Les Mis

My completely honest and hopefully unbiased review of

Les Miserables
Presented by the MS Society of WA, 2005


I have read in previous posts there is a tendency to compare this production to the 2001 Pat Barton production. Why exactly IÂ’m not sure, same venue perhaps? I did see the 2001 production and itÂ’s my opinion more of a fuss was made out of that one purely because of who was in it- some of the cast were quite well known in Perth and I thought it was a good show but nothing to rave endlessly about. I myself have seen Les Miserables performed about 10 times, both professional and amateur productions and donÂ’t ever think I could get enough of it.

I personally donÂ’t feel there was anything bad about the MS Society show, I enjoyed a great deal of it. And IÂ’m not sure anyone associated with the show would care what reviews were written as itÂ’s sold out and they have obviously already met their fundraising objectives. But here goes my review for the sake of reviewing. Any criticisms I do give are meant to be constructive, I hope they arenÂ’t taken any other way.

I thought generally a good show but nothing to rave about in my opinion. I felt musically that the chorus did a spectacular job and really sounded full in some of those big numbers, particularly “Do you hear the people sing”. I thought that number was fantastic and I could feel the hairs stand up on the back of my neck because the sound was so full and harmonies came across clearly. I felt in most of the chorus scenes and even when some of the leads were singing out front that chorus did a great job, making sure they were looking busy and in appropriate characterization. There were a couple of stand out chorus solo performances, I won’t name names though. Some of them looked like they really thought about their roles no matter how small they were also great usage of the stage most of the time and I congratulate chorus with this because they had minimal sets.

I donÂ’t think any of the lead performers were bad as obviously John Milson and the MD wouldnÂ’t have cast them, but some of the performances and characterizations of their roles were very ordinary. I felt sometimes particularly in the some of the solos, some of the leads did not know where to look or how to use the stage. And some of the movements looked mechanical .This does not apply to all leads though of course, some of them were fabulous.

I thought stand out performances were Fantine, Cosette, Marius and I really enjoyed Gavroche. (I saw Michael B).I enjoyed CosetteÂ’s performance, her voice suited the role perfectly and she just characterized so well. IÂ’d sit up straight in my chair during her parts. I thoroughly enjoyed FantineÂ’s performances, she has a great big chest voice but at times I wanted to hear a little less shouting and more singing. Still brilliant none the less! I really felt for her in the death scene and it did seem to have an effect on me. Well done. I felt Marius had great character most of the time, although a tad wooden in some parts. But magnificent voice for sure and he really suited the role.

These were the only performers I felt really had the full package being great voice and great character accompanied by natural movements. (All the leads just mentioned) Some of the other leads had one or the other most of the time. I thought Javert did a great job also but I would have liked him to be a little sterner in his appearance and character with a deeper, richer sounding voice. Just my opinion. I thought Enjolras had a magnificent voice but I just didn’t feel the character come through most of the time. I was alittle disappointed with Jean Val Jean from the beginning, he carries the show most of the time doesn’t he? I just didn’t see JVJ on the stage most of time, I saw the actor. He had a great voice though. Lovely rendition of “Bring Him Home”.


I wasnÂ’t too distracted by the minimal sets. To me, Les Mis is the kind of show that the performers and great voices really make. I feel good performances really tell the story, Costumes were good also although I thought what ever Javert had on his head really looked like a big, black taco (ok so that wasnÂ’t constructive crit but I had to put it in somehere!)


I thought the orchestra was amazing from the first to the last bars! Well done MD! Well done to Mr Milson also- you obviously tried to portray Les Mis in a different light which was interesting. I was alittle distracted by the extra dialouge thrown into the show- or was I just imagining things?? I didnÂ’t expect too much movement in the show so the minimal movements didnÂ’t bother me either. As I said, Les Mis is more of a show made by vocal quality and performances.

Although I expected more I thought it was a good show. And congrats to the MS Society on an absolute sell out. But then again, anyone who puts on Les Miserables is almost guaranteed an absolute sell out, where ever it is put on.