Les Mis

I was given tickets to see this as a present, and was excited to go and see it was one of my friends was a chorus member.

I love Les Mis, in itself. I think that it's a brilliant and dramatic show, with amazing, heart wrenching songs and music. It's one of those shows that can draw you in and absolutely devastate you in it's sadness.

Only if it is done right.

And I feel that the MS Society production was not entirely there.

I am not a stranger to musicals or theatre itself, working which various companies in the community.

I have a lot of quibbles with this show, and I think that major problem was that is badly paced. It is slow, boring in places, with dead space in bits (something that kills shows, trust me).

Some of the acting was melodramatic and/or non-existant, and the chorus easily outshone the leads.

Except when you couldn't hear them in songs. Sounds levels and microphones were just appalling, horendous in places.

I liked the minimal staging, but laughed out loud when the smoke effects (which was quite popular with the show) drowned out the poor actor on stage (not good in a dead scene).

The other major quibble I had was that the direction failed to ground or set any of the leads for their solos. Eponine paced during hers (annoyingly so), Marius sang his to the back wall of the stage (the back drop got all the actions and emotions that would have been better for the audience to see). And I was quite upset that I didn't get upset during "Fall of Rain". I was like, "ho, hum. Eponine is dying. Sigh."

It's sad when you go to a show like this and can't emotionally connect with the characters because of other elements (ie staging, singing, bad acting/direction).

And the poor orchestra sounded like it was forced to wait and slow right down for the cast in some of the more faster pasted songs. It's not good when the pace of the music sets the pace of the show. Traditionally, in Les Mis, the marching beat and music helps set the pace and tighten the show's speed. Well it should do, but no fast paced underscoring could have saved this production.

Overall, commendable effort by chorus, some of the staging was alright (I liked the minimal set, but at times the stage was just empty, both physically and emotionally), and the singing was above par (brilliant in places) but it could and should have been a much tighter and better paced show.

I felt every one of the 175 minutes that the show runs.

But I do enjoy a night out at the theatre, and if I didn't love the show itself so much, I don't think that I could of withstood it.

Regards.