Before I begin, I'd like to express that I've seen the show 3 1/2 times (once at the 5th Ave, 2 school edition productions of it, and then the first act of yours) and the flaws that I have mentioned that you say are "in the acting" were there all the times I saw the show.
This shall be very long winded. Be prepared.
1. No matter what musical one of those types of romances is in, I always view it as a type of "weak point." It merely contributes to why I don't think Les Miz is a strong musical.
2. You bring up a good point by your interpretation of Javert... it's been so long since I've actually listened to this music, my memory had faded a bit.
Regardless, I still find it unrealistic that this cop devotes his life to pursuing Valjean... Javert's intense desire on finding Valjean is unbelievable for me because Valjean's crime was not as great as I'm sure others' crimes were.
I completely understand the moment that Valjean has after the Bishop "buys his soul for God." What I'm saying is that I don't think it works in the show, mainly because the lyrics, for that song especially, are poorly constructed. I read through them as though it was a monologue, and much of the lyric is "I feel [insert emotion here]." It is difficult to act believably with material like that, and the moment where Valjean decides to become a better man is incredibly important, as it is the foundation for the rest of the show. Thus, I don't think that moment works nearly as well as it should, and I blame the material, not the acting.
3. I shall respond to your points by a second numbering...
1) When I said "All of a sudden," I meant that Marius' romantic feelings come out of nowhere - there's been no build-up to show that he begins to feel for Eponine.
2) I'd love to hear more on this Uta Hagen and the nine questions.
Please don't relay what I'm about to say to Nick, as I'm not the director and don't want to influence his character.
I don't really think the relationship he created with Eponine is realistic. True, it appeals to the inner romantic in all of us, but having so strong a "boyfriend-and-girlfriend" type love that it all of a sudden becomes a "brother and sister" type love? That doesn't make sense to me.
3) I do think the way he responds is "as her lover." But meh. Don't think we'll see eye-to-eye on that.
4) True, it is an acting problem. However, there isn't really a specific time for him to act out that change, and he and Cosette end up getting married anyway. Where the world great and I to have my way, there would be some sort of scene/song where Marius could express his feelings for Cosette, a la "What Have I Done?" or "Who Am I?"
In response to your two other minor points:
1) I'm not saying add an act to establish Marius and Eponine. But as it is, they really don't have much interaction besides dealing with finding Cosette. I would love to see a song/scene that they share that shows the audience the type of relationship they have.
2) This may be merely a communicative error, but in the libretto I have of the show, it says that Fantine is terminally ill. Regardless of how she dies, it seems as though there should be more of a gradual build-up as to her being ill - the first time I saw the show, I was like "what??" through the entire hospital scene because I had no idea where she was, and then all of a sudden she died. I was quite bamboozled.
As to your comment that you left in my livejournal, I do realize that, given the concept and overall plot of the show, one should be able to walk away feeling more than just plain melancholy. However, as I've expressed many times, I really don't think that Les Miz has a strong book or score, and so I find it hard to relate to the characters and the circumstances.
I'm sure this shan't be the last installment of our debate over Les Miz.
This shall be very long winded. Be prepared.
1. No matter what musical one of those types of romances is in, I always view it as a type of "weak point." It merely contributes to why I don't think Les Miz is a strong musical.
2. You bring up a good point by your interpretation of Javert... it's been so long since I've actually listened to this music, my memory had faded a bit.
Regardless, I still find it unrealistic that this cop devotes his life to pursuing Valjean... Javert's intense desire on finding Valjean is unbelievable for me because Valjean's crime was not as great as I'm sure others' crimes were.
I completely understand the moment that Valjean has after the Bishop "buys his soul for God." What I'm saying is that I don't think it works in the show, mainly because the lyrics, for that song especially, are poorly constructed. I read through them as though it was a monologue, and much of the lyric is "I feel [insert emotion here]." It is difficult to act believably with material like that, and the moment where Valjean decides to become a better man is incredibly important, as it is the foundation for the rest of the show. Thus, I don't think that moment works nearly as well as it should, and I blame the material, not the acting.
3. I shall respond to your points by a second numbering...
1) When I said "All of a sudden," I meant that Marius' romantic feelings come out of nowhere - there's been no build-up to show that he begins to feel for Eponine.
2) I'd love to hear more on this Uta Hagen and the nine questions.
Please don't relay what I'm about to say to Nick, as I'm not the director and don't want to influence his character.
I don't really think the relationship he created with Eponine is realistic. True, it appeals to the inner romantic in all of us, but having so strong a "boyfriend-and-girlfriend" type love that it all of a sudden becomes a "brother and sister" type love? That doesn't make sense to me.
3) I do think the way he responds is "as her lover." But meh. Don't think we'll see eye-to-eye on that.
4) True, it is an acting problem. However, there isn't really a specific time for him to act out that change, and he and Cosette end up getting married anyway. Where the world great and I to have my way, there would be some sort of scene/song where Marius could express his feelings for Cosette, a la "What Have I Done?" or "Who Am I?"
In response to your two other minor points:
1) I'm not saying add an act to establish Marius and Eponine. But as it is, they really don't have much interaction besides dealing with finding Cosette. I would love to see a song/scene that they share that shows the audience the type of relationship they have.
2) This may be merely a communicative error, but in the libretto I have of the show, it says that Fantine is terminally ill. Regardless of how she dies, it seems as though there should be more of a gradual build-up as to her being ill - the first time I saw the show, I was like "what??" through the entire hospital scene because I had no idea where she was, and then all of a sudden she died. I was quite bamboozled.
As to your comment that you left in my livejournal, I do realize that, given the concept and overall plot of the show, one should be able to walk away feeling more than just plain melancholy. However, as I've expressed many times, I really don't think that Les Miz has a strong book or score, and so I find it hard to relate to the characters and the circumstances.
I'm sure this shan't be the last installment of our debate over Les Miz.
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