#the miserables

[unknown171204]

Les Misérables 1991

After the semi-failure of the very first show in 1980

Les Mis should have logically fallen into oblivion … Without the miraculous intervention of Cameron Mackintosh !!

While he had just inaugurated Cats on Broadway, the concept album of the show was sent to him by the director Peter Farago, who having seen the stage adaptation of Robert Hossein and wanted to create an English adaptation

Mackintosh, initially reluctant eventually accepted the challenge

It took him two years of work in collaboration with Herbert Kretzmer, Siobhan Bracke and James Fenton

The first adaptation of a French musical to finally be created in London in October 1985 at the Barbican Centre before moving to the West End :

The HUGE success will lead to the production of a second official French version ( we can even consider it as a remake)

Because it would be stupid to change a winning team

Cameron Mackintosh will take the reins of the project ( with behind him the shadow of Alain Boublil who will have to RETRANSLATE Kretzmer's texts which are translations of his own texts )

it is he who will stage this new version closer to the English adaptation than to the original show

The show will be performed in Montreal at the Théâtre Saint-Denis then in Paris at the Théâtre Mogador

1991 full album

FRENCH DISTRIBUTION :

Robert Marien : Jean Valjean

Patrick Rocca : Javert

Louise Pitre : Fantine

Laurent Gendron : Mr Thénardier

Marie-France Roussel : Mrs Thénardier

Lynda Zaoui / Anne-Laure Grondin / Nora Kati / Aurélie Lebarbé / Marjorie Theillaumas / Karine Debec / Audrey Boitel : alternately little Cosette and little Eponine

Marie Zamora : Cosette

Stéphanie Martin : Éponine

Ludwig Briand / Cyrille Vannier / Alexis Tomassian : Gavroche

Jérôme Pradon : Marius

Julien Combey : Enjolras

Renaud Marx : Grantaire

Vincent Vittoz : Combeferre

Pierre-Yves Duchesne : Courfeyrac

Juan Pablo Armitano : Feuilly

FRENCH CANADIAN DISTRIBUTION :

Robert Marien : Jean Valjean

Peter Zinko : Javert

Louise Pitre : Fantine

Andre Therrien : Mr Thénardier

Mireille Thibeault : Mrs Thénardier

Clotilde Aras / Adrienne Nye / Lily Russell / Aurelie Lebarbe / Marjorie Theillaumas / Anne-Laure Grondin : alternately little Cosette and little Eponine

Laur Fugère : Cosette

Stéphanie Martin : Éponine

Andrew Bauer-Gâdor / Gabriel Kakon : Gavroche

Frayne McCarthy : Marius

Francois Godin : Enjolras

Daniel Jean : Grantaire

Sébastien Dhavernas : Courfeyrac

Alexandre Beaulieu : Joly

Unlike the original show which had a lot of archive photos but few videos , here I was able to find more interesting materials :

The Full Live Recording of the Show :

Unfortunately ... the show was a resounding failure

Les Mis were snubbed for two reasons :

1 - France and musicals is an incredibly recent encounter !!

The public was not interested in this kind of entertainment, which was considered pedantic and unnecessarily expensive , it will be necessary to wait for "Notre Dame de Paris"

( ironically another musical based on a novel by Victor Hugo)

In 1999, for this kind of show to be adopted and appreciated by the public ( I will probably talk about it one day, it is this show which launched the craze and then the golden age of French musicals )

2 - Fans of the first album and show felt betrayed

It's not easy to accept as a long-time fan that a work is cut or modified ... So when an Englishman allows himself to modify the songs and the scenography, declaring this version to be superior to the original ?! The pill was definitely difficult to swallow

( not to mention the Franco-English friend-enemy relationship which goes back a long way )

Die-hard fans took this as an affront and boycotted the show

Apparently, Cameron Mackintosh was so upset and disappointed by the situation that he called France a "musical graveyard " which only further angered the public, who shunned the show ( and wouldn't revive it until 2024 )

ANECDOTES :

I had already pointed out that in the 1980 version

Gavroche's actors often ended up often end up making a career in film or voice acting :

The iconic voices of Alexis Tomassian

Ludwig Briand became a famous child actor playing the role of Mimi Siku in the CULT French comedy : " Un indien dans la ville "

I'll definitely end up talking about the 2024 version ...

To while away the time, I invite you to consult my Masterlist (with my other articles on Les Misérables and other equally exciting French musicals :)

MASTERLIST

[alicedrawslesmis]

The Miserables Month: #7 Blood

@themiserablesmonth

[marlynnofmany]

Boy, Les Miserables sure is named accurately, isn't it?

[cegodaltonico]

"Todos os nossos heroísmos provêm de nossas mulheres. Um homem sem mulher é como uma pistola sem gatilho; é a mulher que faz o homem disparar."

Victor Hugo

[cityofsophronia]

I’m pretty sure we can agree that all 19th century authors were masters of the impromptu digression, but the most interesting thing is how the readers react differently to them. I mean, if I am reading Manzoni and he starts talking about the penal laws against brigands in Italy, I will scream in agonized pain (they are even more boring than the rest of the book, and that’s saying something), but if Hugo suddenly starts infodumping me about the infamous Parisian sewer system in the middle of an action scene, it’s kind of ok. And if it is Herman Melville sharing a bunch of wildly incorrect opinions about whales, I’ll be like “Go on, Herman. Just spill me the tea, I love this”

[ayleen91]

Hoy he creado un pack de la maravillosa Lily Collins en tonos claros y oscuros con un rojo potente.

A ver si os gusta la mezcla de colores y gamas :3 

[tough-chick-in-distress]

Everyone thinks Enjolras can’t handle his alcohol.

Please, Enjolras grown up in the upper class society from the South of France. If Courfeyrac and he were in troubles sometimes it wasn’t for drinking, but for drinking the wrong kind of alcohol.