The Les Miserables Changelog Part 3: 1987 Broadway Production
Hello, everyone! This is the latest edition in my attempt to chronicle all of the musical and lyrical changes which the show Les Miserables has undergone over the years. This time, we're going through all the changes between the musical as it existed on the West End around 1985-1986 and the revised libretto for the 1987 Broadway production.
In some ways, this is a much easier changelog to compile than the last two simply because it is much easier to find audio evidence of the show from this era than from its pre-1987 self. We have a full soundboard of the original Broadway cast as well as a very good quality bootleg of the very first Broadway preview, as well as several audios from the next few years which use exactly the same script. We also have an officially released Symphonic Soundtrack which almost (but not quite) follows this version of the libretto exactly. So no more relying on unclear bootlegs and speculation to figure out what was changed when!
Having said that, the changes in this production were MASSIVE. It's almost certainly the most extensive edit the show's libretto has received to this day. As such, this will be a very long edition of this blog. So make sure you have a bit of time on your hands before reading it! With all that cleared up, let's begin.
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The first change literally can be heard as soon as the musical begins. The pre-Broadway show opens up with the same recurring motif also heard, for instance, at the openings of "At the End of the Day" and "One Day More". This music then transitioned to the instrumentals to the opening "Work Song". The post-Broadway libretto cuts right to the chase, with the opening instrumentals to the "Work Song" starting right up without any preamble.
One interesting little non-scripted change occurs later in the "Work Song", but only in American productions. For whatever reason, every American Javert from the original Broadway cast until the first Broadway revival sang "And I am Javert" instead of "And I'm Javert", for reasons that honestly baffle me. Again, the libretto retained the original contraption as far as I'm aware, and the West End production as well as later UK and Australian tours still used it as well.
The next change happens while Valjean is on parole. After Valjean pleads against the farmer underpaying him, this was the farmer's original response:
Do you believe
A yellow ticket of leave
Allows a criminal like you to earn full screw?
Since Broadway, his response is instead as follows:
You broke the law
It's there for people to see
Why should you get the same as honest men like me?
I much prefer this revised version. Though the information is essentially the same, it feels more dramatic, as well as feeling less awkward now that it is in the form of separate sentences as opposed to a single sentence spoken in three lines with pauses in between. Moreover, the phrase "honest men like me" as used here provides interesting foreshadowing for its more well-known usage in "Master of the House". One could spend quite some time analysing the implications of this recurring description, but this blog is long enough as it is so now isn't the time!
In the same number, originally the innkeeper's wife had the following remark:
My rooms are full
And I've no supper to spare
I'd like to help you really, all I want is to be fair
Since Broadway, her line has been slightly modified:
My rooms are full
And I've no supper to spare
I'd like to help a stranger, all we want is to be fair
I suppose "I'd like to help a stranger" sounds less slang-y than "help you really". Presumably this is why it was changed. I find the change of subject from singular to plural far more interesting. My hypothesis is that the writers wanted to make it clear than this is a communal grudge, not a personal one. Everyone around sees it as perfectly fair to deny shelter to a former convict, not just this one individual. I definitely prefer the revised line, but evidently the producers of the West End production didn't; that production held on to the original lyrics for more than a decade after they were originally revised! More on that in a later edition of this blog...
A more minor change can be heard during "At the End of the Day". Originally, Valjean asks the factor workers "What is this shouting all about?" The Broadway script changes this to "What is this fighting all about?" Much less trivial implications now. I'm curious as to whether or not a staging change may have accompanied this. Usually the two workers get into quite a bit of physical scuffle by this point, far beyond the realm of shouting. Did the original pre-Broadway production use more subdued choreography?
"The Runaway Cart" has some noticeable differences. After Valjean asks the townspeople for help, the original response was sung by the entire ensemble, and went as follows:
Don't go near him, Monsieur Mayor
There's nothing at all you can do
The old man is a goner for sure
Leave him alone
The Broadway libretto revised this into a sequence sung by one individual at a time with the following lyrics:
Don't go near him, Monsieur Mayor
The load is as heavy as hell
The old man is a goner for sure
It will kill you as well
A female ensemble member sung "The old man is a goner for sure" while a male member sung the rest. I sort of like it better as an ensemble piece (something that would be largely brought back in later years, as I'll soon discuss) although I think it's cool that it rhymes now. Having said that, I'm fairly confident that no one in the real world has ever actually used the phrase "Heavy as hell"!
An official change in the libretto occurred in "Who Am I?" but listeners to the original Broadway cast would not have heard it. While the pre-Broadway show had Valjean refer to "This innocent who bears my face", the revised libretto instead refers to "This innocent who wears my face". Perhaps a means of avoiding repetition, given that the word "bear" is used again later in the number? Regardless, Colm Wilkinson didn't actually bother to adapt to this change! He still sings "This innocent who bears my face" in the Broadway production (as well as the tenth anniversary concert; not until his 1998 stint in Toronto did he ever start singing the revised lyrics). Since every future Valjean (except Ivan Rutherford for some reason) sings "wears", I still see it as appropriate to mention here.
At the end of the song, Valjean's "You know where to find me!", used on and off in the Barbican previews before becoming a settled part of the production by the final pre-Broadway libretto, is once again removed for the Broadway show. However, the West End production would keep it for a few years - more on that later...
Just listening to the original Broadway cast, one might think Javert's "Dare you talk to me of crime?" becomes "Dare you speak to me of crime?" However, this seems to be a Terrence Mann-exclusive change. Every Javert after him reverts to the original lyrics (as did Terrence himself when he returned to the musical fifteen years later). I'm still making note of the change here for the sake of clarification.
An instrumental change occurs between "Castle on a Cloud" and "Master of the House". Mme. Thenardier's "You heard me ask for something and I never ask twice" was original followed by three bars of notes, then by six more bars of notes that are identical to each other. After the Broadway production, however, those six bars of notes grow increasingly more dramatic as they go on.
A very slight change happens during the preamble to "Master of the House". Originally one of the guests proclaims "Hell, what a wine" while the revised libretto instead has him claim "God, what a wine". Definitely more natural in my opinion, though not a huge difference by any means.
A few subtle differences exist in the "Waltz of Treachery" number. First off, Thenardier originally asks "Have we done for your child what is best?" The Broadway libretto changes "your child" to "her child". I personally like the original lyric better, as it goes back to the idea established earlier that Valjean is metaphorically bargaining through the spirit of Fantine. It's definitely not a difference that makes or breaks the number, though.
Towards the end of the song comes another change that cannot actually be heard by listening to the original Broadway cast. In the pre-Broadway show, Valjean used the line "Let us seek out a friendlier sky", while the revised libretto has him say "Let us seek out some friendlier sky". However, Colm Wilkinson once again doesn't bother to adapt to the change, and unlike the "Who Am I?" change he wouldn't learn it over time either. He continues to sing "a friendlier sky" throughout his on-and-off performances as Valjean, right up to and including his 2002 run in Shanghai!
After the bulk of the number comes a more significant change. Prior to the Broadway production, as was discussed in the last entry, the "Waltz of Treachery" was followed by about forty-five seconds of vamping and then this exchange in the tune of "Castle on a Cloud":
(LITTLE COSETTE)
We're going home right now, monsieur
What is your name
(VALJEAN)
Now my dear
I've names enough, I've got names to spare
But where I go, you always will be there
Nor will you be afraid again
There is a sun that's shining yet
(LITTLE COSETTE)
I'm going to call you my Papa
(VALJEAN)
I'm going to call you my Cosette
The Broadway libretto replaced it with just under twenty seconds of vamping, followed by a sequence in the tune of the "Waltz of Treachery":
(VALJEAN)
Come Cosette
Come my dear
From now on I will always be here
Where I go
You will be
(LITTLE COSETTE)
Will there be children
And castles to see?
(VALJEAN)
Yes, Cosette
Yes it's true
There's a castle just waiting for you
This is followed by another fifteen or so seconds of vamping, and then the humming duet between Cosette and Valjean carries on as before.
Arguably the biggest change in the entire edited libretto happens now. Whereas the number was originally directly followed by "Stars", things have been moved around so that it instead transitions directly into "Look Down". "Look Down" itself receives a lot of adjustments. First off, the number began in the pre-Broadway musical with a bar of music that was then repeated. The Broadway version only plays the bar of music once, and the sung part happens immediately afterwards.
Gavroche's verse receives some lyrical updates. Originally it used the following lines:
This is my school, my high society
From St. Denis to St Michel
We live on crumbs of humble piety
Tough on the teeth, but what the hell?
If you're poor, if you're free
Follow me, follow me!
The Broadway production rewrote that sequence a little:
This is my school, my high society
Here in the slums of St Michel
We live on crumbs of humble piety
Tough on the teeth, but what the hell?
Think you're poor? Think you're free?
Follow me, follow me!
Better lines in my humble opinion; "slums" conveys the poverty of Gavroche's community much more effectively than the original line, and phrasing the "poor" and "free" lines as questions is more dramatic than their original statement form.
The old beggar woman's original "You give 'em all the pox" becomes the less grammatically accurate "Give 'em all the pox" for Broadway, though I have no idea if the original "You" was part of the libretto or simply an improvisation. Since seemingly all actresses used that line for the first few years of the West End production, it strikes me as warranting a mention.
Right after this comes another change. In the pre-Broadway show, the argument between the beggar woman and the prostitute was followed by an exchange by a few individual beggars. All of the following lines were said by one person at a time, the first three being said by female beggars and the last one by a male beggar:
When's it gonna end?
When're we gonna live?
Something's gotta happen, dearie
Something's gotta give
The Broadway libretto changes this to an ensemble piece performed by all the beggars simultaneously:
When's it gonna end?
When're we gonna live?
Something's gotta happen now or
Something's gotta give
I really like the switch to a group effort, as it really emphasizes that the beggars are a community sharing the burden of poverty. It really feels like an epidemic to an extent that it doesn't when it's just a small conversation. Evidently the producers of the West End show didn't agree with me though, as they held onto the original sequence for more than a decade after the official change, and by that point it had already been largely reverted worldwide! More on that in a later blog...
Originally, the exposition about General Lamarque was given by a few random students (supposedly not specified in the libretto, but in practice portrayed as Combeferre and Feuilly). Some ensemble dialogue between beggars was put in between. Feuilly sings over the end of the ensemble's lines - but many have speculated that this was not intended by the writers, as the background music sounds super out of sync with his singing! Here's how the scene went:
(COMBEFERRE)
As for the leaders of the land
As for the swells who run this show
Only one man and that's Lamarque
Speaks for the people here below
(BEGGARS)
Something for a meal
Something for a doss
Something in the name of Him who died upon the cross
On the cross, come across
On the cross, come across, come across
(FEUILLY)
Lamarque is ill and fading fast
Won't last the week out, so they say
With all the anger in the land
How long before the judgement day?
Before we cut the fat ones down to size?
Before the barricades arise?
Fortunately, the writers of the Broadway libretto had the sense to change the purveyors of the message into people actually relevant to the show's plot, namely Marius and Enjolras. Moreover, the beggars' dialog was rewritten into a sequence that feels far less clunky to me. The background music was fixed to account for the solo singing (now done by Marius) overlapping the beggars' lines, so it is now perfectly in sync. Here's the edited exchange:
(ENJOLRAS)
Where are the leaders of the land?
Where are the swells who run this show?
(MARIUS)
Only one man and that's Lamarque
Speaks for the people here below
(BEGGARS)
See our children fed
Help us in our shame
Something for a crust of bread in Holy Jesus' name
(SOLO BEGGAR)
In the Lord's holy name
(BEGGARS)
In His name, in His name, in His name
(MARIUS)
Lamarque is ill and fading fast
Won't last the week out, so they say
(ENJOLRAS)
With all the anger in the land
How long before the judgement day?
Before we cut the fat ones down to size?
Before the barricades arise?
Much better in my opinion! It should be noted that David Bryant instead sings "these people here below", but as far as I can tell every future Marius (or later Enjolras - more on that later) sings "the people, which is the actually phrasing in the libretto.
One final change in Look Down: Gavroche now says that all of Thenardier's family is "on the make", as opposed to the original "on the take". A rather pointless change in my book, though it certainly doesn't hurt anything.
"The Robbery" is another heavily edited number. Thenardier's line after acknowledging Brujon, Babet, and Claquesous was originally as follows:
You Montparnasse, watch for the p'lice
With Eponine, take care
You've got all the hash, I've got all the cash
The Broadway show rewrote those lines into their still-current form:
You Montparnasse, watch for the law
With Eponine, take care
You turn on the tears, no mistakes my dears!
This changed lyric more naturally transitions the scene into the gang's actual plan, though the original is an interesting continuation of Gavroche's recollection of Thenardier once running a hash house.
Mme. Thenardier's response is also altered from the original lyrics:
Here come a student from our street
One of 'Ponine's peculiar gents
Our Eponine would kiss his feet
She never showed a bit of sense
Into the current ones:
These bloody students on our street
Here they come slumming once again
Our Eponine would kiss their feet
She never showed a scrap of brain
It's interesting how the edit shifts the focus from Marius in particular to the students in general. It seems that Mme. Thenardier is less aware of the specifics of her daughter's personal life now, something that makes sense for her character.
After Mme. Thenardier's "You'll be in the clear", there was originally just eighteen seconds of a musical motif (the same one which opens "At the End of the Day" and "One Day More") followed by Thenardier's speech. Since Broadway, it's instead been followed by a few more lines of dialog:
(MARIUS)
Who is that man
(EPONINE)
Leave me alone!
(MARIUS)
Why is here?
Hey Eponine!
Only now does the musical motif play. But instead of staying silent upon seeing Cosette, Marius now sings "I didn't see you there, forgive me..." Interestingly, in this video of a 1987 performance of the original West End production, Marius just stops without bumping into Cosette as he usually does. This makes me wonder whether or not the bumping was added into the Broadway version, and the lyric was added to accomodate for the blocking change. Of course, this is all speculation; I have no way to know for sure.
Thenardier's con job is also quite a bit different post-Broadway. Originally it used the following lyrics:
How you do? Spare a sou
God will see all the good that you do
Look monsieur, lost a leg
Hero of Waterloo now has to beg
Wait a bit, know that face...
The Broadway libretto edited it into its current form:
Please monsieur, come this way
Here's a child that ain't eaten today
Save a life, spare a sou
God rewards all the good that you do
Wait a bit, know that face...
It's interesting how Thenardier's facade shifts in focus from his own supposed hardship to that of an alleged child. I suppose the latter would be a good bit more effective in convincing passersby to donate!
During "Javert's Intervention", Thenardier now says "It was me that told you so, as opposed to the original "Wot told you so"; however, this seems to be a regional choice to account for a lack of Cockney accent, not an official libretto change. British productions retain the original "Wot".
“The Robbery” ends quite differently. Its pre-Broadway form had Gavroche’s remarks directly follow Javert’s “Clear this garbage off the street!” However, now Javert’s line is instead followed by some instrumentals to a slower version of the same tune as, for instance, “Honest work/Just reward/That’s the way to please the lord” and “He will bend/He will break/This time there is no mistake”.
After these instrumentals come the “Stars” number, now in a much more natural location given that Javert now has a logical reason to be thinking about Valjean!
The number itself is mostly the same, up until the final segment. After Javert’s “Those who falter and those who fall must pay the price”, he originally had the following lyrics:
Scarce to be counted
Changing the chaos
To order and light
You are the sentinels
Silent and sure
Keeping watch in the night
Keeping watch in the night
The post-Broadway show replaced this with a much more climactic remark:
Lord let me find him
That I may see him
Safe behind bars
I will never rest ‘til then
This I swear
This is swear by the stars
WOW, what an improvement! Now the stars are tied much better to Valjean himself, and Javert’s motivation is much clearer!
Now that “Stars” is over, we finally get Gavroche's remarks. The lyrics are the same; however, instead of the tempo progressively getting faster as it goes along, it now gets progressively slower. Interestingly the audio of the first preview has Gavroche saying "mother dear" instead of "auntie dear", but it's back to the original line by the second known original Broadway cast audio. Both audio feature Braden Danner; whether the "mother dear" was a choice on his part or a director's, a flub, or a libretto change that was later reverted is unknown.
"Eponine's Errand" has some significant changes. First off, the original libretto gave Marius and Eponine this exchange:
(MARIUS)
Did you see that lovely girl
(EPONINE)
A lovely two-a-penny thing
The Broadway libretto edited it a little:
(MARIUS)
Eponine, who was that girl?
(EPONINE)
Some bourgeois two-a-penny thing
Marius' request has also been changed from its original lyrics:
Eponine, do this for me
But careful how you go
Your father mustn't know
He'll strike another blow
'Ponine, I'm lost until she's found
Into some far clearer and more direct instructions:
Eponine, do this for me
Discover where she lives
But careful how you go
Don't let your father know
'Ponine, I'm lost until she's found
And yes, the line was "your father" right from day one. Michael Ball flubs it as "her father" on the complete symphonic recording, leading many to assume that was the original lyric which was changed later. But I'm not aware of a single live performance to use that lyric (which doesn't make a lot of sense anyway).
Another side note: Some Marius actors have very slightly changed the third line to "Be careful how you go" or "But careful as you go", though neither lyric is the standard.
During "Red and Black", Michael Maguire changes the original "It is easy to sit here and swat 'em like flies" to "Oh, it's easy to sit here and swat 'em like flies". However, this is an individual choice of the actor, not an official libretto change. Every future Enjolras I'm aware of (except Ramin Karimloo for some reason) uses the original line.
An actual libretto change occurs soon afterwards. After Marius' entrance, Grantaire originally asks, "Marius, what's wrong with you today?" The post-Broadway show changes this to "Marius, you're late. What's wrong today?" This makes it much clearer why Grantaire might suspect something is wrong.
Soon afterwards, Grantaire's original line "We talk of battles to be won, and here he comes like Don Juan" is slightly tweaked to "You talk of battles to be won". This is a little more appropriate, since Grantaire isn't actually doing a lot of talking!
After "Red and Black", Gavroche's part is very slightly changed. First off, American performances for a few years would have Gavroche whistle right before everyone quiets down, though I have no idea if this was in the libretto or not.
Secondly, Gavroche's original remark, "It's General Lamarque! He's dead!" is shortened to just "General Lamarque is dead!"
In another contender for the biggest change in the entire edit, the entire "I Saw Him Once" number is totally removed. I have mixed feelings about this. It does give Cosette, a frustratingly underwritten character, some additional content. However, stylistically it's not all that much like any other number in the musical, and it doesn't really add enough information to the show to warrant a whole song. So I say with regret that it was probably for the best to delete the number.
To compensate for the lost number, "In My Life" is lengthened to include the establishing character moments that "I Saw Him Once" originally did. Originally it opened as follows:
(COSETTE)
Dearest papa, can I tell him of this?
How can I tell him the things that I feel?
How could he understand?
(VALJEAN)
Dear Cosette, you're such a lonely child...
The post-Broadway opener is instead as follows:
(COSETTE)
How strange, this feeling that my life's begun at last
This change, can people really fall in love so fast?
What's the matter with you Cosette?
Have you been to much on your own?
So many things unclear
So many things unknown
In my life
There are so many questions and answers
That somehow seem wrong
In my life
There are times when I catch in the silence
The sigh of a faraway song
And it sings of a world that I long to see
Out of reach, just a whisper away, waiting for me
Does he know I'm alive? Do I know if he's real?
Does he see what I see? Does he feel what I feel?
In my life
I'm no longer alone
Now the love in my life is so near
Find me now, find me here
(VALJEAN)
Dear Cosette, you're such a lonely child...
After Valjean gives Cosette his cryptic defense of his secrecy, Cosette had a remark that is sadly incredibly hard to understand in the quality of the recordings we have. It went something like this:
Dare I (unintelligible) he'll come into my life
(unintelligible) knowing
What I'll feel
When the wall will come (unintelligible)
In my life
I'm no longer afraid
And I yearn for the truth that you know
Of the years, years ago
Her post-Broadway response is much shorter:
In my life
I'm no longer a child
And I yearn for the truth that you know
Of the years, years ago
Shorter, but just as effective in my book. Plus, the use of the word "child" nicely ties into Valjean's initial remark that Cosette is "such a lonely child", as well as Cosette's frustration that he still sees her as "a child who is lost in the woods".
The next number, "A Heart Full of Love", also has a LOT of rewritten lyrics. First of all, after Marius' "I do not even know your name", these are his original lyrics:
Dear mademoiselle
I am lost in your spell
The Broadway production changed the lyrics into:
Dear mademoiselle
Won't you say? Will you tell?
I suppose this fits a little better with his remark about not knowing Cosette's name.
After Marius and Cosette finally learn each other's names (an important step in a relationship if you ask me!) this was their original way of showing their affection:
(MARIUS)
Cosette, your name is like a song
(COSETTE)
My song is you
(MARIUS)
Is it true?
(COSETTE)
Yes, it's true
The Broadway production rewrote it into the following:
(MARIUS)
Cosette, I don't know what to say
(COSETTE)
Then make no sound
(MARIUS)
I am lost
(COSETTE)
I am found
In my opinion, the rewrite captures the slight awkwardness of young love much better, as well as making a lot more sense!
Immediately afterwards, this is the original exchange:
(MARIUS and COSETTE)
A heart full of love
A heart full of you
(MARIUS)
The words are foolish but they're true
Cosette, Cosette
What were we dreaming when we met?
(COSETTE)
I can sing
(MARIUS)
Dear Cosette
(COSETTE)
A heart full of love...
The Broadway libretto redoes the scene as the following:
(MARIUS)
A heart full of love
(COSETTE)
A night bright as day
(MARIUS)
And you must never go away
Cosette, Cosette
(COSETTE)
This is a chain we'll never break
(MARIUS)
Do I dream?
(COSETTE)
I'm awake
(MARIUS)
A heart full of love...
Almost a totally different scene! The post-Broadway variant is better structured, but I do like the original too.
As the trio of Marius, Cosette, and Eponine exchanges inner monologues, Marius originally has the line "I saw her waiting and I knew". The Broadway libretto changed this to "A single look and then I knew". I kind of prefer the original, as it implies a little more than something as trivial as a cursory glance.
During the opening to "The Attack on Rue Plumet", Montparnasse refers to Valjean as "the one that got away the other day" as opposed to his original "the bloke wot got away the other day". However, this is another regional change made for the sake of making sense outside of a cockney accent. The official libretto still had the original lyrics.
A tiny change occurs during Thenardier and Eponine's fight. Claquesous originally thinks it's a palaver and an absolute treat "to watch a cat and its father" picking a bone in the street. The Broadway libretto changed this to "see a cat and a father". Why exactly the writers felt the need to make such a miniscule edit is mystifying to me, but it certainly doesn't hurt anything.
Another change occurs later in the number, after Eponine's scream. Originally this was Thenardier's reaction:
Make for the sewers, don't wait around
Leave her to me, go underground
You wait my girl, you'll rue this night
I'll make you scream, you'll scream alright!
These lines were mixed up a bit for the Broadway libretto:
You wait my girl, you'll rue this night
I'll make you scream, you'll scream alright!
Leave her to me, don't wait around
Make for the sewers, go underground
The post-Broadway variation arguably is a bit less climactic due to it not ending on a threat. However, the original climax isn't all that appropriate since Eponine and Thenardier never actually interact at any later point in the musical. I like that the post-Broadway version ends on something that's actually relevant to the remainder of the show (namely, that Thenardier will be in the sewers). Evidently the West End producers didn't agree with me; this is another line in which the original was kept there for more than a decade (at which point a rewrite closer to the original was already being used worldwide)!
In "One Day More", Javert's "One day more to revolution" is slightly changed to "One more day to revolution". However, the number is otherwise unchanged.
And that's it for Act One! The opening barricade scene to act two has a small change. Grantaire's pre-Broadway "Some will bark, some will bite" was changed to "Dogs will bark, fleas will bite". Makes a lot more sense in my opinion!
The opening to "On My Own" is changed as well. Originally it was performed as follows:
And now I'm all alone again
Nowhere to go, no one to turn to
I did not want your money sir
I came out here 'cause I was told to
The Broadway version rewrote it into the following:
And now I'm alone again
Nowhere to turn, no one to go to
Without a home, without a friend
Without a face to say hello to
A huge improvement in my book. It actually rhymes now, and is far less likely to be misconstrued as ungrateful.
After receiving a massive overhaul not that long before, "Little People" was slightly tweaked for the Broadway show. The pre-Broadway version had this ending:
So never kick a dog
Because he’s just a pup
You’d better run for cover when the pup grows up!
Another line (taken from the original longer version of "Little People" as well as all versions of its reprise) was added for the post-Broadway show:
So never kick a dog
Because he’s just a pup
We'll fight like twenty armies and we won't give up
So you’d better run for cover when the pup grows up!
Grantaire's line afterwards is literally reversed in meaning from the original "Better far to die a schoolboy than a policeman and a spy!" into "What's the difference? Die a schoolboy, die a policeman, die a spy!" This post-Broadway lyric fits better into Grantaire's cynical personality.
A very subtle edit is made in "Little Fall of Rain" (to the point that I only just realized its existence by reading an old internet forum!) Pre-Broadway, Marius asks Eponine "Did you see my beloved?" The tense is changed from past to present perfect for the Broadway libretto, so that he now sings "Have you seen my beloved?"
"Drink with Me" receives quite a bit of editing. The opening few lines are originally all sung by Grantaire:
Drink with me to days gone by
Sing with me the songs we knew
Here's to pretty girls who went to our heads
Here's to witty girls who went to our beds
Here's to them and here's to you
Now, those lyrics are split between various students:
(FEUILLY)
Drink with me to days gone by
Sing with me the songs we knew
(PROUVAIRE)
Here's to pretty girls who went to our heads
(JOLY)
Here's to witty girls who went to our beds
(ALL STUDENTS)
Here's to them and here's to you
A far more touching scene now that it entails an entire group of friends reminiscing about their lives, as opposed to the thoughts of one heavily drunk individual.
Originally this was followed by a segment by the male ensemble:
Drink with me to days gone by
To the life that used to be
At the shrine of friendship never say die
Let the wine of friendship never run dry
Then, this was followed by the same lyrics, but sung by the male and female ensembles overlapping. The Broadway libretto removes that and replaces it with an all-new segment with Grantaire. It's much more cynical and philosophical than his original lines:
Drink with me to days gone by
Can it be you fear to die?
Will the world remember you when you fall?
Could it be your death means nothing at all?
Is you life just one more lie?
The lyrics from the pre-Broadway show, in their male-and-female overlapping form, are played afterwards.
The next change occurs during the Second Attack. Pre-Broadway, this was how the opening lyrics went:
(ENJOLRAS)
How do we stand, Feuilly make your report
(FEUILLY)
We've guns enough but bullets running short
(MARIUS)
Let me go into the street
There are bodies around
Ammunition to be had
Lots of bullets to be found
Some very small edits were made for Broadway:
(ENJOLRAS)
How do we stand, Feuilly make your report
(FEUILLY)
We've guns enough but ammunition short
(MARIUS)
I will go into the street
There are bodies around
Ammunition to be had
Lots of bullets to be found
The following exchange also is a bit edited. Here's how it went pre-Broadway:
(ENJOLRAS)
I can't let you go, it's too much of a chance
(MARIUS)
And the same can be said for any man here
(VALJEAN)
Let me go in his place, he's no more than a boy
I am old and alone and have nothing to fear
Post-Broadway, it instead goes as follows:
(ENJOLRAS)
I can't let you go, it's too much of a chance
(MARIUS)
And the same is true for any man here
(VALJEAN)
Let me go, he's no more than a boy
I am old, I have nothing to fear
Finally, Gavroche's final lines are as follows pre-Broadway:
So never kick a dog
Because he’s just a pup
You’d better run for cover when the pup grows up
And we’ll fight like twenty armies and we won’t give…
A small edit is made for the Broadway production, so that the latter two lines are reversed:
So never kick a dog
Because he’s just a pup
We’ll fight like twenty armies and we won’t give up
So you’d better run for cover when the pup grows...
I'd say this is an improvement, since Gavroche's death is all the more impactful when his literal last unfinished words are about growing up.
Not long afterwards comes the Final Battle. Leading up to Enjolras' climactic moment, the original lines went as follows:
(ENJOLRAS)
Come on my friends, though we stand here alone
Let us go to our deaths with our face to our foes
(COMBEFERRE)
Let 'em pay for each death with a death of their own
(COURFEYRAC)
If they get me, by God, they will pay through the nose
(ENJOLRAS)
Let others rise to take our place
Until the earth is free
The sequence was edited for Broadway, giving a bit more breathing space:
(ENJOLRAS)
Let us die facing our foes
Make them bleed while they can
(COMBEFERRE)
Make them pay through the nose
(COURFEYRAC)
Make them pay for every man
(ENJOLRAS)
Let others rise to take our place
Until the earth is free
"Dog Eats Dog" is a very heavily-edited number. After Thenardier's "As a service to the town" line, he originally sung the following lines:
It's a world where the dogs eat the dogs
And the worst is as good as the best
It's a stinking great sewer that's crawling with rats
And one rat is as good as the rest
I raise my eyes to see the heavens
And only the moon looks down
That entire sequence was cut for Broadway.
The exact same lines are repeated in the pre-Broadway number after Thenardier's "When the gutters run with blood" line, with one more line added afterwards:
It's a world where the dogs eat the dogs
And the worst is as good as the best
It's a stinking great sewer that's crawling with rats
And one rat is as good as the rest
I raise my eyes to see the heavens
And only the moon looks down
The harvest moon shines down
Unlike the first instance of those lines, they aren't completely excised for Broadway. They are, however, significantly rewritten:
It's a world where the dogs eat the dogs
And they kill for the bones in the street
And God in His heavens, He don't interfere
'Cause He's dead as the stiffs at my feet
I raise my eyes to see the heavens
And only the moon looks down
The harvest moon shines down
I really like how the edited version focuses more on godlessness than on how gross the sewer is. Not that a lack of a god is inherently sinister; I am quite agnostic myself and I think the unbreakable connection between religion and morality alleged by some is ridiculous. But it is blatantly obvious that Thenardier sees no reason to be moral provided no one will punish him.
The encounter in the sewers between Valjean and Javert originally ended as follows, with Javert's first two lines here in a tune not heard anywhere else in the musical to my recollection:
(VALJEAN)
Come, time is running short
(JAVERT)
Go take him, I'll be waiting at the door
I've never met a man like you before
A man such as you
The sequence was extended for the Broadway libretto, to the tune of "Look Down" and the "Work Song":
(VALJEAN)
Come, time is running short
Look down, Javert
He's standing in his grave
(VALJEAN - simultaneously with the next two lines)
Give way, Javert
There is a life to save
(JAVERT - simultaneously with the previous two lines)
Take him, Valjean
Before I change my mind
(JAVERT)
I will be waiting, 24601
A slight change can be heard in "Every Day". Originally Marius sings that he and Cosette will "remember that night and the song that we sang". The Broadway libretto edited this into the decidedly less medium-aware "remember that night and the vow that we made".
"Valjean's Confession" has been reworked to the point that it can scarcely even be considered the same song. After Valjean's "There's something now that must be done", this was how the song went:
(VALJEAN)
Monsieur, I cannot stay a night beneath your roof
I am a convict, sir, my body bears the proof
My name is Jean Valjean
I never told Cosette, I bear this guilt alone
And this I swear to you, her innocence is real
Her love is true
Our love, our life, are now her own
And I must face the years alone
(MARIUS)
I do not understand what's the sense of it all?
Is the world upside down?
Will the universe fall?
If it's true what you say, and Cosette doesn't know
Why confess it to me?
Why confess it at all?
What forces you to speak after all?
(VALJEAN)
You and Cosette must be free of reproach
It is not your affair
There is a darkness that's over my life
It's the cross I must bear
It's for Cosette this must be faced
If I am found, she is disgraced
(MARIUS)
What can I do that would turn you from this...
After the Broadway rewrite, Valjean's "There's something now that must be done" is followed by this:
(VALJEAN)
You've spoken from the heart, and I must do the same
There is a story, sir, of slavery and shame
That you alone must know
I never told Cosette, she had enough of tears
She's never known the truth, the story you must hear
Of years ago
There lived a man whose name was Jean Valjean
He stole some bread to save his sister's son
For nineteen winters served his time
In sweat he washed away his crime
Years ago
He broke parole and lived a life apart
How could he tell Cosette and break her heart?
It's for Cosette this must be faced
If he is caught she is disgraced
The time is come to journey on
And from this day he must be gone
Who am I?
Who am I?
(MARIUS)
You're Jean Valjean
What can I do that will turn you from this...
The few lines afterwards are the same, but as you can see not much else in the song is! Even the tune diverges a lot between the two variants. I'm very conflicted about which one I prefer. I gravitate towards the final one, though it's nice that the original actually tried to address to confusing notion that Valjean wants to tell his son-in-law of his past yet not his own daughter.
"Beggars at the Feast" originally ended with a solo for Thenardier:
(THENARDIER and MME. THENARDIER)
We know where the wind is blowing
Money is the stuff we smell
(THENARDIER)
And when I'm rich as Croesus
Jesus, won't I see you all in Hell!
The Broadway libretto switched this to a group line:
(THENARDIER and MME. THENARDIER)
We know where the wind is blowing
Money is the stuff we smell
And when we're rich as Croesus
Jesus, won't we see you all in Hell!
I much prefer the revised version, as the two Thenardiers clearly are in this act together. It seems more appropriate to let them both have the last laugh.
A small change occurs in the Epilogue. In the pre-Broadway show, Cosette tells Valjean that "It's too soon to ever say goodbye". The post-Broadway libretto instead has her sing "It's too soon, too soon to say goodbye". Repetitive as it may be, I prefer it over the original because the original awkwardly combines language clearly denoting the moment with language implying eternality.
Phew, we're finally at the end! Rest assured this is almost certainly the longest changelog you'll ever be forced to endure. I'm fairly sure it's complete, but this particular rewrite was so extensive it's not impossible that I missed something. Please feel free to let me know if that is the case.
As a side note, both for this project and my own enjoyment, I want as complete a collection of Les Miserables audios as possible. I already have most of what’s commonly circulated, but if you have any audios or videos you know are rare, or some audios that you haven't traded in a few years, I’d love it if you DMed me!
Until the turntable puts me at the forefront again, good-bye…