One Day More

I may actually be posting more than once a week, depending on what's going on during the week. Just a heads up.

Last night I went to see the 25th Anniversary Concert of Les Miserables at the movie theatre down the street. The concert was being performed in London, I believe, but it was being shown in movie theatres all around the world. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't sure how much I was going to enjoy it, I just didn't want to sit around my apartment all night with nothing to do.
It was amazing. Truly and utterly amazing. It probably helped that it has been a while since I listened to Les Mis and I had forgotten how beautiful the music is. The first thing that struck me was how massive the arena was where the show was being performed. It was HUGE and it was completely packed with people. I can't even imagine what it must be like to perform in front of such a gigantic audience, not to mention the fact that people all over the world are watching in the cinemas as well. This was especially moving at the end of the most famous numbers of the show (Bring Him Home, Stars, I Dreamed a Dream and On My Own, to name a few). The applause was uproarious and I will admit, I got a little chocked up just thinking about what it must be like to stand there and listen to all those people applaud your performance.
I also have to say that I was very intrigued with the stage itself. It was a long rectangular stage, as proscenium as it could be, in an area setting, with a catwalk a little above the main playing area and big sections in the back where the chorus sat. The huge orchestra was stationed between the catwalk and the chorus area, and the actors entered from upstage center on the main floor. The lights were the thing that struck me the most. These were high tech, expensive lights that were connected to about four or five long iron bars that stretched across the stage. The bars could then be lowered or raised, while the lights were moving, above the stage. I can't really describe it properly, but I've never seen lights do that before. In the second act the bars with the lights attached lowered to the stage and became the barricade. It was awesome.
Now on to the performers. First of all, I have to say that this cast blew me away, especially the men (well, except for Marius, which we'll get to later). Alfie Boe was a very young Jean Valjean, but he has the most beautiful, clear, open voice that I've ever heard sing the role. He was amazing. And it seemed so effortless for him to hit the high notes, not only in Bring Him Home, but at the end of a number of songs in act 1 where Valjean just seems to scream the final word of a sentence. He also had very expressive eyes and acted the part well.
Norm Lewis has replaced Terrance Mann as my favorite Javert. This is not an easy feat, because Terrance Mann is amazing. Norm Lewis blew me away. I'd heard him sing before but for some reason this performance really showcased his talent. He acted the part brilliantly, brought some new colors I'd never seen before in Javert, and his voice was spectacular. His Stars made me cry a little bit. It was awesome.
Ramin Karimloo was equally amazing as Enjolras. His voice was so clear and it seemed so easy for him to sing everything, yet it was strong, emotional and blew me away as well. I could have listened to him sing all night.
The Thenadier's were both hilarious and brilliant, as always, and I love how much the entire cast and audience gets into Master of the House*. Everyone always has so much fun during that song, and you could tell that both the Thenadier's loved performing it. I am also very impressed that Madame Thenadier managed to keep herself in her extremely tight, lowcut dress in Act II. Props to you ma'm.
Lea Salonga as Fantine was very good, Lea Salonga is always awesome. Though I did notice a few little times when she seemed to be straining to belt a note, just slightly. It didn't sound bad, and maybe that was just me nit-picking, but she was still great in the role. I want her lower range so bad.
Cosette and Eponine were both pretty good. The woman who played Cosette had a very clear headvoice and she tried her best to give the character a little more life than Cosette is sometimes played with. I think she did a good job, her acting wasn't bad and her singing was pretty. Eponine was played well, though there were a few times when she would sound a little too pop-like for me. I also thought that she was a little too pretty, she needed some dirt on her face or something. But she was good, and she sang her heart out during On My Own, gaining a super long, immense applause, which she deserved.
Now...Marius. Everyone else in this production was so strong and had clearly had musical theatre training and then...there was Nick Jonas. Now, I will admit, his Empty Chairs at Empty Tables wasn't as bad as I was expecting, but I also think that was because it was a little lower than Marius' other songs so he didn't really  need to stretch for the higher notes. The other songs...they made my soul hurt, and not in a good way. You could tell that he wasn't in his element, he is a pop singer, after all, and whenever he had to sing in the high-ish range (which is alot) he got all pop-like and slid from one note the next in a really really annoying way. He was also extremely breathy, which bothered me to no end, especially when he was singing with anyone else who wasn't singing on the breath. He also had an annoying habit of looking off into the sky and having a strangely confused/pained look on his face constantly. I understand the actors had to sing into the microphones so they couldn't look at each other all the time while they sang, but he never seemed to really connect to anyone else. He tried, but I think he needs to figure out how to transition from pop to musical theatre a little more before taking on a role like this. He was the weakest in the entire cast. And of course the theatre I was in was full of Jonas fangirls who squealed whenever he came onstage. *blegh*
After the show was over, the original 1985 cast came onstage as well, including Colm Wilkinson, the original Valjean, who lead everyone in One Day More. Then, the four Jean Valjeans (Colm Wilkinson, John Owen-Jones**, Simon Bowman and Alfie Boe) all sang Bring Him Home, which reduced me to tears and much applause.
(Random note: I have to say that I love that people in movie theatres in LA applaud for everything. My theatre was applauding after songs in the show and during the curtain call and special performances. It was almost like being there live).
To make an extremely long post short: I'm so glad I got to see this show the way I did. It reminded me how powerful theatre can be and that there is nothing like performing something live, and performing something that has lasted for 25 years. Seeing the four men who played Jean Valjean onstage, I reveled in the fact that live theatre brings people together like it does and allows so many performers a chance to be a part of something so amazing.
It also made me miss performing in musicals and rekindled by burning desire to play Eponine at least once before I die.

*Everytime I hear Master of the House, all I can think about is that Seinfeld episode where George gets the song stuck in his head for days after seeing Les Mis. It's so catchy!

**John Owen-Jones played the Phantom when I saw Phantom of the Opera (my very first time!) in London. He is and probably always will be my favorite Phantom. He made me cry more than once.