Les Miserables 10th Anniversary review

The Les Miserables 10th anniversary was my second experience with this musical. The first time that I had watched it was on YouTube in the summer of 2012, and then I had gotten the DVD for my birthday that same year. This has been a very well known Les Mis anniversary concert, because it is older, 1995 to be specific, and it has a majority of well know original London and Broadway cast members revising their roles.

This concert production took place in the Royal Albert Hall in London, and because it is a concert, there was very little of any of the actors and actresses moving around, because they were singing in front of microphones and the actors and actresses that were not on for their cue were all sitting in chairs onstage in front of the orchestra. There is a screen, which was used for certain parts that could not be acted out, such as "The Final Battle". It was also used for better close ups of the actors and actresses faces.

Colm Wilkinson (original West End and Broadway) portrayed the role of Jean Valjean and did a marvelous job, and he did a great job with his expressions. His last "home" in the song "Bring Him Home" was held for a period of time and done very beautifully. Phillip Quast (original Australian) portrayed the role of Javert and is honestly the best that I have heard. His facial expressions were fantastic, his voice was perfect, especially during the last note in "Javert's Suicide". Ruthie Henshall played the role of Fantine and wow. I am usually not very impressed with alto voices, but she sang "I Dreamed a Dream" so beautifully that it made me highly impressed. Alun Armstrong (original West End) portrayed Thenardier and did a great job during "Master of the House" and behind him the rest of the cast, who were all sitting down, were having fun as well. Jenny Galloway played Madame Thenardier and did a fantastic job. She did an especially good job while portraying a rather mean Madame Thenardier, but she was also funny as well. Michael Ball (original West End) portrayed the role of Marius and what a voice. During "One Day More" Ball and Wilkinson just sing over the other cast members there was that much power in their voices. Ball's acting was fantastic, with these little movements he was able to make and he nailed his facial expressions. During "Red and Black" and "A Heart Full of Love" he did such a great job acting like a lovestruck puppy that he was just so adorable. His song "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" was very well done, and his facial expressions were fantastic during that song. Judy Kuhn (original Broadway) portrayed the role of Cosette and she had a great voice and great facial expressions. Lea Salonga played Eponine and she was fantastic. During "A Little Fall of Rain", I was nearly in tears Salonga and Ball were that amazing. Michael Maguire (original Broadway) portrayed the role of Enjolras and while he has a great voice his rapid blinking was SUPER distracting, that it made it hard to focus on his acting and voice.

Overall it was, and still is, a great performance, and at the end of it 17 Valjean's from different countries went on stage to sing "Do You Hear the People Sing" in their languages. By watching this performance one can see and hear for themselves why Maguire won a Tony when Les Mis came to broadway, why no one but Ball is a great stage Marius (though few have come close on West End), why Quast has become the one of the best Javerts, and why this cast has become so well known in musical theater.

*Note: I am NOT a professional writer, so if there are any mistakes do not hesitate to let me know. And also this is my own opinion, but if you have any other opinion please feel free to comment.*

Les Miserables 25th Anniversary review

Les Miserables 25th anniversary on DVD was the first experience I had with the musical. The first time that I watched the DVD was in March of 2012 and I have been hooked on this musical ever since then. This concert on DVD came to the states and was in theaters in 2010, and it has also been on PBS as well.

The casting for this performance was very well done, and the props, although little, were well used. While watching one cannot help but to pay attention to the lighting that was used, as well as the fog, and the screens, which were used to help tell the story better and give close ups of the actors and actresses.

The casting included some very well known London and American singers and theater performers, such as Earl Carpenter, Lea Salonga , Alfie Boe, Norm Lewis, Ramin Karimloo, Hadley Fraser, Jenny Galloway, and Nick Jonas. Also in this performance Samantha Barks portrayed the role of Eponine.

In this performance Alfie Boe portrayed the role of Jean Valjean, and it was not until he sang "Bring Him Home" that I realized what a powerful singer one has to be to portray this character. Boe's voice during that song blew me away. Boe's acting was flawless, and there was so much emotion in his eyes from start to finish. Earl Carpenter as the Bishop, though a very small part, he did a great job, beautiful singing voice. Norm Lewis portrayed the role of Javert, and is a great baritone. His acting skills were amazing, from his movements to his facial expressions.  Lea Salonga as Fantine, portrayed the role beautifully, along with the way she sung "I Dreamed a Dream". Matt Lucas portrayed Thenardier, with Jenny Galloway as Madame Thenardier. Lucas singing "Master of the House" was hilarious, he just looked like he was having so much fun, and when it came down to being the evil character Thenardier is, Lucas did a great job with that as well. The only thing that bothered me was his teeth, because of all of the makeup that was on them. Jenny Galloway was a great and hilarious Madame Thenardier, specifically during "The Wedding Chorale-Beggars at the Feast". Nick Jonas as Marius was fairly good vocal wise, but he kept getting drowned out by all of the other performers, who are professionals. Also Jonas' facial expressions were not that great, but he did a great job with his facial expressions in "A Little Fall of Rain". His best song was "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables". Katie Hall as Cosette was REALLY good. She sets the bar really high singing wise on the role for Cosette, because she is such a high soprano. Samantha Barks as Eponine was amazing, and she sang "On My Own" beautifully and had very good facial expressions. Ramin Karimloo as Enjolras was flawless, when he sang, he really lost himself in what he was singing, a true theater actor. He also sang very beautifully and powerfully. Hadley Fraser as Grantaire was HILARIOUS! Not only was he just down right funny, but during "Drink With Me" he really shows that there is more to the character that meets the eye than just a drunk, he shows just how deep the character really is.

The orchestra was amazing, as well as the conductor. From the close ups given on the DVD, one can really see how the instruments are being played. The conductor was great, and seemed to love his job. The choir was amazing as well.

The finale for the performance was fantastic, with the original cast, minus the original Enjorlas, David Burt, singing "One Day More", Karimloo took the place of Burt in this. Before "One Day More" 4 Jean Valjeans, Com Wilkinson (original West End and Broadway), John Owen-Jones (25th anniversary UK tour), Simon Bowman, and Alfie Boe all sang "Bring Him Home".

My only issue with this anniversary concert was the casting of Nick Jonas. His facial expressions were to serious, and during "Red and Black"he looked more embarrassed than in love. And it sounded/looked like he was trying to hard while singing, also he kept leaning toward the mic. Not to mention he sounded somewhat British when he is actually an American. However I am willing to cut him some slack because he had been on broadway when he 8 (?) playing the role of Gavroche in Les Mis, then he went to be in a big time band with his brothers some years later. As someone who has been out of the singing element for a while, I can honestly say that once someone has been out of a certain element for quite a while, the tendency to pick right back up is very difficult. But Jonas being a broadway performer now, he might be better if he were to go back having more experience than he did then in the year 2010.

*NOTE: This is my opinion, and as stated before I am NOT a professional writer. But please feel free to comment on anything, my writing, your opinion, etc.*

West Side Story tour review

I saw the performance of West Side Story when it came to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on April 27, 2013. This was the first time I had seen this live and the only experience I had with West Side before this was the movie, but I have seen enough musicals to know what to look for in this musical tour.

I was impressed with the singing, especially with Michelle Alves playing Anita, her voice blew me away! The two people playing the roles of the two main leads, Tony (Addison Reid Coe) and Maria (MaryJoanna Grisso), were very good, their voices worked very well together, however, I could not hear the speaking voice of Coe very well, it may, or may not have been the mic. Guy Mandia Jr. who played the role of Action did a very good job, he had a deep voice and was loud enough to hear, I was very impressed. I honestly was not expecting the character Anybodys (Bridget Riley) to sing, and wow! Riley had a very high, very good soprano (?) voice, which was discovered in the song "Somewhere". The accents for the Puerto  Ricans were very, very thick, though I could understand Alves' speaking voice. The sets were very good, specifically for "The Rumble".

The dancing was fantastic! The scene for "The Rumble" was very well done, as was "The Prologue" and the songs "The Jet Song", "Dance at the Gym", "America", "Cool", and "Somewhere".
The song "Maria" was very well sung by Coe, the last note of the song was jaw dropping due to it being so high. "Tonight" and "One Hand, One Heart" sung by Tony and Maria were sung beautifully by Coe and Grisso, their voices went very well together. Coe in my opinion sounded a little bit like London singer Julian Ovenden, while singing "Tonight".

Overall it was a great performance, the only two things that were not in my favor was Coe's speaking voice because it was to quiet. And the other thing is that I spotted a backstage worker during before the song "Somewhere". Other than those two things the show itself and the actors were amazing. Great job to this cast and crew.

*NOTE: I am NOT a professional writer, so if there are any mistakes please feel free to find a way to let me know.*