkin eliminated many of the extraneous material, like all the supernatural elements (Merlin aging backwards, turning Arthur into a bird etc) which were there mainly because they were in the original source text, the Arthurian legends and TH White's Once and Future King, but didn't really add anything to the core story of Arthur, Guenevere and Lancelot.

He added a lot of humour and a stronger political dimension, though some snippets of dialogue were too contemporary for my tastes (like Arthur referring to his "security detail"). Lerner too gave the characters modern speech (hence Arthur referring to Guenevere as "Jenny"), but Sorkin pushed it a little too far in places.

Sorkin I think loves Camelot - he quoted the musical several times on The West Wing via the mouths of Josh Lyman and Jed Bartlet - and worked hard to ensure every song had a place in his version, even if maybe some of them didn't deserve one. Sorkin still struggled to overcome the "tell don't show" nature of some of the songs, notably the "Guenevere" number at the end, which really saps the show of its narrative drive just as it should be intensifying it. Sacrilegious as it might be, I would have been okay if someone had written a new number for that moment (in the Lerner & Loewe style of course), or the end played as a pure book scene (though that would have presented issues of its own).

He considerably strengthened the character of Guenevere, making her very much an equal partner in Arthur's project to build a more just society. The effect of this however was to weaken the character of Lancelot, so you lost some of the simplicity (or elegance) of Arthur being caught between his love for his wife and his most trusted friend/advisor. In fact, he deliberately downplayed the romance between Arthur and Jenny, making this a pivotal plot point towards the end - something that didn't really work for me.

Anyway, I'm glad I saw it and am sorry it can't see out its extension. Though not perfect, I thought it was an improvement on the original (granted, I've never seen the original version on stage). Andrew Burnap, Phillipa Soo and Jordan Donica all did great work, as did Dakin Matthews (especially as Merlin). It truly was the best episode of Middle Ages West Wing ever.

Prouvaire, 11 months ago (edited 11 months ago)

LONDON

London | Playing at the Sondheim Theatre (previously known as the Queen's Theatre) is the 25th anniversary production produced by Cameron Mackintosh and directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell.

London, for many years, was the only city where you could see the original Cam Mack production directed by Trevor Nunn and John Caird (the one with the memorial revolve, ie the iconic turntable), but that production ended its tenure at the theatre on 13 July 2019. The new, now standard, production (featuring production design by Matt Kinley inspired by Victor Hugo's paintings, but - alas - no revolve) moved in after an extensive renovation of the theatre on 16 January 2020.

Les Miz has actually played in no less than six London venues since its English language premiere in 1985:

• The Barbican Centre's Barbican Theatre (both in its very first Royal Shakespeare Company production in 1985 and also for a few weeks in 2010 as part of the 25th anniversary celebrations)
• The Palace Theatre (where the RSC/Cam Mack production transferred after its Barbican run and where it played in the West End until 2004)
• The Royal Albert Hall (for the 10th anniversary concert)
• The Queen's/Sondheim Theatre (home to the show since 2004 aside from the breaks required by Covid and the theatre's renovation)
• The Gielgud Theatre (where a concert staged version played for several months while the Queen's Theatre was being renovated)
• The O2 Arena (as it was known then), for the two 25th anniversary concerts in 2010.

London also has the distinction of hosting three professional productions simultaneously, as part of the "Weekend of Total Mizery" in October 2010, when the original Nunn/Caird version played at the Queen's, the (then) new UK tour Connor/Powell version played at the Barbican, and the 25th anniversary concert was staged at the O2 Arena.

The current London cast (as of July 2023) is led by Josh Piterman (Valjean), Stewart Clarke (Javert), Lucie Jones (Fantine), Nathania Ong (Eponine), Robert Tripolino (Marius), Lulu-Mae Pears (Cosette), Gerard Carey (Thenardier), Claire Machin (Madame Thenardier) and Harry Chandler (Enjolras).

Prouvaire, 11 months ago

US TOUR

United States Tour | The most recent US tour has stops planned (as of July 2023) for Utah, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, New York state, Georgia, Florida, and Massachusetts, as well as stops in Ontario (Canada). The detailed tour schedule is here and is currently showing stops to August 2024. This is the Connor/Powell version, now standard for all Cameron Mackintosh-produced productions.

There have been multiple US tours of the show since the late 1980s, both of the original Nunn/Caird version and the more recent Connor/Powell version. This most recent tour launched in September 2017 and was shuttered during Covid in 2020, but restarted in October 2022.

The current US tour cast (as of July 2023) features Nick Cartell (Valjean), Preston Truman Boyd (Javert), Haley Dortch (Fantine), Christine Heesun Hwang (Eponine), Gregory Lee Rodriguez (Marius), Addie Morales (Cosette), Matt Crowle (Thenardier), Christina Rose Hall (Madame Thenardier) and Devin Archer (Enjolras).

Prouvaire, 11 months ago (edited 11 months ago)

NETHERLANDS / BELGIUM TOUR

Netherlands tour | A Dutch language version of the Connor/Powell production is currently touring the Netherlands (Holland). The tour schedule is here and currently includes stops in Amsterdam, Breda, Rotterdam, Eindhoven and Heerlen between now and late 2023.

The cast is led by Milan van Waardenburg (Valjean), René van Kooten (alternate Valjean), Frank Bartels (Javert), Channah Hewitt (Fantine), Vajen van den Bosch (Eponine), Michael Muyderman (Marius), Sem Gerritsma (Cosette), Yannick Plugers (Thenardier), Ellen Peters (Madame Thenardier) and Mark Roy Luykx (Enjolras).

This production is presented by De Graaf & Cornelissen Entertainment and Van Lambaart Entertainment. The Dutch (Flemish) translation of the libretto is by Seth Gaaikema.

Belgium tour | The Netherlands tour presented by De Graaf & Cornelissen Entertainment and Van Lambaart Entertainment is also playing stops in Belgium where it will play in Antwerp and Ghent from October to December 2023. Most of the cast is the same, although different performers are taking over Javert and Madame Thenardier.

The lead cast includes Milan van Waardenburg (Valjean), Nordin de Moor (Javert), Channah Hewitt (Fantine), Ianthe Tavernier (Eponine), Michael Muyderman (Marius), Sem Gerritsma (Cosette), Jonas van Geel (Thenardier), Goele de Radt (Madame Thenardier) and Mark Roy Lyukx (Enjolras).

Prouvaire, 11 months ago

SWITZERLAND AND GERMANY

Switzerland and Germany | A new production (not the Cameron Mackintosh production) of Les Miz will premiere at the Theater St Gallen in Switzerland on 9 December 2023 and play to 23 February 2024 (possibly in rep with another show). It will then transfer to the Gaertner Platz Theater in Munich, Germany where it will play from 22 March to June 2024. In Munich Les Miz will play in rep with A Little Night Music.

This production will be directed by Josef E. Koepplinger with musical direction by Koen Schoots. Choreography is by Richarda Regina Ludigkeit, set design by Rainer Sinell, costume design by Uta Meenen and dramaturgy by Michael Alexander Rinz. The German translation is by Heinz Rudolf Kunze.

The cast has not yet been announced.

Tickets for the Munich production go on sale on 9 December 2023. No date yet on when the Theater St Gallen tickets will go on sale.

Prouvaire, 11 months ago

@AnonTwo @ernest is aware of the issue: https://codeberg.org/Kbin/kbin-core/issues/80

Hopefully this will be changed soon, as the current system is confusing can be off-putting.

Prouvaire, 11 months ago

Just as Roddenberry's utopian future transcends sexism, racism, ableism and other isms, so too does the cold-blooded calculation of the corporate accountant. Networks will cancel shows that lose money and renew shows that make money over whatever timeframe their cost/benefit ratio is run on. Personally, I think Prodigy is a breath of fresh air for the franchise, and cancelling it/removing it the network is a mistake from a brand/franchise/portfolio management perspective. But spinning its cancellation as an example of misogyny is silly. You might as well argue that Paramount hates kids cause there are many more children as main characters in the show and only one adult woman.

Prouvaire, 11 months ago

@RosalieMorgan I purchased a pair of Physix Gear compression socks about four years ago, but I haven't worn them often enough (basically only when flying long haul) to know if they're BIFL. IIRC I settled on the brand because of a BIFL subreddit recommendation.