Les Miserables (Touring) Tickets

I want to start out by saying that I am a huge Les Mis fan. I've seen it once already and when the tickets came out again I had to go! However, from the second that Jean Valijean sang his first note, I knew that I was in for a mediocre performance. His part is the heart of the musical and when he can't hit the high notes and struggles to capture the robust sound that Valijean is known to have, the whole thing tanks under his performance. Another role, central to the heart of Les Mis is Fantine. I Dreamed a Dream is probably the most iconic song to emminate from Victor Hugo's masterful story. Needless to say, I was underwelmed, underimpressed and down right insulted that I had spent $200 on tickets after I heard her rendition. The highlight of the entire performance was Javert. He did a spectacular job and was the best singer of the evening. All and all, I love Les Mis and any chance to watch it is a fantastic experience. However, I wish I would have passed on this one... I am a believer in if something isn't broke, don't fix it.

We enjoyed the performance from beginning to end and would see it again in a minute,

I have been a Les Miz fan for decades. I was looking forward to some "freshening up" of the program but unfortunately they changed some things that result in it being less expressive of it's purpose. Even the changes in the orchestra music made the music less expressive of what was happening at the moment. And the trademark of the musical was gone-the rotating platform! The costuming was too modern looking on the women. The musical was not convincing enough of the times in which this story was taking place. Some of the actors were "performing" their songs instead of "acting" them-There IS a difference. They totally massacred 'Empty Chairs And Empty Tables" (there were none), had both JVJ and Little Cossette's faces not toward the audience enough when he found her in the woods (their facial expressions are important in this small act), and so many other little details they used to pay attention to that made the show so special in the past. Even the lighting was less expressive of the moments. I did like some of the high tech additions they made to the scenery. I do not plan on attending again -ever -if they keep this the way it is now.

From the beginning to end, this amazing show kept you entertained. The cast was tremendous...No words can descibe how this show made me feel afterwards. BRAVO..BRAVO, BRAVO...Watched it again the next night on PBS...The 25th Anniversary from London.....Go see it...You will not be dissappointed !!!!!

wonderful, beautiful singing, beautiful sets, nice comedic relief in an otherwise serious plot line

I bought these tickets for my parents as a Christmas present - due to timing, it was a much needed night out after the passing of a family member earlier in the week. I couldn't have asked for a better performance! My family has watched the "Dream Cast" concert for years, and what a change to see the story acted out. We never realized that some of the songs were left out of that performance, and now parts of the story make a lot more sense. A solid ensemble, with the performers in the roles of Javert, Eponine, Young Cosette and Gavroche as definite stand-outs. If you have the opportunity to see Les Miz before it leaves Chicago, go!

My wife saw Les Mis on stage about 10 years ago, and then again on video, and owns the original London cast recording on CD, so it's safe to say that she loves this show. I haven't ever seen it myself, but I can now say that this is my favorite musical that I've seen. The casting was excellent - particularly for the parts of Valjean, Javert, Eponine and Marius - and the staging was inventive. The music was breathtaking, and by the stirring final number, my wife's tears were flowing. She loved every second (I even caught her mouthing the words to several songs), and said that the production was just as good as the original touring production she saw, albeit slightly different in some of the staging. All in all, we highly recommend this show.

I have seen virtually every production of Les Miz that has been in Chicago since 1985 and was a little concerned that the new staging would lose something - not to worry. The performances were wonderful, especially, to my mind, Valjean and Eponine. I have read some comments criticizing Eponine in particularly, but I found her rendition of "On My Own' to be particularly moving. There are a couple of places where I missed some of the dramatic effects of the barricades revolving, but it might not be noticed by someone who has not seen a prior production. All in all a very satisfying evening.

This was the sixth time I've seen Les Miserables and it had to be the worst performance out of the six. This is one of my favorite musicals and I wanted to share it with my wife who had never seen it. I was very excited when I heard the 25th anniversary tour was coming to Chicago and immediately ordered tickets. The cast was not as good as other productions I've seen in the past. Valjean was okay but not memorable. Cosette (older) had a weak voice in my opinion. Éponine had the best voice out of the cast I think and was worth seeing. The Thénardiers were well played and were memorable. The set was pretty good and on par with the other productions I've seen. I'm sure I'll get tickets to this again when it comes back to town but only if the majority of the cast is different than what I saw on 2/11/11 in Chicago.

Despite a strong supporting cast and one of the strongest Javerts to take the stage, this production is a pale shadow of earlier London, Broadway and touring productions of Les Mis. The role of Jean Valjean is one of the most musically exciting ever written and it requires the singer's voice to grow more intense as he moves up the scale. Sadly, Lawrence Clayton's voice works in the opposite direction. This leaves the show on the shoulders of Varela's Javert--who, again, is marvelous here. Indeed, it almost becomes a musical about Javert more than Jean Valjean. But not quite. Les Mis is about Valjean and if he is weak, so is the show. If you must see this production, I'd recommend trying to catch one of the Valjean alternates. Otherwise, anyone seeing the show for the first time will come away wondering what all the fuss has been about. And that would be a tragedy.

I saw Les Mis on Friday, 2/11, with great anticipation. I've seen it at least seven times and love this show. This was the least satisfying performance I have seen. The singing for the most part was fine and there were moments where the acting shone. I thought Javert and Fantine were excellent. I think my biggest disappointment was the changes made to the staging. One of the most effective, emotional scenes in the entire show for me (previous performances) was NOT in this production - the rotation of the barricade after the battle when the music is quietly playing and we see the dead. I was devastated to not have that moment. "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" is one of my two favorite songs in Les Mis and it left me flat as well - it was performed far too angrily and not with much grief. My one last comment is about simple choreography - when the cast "walks" on stage during "One More Day" and at the end, they did it with a different pattern that just didn't work - the previous staging was so much more effective. I still recommend Les Mis, especially to anyone who has not seen it, because everyone should see Les Mis! Others in the audience around me appeared to be loving it so I may be a completely isolated case!

This was my third time seeing Les Miserables, all three performances taking place in Chicago over the past fifteen years. My husband and I were disappointed in this performance. It was the weakest, musically, that we have seen. Even knowing the story and the lyrics, it was very difficult to understand many of the performers due to poor enunciation. We did not feel that Jean Valjean's character was portrayed well. It's the first time I haven't cried at Les Mis, which may seem strange, but when you are "into" the story and captured by the characters, it is such a touching musical. The emotion was lacking this time. We would not recommend spending money on this touring company. If you love the music as much as we do, spend your money on the DVD of the 25th anniversary concert of Les Mis - it's fantastic!!

the set. music . acting .was great. the battle was great something i thought impossible too do on stage. the children were great i reccomend the show too everyone.

Overall it met my expectations. This was the 6th time seeing this musical. They revamped the staging which didn't have too much bearing on the overall musical, though during the revolution scene it was disappointing not to see all of the scene. Also, the turning stage was missed during some of the numbers that were sung. Two criticisms - 1) Cosette's "Castle On a Cloud" was missing the 2nd verse and 2) they didn't allow Gavoche to sing "Little People" -- which is important for when he is dying and he sings a few lines of it. You don't get the full affect. Disappointing.

Les Mis is always great, but unfortunately, this cast was a little weaker than some in the past. There was less singing and more shouting during some of the songs. Jean Val Jean was ok, but certainly not great. He sounded as if he were straining. Javert was good. Eponine was ok. The standout character was Mrs. Thenardiere (spelling? the innkeeper's wife). She was played very well and with some humorous additions that I've never seen before. Also, there were some additional segue bits that really didn't add anything to the overall classic soundtrack. Still, if you've never seen it, it's a must see. I'm just being picky since I've seen the original NY cast three times!

The new Mackintosh production is just fair - nothing really 'new' to get excited about. Contrary to the professional critics' reviews, the scenery was outstanding, especially the projections on the backdrop to produce varied backgrounds. The best use of it was the illusion of walking through the sewers. I do agree with them, though, in that the first act was very rushed, as if trying to jam all the songs in and still be able to cut some time off of the production. No time to reflect or absorb anything. The silliest part was the opening - instead of slaving in a quarry cracking rocks and 'look(ing) down', for some reason Mackintosh thought it would be more fun to have them all rowing in a Roman slave galley, complete with the Hortator (drum-beating slave) and Javert and guards in a French Imperial uniforms and hats. When did the French convert the fleet to slave galleys? I was waiting for the ramming scene, and Valjean rescues Javert. Oh, wait - wrong story. So now, the voices. All of the main characters [Valjean: Lawrence Clayton, Fantine: Betsy Morgan, Cosette: Jenny Latimer] seemed to have weak, thin voices, excepting Javert: Andrew Varela (who, strangely, played Valjean on Broadway) and Eponine: Chasten Harmon. Both very, very good and very strong. And, all of the child actors, plus the ensemble were as well. Probably the worst part of the production was the staging of 'In My Life' - between the competition of weak and strong voices, and apparently no one manning the sound mixing board, it was a huge mish-mash of voices, nothing discernible, almost as if they were trying to out-sing each other. I would have to say that, if someone had never seen the play before, it would have flown by so quickly it would've made absolutely no sense at all. I can say this honestly, because the first time I saw it, I'd not read the book, nor seen the movie, and yet I came away with a pretty good overview of what was happening. This production, even to an experienced viewer, left my head spinning. But, in this age of instant communication and ten second sound bites, maybe that was what he was going for?

First time I saw this play, it did not disappoint! I can't wait to see it again!

I've been a devoted fan of Les Miserable since 1988. I have seen the original version with many of the original cast members 3 times. The original version was perfection in motion. Not so with the 25th Anniversary version at the Cadillac Palace in Chicago. A big disappointment. Who's idea was it to tamper with the orginal formula? This was not a better production by any stretch of the imagination. I NEVER yawned during the original. But this production had me yawning and squirming all the way through. I felt bad for the cast who did their best. None of this was their fault. The ensemble and most of the main cast were excellent. But the reworked sets, lighting, choreography, music arrangements, and costumes were subpar. And I really disliked the microphones pasted on the actors' foreheads. Ugly and distracting. Throughout the show, we also were asked to suspend disbelief and ignore some obvious blunders. For example, whose idea was it to cast Jean Valjean with an African-American actor? Not believable especially when Cosette pleads with her "father" for the truth about their guarded lives. Whose idea was it to cast Epinine with a young Caucasian girl in her childhood years then with an African-American teen in her teen years? Not believable. I expect a high level character fidelity in a story. If there was a movie about the life of Emperor Hirohito, I would expect an oriental actor to play the part. The producers of this bad makeover really blew it in this edition. Overall, this show seemed to be just a few clicks above a good college production. For the $100 admission price, I did not feel the experience was worth the cost. It seems clear that the people who reworked the original Les Miserable were much less talented than the orginators in every way. They took a perfectly beautiful thoroughbred race horse and turned into a camel. And for what? Just because they could?

Having seen Les Miz a number of times in the past, I was a bit underwhelmed by the new staging. The Cadillac stage seems too small to effectively stage something like the barricade scenes. However, the vocal performances were strong, and in the end, that is more important.

Fantine, Javert, Jean Valjean, and Eponine had beautiful voices and their solos were an absolute pleasure to hear. I am hoping to go see this again before they leave Chicago.