On the 40th anniversary of the show, the New York Times looks back at the complicated origin of Les Miserables and notes the (pretty well known, but still remarkable) fact that the reviews of its first performance in London were dismissive and pretty bad. Apparently, great word of mouth from the audience won the day and the musical went on to a full run and enormous international success.
I have noted in previous posts that I have found the show more moving the older I get, and I find it very hard to understand the critics' negativity. One now says it was snobbery:
Lyn Gardner, one of Britain’s longest-serving theater critics, was one of those who originally panned it, writing in City Limits magazine that the musical was “sentimental old tosh.” In a recent interview, Gardner said there had been “a lot of snobbery” around the original show, given that it was a Royal Shakespeare Company co-production and many critics believed that the revered outfit shouldn’t dabble in West End musicals.
Gardner said she stood by her original assessment, but now recognized that “Les Misérables” had many charms. “It does what all great musicals do: It makes you feel,” she said, adding, “It doesn’t make you think so much.”
She still sounds a snob, then.
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