this version is so important knowing that all of these songs could easily be applied to the present. like, poverty, oppression, all of these things are still very real today. this is what victor hugo would have wanted.
I would pay so much money for a professional recording of this production. The blocking is beautiful and the story has been woven seamlessly into its modern setting, which highlights the themes in a way that it's hard to pull off with the traditional staging.
Would love that. saw the production live and it was so unique and wonderful. If a full version was available I would like to have either DVD or Streaming. Please DTC make it come true
Judging just from this 10 minute clip, this production seems to be only aestetically modern, but the script and score still holds true to the original setting. Honestly, I fucking love this approach to the story and I'm kind of surprised no one has done this before. Poverty, corrupt power structures, and everything les miserables represents are still relevent in todays society. This is very meaningful once you look into it.
I just finished listening to the whole performance for the first time, and this version is so so important. Victor Hugo would be proud of this performance. It's freaking relevant in a way that makes this version more visceral and intense than any other version I've watched or listened to. Well done Dallas Theatre Company. I applaud you.
I was so lucky to be able to see this production live and some people said it was very unauthentic but i'd have to disagree. Both my sister and I were bawling as much as we did when seeing the original version. The audience was moved as much as when we saw the original. Also I think the fuller shots are a better example. For example, during empty chairs and empty tables they had suspended chairs over the orchestra (at the back) and they were lit spectacularly and it really added to everything. Overall I'd say this was a fantastic interpretation that the actors pulled off very well.
FOR SO LONG I'VE BEEN LONGING FOR A MODERN AU PROD OF LES MIS AND ASIAN COSETTE AND I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M ONLY FINDING THIS NOW THIS LOOKS AMAZING AND I'M ACTUALLY KIND OF CRYING A BIT??
Dear company and everyone involved, you have succeeded in bringing this new modern version to life so much that thousands of fans of the original production are willing to pay tons of money just to see y'all. Outstanding job I'd say, well done! Y'all are great! :D
This production is incredible! By bringing it into the present day, the story resonates so much more with viewers. Also, I know many, many people would love to have a full DVD of this available for people who can't travel to Dallas.
I can't explain how much I wish I'd known about this during the run. I would LOVE to have seen this live. The story works so well in the updated setting. This is just incredible.
This looks absolutely amazing!!! What a wonderful way to revitalize an overdone but beautiful musical! If I wasn't dead broke, I would fly to Dallas just to see it! Job well done, guys! This is what theater is all about!
GOD THIS IS EVERYTHING I'VE EVER WANTED. les miserables is honestly one of the best musicals to bring into the modern age, i mean none of the issues (prejudice, classism, misogyny, social inequality) have disappeared, they're all still very much present in this day and age. A++ production.
MODERN DAY AU OF LES MIS! WITH BLACKS AND LATINOS AS THE OPPRESSED! AND COSETTE IS ASIAN! I LOVE THIS OMG THIS IS SUCH A GOOD IDEA!!! This just demonstrates how oppression and inequality is still very present in our modern society, and that we should fight it! I love how Les Mis is still relevant in our society today, despite being set in 19th century France. I read a tumblr post about a modern day Les Mis, and it is basically this!!! AGSHDJDHXVDVD
I love Les Miserables so much, it is my all time favourite production. Seeing it in all forms and watching it get adapted in various ways puts such a smile to my face. The songs beg for amazing voices and togetherness and from what I gather, this production fills that quota fittingly.
I had the opportunity to see this. It was the best version since the original came out. I WISH this version would have toured, or gone to Broadway. I was blown away on the creativity, the singing, the acting, everything.
I've heard so many incredible reviews of the show and I would adore a DVD of it! I would prefer to be in the audience of the show (just because I heard it's so much better with the energy when you're there) and I'd love if this cast and production were able to tour!
WHAT WOULD I NOT GIVE FOR A DVD PRODUCTION OF THIS Please DTC - please have mercy on this poor highschooler living in the other side of the pacific ocean (and of course other people who are dying for a filmed version) and release a DVD version? Please???
This looks like such an amazing production and I wish I could see it. I completely agree with everyone asking for a DVD, I would love one as there is no way I can travel from New Zealand to see this show!
OMG what are they doing during One Day More? I guess I've seen the Broadway show to many times to get used to this particular staging which is pretty wild. Voices are good particularly Inspector Javert who apparently is now a captain.
I wish that could have happened too, but outside of extremely rare instances, it's illegal for theater companies to do that. I'm not expert about such things, but I think maybe it's okay for them to make a video recording of a show for their own, internal purposes, to have a record archived for reference, and only in very limited circumstances. I know of companies that make copies of such recordings for cast members (and perhaps other artistic and technical staff?), which might or might not be technically allowed, by various unions, individual artists, and, probably most importantly, by the organizations that hold rights to the shows, the orchestrations, etc., in this case Music Theatre International (MTI). The situation that many videos of shows, in part or in full, are available to see online fairly easily these days, is of course quite new, and mostly illegal. It seems like there's been such a proliferation of all that (not to mention movies, TV shows, concerts, etc.), that some 'powers that be' don't do a lot to combat it, or go after with much diligence, people who put such recordings online. I might be wrong in that impression, but it appears to me to be a situation with too many horses racing out of too many barns, constantly, for most entities to be able to stamp it out effectively. They definitely have the right to go after people or groups making materials available publicly, and might well choose to do so sometimes, but for many, if not most organizations, there's just too much stuff out there to be able to find it all, and then to take legal action. (One organization that seems to keep up the effort, however, is Disney and whatever sub-companies they have; I found that out after watching SNL with Anna Kendrick hosting, on Hulu; I wondered what happened to her opening, and what it had been. Soon found out it was an apparently hilarious LITTLE MERMAID spoof, which Disney demanded be cut from the Hulu video, and which they manage to keep off of UA-cam, fairly effectively. The point is, Disney's got the manpower and legal resources to be pretty relentless.) Well!--I certainly went on and on, on my tangent. The point is, y'all are fortunate to grow up being able to access so many resources, so easily. But there still are limits, especially for law-abiding folks, so we won't get to see any DTC LES MIS video publicly anytime soon--at least not legally.
AvalonMorley That makes sense. I was thinking about A Very Potter Musical, but that was their own original parody, which is protected by copyright. It's a pity we won't get to see more of this production, but I'm glad we got a sampling of it--and hopefully other places will adapt Les Mis in a modern setting and I'll get to see it in person :)
What an interesting way to show that the themes and people in Victor Hugo's Les Miserables are universal, and that we still are those people and live those themes today.
+Broadwaypuppet +Anna Moore Hmm, I saw it as a clear example of the classical "oh my God you can't be serious I thought I woud be free this is ridiculous I only stole a loaf of bread"-smile. I guess you might be right, but it worked totally fine for me ;)
Wish I'd lived in Texas this summer! I was stuck on the other side of the country, no way to see this amazing production. D: I'm so pleased to see an official video that at least gives us a taste of the show. I wish I could see the whole thing though.
oh my god im so jealous of ppl who can watch this. i live far away in south-east asia and the only way i can probably watch them is by cd/dvd. i would be so sooooooo sad if they didnt make this production available by digital copy. i mean, a modERN LES MIS FOR GODS SAKE!! WHO WOULDNT SEE THAT?!?!?
This looks amazing! The story translates well into modern times, and it's a really interesting concept! Does anyone know what revolution was put in the place of the french revolution? Is it the civil rights movement? Or a modern fictional/generic one?
This modernized production struck me the wrong way at first, it didn't seem to fit well. I thought about it and I feel like it's foreshadowing the current state of the U.S. Pretty soon people will be imprisoned for simple crimes. Protests will be very intense as well as prevalent. Things are changing around here. Just because it hasn't hit home yet doesn't mean it's not already like this and worse in other countries. I feel like the adaptation of les Mis here is very fitting.
reminds me of the 2009 hamlet with david tennant in it where it was acted with a lot of modern day stuff. helps contextualize the earlier work which is great
That's just how the director chose to go. Though people refer to this as "modern version," the setting was not specified, and it didn't feel exactly like "today" (no cell phones or many other ubiquitous details that would be present if it were specifically now). But, obviously, it felt different than when it's set in the 1800s. Although we know the revolution in Les Mis is based on the June Uprising of 1832, I don't think there's any mention of a year or specific date in the show (please correct me if there is), and, even if there is, so many of the issues in the show are pretty timeless: Pervasive, extremely difficult to escape poverty; hunger and lack of basic needs compelling people towards crime; police brutality; inappropriate sentencing, sometimes of people innocent of the crime (Dallas' current District Attorney has put a high priority on going back over cases and, with help from the Innocence Project, has gotten many long-term prisoners cleared and freed--there have been some appallingly bad practices in prosecution for many years); human kindness and mercy, and inspiration to reform because of that; workers being exploited as they do mind-numbing, sometimes physically punishing work; harassment, sexual and otherwise, of workers and colleagues; people--especially naive, innocent people--falling in love with others, who use them and then leave (leading often to unprepared single mothers); women in desperate situations falling into, or being lured or trapped into prostitution; parents' love for their children, adopted or not, and concern about what will happen to them if the parent dies too early; guilt over seeing someone else get convicted and punished for a crime you did; lots and lots of greed, opportunism and treachery; child abuse and slavery; being on the run, in hiding, from the law; young, innocent, first love and the feelings it brings; unrequited love, pining over someone you can never have; idealistic youths, often students, gaining awareness of injustices and wrongs of all kinds, and trying to organize like-minded people to protest, revolt, do something to right the wrongs; such actions/revolutions often failing, with the powerful status quo triumphing-again; people dieing for (often hopeless or failed) causes, and others mourning them; people loving, losing and mourning in general.... During the run of this production, Ferguson, Missouri kind of blew up after Michael Brown was killed by a police officer. I'm sure you know about the protests and conflict that followed that, with organizers (many very young ones) trying to get the people to stand up to what many saw as inappropriate policing, and to channel the righteous anger into meaningful, appropriate actions. Seeing the show during that time, the parallels were very affecting, making the show feel even more immediate. Of course, updating Hugo's story is not a new thing to do. One of my favorite movies of the 1990s is LES MISERABLES, a loose adaptation, which is set before, during and after the Nazi occupation of France. Highly recommended, though it's sadly unavailable on DVD or download, I believe. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Mis%C3%A9rables_%281995_film%29.
Edward Watts, whose bio is bursting with cool credits, among which is at least one tour of Les Mis. He also played Clark/Superman in the Encores IT'S A BIRD, IT'S A PLANE... awhile back, which is where I recognized him from (only from videos and pictures, not live, unfortunately). His Javert was certainly the best I'd ever seen. Even though I've only seen three productions, I suspect that he'd be the best of a wider sampling than that. The show was better than these clips display (and there had been some revision from what's seen here, which I think was recorded fairly early in the run). Even not being a particular Les Mis fan, I can't help but hope they'd bring this back (very unlikely, and also unlikely that they could assemble this same excellent cast, if they did). Great stuff!
They can do what they like with it. It`s a great musical nonetheless. I know some directors in the past have massacred it and it doesn`t play out as such a great musical as a result but this isn`t terrible and I sort of get what the director was going for. He/she wasn`t necessarily going for "modern." I don`t think director was really going for anything specific. I think it`
I love almost everything about this (the costumes! the set! the way the actors look!) but the american accents are so distracting. I guess maybe that happens with american productions and it seems like maybe this version is set in the States anyway, but I'm so used to hearing European accents at the least if not the actual French version that it's really jarring, especially with Marius.
I don't think it's necessarily a definite, particular job, but more a stylized evocation of mindless, soulless, repetitive work of the kind that can crush your spirit. I'm trying to think if they actually changed that somewhat, after this clip was made, but I'm not sure.
This is a different production of Les Misérables, looks like it was set in modern times and way different than to the original and new productions from Cameron Mackintosh
Why is Valjean only in the trailer a few times but Marius is in it all over the place? Is the actor a big star in the Dallas theater world or something?
Interesting concept, but some of the costumes are questionable. Like the student's costume were a bit much and I'm not a fan of the Steve Jobs Jean Valjean during Bring Hime Home. Just a tad bit heavy handed.
I think they're washing windows. In a lot of period presentations I've seen, the factory work is used to create a beat for the song, which is why the workers are using metal pipes in buckets to simulate cleaning.
To me, this reads more as a dystopian situation with current technology than set in any actual place that currently exists. Mostly it was the creepy masks that the guards wore, but still...
Yeah, it definitely didn't seem to be set in any actual, specific place, and it felt pretty dystopian (but then, most of Les Mis seems that way to me, in any production I've seen), but it sure felt right in the thick of things, with the mess that's been taking place over in Ferguson, Missouri lately. Pretty immediate.
At first I thought it was weird that the modern Éponine is dressing up as a guy but then I though that maybe she's genderfluid or something (sorry, I don't know these terms) in this version? :D
She's disguised herself as a guy, to be able to move more freely and to fight with the students. When she has her cap on, all her hair is up inside it. I've always thought the Eponines in the other productions I've seen were doing similarly, if not going so far--those versions of Eponine wore long mens' coats, at least, and played down their feminine features.
This looks like perhaps the worst mistake in all of theater. The performers seem fine, but WHAT THE F did they do to Les Mis?? This should never be attempted!!!
Completely unnecessary to modernize this show. Over time that could ruin it. the voices in the video sounded good but lacked authenticity. there is just something missing. To me this looked more like a play with high quality talent and not a broadway production
A classic and there's always someone who thinks that their way is better.....LES MIS Purists beware. Freely taken straight from any production of " Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Rent"...modernizing it with snarling, pouting, and stomping made this an instant cliche of "been there,done that" This production was outdated on opening night. It's approach to putting it into modern " it-could-be 'today" sensibility has been beaten to death and it fails miserably here... What looks like a very talented cast is given a mediocre palette of design to overcome. " One Day More" is an embarrassingly kitschy mess.
this version is so important knowing that all of these songs could easily be applied to the present. like, poverty, oppression, all of these things are still very real today. this is what victor hugo would have wanted.
+
I would probably sell my soul for the chance to see this live or even be able to get a DVD recording tbh
A plane ticket to Dallas is cheaper than selling your soul!
(watch out for my channel)
@@helenb10094 Not in this economy!
This is great how the cast is literally multiracial at all levels--nice to see an Asian American Cosette for once!
I would pay so much money for a professional recording of this production. The blocking is beautiful and the story has been woven seamlessly into its modern setting, which highlights the themes in a way that it's hard to pull off with the traditional staging.
God on high, hear my plea: Les Mis Dallas on DVD.
Would love that. saw the production live and it was so unique and wonderful. If a full version was available I would like to have either DVD or Streaming. Please DTC make it come true
John Payne Please can I have one
(watch out for my channel)
YES PLEASE. It's been six years and I still think about this show all the time.
Judging just from this 10 minute clip, this production seems to be only aestetically modern, but the script and score still holds true to the original setting. Honestly, I fucking love this approach to the story and I'm kind of surprised no one has done this before. Poverty, corrupt power structures, and everything les miserables represents are still relevent in todays society. This is very meaningful once you look into it.
I just finished listening to the whole performance for the first time, and this version is so so important. Victor Hugo would be proud of this performance. It's freaking relevant in a way that makes this version more visceral and intense than any other version I've watched or listened to. Well done Dallas Theatre Company. I applaud you.
watching this video literally gave me chills, i would give anything to see the whole production
I was so lucky to be able to see this production live and some people said it was very unauthentic but i'd have to disagree. Both my sister and I were bawling as much as we did when seeing the original version. The audience was moved as much as when we saw the original. Also I think the fuller shots are a better example. For example, during empty chairs and empty tables they had suspended chairs over the orchestra (at the back) and they were lit spectacularly and it really added to everything. Overall I'd say this was a fantastic interpretation that the actors pulled off very well.
FOR SO LONG I'VE BEEN LONGING FOR A MODERN AU PROD OF LES MIS AND ASIAN COSETTE AND I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M ONLY FINDING THIS NOW THIS LOOKS AMAZING AND I'M ACTUALLY KIND OF CRYING A BIT??
Dear company and everyone involved, you have succeeded in bringing this new modern version to life so much that thousands of fans of the original production are willing to pay tons of money just to see y'all. Outstanding job I'd say, well done! Y'all are great! :D
This production is incredible! By bringing it into the present day, the story resonates so much more with viewers. Also, I know many, many people would love to have a full DVD of this available for people who can't travel to Dallas.
I can't explain how much I wish I'd known about this during the run. I would LOVE to have seen this live. The story works so well in the updated setting. This is just incredible.
this production proves how timeless this work is, ugh i love it!
I love how modern it looks. Never seen like this before
This looks absolutely amazing!!! What a wonderful way to revitalize an overdone but beautiful musical! If I wasn't dead broke, I would fly to Dallas just to see it! Job well done, guys! This is what theater is all about!
GOD THIS IS EVERYTHING I'VE EVER WANTED. les miserables is honestly one of the best musicals to bring into the modern age, i mean none of the issues (prejudice, classism, misogyny, social inequality) have disappeared, they're all still very much present in this day and age. A++ production.
MODERN DAY AU OF LES MIS! WITH BLACKS AND LATINOS AS THE OPPRESSED! AND COSETTE IS ASIAN! I LOVE THIS OMG THIS IS SUCH A GOOD IDEA!!! This just demonstrates how oppression and inequality is still very present in our modern society, and that we should fight it! I love how Les Mis is still relevant in our society today, despite being set in 19th century France. I read a tumblr post about a modern day Les Mis, and it is basically this!!! AGSHDJDHXVDVD
Your comment comes off as someone making fun of tumblr. Its unironic cringe.
i'm not im sorry if i came off that way i really was super excited for this :(((((
I think it sounds fine! I'm happy someone's out here being unironically excited :D
I love Les Miserables so much, it is my all time favourite production. Seeing it in all forms and watching it get adapted in various ways puts such a smile to my face. The songs beg for amazing voices and togetherness and from what I gather, this production fills that quota fittingly.
Damn it why can't I live in Dallas?!?? I would do anything to see this this production!
I feel your pain...I live a hour away from Dallas and I STILL can't go ):
i love to see a dvd of this, oh my god. this is beautiful and the adaptation is pretty much flawless. this is amazing, great job to everyone involved
Saw this a few weeks ago. It's my favorite production of Les Mis ... and I've seen it in London and NYC. DTC's production is amazing.
I had the opportunity to see this. It was the best version since the original came out. I WISH this version would have toured, or gone to Broadway. I was blown away on the creativity, the singing, the acting, everything.
I've heard so many incredible reviews of the show and I would adore a DVD of it! I would prefer to be in the audience of the show (just because I heard it's so much better with the energy when you're there) and I'd love if this cast and production were able to tour!
WHAT WOULD I NOT GIVE FOR A DVD PRODUCTION OF THIS
Please DTC - please have mercy on this poor highschooler living in the other side of the pacific ocean (and of course other people who are dying for a filmed version) and release a DVD version? Please???
This feels extra relevant right now. i wish y'all could release a dvd or stream of this.
Modern costuming adds a nice touch to this classic! Vocals are wonderful. A beautiful production of this important show.
This looks like such an amazing production and I wish I could see it. I completely agree with everyone asking for a DVD, I would love one as there is no way I can travel from New Zealand to see this show!
We saw this last night in Dallas. For those who have doubt, I implore you to go and enjoy. It's was beautifully done
OMG what are they doing during One Day More? I guess I've seen the Broadway show to many times to get used to this particular staging which is pretty wild. Voices are good particularly Inspector Javert who apparently is now a captain.
Three years late, but I've read that the choreography in One Day More was taken straight from videos of protests in South Africa!
Jim Michaud I
I am guessing he’s a narc if he infiltrated the students
PLEASE let there be a DVD of this. It's spectacular and I would give a great deal to be able to see it in full!
I would definitely order a dvd copy of this if it was available!!
This looks like an amazing production of les mis, I would totally pay for a dvd if they made one!!
Wonderful production. The voices were outstanding.
I really hope you film and release the whole thing! This production looks wonderful--and timely.
I wish that could have happened too, but outside of extremely rare instances, it's illegal for theater companies to do that. I'm not expert about such things, but I think maybe it's okay for them to make a video recording of a show for their own, internal purposes, to have a record archived for reference, and only in very limited circumstances. I know of companies that make copies of such recordings for cast members (and perhaps other artistic and technical staff?), which might or might not be technically allowed, by various unions, individual artists, and, probably most importantly, by the organizations that hold rights to the shows, the orchestrations, etc., in this case Music Theatre International (MTI).
The situation that many videos of shows, in part or in full, are available to see online fairly easily these days, is of course quite new, and mostly illegal. It seems like there's been such a proliferation of all that (not to mention movies, TV shows, concerts, etc.), that some 'powers that be' don't do a lot to combat it, or go after with much diligence, people who put such recordings online. I might be wrong in that impression, but it appears to me to be a situation with too many horses racing out of too many barns, constantly, for most entities to be able to stamp it out effectively. They definitely have the right to go after people or groups making materials available publicly, and might well choose to do so sometimes, but for many, if not most organizations, there's just too much stuff out there to be able to find it all, and then to take legal action. (One organization that seems to keep up the effort, however, is Disney and whatever sub-companies they have; I found that out after watching SNL with Anna Kendrick hosting, on Hulu; I wondered what happened to her opening, and what it had been. Soon found out it was an apparently hilarious LITTLE MERMAID spoof, which Disney demanded be cut from the Hulu video, and which they manage to keep off of UA-cam, fairly effectively. The point is, Disney's got the manpower and legal resources to be pretty relentless.)
Well!--I certainly went on and on, on my tangent. The point is, y'all are fortunate to grow up being able to access so many resources, so easily. But there still are limits, especially for law-abiding folks, so we won't get to see any DTC LES MIS video publicly anytime soon--at least not legally.
AvalonMorley That makes sense. I was thinking about A Very Potter Musical, but that was their own original parody, which is protected by copyright. It's a pity we won't get to see more of this production, but I'm glad we got a sampling of it--and hopefully other places will adapt Les Mis in a modern setting and I'll get to see it in person :)
If I didn't live on the other side of the world I'd come and see this, it looks so cool!
I have gotten to see this fabulous performance once. Highly recommended! excited I get to see it again on Aug. 1.
This looks so cool!! I would love to have a DVD of this!!
(watch out for my channel)
This looks like "Les Mis" meets "Jagged Little Pill"/“West Side Story”, and I honestly love it.
This. This is theatre as it is meant to be. So wish I could've seen this live.
this adaptation is even more relevant today
What an interesting way to show that the themes and people in Victor Hugo's Les Miserables are universal, and that we still are those people and live those themes today.
This is such a beautiful and well done production, I'd kill for a dvd!
XD I can't tell if Valjean smiling at the end of the opening was the actor breaking character or scripted
+Broadwaypuppet ikr lol I think he broke character cause the way Javert took his glasses off haha
+Broadwaypuppet +Anna Moore Hmm, I saw it as a clear example of the classical "oh my God you can't be serious I thought I woud be free this is ridiculous I only stole a loaf of bread"-smile. I guess you might be right, but it worked totally fine for me ;)
Wish I'd lived in Texas this summer! I was stuck on the other side of the country, no way to see this amazing production. D:
I'm so pleased to see an official video that at least gives us a taste of the show.
I wish I could see the whole thing though.
I love how this Javert sings in Stars… I feel like it humanizes Javert so much
This seriously gave me chills
Damn the Javert/Valjean scene is very uncomfortable with these modern costumes
This looks amazing. I seriously hope you guys produce a DVD. I would pay anything to own a DVD of this.
oh my god im so jealous of ppl who can watch this. i live far away in south-east asia and the only way i can probably watch them is by cd/dvd. i would be so sooooooo sad if they didnt make this production available by digital copy. i mean, a modERN LES MIS FOR GODS SAKE!! WHO WOULDNT SEE THAT?!?!?
Chills and I love one day more so good
Wow! This looks amazing! !
This Javert is amazing! I think he deserves the role in bigger productions of Les Miz.
I love this version. I want to see this.
This looks amazing! The story translates well into modern times, and it's a really interesting concept!
Does anyone know what revolution was put in the place of the french revolution? Is it the civil rights movement? Or a modern fictional/generic one?
I'd say a generic one, with so many modern revolts and movements to choose from as inspiration.
"say do you here the distant drums" gives me chills.
7:30 getting serious Steve Jobs vibes from this guy
Also Eponine has a nice voice, so do Cosette and Fantine.
Dallas is so far away but I need to see all of this!
PLEASE release a cast album. they are GORGEOUS.
En vivo es increible!
A M A Z I N G 😍😍😍😍😍😍
javert is amazing! the whole cast is
This modernized production struck me the wrong way at first, it didn't seem to fit well. I thought about it and I feel like it's foreshadowing the current state of the U.S. Pretty soon people will be imprisoned for simple crimes. Protests will be very intense as well as prevalent. Things are changing around here. Just because it hasn't hit home yet doesn't mean it's not already like this and worse in other countries. I feel like the adaptation of les Mis here is very fitting.
I love Nehal so muchm
reminds me of the 2009 hamlet with david tennant in it where it was acted with a lot of modern day stuff. helps contextualize the earlier work which is great
BRAVISSIMI!!!! :)
Fantine and Eponine are amazing.
I LIVE NEAR DALLAS BUT I DIDNT GET INTO LES MIS UNTIL LAST YEAR AND NOW IM SAD
Is this like a modern version of Les Mis or something? Why the modern dress?
That's just how the director chose to go. Though people refer to this as "modern version," the setting was not specified, and it didn't feel exactly like "today" (no cell phones or many other ubiquitous details that would be present if it were specifically now). But, obviously, it felt different than when it's set in the 1800s. Although we know the revolution in Les Mis is based on the June Uprising of 1832, I don't think there's any mention of a year or specific date in the show (please correct me if there is), and, even if there is, so many of the issues in the show are pretty timeless:
Pervasive, extremely difficult to escape poverty; hunger and lack of basic needs compelling people towards crime; police brutality; inappropriate sentencing, sometimes of people innocent of the crime (Dallas' current District Attorney has put a high priority on going back over cases and, with help from the Innocence Project, has gotten many long-term prisoners cleared and freed--there have been some appallingly bad practices in prosecution for many years); human kindness and mercy, and inspiration to reform because of that; workers being exploited as they do mind-numbing, sometimes physically punishing work; harassment, sexual and otherwise, of workers and colleagues; people--especially naive, innocent people--falling in love with others, who use them and then leave (leading often to unprepared single mothers); women in desperate situations falling into, or being lured or trapped into prostitution; parents' love for their children, adopted or not, and concern about what will happen to them if the parent dies too early; guilt over seeing someone else get convicted and punished for a crime you did; lots and lots of greed, opportunism and treachery; child abuse and slavery; being on the run, in hiding, from the law; young, innocent, first love and the feelings it brings; unrequited love, pining over someone you can never have; idealistic youths, often students, gaining awareness of injustices and wrongs of all kinds, and trying to organize like-minded people to protest, revolt, do something to right the wrongs; such actions/revolutions often failing, with the powerful status quo triumphing-again; people dieing for (often hopeless or failed) causes, and others mourning them; people loving, losing and mourning in general....
During the run of this production, Ferguson, Missouri kind of blew up after Michael Brown was killed by a police officer. I'm sure you know about the protests and conflict that followed that, with organizers (many very young ones) trying to get the people to stand up to what many saw as inappropriate policing, and to channel the righteous anger into meaningful, appropriate actions. Seeing the show during that time, the parallels were very affecting, making the show feel even more immediate.
Of course, updating Hugo's story is not a new thing to do. One of my favorite movies of the 1990s is LES MISERABLES, a loose adaptation, which is set before, during and after the Nazi occupation of France. Highly recommended, though it's sadly unavailable on DVD or download, I believe. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Mis%C3%A9rables_%281995_film%29.
@@AvalonMorley I come very late but what a great review.
can i just ask who Javert is because God on High is he amazing
Edward Watts, whose bio is bursting with cool credits, among which is at least one tour of Les Mis. He also played Clark/Superman in the Encores IT'S A BIRD, IT'S A PLANE... awhile back, which is where I recognized him from (only from videos and pictures, not live, unfortunately). His Javert was certainly the best I'd ever seen. Even though I've only seen three productions, I suspect that he'd be the best of a wider sampling than that. The show was better than these clips display (and there had been some revision from what's seen here, which I think was recorded fairly early in the run). Even not being a particular Les Mis fan, I can't help but hope they'd bring this back (very unlikely, and also unlikely that they could assemble this same excellent cast, if they did). Great stuff!
They can do what they like with it. It`s a great musical nonetheless. I know some directors in the past have massacred it and it doesn`t play out as such a great musical as a result but this isn`t terrible and I sort of get what the director was going for. He/she wasn`t necessarily going for "modern." I don`t think director was really going for anything specific. I think it`
I love almost everything about this (the costumes! the set! the way the actors look!) but the american accents are so distracting. I guess maybe that happens with american productions and it seems like maybe this version is set in the States anyway, but I'm so used to hearing European accents at the least if not the actual French version that it's really jarring, especially with Marius.
could anyone tell me the name of this wonderful cast ?
Javert 😍
The guy playing Enjorlas with the beret and anti-fascist vest 🥵 love it
I'm confused, what are the factory workers doing during At the end of the day?
I was thinking the same thing. Some kind of quality control?
NO? it kinda looks like they're washing windows
Yeah, but only kinda ;)
I don't think it's necessarily a definite, particular job, but more a stylized evocation of mindless, soulless, repetitive work of the kind that can crush your spirit. I'm trying to think if they actually changed that somewhat, after this clip was made, but I'm not sure.
.. okay fine
This is a different production of Les Misérables, looks like it was set in modern times and way different than to the original and new productions from Cameron Mackintosh
Why is Valjean only in the trailer a few times but Marius is in it all over the place? Is the actor a big star in the Dallas theater world or something?
Nope. I think he's based in NYC. Not in Dallas, anyway. He was wonderful, but they all were.
i just noticed that you can actually hear Javert pen click
Interesting concept, but some of the costumes are questionable. Like the student's costume were a bit much and I'm not a fan of the Steve Jobs Jean Valjean during Bring Hime Home. Just a tad bit heavy handed.
Great show, at last something exciting, no those dusty custumes. I liked the barricade scene. But where is the choir? There supposed to be a crowd.
what are they doing in At the End of the Day?
I think they're washing windows. In a lot of period presentations I've seen, the factory work is used to create a beat for the song, which is why the workers are using metal pipes in buckets to simulate cleaning.
This is so stupid I love it
To me, this reads more as a dystopian situation with current technology than set in any actual place that currently exists. Mostly it was the creepy masks that the guards wore, but still...
Yeah, it definitely didn't seem to be set in any actual, specific place, and it felt pretty dystopian (but then, most of Les Mis seems that way to me, in any production I've seen), but it sure felt right in the thick of things, with the mess that's been taking place over in Ferguson, Missouri lately. Pretty immediate.
A modern les mis
This seems really interesting and I would've loved to see it, but the lack of British/English accents kinda took it too far in my opinion.
sorry but that dance brake is revolting
***** Carrie, have you seen this??!
Fantastic. Bring this production on the road. Really bring it to Boston
Looks like the same thing with different clothes.
At first I thought it was weird that the modern Éponine is dressing up as a guy but then I though that maybe she's genderfluid or something (sorry, I don't know these terms) in this version? :D
She's disguised herself as a guy, to be able to move more freely and to fight with the students. When she has her cap on, all her hair is up inside it. I've always thought the Eponines in the other productions I've seen were doing similarly, if not going so far--those versions of Eponine wore long mens' coats, at least, and played down their feminine features.
This looks like perhaps the worst mistake in all of theater. The performers seem fine, but WHAT THE F did they do to Les Mis?? This should never be attempted!!!
Yeah! Theatre should be dead and stagnant! What were they thinking trying anything new and innovative?
Completely unnecessary to modernize this show. Over time that could ruin it. the voices in the video sounded good but lacked authenticity. there is just something missing. To me this looked more like a play with high quality talent and not a broadway production
.... It wasn't a Broadway production.
A classic and there's always someone who thinks that their way is better.....LES MIS Purists beware.
Freely taken straight from any production of " Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Rent"...modernizing it with snarling, pouting, and stomping made this an instant cliche of "been there,done that"
This production was outdated on opening night. It's approach to putting it into modern " it-could-be 'today" sensibility has been beaten to death and it fails miserably here... What looks like a very talented cast is given a mediocre palette of design to overcome. " One Day More" is an embarrassingly kitschy mess.
God this looks terrible
Lord, but it was wonderful.
Looks like they're trying too hard to be "relevant and accessible". It's like a horrible tumblr post come to life.
Okay, granpa...
Terrible!
I just stumbled on this. This looks atrocious. What was the director thinking. Seriously?
PETITION FOR DVD RELEASE AND/OR NATIONAL TOUR
(watch out for my channel)
The march they do in 'One Day More' is so legit...