Review of Les Misérables
Upon hearing that Charles (Charlie) Hagerty was going to go on as Marius (Adam
Jacobs had scheduled vacation days that happened to fall this weekend), I had to
go!
Tonight's cast: Rest of cast in order of
appearance: * Charles Hagerty understudied for the role of Marius Wow. Wow. Wow. "Bring Him Home" was a show-stopper as usual.
But even the "Epilogue" was so well done (mainly him, but also him playing off
of Leslie) that I was close to tears (and it's been years since that's
happened). Randal took a lot more time in between beats (scene beats, not
musical beats) and allowed for emotional resonance. Example: right after "Yes,
Cosette, forbid me now to die ... I'll obey, I will try", there was a huge long
pause before he reached to pull out the letter for Cosette. It was perfect.
Robert Hunt: Incredibly intense, like always.
I'm sorry to say this performance of hers just did not do anything for me. Flat,
emotionless (especially in "I Dreamed a Dream"), and her "Come to Me" and death
were disappointingly subpar. She must have been having an off-day.
I had a better view of Meg this time, sitting on the left side of the theatre --
and she did indeed have a rather blank look on her face while Madame Thénardier
was babying Young Eponine, not looking particularly frightened or upset like
Rachel does. But to her credit, she sings beautifully.
Usually I don't comment about Young Eponine because you really don't see
anything except for the back of her head and her general movements. But I felt a
need to comment on Rachel's Young Eponine because I was very clearly able to see
her face from where I was sitting. But she is absolutely
wonderful at it. She doesn't have any lines to sing, but man, in just those 30
seconds or so when she's sneering and making faces at Young Cosette, she was
awesome. Bratty, spoiled, mean.
A
Saturday, July 23, 2005 at 8:00pm
Curran Theatre
San Francisco, CA
Jean Valjean
Randal Keith
Mme. Thénardier
Jennifer Butt
Javert
Robert Hunt
Gavroche
Noah E. Galvin
Fantine
Joan Almedilla
Eponine
Melissa Lyons
Young Cosette
Meg Guzulescu
Enjolras
Michael Halling
Young Eponine
Rachel Schier
Marius
Charles Hagerty *
M. Thénardier
Norman Large
Cosette
Leslie Henstock
Farmer
Roger Seyer
Montparnasse
Kip Driver
The Bishop of Digne
Michael St. John
Babet
Kevin David Thomas
Constables
James Chip Leonard, Kevin David Thomas
Brujon
David Michael Felty
Foreman
Pierce Peter Brandt
Claquesous
James Chip Leonard
Factory Girl
Kelly McCormick
Combeferre
Pierce Peter Brandt
Old Woman (locket)
Karen Elliot
Feuilly
Randy Glass ***
Crone (hair)
Nina Negri
Courfeyrac
Roger Seyer
Pimp
James Chip Leonard
Joly
Don Brewer **
Bamatabois
Trent Blanton
Grantaire
Trent Blanton
Fauchelevant
James Chip Leonard
Lesgles
Michael St. John
Old Beggar Woman ("Look Down")
Marnie Nicolella
Jean Prouvaire
Ryan Williams
Young Prostitute
Carrie A. Johnson
Major Domo
Don Brewer **
** Don Brewer replaces roles usually played by Charles Hagerty
*** Randy Glass replaces roles usually played by Eric Briarley
bsolutely hilarious today.
In "Master of the House", when he sings "three percent for sleeping with the
window shut", he held up two fingers very clearly. It definitely adds to the
effect of Thénardier not having a full set of brains. Then before "Beggars at
the Feast", when he drops the platter, he immediately grabbed the stick the
Major Domo (was that Don Brewer?) was holding and pounded it a couple times, but
then he grabbed Don's hand and made him motion for the orchestra to start up
again. The conductor also contributed to this scene as well -- at least, I don't
think I noticed this before -- because just before that, he ducked down and
pretended to come to attention when the stick was pounded. And like last time,
he spit in Meg's (Young Cosette) face to wipe her clean and actually had Meg
hanging upside down on his arm this time. I literally was crying with laughter.
Norman also startled me quite well during "Dog Eats
Dog" when he sings "And God in His heaven, he don't interfere" in a rather low
hushed voice, and all of a sudden shouted "'cause he's dead! as the
stiffs at my feet ..."
Great chemistry with Norman Large. So much more spunk than last week. I wonder if he'd
gotten sick last week (because I know that Sean Gilbert went on instead of him
last Friday evening) and possibly wasn't quite feeling 100% the next day. But
today, he was amazing. I'd almost forgotten how good of an actor he is for just
being 8 years old. There was one line where it sounded like he tripped over his
words, but it was fairly subtle. I can't remember where it was ...
I wonder if Melissa was coming down with something or if she was
getting over something because her voice was ever-so-slightly rough around the
edges. There were quite a few places where transitions weren't as smooth as she
usually makes them.
So good. Very different from Adam Jacobs, particularly in
the sense that Charlie actually changes the dynamic of his voice. He uses soft
tones as well as strong ones, and it gives Marius a lot more depth. And he sings
so well, too. The very instant he started singing during "The Robbery",
my heart leapt with joy. He makes a handsome Marius and has a perfect voice that
fits this role. I'll bet most of the audience wouldn't have known he was an
understudy if they didn't have the little understudy slips. The only place where
Adam is stronger is "Empty Chair at Empty Tables" -- Charlie was somewhat flat
during this scene, though I guess it could be seen as sorrowful rather than
grieving and angry as Adam does it, but I just wasn't quite as moved as I have
been in the past. (It almost seemed like he was focusing too much on the melodic
aspect of the song, and not paying enough attention to the deep emotions written
in the lyrics.) But everywhere
else ... wow. I really enjoyed his approach to being love struck during "Red and
Black", and he almost seemed to be floating with giddiness, which carried over
nicely to "In My Life" and "A Heart Full of Love". He played off of Leslie very
well, and the two of them had a great chemistry together.
A few years ago, I think it was Scott Hunt I saw as Marius (I'll
need to check my reviews), and I loved the way he touched Eponine's shoulder as
they both sang, "In my life, there is someone who touches my life" -- and
Charlie did that! It's such a nice (albeit, sad for Eponine) moment. Speaking of
Eponine, he had a great dynamic with Melissa Lyons that suggests that they both
had been friends for quite some time, but that it was completely platonic for
him and couldn't (or wouldn't) see that Eponine was in love with him. "A Little
Fall of Rain" was quite moving, and Charlie topped it off with a long, sorrowful
kiss on Eponine's forehead after she died. Also, at the very beginning of "One Day More", when Marius goes to
kneel at the front of the stage and in distraught that Cosette is going to be
moving away, there was something about the way Charlie did it that made that
moment so much more realistic. He didn't
look at Melissa at all during that time and didn't acknowledge her presence, but they way he did it
-- the expression of devastation and helplessness on his face, it fit
perfectly well that way.
However, I must note the height difference between Charlie and Michael
Halling is quite amusing. I think Charlie is the shortest cast member and I know
Michael is the tallest. This is amusing in itself in their regular roles during
"The Wedding Chorale" and "Beggars at the Feast", but seeing their Marius/Enjolras
dynamic in this way (when it's not supposed to be funny) was a little odd.
Part of this, I know, was because we were sitting house left,
which is only my second time sitting on that side, but I think also having seen
Ashley Fox Linton and Nina Negri the previous two times, but I noticed how much
more depth Leslie Henstock gives Cosette's character. (And yay! She was feeling
better enough to go on!) Youthful and bubbly as I've mentioned before, but also
so determined that she almost comes across as demanding when she wants Valjean
to tell her about her (and his) past, a sense of "Oh god, what have I done?"
when Valjean decides that they are going to move away, and an angry
child-giving-a-parent-the-silent-treatme
Michael Halling really does get better and better every show. I
really enjoy his singing now, and it's such a stark contrast to the first show I
saw him in. The dynamic between him and Grantaire was slightly different again
in "Drink with Me". This time, after he and Trent's Grantaire exchanged a few
words, Michael stood up and gestured as if to say, "I don't want to her another
word!
Miscellaneous notes (most have been forgotten by now, sadly):
