Les Misérables - 25th Anniversary in Concert (2010)

Seeing its never-ending popularity and its influence on the musical theatre, the 25th anniversary of Les Misérables had to be spectacular. Of course, it can always be argued that staging the show as a concert will never fully do it justice, but in my opinion, such a decision helps to appreciate the scale of what Les Mis has become. Seeing the crowds filling the O2 arena is also a part of the experience of watching the anniversary. The spectacle that was created is truly epic and I found with pleasure that this time (unlike with the 10th anniversary concert) the musical wasn't really abridged, as only a few parts were cut.The cast gathered for the celebration is quite uneven. Some performances are deeply moving while others are mediocre. Alfie Boe as Valjean does a great job underlining the solemnity of the character and his version of "Bring Him Home" is the best performance of the whole show. Lea Salonga as Fantine is as moving as can be expected from the musical legend that she is. Ramin Karimloo as Enjolras is super charismatic and absolutely believable as a leader of an uprising. Matt Lucas and Jenny Galloway as Thenardiers are hilarious. Norm Lewis as Javert may not be the best ever, but his performance is really solid nonetheless and he does a great job conveying the character's firm belief in the law. My biggest problem is the youngest cast members: Katie Hall, Samantha Barks, and Nick Jonas, whose performances lack the necessary spark. They are alright, but it isn't the quality one would expect to see on such a great occasion. Sadly, in Nick Jonas' case it is visible that he isn't really an actor and that he was probably cast because of his name rather than his skills.All in all, the show is a great spectacle that is a pleasure to watch. Some of the cast members may not be the best in the world, but their faults are less visible thanks to the rest of the actors doing a truly magnificent job. It also has to be mentioned that at the end there is a short surprise performance, which adds to the feeling of celebration of this great musical. This is a must-see for any Les Mis fan.

I saw this concert on KERA and it was breathtaking. And, not that Nick Jonas needs any help from me, but I think his work here is underrated. For the record I'm not a Jonas Brothers fan. I don't like or dislike them. I only know of their name. I couldn't name one song they've ever performed if you offered me a million dollars. And I don't know if Nick is the short one, the cute one, the fat one, the sexy one, the smart one, the bad boy, etc. BUT, I thought his rendition of "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" was haunting and very effective. There were plenty of vocal chops in this concert. His didn't need to be one more. When Marius Pontmercy sings "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" he is a BOY who has survived war and is racked with survivors guilt His mind is stained with blood and death. Young death. Nick Jonas sings this song with a youth and frailty that fits perfectly with who the character is and the horrors he can't forget. When I read a couple of the less than glowing reviews of his performance I found them at odds with the justice I thought he did for the song. So, I went to Youtube and checked out a few others, and yes, there are much bigger voices doing this piece. Some of them I thought to be very affected and over-sung. I thought Nick Jonas struck a good balance between the vocal demands of the piece and dramatic necessities of a young man forever scarred by death and war. It was very moving and the heavy lifting was done just fine later by Jean ValJean. The contrast was stark and proper. Worked for me!

I had mixed feelings about this rendition, but after much thought, I think my opinion is rather favorable. Alfie Boe was definitely a strong point, and is definitely a rival to Colm Wilkinson in fitting the roll. Norm Lewis is also very good, though when compared to the 10th anniversary version, I'd have to place him below Philip Quast in his solo songs (Stars and Javert's Suicide), but otherwise, he is much better, especially in The Confrontation, and he did incredibly well in Javert's Intervention.Jenny Galloway really is the only person I've ever seen do Mme. Thenardier as well as she does, so I'm glad they brought her back. Matt Lucas does very well as Thenardier, though I prefer Alun Armstrong for Dog eat Dog, since he seems much more slimy and sociopathic. Also, though Matt brings a better personality to the role, Alun more looks the part.I have never really liked the Marius-Cosette-Eponine characters, in any of the times I've seen them in the musical or in the book, though I think this does better for Eponine, as this is the first time I've actually felt anything for her other than contempt. Not much to say about Cosette. She's as boring as ever, and for that I blame Victor Hugo, for making her character just so boring. Katie Hall did well in the role, but for me, it's still not enough. Nick Jonas was pretty awful in the role. I'm not going to say anything like "I hate Nick Jonas" "He's a terrible singer" or anything like that, since I just don't really care enough about him to see what else he's done, and see is he is any better, but I do think the role was wrong for him. He doesn't harmonize with any parts he is traditionally supposed to, and he is about as stiff as cardboard, but that also may be the character of Marius in general.On to L'Amis de ABC: I don't understand the reason everyone seems to love Ramin Karimloo as Enjolras. To me, his voice didn't seem to evoke the idealism, passion and god-like strength of personality that defines his character. His voice seemed much more human and more romantic than that. In the 10th anniversary version, when ever he started his part, it felt like a call to arms, whereas here, he doesn't have nearly the charisma for that. Grantaire here was alright, though he's not all that memorable. The rest of L'Amis are decent too, but non-distinct. I don't really count Gavroche as one of L'Amis, though I know other people sometimes do, and I will include him in this paragraph: I really liked the portrayal of Gavroche in this one; The only thing that would have made it better would be Ten Little Bullets. I don't understand why they never use that song. It's not a very good song, but it is much better for the story.But the thing that I think really sold this for me was the story. The story of Les Miserables is really incredible, and there's a thing to be said about having such a multi-faceted story work in a musical, like this. The changes they make from the 10th anniversary version are for the better, be they adding songs (the Robbery/Javert's Intervention) or fixing up lines (ie making Marius the one who asks who the "swells who run" the slums are, rather than Enjolras, since Enjolras is supposed to be leading the revolution). Most of my mixed feelings were in comparing it to the 10th anniversary version, but in a vacuum, it's well worth the 8 I gave it.

My first experience with the Musical Les Mis was the 10th anniversary concert in 1995 which was broadcast on PBS. I fell in love with it. I bought the CD of the concert and even went to see the US version of the show when it came to my town.You would expect a 25th anniversary special to be huge with a great cast. I just finished watching it and a huge disappointment is how I would describe it.First the Pros: Alfie Boe has a good voice and while not as good as Colm Wilkinson he is one of the better singers in the cast. Samantha Barks has a beautiful voice and was a credit to the roll of Eponine. Ramin Karimloo in the roll of Enjolras has a strong voice and is well suited for the part. The singers making up the supporting members of the ABC group also did well in their rolls. Jenny Galloway returned to sing the part Madame Thénardier and as before was perfect.For the most part that's all the good I can say. Let move to the Cons: The first thing I noticed were the changes they made to the songs. While in some cases they did help the story, in many cases they made the songs seem jumpy and chaotic. Nick Jonas in the role of Marius was absolutely awful. He did not have the vocal strength or emotion for the role. Why Matt Lucas was picked to be Monsieur Thénardier I will may never know. The role calls for energy and the ability to provide comedic relief through gestures and voice. Mr. Lucas had neither and his voice was worse. Robert Madge played the role of Gavroche and his voice was OK at best. The weird looks he gave the audience while singing were ridiculous and overall he was not believable. Lastly the Part of Javert was sung by Norm Lewis. His voice again lacked strength and emotion. In some cases it was almost as if he was singing in a monotone manner or reading his lines.As a final note, at the very end, the original cast appears and puts this new cast to shame.