I prefer my operas to be in Italian

And all the operas in French and German are crying together in a corner. But, you know, dramatically.

I hadn't really realized this split in the theatrical world until it was satirized in Slings and Arrows.

And brilliantly too. Wow, I need to rewatch that series.

Les Miz went through a phase of being awesome and cool and then went through a phase of being too popular to be cool. Now it's too old for anyone who cares about "cool" to worry about, and so aging geeks are free to make flappy hands and break into song in public without worrying too much about our cred.

Well, Carmen is cool, but I have to confess that Wagner tends to drag for me. Russian, now, is nice.

I am shallow that way. I adore Puccini.

Wagner tends to drag for me.

But it has the spear and magic helmet!

Wagner tends to drag for me.

But it has the spear and magic helmet!

And thus, as is true for so much in life, is better when sung by a cross-dressing rabbit and a hunter with a lisp.

As someone who grew up around musicals, I have very specific and narrow tastes in that artform. And yes, there's a giant split between "legit" theatre and musicals. However, I remember driving up to Minneapolis to see "Les Miserables" with my friend when we were both going through horrendous turmoil in our lives, and we bawled all the way through, in one of the best art-as-catharsis experiences I've ever had. (It was the touring production with the turntable. Excellent use of staging, IIRC.)

I'm super-excited for the movie, though I probably won't see it in theatres.

It was the touring production with the turntable. Excellent use of staging, IIRC.

It really was. I'm not sure I've seen another show that used a turntable.

Unless you have a really kickass surround-sound system at home, I would try to see this in theaters.

(For values of "you" which include everyone. This is a spectacle movie, deserves to be seen BIG.)

It really was. I'm not sure I've seen another show that used a turntable

I have--Berkeley Rep has used them to great effect, and a lot of other moving platforms as well. I love creative staging, it's so fun to watch.

I think, beyond Cats, Les Miz is the only musical that I have seen. I was kid with Cats, but Les Miz was my one true enduring love, and anything after that paled, even actual productions of Les Miz, because I'd listened to my cast recording so much that anything else paled (I don't know if it was the British or American version). It's the gold standard by which I compare anything else. I knew Phantom of the Opera because of friends in school, and thought the music atrocious and the lyrics simple and the singing too perfect. Les Miz was raw and powerful and moved me. I think the only other musical I liked that I saw was Into The Woods, with Bernadette Peters, but I'm not emotionally attached to it.