Theater Review: Les Miserables

Friday night I went to see 'Les Miserables' at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater. The food was good, but that's not the point.

When I heard 'Les Mis' was playing there, I didn't really care to go. I love the book and the Liam Neeson movie version so much, that I was leary about seeing this one. But my uncle wanted to go, so I went with him.

It was good. I'm not a fan of musicals where they sing every word (they end up crowding words together in a funny way just so they can tell the story - just do a normal musical people), but it was okay. The set and costumes were really good. The actors and actresses did pretty well, especially the little girl who played young Cosette. She was hardly in it, but she was the one with whom I was the most impressed.

The only thing I didn't like was the actor playing Jean Valjean, which is too bad, considering that's the main role, and that's the character I love so much. I don't like that the play calls for a tenor cuz that's just wrong (Jean Valjean was recognized because he's a big strong man - he couldn't possibly be a tenor), but also the man's voice wasn't great, and he didn't impress me as an actor.

Oh, and the story felt a little choppy. So if you're going to see the play, see the movie first (and better yet - read the book!).