Les Miserables Reviews

Cindy from Tracy,CA USA

WONDERFUL

I had to see it twice it was so good and I would go back again. The best show I have ever seen, truly wonderful and I can't get enough. Take your family, take your friends they will love it for sure. Every seat in the house is good. If your looking for a nice place to eat try Scoma's on the warf.

Joy from Carmel, IN USA

GREATEST SHOW!

This is my forth time to see this show. I've never get bored no matter how many times I see it. Rather, each time, I got more excited, and can't stop that my heart is pounding. I sing and cry with them. This show is extremely intensive, powerful, and beautiful. It gives me strength and enjoyment. The end of the first act, ending with 'One Day More', all the audience take a breath and say just "Wow..." And we all are naturally invited to the second act. Three hours length feels very short because of its depth and quality. Every single cast is very professional and performs enthusiastically. In the end, we all stand up and give a thunder of applause to the company. We don't want you to end! Please come back to Indianapolis again soon... this is my only wish! Thank you for giving us the wonderful and memorable night...

Dan M from Boston

ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC

My wife and I always wanted to see this show, and it totally went beyond all of our expectations!! Another great experience at the Boston Opera House!

David Silchman from Fort Calhoun, Nebraska

SAW IT IN OMAHA

This is a completely new production, with astounding visual effects (not the oh-so-tired-of-them computer variety) I had never before seen in theatre. The way the show is presented is somewhat different but the original is still there in all its glory. I enjoyed every minute of it and would see it many times more.

Anonymous from Anytown, AT 55555

EXCELLENT

Wonderful performance... Matinee on Christmas Eve. My family has seen this show multiple times in NYC, in London, in Los Angeles, in Ft. Worth (about maybe 8 yrs. or so) and now again at the Winspear. Excellent. Strong lead characters.

Yolanda from San Francisco

CERTAINEMENT UN DOIT VOIR !

I saw the Broadway musical Les Misérables, based on Victor Hugo’s classic novel, an uplifting story about the survival of the human spirit. It was an excellent script, with powerful actors whose lungs never gave up; the re-imagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo, which included the integration of video during the chase scenes in the Paris sewers, were remarkable and lifelike. The songs were of many moods—angry, jubilant, romantic, and wistful. The whole audience were in awe and standing ovations were well earned by the crew—All in all, it was unquestionably a spectacular production from start to finish! Definitely a must see, for all, including children.

Michelle from San Francisco

GREAT PLAY

Saw this a few years ago in SF where my friend played the lead role) and it was just amazing! It was really moving. I'd watch this again. Five stars all the way!

Anonymous from Costa Mesa

WONDERFUL

Loved this version of Les Miz!

Les Mis Lover from Texas

AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!

Les Mis is the best musical ever written! It moved me, like nothing has before!

AKS from San Francisco

AMAZING

I'm what you might call a Les Mis junkie...I own all the different cast recordings, I've seen the show over 10 times, and I've read the book (yes, the unabridged version) three times. My background with Les Mis being what it is, I'm a bit opinionated. In a word? Amazing. Still moving. I love some of the changes they made (speeding up the music, changing the special affects...). Do I miss the spinny stage? Of course, but in this case now, the actors need to depend on their ability to tell the story (and SELL it - which they do), and not depend on a gimmick. The SF cast brought their A-game to the show. The musical and acting ability of every one of them was top notch. I've seen Colm Wilkinson as Jean Valjean, and I know I'm committing Les Mis blasphemy here, but I honestly think Peter Lockyear was the best Jean Valjean I've ever heard. Go see it. Take a box of tissues with you, and enjoy this recreation of a timeless story.

Brittany from Monterey, CA

AMAZING!!

My fiance bought tickets for us to see Les Miserables for my birthday. I was blown away!! It was amazing in every way. The cast and crew did such an amazing job. From the set, lighting, and special effects to the amazingly talented voices of the cast, it was a perfect and unforgettable experience!!!

Jael from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

ADVANCED THEATRE TRIP

I think this show was absolutely amazing, maybe because I haven't seen many live shows outside of school but when my teacher Mrs. Brown told us we were going to see it I was already stoked. The effects were amazing and the singing was phenomenal in my opinion, I just wanted to share my great experience with everyone who did't get see it because it was just so brilliant!

Larry H from Washington, District of Columbia

BEST SHOW EVER

If you only see one show in your lifetime, it should be this one. I have the CD, DVD, and see it in the theatre everytime I can. Enjoy the show!

Dr. Matigian from Chicago, Illinois

IF YOU DIDN'T LIKE IT YOU DON'T KNOW LES MIZ

We (wife and I) have seen nearly every production in Chicago since 1992 going back to the big stage, turntable, Auditorium productions. We have always enjoyed it but it's been a long time since we've loved it. What a cast!! Great job, guys!!

Christine from Cleveland, Ohio

THE BEST PRODUCTION YET

I have seen Les Miserable before, but this was the best production to date. No other show featured an entire cast with such perfect voices. Valjean and Javert were the best I have seen. I loved this production and was pleased to take my husband to see the Cleveland performance as his first Les Mis viewing. Highly recommend

Rosanne from Sarasota, Florida

JUST WONDERFUL

I cannot believe the criticism of this remarkable production. We left the theater completely drained emotionally. The performers put their hearts into every word, every action. The seats were fine, except I always manage to have a tall person in front of me. ( I'm 4'10). We are from Pennsylvania and the theater was truly beautiful, the staff helpful and friendly. I would go again if our vacation wasn't ending soon. Valjean, Javert, such dynamics between the two. Little gavroche, powerful. Eponine displayed such feeling.. Poor reviews for this play are hard to fathom. Credit should be given to performers who have brought to life the greatest literature ever written.

Derek & Mam from Boston

LES MISERABLES, A TRAGIC AND BEAUTIFUL STORY...SUCH IS LIFE.

What a visually stunning, tragic and beautiful story... and what an overall, Magnificent Performance! Les Miserables, is a must see.

Dora from Boston

AWESOME!!!

I saw the production on a tuesday and convinced my family to buy tickets so we could see it again. It is PHENOMENAL. The set is very creative and modern, and the orchestra did a fantastic interpretation of the score. The actors were really good and had amazing voices, especially Enjolras and Javer. They are also nice people, and give autographs and pictures whenever. I wish I could have seen it a million more times. It's too bad they're leaving today...

Anonymous from San Francisco

WHY IS IT SO LOUD?!?!?!!

Great--now that we have the technology to put a microphone on the forehead of everyone in the cast, we have also apparently decided that a musical play has to be presented at the same volume as a rock concert. The volume level is totally painful to the ears, not to mention the distortion that comes with turning up a sound system beyond its sweet spot. The sound engineering team should be ashamed for ruining such a great production. Whatever you do, bring ear protection!

F. Lee Finch from Leavenworth, Kansas

BEST SET, LIGHTING, VOICES, ORCHESTRA!!!

My wife has seen Les Mis about 6 times and I have seen it 4 times now. This is one of the best shows I've seen. The orchestra was great! Wish I could play the trombone-tuba part in this. What a blast! Voices were very well balanced with the orchestra... Hats off to the sound crew! We thought this was a little different version as we noticed that the solos were much more free/rubato than we've heard before. It allowed the soloists to try to be more natural and dynamic with the words, vice a strict tempo. Nice job. Loved it. This is a great tour group. Nice to see musicians traveling with the tour.

D from Boston

IF IT'S NOT BROKE, DON'T FIX IT!

I've seen this play multiple times in Boston and London. i've loved it every time. I'm really glad I went tonight and think everyone should see this timeless musical. The new production, however is not even close to the original. Fantine's voice is so weak in the beginning of the play. It didn't grab me. In the original version, even when she was dying and singing softly, there was a strength behind her voice. Near the end, she belted out her words, moving the audience to tears. In the new version. I sat, mouth open, feeling completely let down. Where was the power? The rest of the production was pretty good. They all have beautiful voices, but I felt that many times the singers were holding back instead of grabbing the audience with their wonderful voices. Was this because of the new director? The original has been around for two decades for a reason. Bring back the beauty of the original.

Anonymous from Anytown, AT 55555

GOOD, BUT NOT GREAT

Music is excellent as always. Stage set and projected effects are very good. Some material is missing (20 minutes worth.)Valjean, Javert, Enjolras and Mdm.Thenardier are outstanding. Young Cosette, Gavroche and Eponine are OK at best. Adult Cosette is good. Fantine is awful. Good production, but not as good as the original. Worth seeing, especially if its new to you.

Scott h from Vancouver, British Columbia

MY VANVOUVER LES MISERSBLE EXPERIENCE

First of all I must say that les miserable is my favorite broadway show, having seen it 3 times now in vancouver and once in london. Overall I liked the latest showing. Both val jean and javrert performed quite well. I only have 2 critiques that took away from an overall enjoyable evening. First of all about half of the performers had their mikes hanging down on their forheads which was hard to ignore. For me sitting in row 9 seat 43 it was distacting and took away from their performance. (Not that I blame the cast for this). The second critique is hard to say. I have always believed that the best person for a job should get it. That being said, having Marius played by an asian man in an 1800s period Paris play was a bit to take in (even though he did a good job of it). I just felt like it wss a little out of place, but we live in a PC country now. Overall I did enjoy the show and had a nice evening out

Pmfl from Atlanta, GA

LES MISERABLES IN ATLANTA

I saw the show on Saturday, April 28 in Atlanta. While the orchestra was great and the music wonderful, I agree with one reviewer. I felt the whole production was rushed. I did enjoy the music, but I kept waiting for Jean Valjean to tear my heart out,and he never did, All the action seemed too rushed; I never had time to become involved with the characters. My only experience with the musical was the two PBS anniversaries, and I truly expected a more dramatic interpretation of the songs. It was still a good production. The staging was fantastic. It was only afterwards that I got the feeling that everyone was rushing to "get through" the production, similar to the way we did our dress rehearsals for shows. Just get through it. I'm still glad I went. Very talented singers vocally; lacked a bit of the dramatics I expected. Seats were great. The Fox has great acoustics and no bad seats. Wish I could see it again with the same company to compare performances.

Pauline from Kansas City, Missouri

BRAVO LES MIS!

Lead male vocals were positively stunning.

Anonymous from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

VERY GOOD, BUT COULD BE BETTER

We saw the show last night at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia (wonderful venue). The cast is quite good. I thought that most cast members were excellent-in particular, the Thenardiers (very funny), Valjean (who was actually the understudy), Eponine, and Javert. The only caveat with Javert is that his voice is SO unbelievably strong that it overpowered the theater and some of his co-stars. He certainly does not need to be miked. I would agree that the show seemed quite rushed at times and it could be difficult to follow...if I hadn't just seen the movie, I would have had more difficultly. The sexual humor was funny in the beginning, but the wine bottle penis gag did get old after a while... I was not a fan of older Cosette-I thought she lacked any true emotion and her portrayal honestly annoyed me.

Canaday from Albany, New York

NOT AS GOOD AS THE 1ST PROCTORS PRODUCTION OF LES MIZ

The new staging of the road show of Les Miz has some aspects that are improvements but over all it did not have the impact of the original staging including the turntable stage. The actor and actress playing the Thénardiers toned down comic relief aspect of their roles to the extent that instead of seeing them as a comedic personification of a dog eat dog world they were were merely evil. The audience did not laugh heartily as they did when the original touring company came to Proctors decades ago. The performer playing Jean Valjean started out as lackluster but ended up being strong yet the audience did not give the sure- fire wildly exuberant ovation that the ValJean signature song Bring Him Home always generates. Marius was strong in voice and far superior to any of Marius characters in the two Anniversary concert DVDs. The annunciation and sound did not lend itself to lyrics being understood by those who were seeing it for the first time. Quite OK for veterans viewers.

Simple Citizen from Reno, NV

AMAZING PRODUCTION, FEW POOR CHOICES.

This show was spectacular. I went in expecting a good show - but I knew it wasn't the Broadway production, or the North American Touring group - so I didn't expect it to be great. It was. The staging, the orchestra, and the lighting were perfect. Really. It was perfectly staged with great use of set pieces for multiple scenes with nothing seeming out of place. The orchestra was perfect, volume was great, and I was amazed to hear an orchestra sounding just as good as the 25th Anniversary concert int he O2 in London. They really were that good. The characters were mostly great, with a few faulty choices. See full review here: http://lesmiserablesabridged.blogspot.com/2013/06/review-california-
musical-theater.html

Cheryl Pietsch from Pittsburgh, PA (USA)

BRING BACK THE ORIGINAL "LES MISERABLES"

I have seen "Les Miz" over 40 times, yes 40. I have seen it throughout the US & Canada. I have tried to see it when I visited France, but it wasn't playing then. My bucket list #1 is to see the original play done in French. I saw the new version twice in Pittsburgh in the last 2 days, & I was terribly disappointed in the new version's techniques. The actors/singers were fine, but the new staging completly ruined the intensity of the drama in the original play. The once forceful barricade scenes no longer have meaning. Many of the actors cause you to dislike them rather than have sympathy for them. I don't know where Mr. Macintosh's mind was when he did not show Garouche being killed. The gunshots were almost on mute,& there was no smell of gunpowder to raise the senses. There are too many things in the world today that need changed, don't revise a perfect play. I visited "La Maison de Victor Hugo" in Paris this summer. He could have never imagined this version of his work.

Sally from Denver, Colorado

OFFENSIVE SCENES TOTALLY UNNECESSARY

This is an amazing story full of awesome powerful lessons in life about justice and mercy, love and forgiveness. The lewd scenes were totally unnecessary and in very bad taste!

Jeff L from Boston

ABOUT A C-

I had seen this play years ago and thought it was spectacular so when I had the opportunity to bring a friend to see her first show, Les Mis was the one I picked. Unfortunately, the new staging was muddled and the performances were not very impressive. Don't get me wrong, the cast could certainly sing... but they spoke-sang a lot of the songs and that was a disappointment. Also, they didn't manage to convey much emotion and it was often hard to even tell what was going on. Without spoiling the plot for those who haven't seen it, there's a scene in which one character dies. In past performances that I've seen there was never a dry eye in the theater at that point. In this year's performance, no one (including me) was particularly moved. As my friend's first exposure to the Broadway style experience, it was a big letdown. It was a waste of time and money.

Biondi from Washington

NEGLECT

The conductor is the cement that holds the production together and yet, in Les Mis, he never gets mentioned . I don't understand. Who is the Musical Director/Conductor of the production at the National?

Ty from Atlanta

A MIDDLING PERFORMANCE OF BROADWAY'S BEST SHOW

The Eponine character, who usually is the most dynamic in the show, is absolutely horrible. Worst I have ever seen (5 broadway, 4 touring) in 16 years of seeing this show. She seems like somebody in the audition rounds of American Idol that just thinks she is the bomb and needs to put vocal run-ups where they don’t belong. Add to that she seems to have a soft-spoken mumble about her, and I was just crushed to see such a prime role murdered. The single worst mauling of On My Own that I’ve heard. Fantine’s actress also left a lot to be desired, though she sure filled out her corset well. When she broke into her too-quickly-tempoed version of I Dreamed a Dream, I couldn’t help but think I was watching a high school audition. Constant moving about the stage, over-acting, and just pitchy dawg. Valjean started out a little “meh” but pulled himself together for Bring Him Home, which was nice. The guy has a tendency to go up in pitch when most Valjeans would be going down though. Drove me nuts all night. And Javert, the character which can dominate a show at any time, was not bad either, though not without fault. First off, he was kind of short. Javert should be a large, imposing figure. This guy was about one inch taller than Valjean. He was struggling through Stars until the last verse where he kinda pulled it out of his rear and saved the song. His suicide was paced wayyyy too quickly and he flatly did not have the ability to bring the appropriate emotion and struggle into the song. Overall, 5/10. But those who have never seen the show before, and have no idea how good it can be when properly acted, you’ll like it. The story is fantastic, no matter who is destroying the beautiful music.

Dee from Cincinnati

DISSAPOINTMENT WITH NEW PRODUCTION

Did not like the new production style of les miserables. Despite every cast member having outstanding vocal abilities, at times they screamed instead of sang. Eponine's solo in the second act showed anger, not the sad soulful longing of past performances. Javert's final solo was very disappointing since he did not sing all the lyrics, rather yelled them. What a shame, these actors had excellent voices, why not use them. The microphone accoustics had a high tech sound as well, which was not a good fit for the genre of the play. Found the set to be unusually dark, at times it was actually hard to see. Missed the turntable, and during the finale of Act one, the cast marching looked jerky, not as natural as the old staging. Appreciate the attempt to update the play, but bring back the soulful solo's, take out the anger and screaming!

George Bairey from Modesto, California

DISAPPOINTED

I admit I am a Les Mis snob. By far my favorite show, I've seen 10 productions, London, SF, Sacramento among them. The SF Les Mis at the Orpheum was a disappointment. We knew they had tweaked the show, and I was prepared to accept the changes. After all, it is Les Mis, right? Wrong. Something was out of whack from the outset. Very little emotion bubbling up, no stirring of the soul. And where did the rotating barricade go? And the very large flags? They should have left well enough alone. What were they thinking?

Anonymous from Denver, Colorado

DISAPPOINTED IN DENVER

I was so excited to see Les Miz again for our anniversary, but we both left the theater very disappointed. The singing was good, Jean Valjean was strong as was Javert, Fantine, and Eponine. Cosette happened to be great, and I don't usually care for the soprano voice. There were a few flat notes though which is something you don't expect with a production of this caliber. The acting also did not move me as it had in the past. The students fought, they died, the end. It was just like that. I would never, ever take my kids to see this production. It was absolutely vulgar. Prostitutes singing is part of the story-yes, but the sexual acts going on were so uncalled for, especially in theater. And of course, it didn't stop there. You can get that junk at the movies. It was a waste of money and a beautiful afternoon. Skip the show until they fix the problems. Give us back Les Miz as it's supposed to be!

Anonymous from Nevada City, CA

DISAPPOINTED.

Either the sound engineer or the equipment, or both, failed in this theatre/performance. If I didn't know the lyrics or the plot (as it appeared most patrons did) it would have been impossible to understand what was happening. It's a shame that the performers put their hearts and souls into performances that were for the most part incomprehensible. As always with this show, the music carries the day but if this is your first time seeing it, I couldn't recommend this production.

Tom Partridge from Indianapolis

IT WAS NOT BROKE!

If it's not broke then don't fix it. The original was a work of art. You would not mess with Mona Lisa's smile so why screw with the great original Les Mis. I guess seeing Colm Wilkinson years ago spoiled me. And the Thenardies of that era were actually funny! This version left me emotionless. What a shame. Missed the revolving floor, the slow motion death scene on the barricade, actually seeing Gavroche die, a wedding scene that had a decent set, etc. etc. etc. I could go on but I'm to angry..........

Marge from Boston

DARK DISMAL SETTING

Have seen this 4 other times. This was by far the worst.

P. Moore from Albuquerque

VERY DISSAPOINTING

Very disappointed with the June 10 evening performance at popejoy hall in ABQ. The lighting was such that many key lines were sung by characters in the dark. Even when a character was lit up form 11 rows back it was very hard to see facial expression. In fact poor Gavaroche. Both of his key lines he was or was nearly in the dark. Use of only a spot on the right side caused dark faces when the turned left. Spots were also often late with characters rising into the dark with spot following. This was not what one expects from this quality of a show. Mic's on Thenardier and Fantine were too low so lines sung in a soft voice were very hard to hear. This really took away from great singing by the cast. Choosing to not use the rotating stage in the original performance I think really limited the set as well. The barricade entrance was very weak compared to the original show and having much acting with actors back to the audience was disappointing. Its too bad because the cast had good voices

Isabella S. from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

NOT IMPRESSED

I was not impressed at all. Jean valjean was great in the beginning but as he became older he was horrible. The singing was mediocre nothing spectacular. I have to say though the sets were great I wasn't expecting them to be really as good as they were. I thought a lot of the characters just didn't fit. There was much emotion either. I was just disappointed it wasn't that great as I expected.

Tom Thornton from Vancouver, British Columbia

OH! SO DISAPPOINTING IN VANCOUVER

The sound is awful in this production at the QE . The Orchestra is way over amplified to the point of being painful and drowning out the vocalists. Unsure why ? -Bad diction, poor microphones, bad sound system or audio technicians, but the lyrics were indicernable. What a shame as the staging was awesome ! TomT

Stacey from Boston

WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY

watch the pbs anniversary version...at least they can sing and you can hear them. sat in the balcony and could hear more stage movement noises than the singing. i wasn't impressed, not at all. the whole production from start to finish lacked everything les mis is all about.

NICK from Jacksonville, FL

SLOW DONE!

We attended our favorite show tonight. I agree with most of the other reviews. JVJ was awesome, Javert was super. However, trying to fit four hours into less than three left us exausted and disconnected from the characters. I saw no tears, because we never knew Fantine or Epoine..I agree with an Atlanta review, watch the timeless DVD version at home with your family.

E Relajo from San Francisco

HURRY! STAY HOME!

OMG, this felt more like a fist fight than a musical! The tempo of the music was was so fast that I wish I had a neck brace! And LOUD.... Van Halen is more soothing than any of this! Stay home and listen to the cast recording and savor the image in your head of the last time you saw it. And whatever you do, sit in the back if you must go... and don't bring the kids... the wine bottle/penis joke was worn out in the first act, but came back again and again! Theater is way too expensive to make such horrible mistakes! The Sardine cane that is the Orpheum is a nightmare and this show made it worse. Well, it's in a sea of panhandlers and junk food. You would have to walk too far to eat anything decent, and ... bring lots of "spare change" for the walk back. And we LIVE in the city. That'll tell you something.

Julie from San Francisco

NOT IMPRESSED

You knw, most of the reveiws here sum it up better than I. However, one observation that I will make is that the Orpheum Theatre is not a good venue for the vastness of this musical. The stage is quite small compared to other theatres in SF.The last time I saw this, it was on Geary and it was just stunning. I am starting to have real reservations about the Orpheum projects. Mama Mia was just dreadful this last year. Just my opion, but I won't be going to any more productions at the Orpheum. They are a waste of lots of money.

Salooth from Los Angeles, California

PALES NEXT TO ORIGINAL

Saw this very cheap production once in Los Angeles in 2011 and once was enough. I gave it one star for the talented cast but even they couldn't save this very soulless, mediocre, "re-imagined," staging. Nowhere nearly as powerful as the great Trevor Nunn and John Caird staging. It is actually over-complicated further as a daft strategy to distance it from the original, resulting in the flow and impact suffering in the process. The projections can hardly be seen and amount to a few slides and some video, all of which is just distracting and not very modern, contrary to what marketing says. One of those View Finder toy projectors from the 70s could do a better job. The vast revolving stage and huge, inter-locking barricades of the original were truly high tech and very innovative even for today. This 25th anniversary staging is flat, unimaginative, distracting, gimmicky, and the orchestra sounded canned to me. Saw the original many times, but this, once was definitely enough.

Anonymous from Sacramento, California

BAD SOUND, BAD LIGHTING, BROKEN STORYLINE

Took my wife for her to see Le Miz for the first time in Sacramento, CA. I saw the Sacramento production in about 1998 and I was blown away, and I had never even HEARD of Les Miz at that point in my life. I felt the characters, the setting, and the whole story! BUT this production was awful. For one, we could not hardly hear any of the words (the guy in the seat behid me said the same thing and we were about 10 seat back from front) as the general audio was terrible and the tempo was very rushed. Two, the lighting was not good. Three, the sets seemed cheap. Four the music was too loud most the time. And five, the overt sexual acts were unnecessary to the story.... I gave it one star as the performers seemed fine, not their fault. I feel bad my wife had to see this production first.... I'm glad I took her to see Wicked in S.F. a few months ago and it was fantastic!

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