Les Mis Revival Nears End Of The Day
Les Mis Revival Nears End Of The DayIt may be the longest running musical in the history of London's West End -- achieving that feat on October 8 with 8,732 performances over the last 21 years -- but the current Broadway revival of Les Misérables will close on January 6, 2008 after 479 regular performances.
Not bad, considering that the revival was originally slated to run as a six-month limited engagement, but was extended more than once. But it is slightly baffling, given that the box office grosses just over a week ago were still pretty solid with the showing selling to 92.5% of capacity, although the average ticket price was just below $65.
The original Broadway version enjoyed 6,680 performances that stretched from March 12, 1987 all the way to May 18, 2003. After the revival opened, there was considerable carping that the revival merely copied the original staging.
Although the revival's casting initially appealed to me, to be honest, I never did get around to seeing the revival since I found the original to be so overwrought. It ranks right behind Cats -- another overproduced longtime box office champ from Cameron Mackintosh -- on my personal least-liked musicals of all time. But clearly, with its worldwide success, I'm in a small minority.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.
Related Stories:
Critics: Les Misérables Round Two (November 10, 2006)
The Turntable Spins Again: Les Misérables Revival Opens On Broadway (November 9, 2006)
Apple Tree In Good Company Among SOB Readers (November 6, 2006)
Casting Call (Week Ending June 7, 2006) (June 7, 2006)
Les Misérables' Broadway Revival to Boast Must-See Cast (June 5, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Cameron Mackintosh, Cats, Closing Notices, Les Miserables, London, Musical, Revival
posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Monday, October 29, 2007
4 Comments:
As I've already admitted to Man in Chair, I love "Les Miserables." The story is a classic. How can you not be moved by the tale of a man imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his starving family? And it's one of my favorite scores ever, so tender and funny and stirring. How can you not love "Master of the House" and get chills from "Do You Hear the People Sing?" Ok, maybe it is a little bit of a spectacle. But I kind of like seeing a spectacle. I guess we'll just have to disagree on this one. Sigh. But I'm with you on "Cats." Never saw it, never had any desire to see it.
Esther, The story may be a classic, but I was unmoved. Maybe I hit it on a bad night?
The biggest problem with Les Miz- is the sung through score. Instead of having dialogue between songs, the sung-through recitative simply repeats the same music as the songs, so the melodies get hammered into your brain.
Michael
www.myspace.com/wickedstage
Michael, and there are many problems with Les Miz, aren't there?!
Post a Comment
<< Home