Les Miserables
Queens Theatre, London
Having recently seen for the second time the London production that has lasted 27 years, as well as a school production, an amateur production, the last tour, and a concert (as well as owning both anniversary DVDs), it come as no surprise that this is my favorite musical of all time. We all know by now that the songs are emotional and by the end the musical has one in tears. I even heard newcomers at the performance I saw saying how they were mesmerised by it. But having seen the London production, how does it currently fare?
First of all Geronimo Rauch was an excellant Jean Valjean. Having played the role in a Spanish version of the 25th Anniversary Tour, one has to tune into his Spanish accent but soon his vocals come into play when he gave a powerful rendition of the songs, particularly in What Have I Done and Who am I, before giving a poignant Bring Him Home. It was great to see Sierra Boggess play Fantine, and though she struggled slightly with the low notes, she sang a heart-wrenching I Dreamed a Dream.
Tam Mutu was a very expressive Javert, though at times he did give some exaggerated gestures. He may had been trying to show how Javert was in an emotional turmoil as he began the Soliloquy, but he did not need to run back and forth across the stage. Coming off her Over the Rainbow success, Danielle Hope proved to be an impressive Eponine and she gave a strong On My Own. Craig Marther was very good as a young and spirited Marius, though his singing was erratic at times. Linzy Hateley was a lively Madame Thernardier, producing moments of some panache
However the cast was not entirely strong. There is no doubt the musical is long, and at the two-thirds point of the first act the rest of the characters are being introduced, and to me it is necessary that they are played well to keep up the momentum that has already been created. Sadly that was not the case with Thenardier and Enjorlas. Though Adam Linstead was on as understudy in place of Cameron Blakely, his Thenardier was not funny. He did have a jolly look on his face but Master of the House only made me chuckle. Liam Tamne meanwhile was not charismatic as Enjolras, and it was rather unbelievable that his character would lead people in a revolution that would most likely result in their deaths. His singing was just good, though I was not looking forward to the high notes that he struggled to hold.
Having seen the London production after so long most of the staging remained seamless with the help of the revolving stage. My only quibbles would concern the gates of Valjean's house being moved into position in the middle of Building the Barricade. Also the main set took rather a long time in my opinion to start transforming into the barricade, even when Eponine had finally gone off stage following On My Own. I did have a problem with the sound system. I was not expecting something on the same level as the concert or the tour but I was sitting four rows from the stage and the audibility of the music still felt a bit underwhelming.
Once again the musical brought tears to my eyes and I am glad I saw it again. However, whilst this is the best musical of all time, if I was going to see it again I would wait until cast has changed. There are some performances that range from good to excellant, but whilst Blakely's understudy was on, Liam was ineffectual as the leading character of a sub-plot that provides some of the stirring moments of the musical. This should still be seen at a Top Price.
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