928 The craze is about to begin
“Lord, let me find him! Let me see him! Back in prison and at peace with the world! Until then, I will never stop, I swear, I swear to the stars！”
On the stage, Javert, played by Ezra Miller, is bathed in a halo like a revelation from God. He is swearing to the stars and praying to God. With the stars as evidence, he chases Jean Valjean to the To the end of the world, we will never let go. Our devout faith and stubborn paranoia are fully revealed in the song "Starlight" full of holiness and justice.！
The melody gradually rose; the singing gradually bloomed, pushing the emotions of the third act to a climax step by step. The belief deep in the heart burst out with unimaginable power, completely released in the melody and arias, The last sudden ending, the majestic, majestic and mighty momentum of the instrument reached its peak.！
Crisp, impassioned, and surging; then, it stopped abruptly! The curtain fell, the lights went out, then came back on, and the audience spontaneously stood up and applauded. The thunderous applause shook the entire Almeida Theater. The three-hour performance finally came to an end, and the first half was over. After a two-and-a-half-hour break, the second half will resume！
The applause lasted for a full two minutes and still did not stop. It was vast, vigorous and deafening. The enthusiasm and excitement of the audience were clearly reflected. Although this was only the first half of the performance, although the magnificent story It's not over yet. Although the long time is really a kind of torture, the audience didn't care and paid high respect with applause.！
The first half of the Almeida Theater's version of "Les Misérables" has three acts in total.
The first act ends with Jean Valjean's monologue, showing his change of mood and social status quo..
The second act ends with the confrontation between Jean Valjean and Javert, presenting Fantine's dilemma and disaster, using her perspective to spy on various social situations, and of course, Jean Valjean's identity is disclosed and escapes again, throughout always.
The third act ends with Javert's monologue - "Starlight", which shows the further intensification of social contradictions. The people are in dire straits, people are in dire straits, and the Thénardiers are the absolute protagonists..
Three acts, three hours, present a magnificent picture, truly showing the Parisian ukiyo-e of the early 19th century; not only the three main characters of Jean Valjean, Fantine and Javert, but also other supporting characters are given enough performance space.
The third act, in particular, is completely different from the Queen's Theater version. It adds a large number of new tracks and new characters, minimizing the influence of the protagonist as much as possible, but instead outlining the current situation of the entire society..
The entire appreciation process is just like a masterpiece such as "The Lord of the Rings". The delicate and magnificent epic temperament outlines the majesty and vastness of the world in midway. The Almeida Theater version of "Les Misérables" also presents Vic's The era described by Victor Hugo was one in which the soul was shocked unconsciously..
Three tiring and exciting three hours, the audience stood up collectively, and the two-minute applause never subsided. The intention could not be more obvious: the audience was calling for an encore curtain call, waiting for the actors to come again Come on stage and accept the worship of the entire audience.！
So, John Corder led the core actors onto the stage and accepted the applause.
The tsunami-like applause reached its peak in an instant, like thunder, like an earthquake, like a storm; the raging and boiling sound waves created an unimaginable chain reaction under the surround echo effect of the theater. If John hadn't taken the initiative to come out, , took the initiative to express that he looked forward to the audience returning for the second half and continuing to watch the show. Otherwise, there seems to be no end in sight to this applause..
John's reminder is undoubtedly important: during the two-and-a-half-hour break, they need to eat as soon as possible and relax their nerves, and then undergo another three-hour baptism. This marathon has just passed the halfway point, and the most exciting part is still far away. Far from coming.
The applause gradually subsided and the audience gradually dispersed, but the lingering ripples in my heart still did not subside..
As a professional theater critic and a senior theater enthusiast, Alistair Smith has a slightly different perspective..
The first is the story. John Corder’s presentation and exploration of the original story of “Les Misérables” is worthy of recognition and there is no doubt about it. In this regard, Alistair not only admires John’s courage, but also his high degree of completion, but To make a comprehensive judgment on the overall level and height, we need to see the story adaptation in the second half. As far as the first half is concerned, it is at least 80% or above..
Next is the actors. This is also the key part to observe in the first half..
Reese Ridley, who plays Fantine, is a little immature, but the shackles of age cannot be ignored after all..
Especially in the second act, in several scenes with Renly, it can be clearly felt that Renly is restraining himself, controlling the rhythm and intensity, but his natural and free-flowing performance style still vaguely overwhelms Rui. Akane, whether it is the fullness of emotions, the presentation of the characters and plot, or the filling of details in the performance, you can see the gap between the two people..
Ezra Miller, who plays Javert, has the same problem.
In the scenes between Ezra and Renly, you can faintly smell Ezra's shortness of breath and anxiety, as if he can't stand up straight in front of Renly. This feeling is especially obvious in the "face" scene. , to some extent, this affected the character creation of Javert - after all, in the original story, Javert was the one who had the upper hand, and Jean-Valjean was the one who was running away with his head in his arms..
However, objectively speaking, it is not that the two actors are not good enough, but that Renly is too good. Leaving aside Renly, the performances of Reese and Ezra are already among the best among young actors, which makes "tragic" The overall quality of the first half of "The World" is still maintained at a high level..
Reese's performance of "I Dreamed a Dream" was slightly less explosive, but the emotional delivery was full enough; and the biggest advantage is that her age is closer to Fantine in the original work. In the Queen's Theater version, Fantine is often played by actors around thirty years old. The sense of vicissitudes is enough, but it lacks the innocence and tenderness in the original work..
In the monologue at the end of the second act, Reese truly interpreted Fantine's emotions: she was young and ignorant, harboring beautiful fantasies about the world, but encountered deception and injury, and fell into the abyss step by step. She once dreamed that she could have love and Warmth, but the ending is bruised and unsustainable.
This can be regarded as a small surprise.
Ezra's interpretation of "Starlight" is full of explosive power, but it lacks layering and delicacy. It shows more of the young man's determination to move forward without hesitation, and fails to show the complexity, complexity and luck of Javert's heart. Fortunately, the story in the first half is long enough, and the plot and arias make up for it..
Therefore, in the monologue at the end of the third act, Ezra's rampant paranoia and distortion injected another meaning into the story, and then won applause..
The three-hour first half may become a shortcoming, exposing the instability and inadequacy of the young actors; it may also be an advantage, making up for the shortcomings of the young actors' lack of performance and making the story more full and profound. John Coe The German version of "Les Misérables" is the latter.
“Alistair.”
“Nick.”
I saw a familiar face, Nick-Morris, another well-known senior drama critic in the industry. He is known for his harshness. The future of many new dramas has been ruined by his writing. Stained with a lot of blood.
However, the reason why Nick is able to occupy a place in London's West End is because he is professional and is absolutely soft when it comes to criticism; he is never stingy when it comes to praise. Even Alistair is very willing to exchange ideas with Nick..
The two people merged into the crowd one after another and left the theater. "How is it? What did you find?" Alistair asked proactively..
Nick shrugged, "So far? Renly Hall.”
“Only one? "Alistair raised his thick eyebrows and said in a relaxed tone..
Nick nodded sharply in affirmation, "Yes. All other discoveries were eclipsed." Just like Nick's style, "Code's adapted script can barely be counted as half, but we still have to look at the second half of the script. .To be honest, I was a little surprised by Renly's performance. You know, those actors in Hollywood, tsk tsk……”
Needless to say, just raising the corners of your eyes critically is enough..
For senior people in London's West End, the weight of the Oscar statuette is actually not important. At least, it is not as important as the three major European film festivals, the Tony Awards and the Olivier Awards. In their eyes, the basic skills of actors in London's West End are world-leading. Actors born here can easily establish themselves in Hollywood, it's not a big deal at all..
You can say they are arrogant, you can also say they are arrogant. But in real life, even Hollywood agrees with this, so the term "British Gang" was born..
“But, his control is really outstanding." Nick's praise stopped short and did not go into depth, but the light in his eyes betrayed his excitement, "Actually, I am a little curious, if Renly is full of energy in this play, and he is full of energy throughout the whole process. Performing at its best, I don’t know how it will turn out.”
“At least, it's curious enough." Alistair said with a smile, and then Nick asked Alistair for his opinion. He said frankly, "There are several young actors who deserve to be polished. This time, John Cord really digs it. There are a lot of potential new stars. I think this is very interesting. In the second half, other main characters will appear. I don’t know what the average strength is..”
“If it weren't for Renly's guidance, the quality of the finished product would never be of this level." Nick still had a picky face..
Alistair did not refute, but nodded, "So, John Cord has a vicious eye." Choosing Renly to play Jean Valjean is not the most shocking casting choice in London's West End; but it does require someone to excel. courage and determination, "I have a hunch that the second half is worth looking forward to.”
“Hopefully they don't cram in too much food, otherwise it'll be too bad to end up smelling like pizza and fried chicken during the night." Nick is still Nick..
Comments