After fourteen years Wretched back in the theatre. The musical, which tells the famous story about the French revolution by Victor Hugo, could count on a standing ovation in Carré on Sunday. The critics are also enthusiastic and full of praise for the (almost three hours) performance, in which Milan van Waardenburg, Freek Bartels and Vajèn van den Bosch play the leading roles.
De Telegraaf – five out of five stars
“The performance is grand, bombastic and quite a long one, but an absolute must-see for musical fans this season.
After Henk Poort and René van Kooten (now alternate) had played the role of Jean Valjean, it is now Milan van Waardenburg’s turn. Vocally he is great, but the 29-year-old actor also knows how to let Valjean slide through time convincingly physically. And he’s not the only one who impresses. The (vocal) level of this cast is exceptionally high and every role, big or small, really convinces. Whether it’s Freek Bartels as Javert, Michael Muyderman as Marius or Channah Hewitt as Fantine.”
Het verhaal van Les Misérables
De Fransman Jean Valjean wordt tot een celstraf veroordeeld omdat hij een brood heeft gestolen. Na zijn vrijlating begint hij onder een nieuwe naam een nieuw leven als burgemeester. Javert, de politieman die hem destijds arresteerde, blijft achter Valjean aanzitten. Negen jaar later begint de revolutie in Frankrijk.
AD – four out of five stars
“Of all the risks that producers Hans Cornelissen and Ruud de Graaf take with this piece, the mostly young cast is a major one. It works out great. Also Yannick Plugers, who with the experienced Ellen Pieters playfully takes care of the all-important lighter side in a dark story, as the Thenardier couple, and Channah Hewitt (Fantine) gets a packed Carré completely silent with her beautiful singing.
The late Seth Gaaikema was responsible for the Dutch translation at the time. It is a missed opportunity that the makers of the refreshed version still show themselves indebted to Gaaikema, who would most likely come up with a smoother translation himself. Certainly towards the end of the performance there is a lot of juggling with subjects, verbs and other constructions to get sentences more or less rhyming.”
Het Parool – gives no stars
“In the new version, the arrangements of the through-composed musical, which leans towards classical music, have been given a touch of Leonard Bernstein and the dark nature and city paintings by Victor Hugo in the background have become atmospheric for the entire decor. The barricades, which are central after the pause, are impressive to say the least and the way Javert’s suicide and a flight through the Paris sewers are portrayed is flawless.”
Theaterkrant – gives no stars
“Wretched is ultimately a musical that should take you by surprise and not think about it too much on a meta level. If you did, you could start musing on the paradox between the audience dressed in gala garb who poured white wine into the red plush to watch a piece about rag-clad plebs. About the performance of a revolution directed against the established order and big business, which today you could see the personification in wealthy entrepreneurs like Mackintosh.”
