Khelda Posted December 22, 2009 Report Share Posted December 22, 2009 Its from the official Tour Face book, I hope we havent already seen it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowdrop Posted December 22, 2009 Report Share Posted December 22, 2009 I don't recall it being posted on here before. I didn't doubt it - I just like to know who is writing these things and where. And thanks. :heart: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maggiemags Posted December 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 jamieandlouise (The Radio Wales presenters that Gaz was on with last week) at 23.48: @johnowenjones i have no words to tell you how thrilling and moving tonight's performance was. thank you. it was a privilege to be there. I'm quite sure she meant to tweet that to Gaz too :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khelda Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 honeybee530 @Gareth_Gates Really enjoyed the show & your performance last Sat + appreciate you taking the time to sign my programme too. From Twitter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khelda Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 On twitter from Jamie&Louise. just home from #LesMiz. It was incredible. If you're going - don't bother wearing make-up unless it's waterproof. Sobbing in my row. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowdrop Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 chrismoore105 Back from @theCentre after "Les Miserables", hard to know which words to use. It was absolutely outstanding from beginning to end. about 8 hours ago from web Chris is a Welsh radio DJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValR Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 What fantastic news.I would think the cast are ecstatic as am I :hyper: Searches for piggy bank re The Barbican. Is anyone else going to search for theirs too? I can see now what the woman says about Gareth being phenomenal too. Isn't this just lovely happening in Christmas week too? :frantics: Briliant, Brilliant, Brilliant!!!!!!!! - hmmmm the piggy bank, will make sure there's enough in it!!!! :frantics: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flower Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 I think, that seeing Gaz on Les Mis is impossible for me. Because of distance and my disability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternal Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 I think, that seeing Gaz on Les Mis is impossible for me. Because of distance and my disability. Let's hope it does become possible at some time, Flower. No real mention of Gareth in the part but a brilliant review overall, HERE of the whole show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dorral Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 Thanks Eternal for the link,it seems like a review of one persons performance not the show. Although I think JOJ was brilliant, it's a shame the performances from the rest of the cast are not mentioned,as they were all fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternal Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 I suppose it is but it is still very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowdrop Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 I think that's the slightly extended version of the review that went up last week by that guy who tweeted JOJ to tell him how much he liked the show. He seems to be involved with PR in some way, but it's not his full time job. He is a health and safety consultant too! :laugh: I think he knows John, but I'm not sure if he knows him well, or just knows him because the Welsh theatre scene isn't that big and they are both the sort of people who network. Also on Twitter: waggers1245 @Gareth_Gates I saw the les Mis today, it was BRILLIANT I loved every minute,Your portrayal of Marius was fantastic wat an amazing show!! about 1 hour ago from web followed by waggers1245 @Gareth_Gates Good luck with the rest of the tour, I hope to see it again in Bristol !!! have a great christmas and New Year. take care!! about 1 hour ago from web Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowdrop Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 More tweeting 7PechodMarwol Les miserables was amazing! Boy, did we hear the people sing!! about 3 hours ago from txt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flower Posted December 24, 2009 Report Share Posted December 24, 2009 Eternal, thank you for gorgeous rewiew of Les Mis and for your encouregement. :tongue: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val4Gareth Posted December 24, 2009 Report Share Posted December 24, 2009 The Facebook Group have put up the first link to reviews from Press Night This is the bit about Gareth While Gates has a sweet singing voice, I was a little apprehensive about whether he would be able to pull off such a big role as Marius, but I was pleasantly surprised.He’s a convincing romantic lead and his solo, the heart- wrenching Empty Chairs At Empty Tables, makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. He has plenty of chemistry with Katie Hall as his beloved Cosette and Rosalind James is wonderful as the feisty Eponine, the girl who’s in love with Marius, even though his heart lies elsewhere. You can hear the heartbreak in her voice as she sings On My Own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khelda Posted December 24, 2009 Report Share Posted December 24, 2009 Fantastic Val, fantastic, another sceptic won over. :frantics: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khelda Posted December 24, 2009 Report Share Posted December 24, 2009 The Les Mis tour Face book also posted this: The press night for the Les Mis Uk Tour which took place on Tuesday evening was a huge success and a rapturous WMC crowd were on the feet at the end of the show capping a memorable evening for everyone involved. The first reviews are out so follow the link below to read what's been written so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val4Gareth Posted December 24, 2009 Report Share Posted December 24, 2009 Review from this afternoons Matinee posted on WOS boards Review - 24th December 2009, Christmas Eve MatineeCast Jean Valjean - John Owen-Jones Javert - Earl Carpenter Fantine - Madalena Alberto Thenardier - Ashley Artus Madame Thenardier - Lynne Wilmot Eponine - Rosalind James Marius - Gareth Gates Cosette - Katie Hall Enjolras - Jon Robyns Well I'll start by talking about the set, the orchestra and the lighting. The scenery and direction is quite different from the London production. There is no revolve, which makes scene-changes slightly less dynamic, but still, most of them work quite well. Victor Hugo's paintings blend beautifully into the set: during 'I Dreamed a Dream,' you can see smoke rising from the chimenys far in the distance, and in the battle scene, the painting shakes and distorts as an explosion rocks the set. It's quite impressive, and really rather visceral. I will say, however, that at times it looks like a high-school production: the windows that flank the stage during 'One Day More' and other scenes look like they could fall down at any moment. The lighting is fantastic: rich and golden during the tender love scenes, cold and harsh in others. The battle is very impressive. The orchestra surprised me insofar as it's quite different from the original orchestrations. The instrumentation is rich during 'The Prologue' and 'Look Down,' with driving beats, heavy percussion and quirky guitar riffs aplenty - very dynamic. A new verse in 'Lovely Ladies' and the occasional line change/swap in other places. All worked well and didn't detract from anything the original production had. Couple of other notes: some slight costume changes. They've ditched Cosette's horrible costume and gone with something much better. Eponine looked a little different too, but not drastically so. So now my vocal highlights... Soliloquy and Who Am I? - I can't praise John Owen-Jones enough in this role. He really is the epitome of a perfect Valjean - he knows the role so well and his performance was note-perfect. He did seem to do a lot of things differently: for example, different emphasis on certain lyrics, holding notes for slightly longer lengths or changing the phrasing around a little. I suppose this fits into his desire to play with the role a little. I Dreamed a Dream - Madalena Alberto has a very strong Northern accent! I enjoyed her performance, despite what others have said. She does occasionally drop into a kind of bluesy-Beyonce Fantine ("So different from this hell I'm living!") But otherwise, stellar acting, much better than the recent London Fantine's. Her lines in the epilogue were haunting. One Day More - Hm, not sure about this. It seemed a little lacking, perhaps the ensemble weren't large enough. The orchestrations were fantastic but it seemed a little 'stop-start' - the counterpoint didn't blend as well, and it sounded like a bit of a mess. On My Own - Absolute highlight of the show. Rosalind James is one of THE BEST Eponines I have ever had the privilege of watching. Think a British Lea Salonga crossed with Frances Ruefelle, but with a unique, dynamic, bluesy-twang to her voice that just ROCKS. She starts the song sweetly, throwing in the odd vocal frill ("I walk with him till morning"), a tantalising hint of the tour-de-force of vocal prowess approaching. Then it happened - on the line "I've only been pretending," Rosalind did the most amazing bluesy riff on 'pretending' - my reccolection tells me she goes from the C, to the D, quickly to the E and then trills the C/D. I may be wrong, but regardless - it was simply the most incredible belting moment and raised scattered applause! I think that just demonstrates how unique this production is - it's taking Les Mis as it has been for decades and doing something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT! The rest was very good, and I must compliment Gareth Gates in the role of Marius. Few minor points - scenery changes during songs (usually the quiet ones) were very loud, often detracting from the atmosphere I'm afraid to say. Also, the blend in from 'At the End of the Day' to 'I Dreamed a Dream' was messy as hell, and needs to be sorted out in my opinion. They kind of thrust Dreamed a Dream on the audience without building up the mood as the London production does. Valjean's journey through the sewer was very, very impressively done with projections, as was Javert's suicide (the end of which recieved little applause sadly.) But still - great show, amazing cast (everyone needs to see Rosalind James as the best Eponine in years), with only a few changes needed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowdrop Posted December 25, 2009 Report Share Posted December 25, 2009 Thanks for bringing that across Val. I see the person who posted it, tsxmitw has quite a few posts and is a big musicals fan, so that means a lot to have people like that making a point of commending the cast, and mentioning Gareth as worthy of praise. If Gareth is winning over those people, and it seems he is, then he will have a bright future ahead of him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowdrop Posted December 29, 2009 Report Share Posted December 29, 2009 I've not had a chance to listen yet, but this week's Musical Talk podcast is about Les Miserables. I've no idea if they'll say much, if anything about the tour, but it may be of interest to some. *Listen here* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val4Gareth Posted December 29, 2009 Report Share Posted December 29, 2009 I listened to it earlier and they didn't mention the tour production at all. It was all about the London show. One of the people, I think she was called Lisa, was quite scathing about the part of Marius. She thought the character was insipid :shocked: The discussion was pretty deep. Lots of it went over my head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorksheather Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 lloydwest7: Saw Les Miz today, cardiff! Set was remarkable, javert was brilliant, gareth gates was surprisingly good as marius! well done rhi! loved it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flower Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 [Well done, GFareth. I hope, that I see you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maggiemags Posted December 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 jamieandlouise at around 6pm @osisteff i saw #Les Miz just before Christmas and i still can't stop thinking about it! @johnowenjones and @Gareth_Gates were fabulous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowdrop Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 Another nice bit of feedback! :frantics: moondude2020 Just back from Cardiff, saw Les Mis last night at the Millenium Centre. thoroughly recommend the show. Gareth Gates shone as Marius 21 minutes ago from web Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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