Graphics

Made some graphics tonight. Please don't use them without permission.

West End Trailer

Such a cool trailer for the West End production! 

Killian Donnelly

I saw Killian Donnelly as Enjolras in December 2010 and was really impressed!! One of the very few excellent Enjolrati I've ever seen! Sadly he will, after several years on the cast, be leaving the show in June. After looking around on youtube I found several great videos! It's extra fun that Killian not only played Enjolras, but as swing he's done several different part during his time on Les Miz! He's also done the biggest parts - Jean Valjean and Javert!

ENJOLRAS
One Day More


At the barricade (April 6, 2010)


JEAN VALJEAN

Bring Him Home (February 13, 2010)



One Day More(April 24, 2010)


JAVERT

Javert's Intervention / Stars (January 13, 2010)


MONTPARNASSE

Look Down / The Robbery (2008)


LOUDHAILER / NATIONAL GUARD



(February 6, 2010)


COURFEYRAC
Do You Hear The People Sing? (25th anniversary concert, October 2010)

25 vs 25

The 25th anniversary DVD vs the 25th anniversary CD

Jean Valjean: dvd
Javert: cd
Fantine: dvd
Thenardier: dvd
Mme Thenardier: dvd
Eponine: cd
Cosette: same
Enjolras: cd
Marius: cd
Grantaire: dvd

And the winner is... : the dvd!

Movie Dreamcast?

As the movie of the musical Les Misérables seems to finally be happening (rumor says in 2013), basically every Les Miz place is discussing who should play the part. Everybody has ideas and usually very strong opinions. And while I do have very strong opinions when it comes to this musical (lol), I think it's a really difficult question. Because to so many of us this movie is really important! No matter who they cast some people will be unhappy.

Personally I think this should not be a hollywood cast (although that would probably bring more money), and no "pop star" cast either. I would like to see REAL musical performers in the parts. So that's the focus I will have when listing MY favrourite/s for each part. So here we go...

Jean Valjean - Michael Maguire or David Shannon
Javert - Earl Carpenter or Michael McCarthy
Fantine - Lea Salonga
Thenardier - Alun Armstrong
Madame Thenardier - Jackie Marks
Enjolras - Killian Donnelly
Eponine - Nancy Sulllivan
Marius - Jon Lee (which goes against my "no pop star" rule, but he is SO great as Marius and not only pop star) or Alistair Brammer
Cosette - Gina Beck
Grantaire - Anthony Crivello or Jeff Nicholson


so...what is YOUR movie dreamcast?

10 vs 25

The 10th Anniversary Concert DVD vs The 25th Anniversary Concert DVD

Valjean: 25
Javert: 25
Fantine: 25
Thenardier: 10
Madame Thenardier: 10
Eponine: 10
Cosette: 10
Enjolras: 10
Marius: 10
Grantaire: 10

Winner: 10th Anniversary Concert!

Recent London Favourites

Since I've seen the West End production of Les Misérables three times now (so far!) I just thought it might be fun to compare them and try to come up with my personal favourites.... as always - these are just my personal thoughts - no offence intended! So here we go....my favourite in each part based on seeing the production in 2006, 2008 and 2009.

Valjean:
I really liked both Drew Sarich (2008) and David Shannon (2009) a lot. Both did an amazing job! If I had to pick only one it would probably be David though, since I saw him most recently and have also seen him in Sweeney Todd (where he also did a great job!). His Valjean was really memorable! (But I liked Drew too!)

Javert:
Earl Carpenter (2008 & 2009) is probably my favourite. I've seen him twice and he was SOO good as Javert. I'm not usually a Javert-fan, but he made me really understand the character - I even "got" Stars, which is a song that's always annoyed me before. (sorry!! It's a beautiful song, but before I heard Earl sing it this summer it made NO sense to me that Javert would be singing it).

Fantine:
Sophia Ragavelas (2006) is my favourite Fantine so far. I really liked her voice, and she made you really care about Fantine.

Thénardier:
Have to say I have yet to see a REALLY great Thénardier. Since I compare them with the amazing Alun Armstrong I'm not sure I ever will....

Madame Thénardier:
My favourite so far is Jackie Marks (2008). She was the perfect Madame Thénardier - not only was she SO funny, she also has a great singing voice !

Eponine:
My favourite is Nancy Sullivan (2008 & 2009). I was a bit surprised, since she's the first blonde Eponine I've seen - but she is SO right for the part. She doesn't only play it - she IS Eponine. It seems to me that most Eponines seem to copy either Frances Rufelle's version or Lea Salonga's version - but Nancy really has her own style of playing Eponine, and it works brilliantly!

Cosette:
Cosette is a character that I personally have a bit of trouble liking as an adult. I adore young Cosette, but once she gets older the character just feels a bit "boring". Still, of the Cosettes I've seen I would say my favourite is Gina Beck (2006) - wonderful voice!

Marius:
My favourite Marius is probably Jon Lee (2006). He seemed like the perfect Marius!

Enjolras:
Since Enjolras is my favourite character I have very high demands on the poor guy who plays the part. Being compared with the amazingly talented Michael Maguire isn't easy - but I have to say Simon Bailey (2006) did a really great job! I wish I could have seen him as Enjolras more than once (but have since then seen him as Raoul in Phantom of the Opera - also great!)

Grantaire:
Jeff Nicholson (2006 & 2009) would be my favourite! Really funny, and great singer!

(I'm not picking favourites among the children - they have all been really great!!)

Gavroche

Gavroche on Broadway 2003 (Andrew Hoeft?).

Little Gavroche makes one pretty interesting character. I was especially impressed after seeing him in a live production (London), where Gavroche almost works at the narrator. This little boy, who seems to be living on the street all on his own, is very much at home there, keeps an eye out for everything, and seems to know everything that's going on.

It's obvious that he looks up to Enjolras, and would do anything to be part of the revolution. He seems convinced that he can be just as good as any of the other students, and that he can be of help. Of course he really is - especially when he reveals Javert's identity to the others.

His family is rather unknown to me. I've read several websites where people claim he is the little brother of Eponine (and son of the Thénardiers), but I just find that very hard to believe. I haven't read the book since I was little, so I really don't remember if that's true or not. If he really was Eponine's brother, wouldn't she be more responsible for him? Send him home, instead of letting him hang out on the barricade? If Eponine is Gavroche's sister, why doesn't he say that? (He does tell us who Eponine is ("That's Eponine, she knows her way about") so it would make sense if he pointed out that's his sister). I remember from the book that Eponine has a younger sister (Azelma), but I don't remember any mentioning of a little brother. I will have to make sure to read the book again really soon.

Also - in the original French version of the musical (1980) Gavroche clearly states that he doesn't have a mother or a father. So as far as I'm concerned that means he's not the son of the Thénardiers. (Plus if he was, Thénardier would for sure be using him as a little thief - which they don't seem to be doing).

It's really amazing how a little boy who must have had a really hard life seems to have such a strong spirit! As far as he's concerned he's the king of his world!

There have been so many talented Gavroches, but my favourite is probably Ian Tucker (Original London Cast, 1985), who's just perfect! He also gets to sing a much greater version of the song Little People. The boy I saw in London in 2006 (Jordan Grehs?) was also really great; what a talented little actor! I also really like both French Gavroches - Fabrice Benard (1980) and Alexis Tomassian (1991). Although I think pretty much all the Gavroches I've seen/heard have been great!

It's very difficult to pick a favourite Gavroche-scene. I really just like how he always is up to something! His announcement that Javert is a liar is wonderful! And of course the death scene is among the saddest theatre moments ever.