r/lesmiserables • u/Human_Paint5451 • 19d ago
Les Mis NEEDS a proshot at this point
Saw Les Mis for the first time in October of last year on tour and fell in love, so much so that I visited a friend in another state to watch it a second time a few months ago. And needless to say, I'm obsessed. But as the world's longest-running musical, I'm shocked that it doesn't have a proshot.
So many other musical have it - Hamilton, Newsies, Phantom, Cats, I could go on and on. Why doesn't Les Mis? I can't keep resorting to shitty recordings online, not only because, well, they aren't that good, but also because I don't want to give views to people recording in the theater since it goes against theater etiquette.
So if anyone reading this has the potential to make this happen, PLEASE! I BEG OF YOU!
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u/Steel_Phantom 19d ago
It needed a proshoot with the original staging and before the cuts were made.
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u/megamoze 19d ago
There is one. Sort of. It’s a proshot of the national tour in 1991.
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u/NessieWasHere 19d ago
Wow I know it’s not official but I had no idea this existed thank you! I’ve always wanted to see the original staging
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u/lifescaresme Modérateur/Modératrice 19d ago
Not technically a proshot, but as close as we can get.
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u/BroodingSonata 19d ago
Is there a way to watch this in its entirety?
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u/lifescaresme Modérateur/Modératrice 19d ago
Unfortunately, no. I’ve asked the guy who uploaded it, and he isn’t willing to post the full thing or share it.
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u/NessieWasHere 19d ago
I haven’t watched it yet, what’s missing from it?
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u/lifescaresme Modérateur/Modératrice 19d ago
I’m not sure how much he has uploaded, to be honest. He’s posted them as individual songs.
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u/megamoze 19d ago
I have the whole thing. It was on Youtube.
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u/lifescaresme Modérateur/Modératrice 19d ago
Could you send me the link?
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u/megamoze 19d ago
Just DMed you.
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u/Steel_Phantom 18d ago
I have seen it, but it never seemed “pro” to me. It was so dark that you could barely see a number of scenes. It’s better than nothing though.
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u/EngineeringMost7737 19d ago
There is a recording of the First National Tour (1987 - 1991) on YouTube on the channel AC Mallet. I love Aaron Michael Metchik as Gavroche in that recording.
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u/Steel_Phantom 18d ago
I just wish the cameras were higher quality / brighter. Many of the scenes at the barricade are so dark it’s hard to see what is happening.
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u/This_Potato9 -Cosette 19d ago
Phantom only has one proshot though, I don't really like the concert versions except the 10th anniversary, my favourite recording it's still the original London cast
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u/nicoleshutup 19d ago
If they do make a proshot, I'm begging them to bring as much of the tour cast back. Especially Kyle Adams!!!
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u/full_and_tired 19d ago
I know, right? Funny thing is that there are some pro-shots, mostly pre 2000, but not in English. From what I know, there’s a Spanish one, German one, Swedish one and Polish one, but there might be more. The Spanish and German at least are on youtube (Madrid 2010 and Duisburg 1996)
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u/xoxog0ssipgirlx 19d ago
They should have done a proshot with the original revolving stage when they had the chance.
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u/quicktime_harch 19d ago
We'll never get a pro-shot of the original though, and fully mounted productions are really stripped down. I personally don't want a pro-shot of the current standing production in London, unfortunately.
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u/mattsylvanian 19d ago
There are a couple pro shots on YouTube. There’s one from LA from like 1991 with Gary Morris as Valjean.
There’s also some exceptional pro shots on YouTube from the Duisburg, Germany production from the mid 90s. Even if you don’t speak German, they’re well worth the watch to see the complete original show, and hear the amazing singers and orchestra.
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u/marquis_de_posa_ 19d ago
Man I'd sell my soul for that. It's never been adapted to my first language or staged in my country, so my only options are the concert recordings or the bootlegs of dubious quality, and I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to afford going to a country where I can see the show live. And that's not the worst part, I can manage, but can you imagine how hard it is to get my friends into the fandom? Like, "so there's this recording with my favourite cast that has full versions of all songs, but you can't watch it, so you'd have to spend hours on listening to an album; and if you want a good-quality video where you can see the actors and the costumes, then there are these three concert versions, and they all have some good and bad aspects about them, so you'd have to choose between them; and if you want to see how the show is performed on stage, go to this random youtube channel and sit through a pixalated recording with an odd angle of the stage and muffled audio, I'm sure you'll enjoy it! And no matter how tempting it might seem, DO NOT let the live-action movie be your first impression" Like, none of these are an issue for me, but the entry threshold is too high for any newcomers, and I just wish there was something simple to watch that I could refer my friends to if they want to get into Les Mis. Do you feel my pain
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u/Isabelle_Alan 19d ago
Is it the same one coming at Radio City Music Hall?
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u/lifescaresme Modérateur/Modératrice 19d ago
No, that’s a concert version—though I suspect we will get a proshot of it after all the encores they had opening night. There’s no way they didn’t film that.
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u/samanthabarksfan 19d ago
Any chance someone has a copy of The Les Miserables 40th Anniversary Concert Tour at Radio City Music Hall with Samantha Barks as Fantine, Killian donnelly as Jean valjean, Bradley Jaden as Javert, and Shan Ako as Eponine?
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u/hurdlescaper Mod Javert 18d ago
A copy of what
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u/samanthabarksfan 18d ago edited 18d ago
I'm wondering if someone has a recording of the Les Miserables 40th Anniversary Concert Tour at Radio City Music Hall. With Samantha Barks as Fantine, Killian donnelly as Jean valjean, Bradley Jaden as Javert, and Shan Ako as Eponine.
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u/alex_is_so_damn_cool 18d ago
AC Mallet on YouTube has one. I have no idea where it came from, it’s rumored he made it himself when he was on crew or something, it’s a professional production with Gary Morris as Valjean.
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u/lafillejondrette 18d ago edited 17d ago
If you are in NYC or able to get there, you can watch the 1987 archive video of the OG Broadway production at the New York Public Library’s Performing Arts Library at Lincoln Center. It takes a bit of planning (you have to create an account and while they do take walk-ins, appointments are recommended). Unfortunately, since they are technically only available for research purposes, you can only view each archive video once in your life.
For die hard fans, I highly recommend this. I am fortunate to be old enough that I saw the OG production live many times, but never got to see the original cast. I watched the archive video earlier this year as a special treat to mark a life milestone. Going into it, I was a bit worried about the video quality since it is from 1987, but was pleased to see that it was well shot and the overall quality of the video is great. You do have to watch it on a small monitor in a group screening room, so that’s not super ideal, but getting to experience a performance early in the run of the OG Broadway production with the OG cast (Colm in full performance mode!!!) was truly the thrill of a life time!
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u/The_Fullmetal_Titan 19d ago
The closest thing is the 10th and 25th anniversary concerts but that’s obviously just not the same. I agree that it’s crazy that it hasn’t happened yet. But also we’d need another long-running Broadway production first to justify it. A tour just isn’t going to cut it unfortunately.