La gran Jossie de Guzmán... Tuve el privilegio de verla en 1981 en París en el World Tour de West Side Story y el corazón se me quería salir gritando “Puerto Rico!!!” durante los aplausos finales. Luego, hace ya unos cuantos años coincidí con ella en la presentación de su CD de nanas y, sin conocerla, de presentao, le conté esa anécdota parisina.
i love how if you compare this to the west side story revial of 2009, you can really see how much broaday has really evolved in the past twenty years. what a beautiful thing :)
TONS of musicals are about these important themes--Sunday in the Park with George is about no less than why art matters and connects us, and the importance of passing that on to future generations. It could be easily argued there'd never be no Les Mis without West Side Story and it handling "important" themes
He resembles the description in the original script...."Sandy haired boy..." Richard Beymer looked like Natalie's brother. Tony and Maria should contrast.
Exactly! After all Tony is supposed to be a Sandy hair colored Polish Jewish Boy and Maria is a dark hair dark eyes Puerto Rican girl. The original concept of Tony was that he was supposed to be Jewish and Maria Catholic. That would spark a turf war amoungst the Jets and Sharks.
I absolutely love the 1980 cast. Someone please tell me if there is a full audio and visual performance of them! That would be a great find. If someone out there has it, please please upload it ASAP! This is my favorite cast. This is how Tony and Maria should be played. Although I like Brett Cavanagh in the 2009 Broadway Revival as Tony he had way too much vibrato in his voice for me. Love this cast! Josie and Ken really look believable as lovers on screen and onstage! Debbie Allen is just phenomenal as Anita.
Lawrence has ALL of the high notes - but was a light soprano. Listen to the cast album and watch TH-cam videos from Ed Sullivan. She had what was needed.
@reecespiecesheroful I've only known Ken Marshall from Krull (not a trekkie :P) and I always thought he sounded like he could sing, but it only just occurred to me to check the internet for proof today! LOL
The incidentals in that piece make it very pop like. Especially on my own. BTW Theatre is usually "soft" because it is suppose to take people out of their daily situations and give them an escape. The opinion that a lot of gay people do theatre has nothing to do with that. Les mis is really depression...great musical, but very sad.
Well, I guess I need to know hwo you define pop. The play is an opera. Its not a "Pop"era like Hairspray and Wicked. All the songs are written in classical opera style. I want to kno wwhat you mean by pop? (Can we keep this respectful?)
@fountainchain126 if you are talking about josie she was the understudy and went on when maria was fired out of town and no time for recasting....she was also a marginal at best sarah brown in the faithprince/nathan lane guys and dolls
Why not? Les Mis is about life and death, freedom, redemption; important themes. It also has no pop songs, of course, and no big dance numbers. Sure, its still a "musical", but it just uses its music to express emotion and thought in powerful ways. Thats the same princible foer all music and songs.
Generally very uninformed and often embarrassing comments from the “Great” Asking an actors age? Asking who is Puerto Rican? Tom Brokaw? Wow. Not his finest moments. But great to see cast in this revival recreating original choreography & some of the staging? Why not? Interpretations abound in all “classic” revivals in the Arts - of course - and many exhilarating and successful- but to also present the ideas & work that MADE a piece of theatrical art famous is also very worthy of seeing.
@@moimeme6533 Actually, she did, but her voice wasn't considered strong enough, so behind her back, literally, they had the wonderfully talented Marni Nixon dub over. Also, Wood wasn't the producers' first choice for Maria. They asked Audrey Hepburn, but she turned the role down due to her pregnancy.
@@erzug speaking of A Hepburn, Marni Nixon likewise covered the vocals in _My Fair Lady_ among others. I believe there is a vid of Hepburn singing one of the numbers that was not included in the film. Now that you mention it recall now that they tried WSS with Natalie's voice originally.
@@moimeme6533 Yes, I was also thinking about that, but didn't mention it. The main difference is that Hepburn knew she was being voiced over by Nixon, but Wood didn't. Therefore, I think AH would have been more accepting of that fact had she accepted the WSS role. There are videos on this site with NW singing the songs herself, in comparison with Nixon's rendition. Another Hepburn piece of trivia is that she demanded to sing "Moon River" in "Breakfast at Tiffany's", but when the producers demurred, Henry Mancini stepped in and said he could come up with a version in a key with which she would be able to sing.
That's simply not true. The songs are written in a pop music vernacular (verse chorus, verse chorus, bridge chorus, etc) and the authros have even said their main influence was Rodgers and hammerstein, Cabaret and especially Jesus Christ Superstar NO opera). It's a pop opera if you wanna call it an opera, hardly classical. Besides Opera is a "very" gay art if you're speaking of gay incluence ANYWAY--
theater is usually kind of, sorry, soft. It draws the attention of people liek that. Then there are are lot of gays in theater, so they influence it the most. Les Mis, though, is an exception.
Sir, you can't compare this woman to The late Marni Nixon, who sang for Natalie Wood. Marni WAS a true Soprano. But having seen this in person in '80, Josie was fantastic. She just wasn't Natalie Wood. ---------------WolfSky9
I love Josie, she is so talented!! She is recently Lucy in The Hollow at the Alley Theatre and is HILARIOUS. An amazing actress and singer
These videos are really making me wish I'd seen this production--alas, I wasn't even born then D:
La gran Jossie de Guzmán... Tuve el privilegio de verla en 1981 en París en el World Tour de West Side Story y el corazón se me quería salir gritando “Puerto Rico!!!” durante los aplausos finales. Luego, hace ya unos cuantos años coincidí con ella en la presentación de su CD de nanas y, sin conocerla, de presentao, le conté esa anécdota parisina.
Wow, her soprano is gorgeous!
This is how Maria should sound!
Yayyyyy a good Tony. The 2009 revival didn't feel that was necessary...
A great version!
i love how if you compare this to the west side story revial of 2009, you can really see how much broaday has really evolved in the past twenty years. what a beautiful thing :)
These set pieces do not not reflect this Broadway revival...they are morning show sets.
TONS of musicals are about these important themes--Sunday in the Park with George is about no less than why art matters and connects us, and the importance of passing that on to future generations. It could be easily argued there'd never be no Les Mis without West Side Story and it handling "important" themes
Finally ..."Tony ...a sandy haired boy..
" love Ken. Perfect.
He resembles the description in the original script...."Sandy haired boy..." Richard Beymer looked like Natalie's brother. Tony and Maria should contrast.
Exactly! After all Tony is supposed to be a Sandy hair colored Polish Jewish Boy and Maria is a dark hair dark eyes Puerto Rican girl. The original concept of Tony was that he was supposed to be Jewish and Maria Catholic. That would spark a turf war amoungst the Jets and Sharks.
I never tire of watching all the versions. Great voices but the dancing varies, So many versions from movies to high school and of course broadway
@SingerGirlCMP Age isn't the most important thing. TALENT is what matters.
"Colowyn" from "KRULL" is Tony! They both did great!
this IS the best musical ever made. That British assclown's entire opus doesn't equal one scene from this brilliant masterpiece
@SingerGirlCMP She still got a Tony nomination for it
I absolutely love the 1980 cast. Someone please tell me if there is a full audio and visual performance of them! That would be a great find. If someone out there has it, please please upload it ASAP! This is my favorite cast. This is how Tony and Maria should be played. Although I like Brett Cavanagh in the 2009 Broadway Revival as Tony he had way too much vibrato in his voice for me. Love this cast! Josie and Ken really look believable as lovers on screen and onstage! Debbie Allen is just phenomenal as Anita.
Matt Cavenaugh not Brett Kavenaugh. Would have been very interesting to see a singing Supreme Court judge 🙂.
@cvhsfootball33 They wrote the "Today, all day I had the feeling" part for Tony, not Maria. They got that part right in the movie.
The costumes look really bad,
but the singing is pretty good!
Josie de Guzman has one of the purest soprano voices I've ever heard. Carol Lawrence was really more of a mezzo.
Lawrence has ALL of the high notes - but was a light soprano. Listen to the cast album and watch TH-cam videos from Ed Sullivan. She had what was needed.
@grandcharm Ken was GREAT on Deep Space Nine. You can catch that on here to. If only for his last two appearances, he was and is terrific!
@reecespiecesheroful I've only known Ken Marshall from Krull (not a trekkie :P) and I always thought he sounded like he could sing, but it only just occurred to me to check the internet for proof today! LOL
I diud not know Ken Marshall could sing.
The incidentals in that piece make it very pop like. Especially on my own. BTW Theatre is usually "soft" because it is suppose to take people out of their daily situations and give them an escape. The opinion that a lot of gay people do theatre has nothing to do with that. Les mis is really depression...great musical, but very sad.
Es una comedia musical, no un documental...tu tienes que ponber un poco de tu imaginación también! :-)
Well, I guess I need to know hwo you define pop. The play is an opera. Its not a "Pop"era like Hairspray and Wicked. All the songs are written in classical opera style.
I want to kno wwhat you mean by pop?
(Can we keep this respectful?)
@fountainchain126 if you are talking about josie she was the understudy and went on when maria was fired out of town and no time for recasting....she was also a marginal at best sarah brown in the faithprince/nathan lane guys and dolls
Why not? Les Mis is about life and death, freedom, redemption; important themes. It also has no pop songs, of course, and no big dance numbers. Sure, its still a "musical", but it just uses its music to express emotion and thought in powerful ways. Thats the same princible foer all music and songs.
is maria supposed to be singing the "today all day i had the feeling"?
@SingerGirlCMP she could never have played it in the movie with closeups but on stage with that voice she makes a great Maria.
She is younger here than Natalie Wood was when she played Maria in the film. And Josie sings the role herself. Not dubbed.
@FozzyForman At least they got it right with his replacement
This was the second time de guzman was hired late in the run and the 2nd Tony nomination so uh uh
I personally think Scaglione is fantastic as well!!
Generally very uninformed and often embarrassing comments from the “Great”
Asking an actors age? Asking who is Puerto Rican?
Tom Brokaw? Wow. Not his finest moments.
But great to see cast in this revival recreating original choreography & some of the staging? Why not?
Interpretations abound in all “classic” revivals in the Arts - of course - and many exhilarating and successful- but to also present the ideas & work that MADE a piece of theatrical art famous is also very worthy of seeing.
They sing almost as well as Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer from the movie. That's a joke, of course.
I was being sarcastic. That's why I said "That's a joke, of course."
I got the joke! And laughed!
@@moimeme6533 Actually, she did, but her voice wasn't considered strong enough, so behind her back, literally, they had the wonderfully talented Marni Nixon dub over. Also, Wood wasn't the producers' first choice for Maria. They asked Audrey Hepburn, but she turned the role down due to her pregnancy.
@@erzug speaking of A Hepburn, Marni Nixon likewise covered the vocals in _My Fair Lady_ among others. I believe there is a vid of Hepburn singing one of the numbers that was not included in the film. Now that you mention it recall now that they tried WSS with Natalie's voice originally.
@@moimeme6533 Yes, I was also thinking about that, but didn't mention it. The main difference is that Hepburn knew she was being voiced over by Nixon, but Wood didn't. Therefore, I think AH would have been more accepting of that fact had she accepted the WSS role. There are videos on this site with NW singing the songs herself, in comparison with Nixon's rendition. Another Hepburn piece of trivia is that she demanded to sing "Moon River" in "Breakfast at Tiffany's", but when the producers demurred, Henry Mancini stepped in and said he could come up with a version in a key with which she would be able to sing.
they sing the best I suppose. lol
@hayama317 I agree
lol omg the guy is edward! poor bella! lol that guy seriously kinda looks like edward.
That's simply not true. The songs are written in a pop music vernacular (verse chorus, verse chorus, bridge chorus, etc) and the authros have even said their main influence was Rodgers and hammerstein, Cabaret and especially Jesus Christ Superstar NO opera). It's a pop opera if you wanna call it an opera, hardly classical. Besides Opera is a "very" gay art if you're speaking of gay incluence ANYWAY--
theater is usually kind of, sorry, soft. It draws the attention of people liek that. Then there are are lot of gays in theater, so they influence it the most.
Les Mis, though, is an exception.
Josie is really not pretty! But her voice rocks! And she plays maria well!
Luckily talent really is what matters!!!
She is pretty. Ur just jealous. And make sure to stream nicki minaj thank you and take care
This Maria doesn't sound like a "true" soprano. her voice has that certain... sound, I guess. I don't like it.
Sir, you can't compare this woman to The late Marni Nixon, who sang for Natalie Wood. Marni WAS a true Soprano. But having seen this in person in '80, Josie was fantastic. She just wasn't Natalie Wood. ---------------WolfSky9
Awful. He looks like he should be playing Dorian Gray, she's just frantic and what is that skiffle group in the background?? Truly depressing.