So, this post is inspired by some of the discussion that has been going on in Vanessa20's Song Discussion: I Dreamed a Dream vs. On My Own post which got so desperately off topic (sorry Vanessa20!)

Among the things discussed were characters that could be left out of Les Mis and also characters that should have been developed more as well as some characters people felt could have been added to the musical.

So, what would you change in Les Mis. What would you cut, what would you add. It can be about characters, scenery, songs, costumes, whatever!

The first thing that I would like to change is this: I always thought that the Bishop should come back at the end. Fantine should be there for the first part "Monsieur, I bless your name..." but instead of having Eponine come on (which I always thought was a bit bizarre because Valjean didn't know her) I always wished that the Bishop could come back on and sing Fantine's "Take my hand where chains will never bind you" and then they could both sing the "Take my hand, I'll lead you to salvation..." I don't know if that would be lame or not. But I always thought that would be nice- since in the book when the doctor asks Valjean if he wants a priest while he is dying, he says "I already have one" meaning the Bishop.

I like the idea of the Bishop being there instead of Eponine.

I've always wanted Javert to come on at the end, too. And after they sing "to love another person is to see the face of God" have Valjean get up, see Javert, and have the two hug while the chorus sings the first bit of their final song and while Cossette and Marius cry.

Song:

I'd probably cut "Turning".

In my opinion, it only serves as a filler song for "Empty Chairs..."

(That's my own weird preference, though).

Costume:

I would cut Cosette's black dress with white trim and give her a dress similar to what was used in the Ogunquit production.

Scene:

Runaway cart. Or at least tweak it so the staging makes sense.



I'll add more when I think of them.

I'd slash OMO up like the Hitcher and bring back something more like L'un vers l'autre. And I like the idea of letting Cosette have something else to do during the initial robbery than... well, nothing.

...and then I'd make it MONTPARNASSE! THE MUSICAL.

Personally? I'd find a way to give Cosette and Valjean a duet. And I'd cut OMO. And I'd put the Bishop in the Finale. And I don't like that the Thenardiers are pure comic relief as it is... I'd find some way to get rid of that.

Since we were talking about Eponine before, I'd definitely remove a lot of the unnecessary glorification of her character. At the very least, replace her with the Bishop in the finale and get rid of the part with the barricade boys clustered worshipfully around her dead body. If we got into actual rewriting, I'd definitely try to allay some of the horrible sappiness of ALFOR.

Grown-up Cosette needs more stage time. Her relationship with Valjean needs more development--I'm not saying it should be made troubled, like it was in the revival, but that we definitely need to see more of how much she means to him and how heartbroken he is at the thought of giving her up. Especially to a self-important booby like Marius.

Axe the Runaway Cart music and the stupid slow-mo, but keep the scene itself.

Axe Turning.

I would love love love to see the full Little People resurrected, only with James Fenton's "You" lyrics instead of the silly Kretzmer ones. I just have no idea where in the show it would go: originally Little People was right after Drink With Me for comic relief purposes, but the grimmer Fenton lyrics wouldn't fit there; and Act I is long enough without another song after Look Down.

Gavroche in general got kinda shortchanged by the musical, mostly because it reduced him to That Cute Kid. Can't we at least let him echo the revolutionaries' lines in One Day More like on the OFC?

If there were a way to work Gillenormand in as comic relief so that the Thénardiers could go back to being scummy instead of silly, I'd pounce on it.

^ I agree with most of that, especially the runaway cart thing.

Though I'd leave Turning in.

I see why they wrote Turning, but I also feel completely justified in every version of it having zero plays on my iTunes.

What do you find so bad about Turning? Clearly it's not the best song, but thats no reason for it to be cut.

CHARLEYYY! look at your pm box

Sure thing Lyss.

Yes. That song definitely needs a rewrite, as parts of it are cringe-worthy.


In regards to Gavroche, instead of the reprise of "Little People" when he is shot, I would bring back "Ten Little Bullets" as a full time replacement (like they did in the revival).



I snickered when I read this. Perhaps it's because I conjured up an image of Montparnasse walking around and singing to his knife, like Sweeney Todd singing to his razors.




I agree with this 100%. It's one of my issues with the musical. The whole relationship seems a bit rushed.




This is just my opinion, mind you, but "Turning" never really shows off the strength of the female ensemble like "Lovely Ladies" does. It's as though it's been haphazardly thrown in there because they needed another song before "Empty Chairs..." It doesn't mean that I don't like the message of it but I feel it could be conveyed better.