Are we really ready for the return of "Les Miz?" Or, are you like me and you somehow feel like it's never really left at all?
The show will be a bit different than from what we remember. Though the staging will be more or less identical, it has been reconceived to an extent to fit a smaller theater, and will also have minimalized orchestrations, as is the unstoppable trend nowadays.
Among the British mega-musicals ("Cats," "The Phantom of the Opera," "Miss Saigon," "Les Miz"), ALL of them have been produced by Cameron Macintosh, the English theater producer whose opulent successes rival that of Ziegfeld. However, among those spectacles, "Les Miz" has the most humanity. Even if it is a show recognized mainly by its barricade sets and epic storyline and nasal ballads, "Les Miz," in its way, is a show about finding God in a very New Testament way. Pay close attention to Jean Valjean in the Prologue and you'll see what I mean.
"Les Miz" opens Thursday night and reviews will be out on Friday morning. Word on the street is that the show is basically fine, but it apparently may have been better off without the questionable casting of a certain Broadway diva in a supporting role. In any case, though she has the show's best ballad, her character dies after like ten minutes. Big deal. Who cares. There are like 15 other lead roles to worry about.