If you had to name your all-time favorite Broadway Musical, one you could watch again and again, what would it be? My answer is easy: undoubtedly it's Les Miserables.
You can safely say I am quite a groupie of the show, having watched the Broadway production 4 times; once in London, twice in NYC, and the 4th time recently at the Israeli translated production in TLV. In addition, I’ve watched the movie version four times at the actual movie theaters and a few times at home.
A few fun facts about the show are: The London production of Les Miserables is the world’s longest running musical where it has played 7,602 performances at the Palace Theatre[1]. There are approximately 101 cast members and crew directly involved in every performance, not including front of house staff, ticket sales, wardrobe staff, set contractors, maintenance, office staff, advertising and publicity. Les Misérables has won over 140 major theatre awards including an Olivier, 8 Tonys, a Grammy, and 5 Helpmann Awards.
This last September I had the privilege of watching the Israeli "Habima" rendition of the Broadway play. To tell the truth, before coming I didn’t have such high expectations, but the reality exceeded any expectations I had.
I thought the acting was great, the set & costumes didn’t fall much behind those of the Broadway production and the singing was excellent. Moreover, I found the translation to be spot-on. Finally, what absolutely threw me was Amir Dadon's outstanding performance as the leading male character, Jean Valjean.
So, if you are a musical lover and can't afford a trip to NYC ;), I highly recommend checking out the Israeli rendition of Les Mis'.[2] Have fun and tell me what were your thoughts.
Sounds like fun!
ReplyDeleteI haven't yet seen Les Mis' but had the pleasure of seeing other musicals in the past (I loved The Lion King). Amir Dadon has an amazing voice. it's nice to hear that he can act as well.
WOW!
ReplyDeleteYou really are a groupie of that musical!!
I think it's incredible that you keep enjoying it even though you've watched it so many times. Thanks for the great advice!
I love Broadway!
ReplyDeleteI think my favorite is Wicked.
Now there's the new Harry Potter musical which I'm not sure is Broadway but I really want to watch.
Les Misérables! It remains me my childhood. All children/teenagers have to read this novel of Victor Hugo as he is considered one of the greatest French writers of the 19th century. I would have liked to see the show in Israel. Lucky you!
ReplyDeleteYou can see it - it's still on. And I see ads for discounted tickets all the time, for example on Groupon.
DeleteI meant it reminds me ( not remains) :))
ReplyDelete