I loved it!

Eppie-Sue

Ah, that would be the "is free" in the Final Battle then.
And it should be obvious that there are lots and lots of female cheers for David, shouldn't it?! He's not well known at all, there honestly aren't any kind of organised fan groups out there, not even in the slightest way, which is rather nice, and the cheers he gets are not due to those kinds of people at all, but due to his performance, which is quite impressive.

About the book: No. No, we don't expect them to be exactly how Hugo described them. But the musical is based on the book, and the struggles the characters go through, their decisions, their relationships - they're all based on the book and only make sense because of the book. Of course you can cut away everything that ties you to what Les Miserables is born from, but it takes away the context and the depth. And he is not solely being criticised for that, but also for the "grandness" of his acting, for his vocal performance and, especially, for the way he overrules everyone else's performance by going with what he thinks is right and making certain scenes illogical or unnatural, sometimes losing their depth or their meaning. What makes Valjean so good is that he doesn't think of himself as good or as important, as innocent or as unfairly treated. If you take that away from him, it's not Valjean anymore. It is called Les Miserables, so what gives you the right to not play the characters of Les Miserables, even though it is a musical? Yes, you have to make compromises, they all do, some more and some less, and I must say that the actor playing Valjean truly has to make the least of all.

mm10

Well maybe I have a too simplistic view of the whole thing but no I never thought Valjean thought of himself as good � that is the whole point the struggle he has to do the right thing all the time but I do think he thinks he was treated unfairly. It reminds me of something I think you said before about how SB acts like he was wrongly imprisoned and everyone is getting on his nerves � because that is exactly how I do think he would feel.

And I�m not sure what you mean by he overrules everyone else�s performance � in what way?

Eppie-Sue

That's exactly it: The most defining characteristic of Jean Valjean is that, even though it seems unbelievable from our contemporary point of view, he was NOT wrongly imprisoned. He did steal bread, he did try to escape, therefore those 19 years were just. Not fair, but just.
And Valjean thinks of himself as a criminal, as an animal, terrified he will fall back into that old self, disgusted with himself. The Bishop truly changes his life, yes, because he wants to become a better man, his whole struggle is to leave this behind, to make everything right. He is not annoyed by Javert, he is terrified of him, especially when he flees to Paris with Cosette (which has been cut from the musical). He is socially very very reserved, he doesn't act very freely, he never thinks of himself. Valjean wasn't wrongly imprisoned and he most certainly doesn't think he was.

And when I say he "overrules" everyone else's performance, I mean that everyone around him has to adapt to the way he plays the character, to make sure the scenes work out. It's okay to change the blocking, hell, my favourite performer does it, but it's important that everyone else's acting decisions are respected and still work, and that the scenes still make sense.

It doesn't seem like anything big, but there are certain moments that just have to make sense. There is this pivotal point when Javert is handed to Valjean on the barricades for example, and I've mentioned it before - it's so different in the book, for several reasons. Valjean doesn't save Enjolras, he saves the entire barricade. He also doesn't shoot a sniper but comes up with a technique let a mattress on the barricade protect them from the cannon blast. So Enjolras hands Javert to Valjean after thanking him in the name of the republic, a while after Valjean has done that deed, when he comes back to ask Enjolras if he can ask for a reward, with the fact in mind that Javert was meant to be killed anyway before the barricade would be taken.
Now, in the musical, Enjolras doesn't allow anyone to shoot Javert, claiming "the people will decide your fate". He then has to hand him over to Valjean after Valjean saves him from the sniper's bullet - it's a completely different scene, and I'll claim that if the actor portrying Enjolras is giving the character and the scene, the entire plot as much thought as I know David is giving it all, then it's a very difficult minute to pull off, because, technically, he's contradicting himself.
It worked well for a very long time, because it seemed like Enjolras considered for a moment, had Javert interruting that moment and then decided that with a revolution at hands, there were far more important things than taking care of this spy.
Simon Bowman, now, seems very self-satisfied after firing at the sniper. I don't say this very lightly, but his face as he turns to David as Enjolras is very proud, very content. This leads to three things.
1) Valjean seems very happy to have just killed a man. Completely out of character.
2) He seems to have shot the man with the reward of getting Javert in mind. He seems to have planned it.
3) He acts very boastfully, and the way he says "let me take care of him" seems like he's talking veeery large. Enjolras would never have changed his mind, especially not in this situation, with Valjean treating him like a chum (and he does). Enjolras is the leader of the barricade and he very much insists on that.

This is just an example, I picked it, because the scene has to make sense somehow, maybe not for the regular theatregoer, but because it is important to the characters. You can't just ignore it if you take this seriously.

mm10

Well I never saw it like that to be honest � yes I know by the letter of the law Valjean was a criminal but the lyrics of the musical imply that he didn�t see himself like that when he says things like �just for stealing a mouthful of bread� and �they murdered Valjean�. That�s why the Bishop�s actions are so crucial to the whole story � that is when Valjean becomes a criminal because he thought that once he was released he was a free man and then realized he was still being treated like a criminal so he might as well become one and steal the silver. That is the point where his life could�ve gone either way. So I think how SB acts up to that point is exactly right.

Eppie-Sue

Before he meets the Bishop he is like a beaten dog. Yes, the lyrics are about how he is not accepted by society, and yes, he gets angry about that, but it's about after the Bishop what I'm talking about. He is a sinner, Valjean - the person he was before prison - has been "murdered", he has been reduced to a number, when all he did was steal bread, but he is still a criminal and he very much accepts that: "I feel my shame inside me like a knife". That is part of his revelation in the Soliloquy, everything before that is what lies behind him.
It's a fact that Valjean is very quiet, very reserved, very humble, it's part of who he is, just like being a loving mother is part of who Fantine is. You can't just change that.

My main problems is that Simon Bowman gets ANNOYED. Valjean is not annoyed, he is angry, he is wounded and beaten and ostracised. He shouldn't accept his role in society before the Bishop, but he shouldn't be questioning the whole point of the story with his performance. And furthermore, it is after the Bishop that his performance really startles me, because it's then that Valjean has to be this humble, reserved person and he just isn't.

Fiwen9430

Valjean definitely still sees himself as a criminal, and spends his whole life, as Eppie-Sue says, worried that he'll fall back into the person he became in the galleys. They basically turned him into a monster, something terrible, which he looked back at in fear ('It is jails that make jailbirds').

As far as the lines you have quoted, I believe that the first one ('just for stealing a moutful of bread') was commenting on the harshness/unfairness of the punishment, not the punishment itself, which he admits was justified, and hence showing his condemnation of society, since it allowed such a punishment. The second: 'they murdered Valjean', I think refers to the fact that they completely destroyed the foolish yet virtuous man who went to the galleys, weeping at the harshness of his punishment, and turned him into something else: an animal, hating society and God, believing that neither would ever help him, ready to use violence against innocent people simply because they belonged to the society that condemned him.

Of course we don't get so deeply into Valjean's character in the musical as we do in the book, and hence a lot of the emotions have to be conveyed in only a few lines. But I think we see the same emotions as in the book: that he feels he is a criminal who had an excessively harsh sentence. And I think that, as opposed to his meeting with the bishop being the point where his 'life could have gone either way', it was actually there that a new way opened up to him ('If there's another way to go..'). I do not think that it was his harsh treatment once free that caused him to steal the bishop's silver: it was an instinct nutured by 19 years in prison. He was a criminal by that point. It was only when the Bishop showed him a way for his withered soul out of the abyss that he faltered, looked back at what he had become, and despised himself. He saw that there were more options in his life than being a criminal.

As for your point about cast rehearsals, I don't exactly know how this cast rehearses obviously, but I know different actors play things slightly differently. Of course I don't think SB has sat down and said 'I'm going to do it like so...', but he has probably used certain nuances/acted in a slightly different way, which actually can make all the difference to those who are responding to him. It may not seem much to most people, but it can completely change the colour of the scene. However, I have not seen SB in the part, so I can't evaluate his performance and how it changes things onstage, so I will leave that to other people.

Feel free to contradict my viewpoints; I don't pretend to be an expert, and would love to be educated if I have misinterpreted something! Very Happy

mm10

Yes I noticed that Javert watches Valjean lift the cart because that is a significant part of the plot I also noticed that Eponine watches Marius but as for the rest, no you�re right I wouldn�t notice any of that but I�m not sure what significance there is to what exit Combeferre leaves by or Enjolras interaction with Combeferre and Courfeyrac (I�m not even sure that I know who Combeferre and Courfeyrac are).

l'ivrogne transfigur�

riverdawn

I don't think Eppie-Sue meant to imply that Simon Bowman, as a person, was cocky, unkind or deliberately trying to do anything wrong.

The discussion was entirely of the performance and of what he does with the role.

I understand why it might look otherwise, but I think it's safe to give everyone on this forum the benefit of the doubt: no one here has any intentions whatsoever on casting aspersions on the personal character or personal actions of any actor. We all respect the actors as people and I'm sure no one here ever means to imply anything negative about the personality of an actor.

So I think it's safe to assume that all discussions have to do with performance and interpretation, where, as you say, there can be vastly differing opinions. Smile

For what it's worth, while I agree that SB's performance does not necessarily mesh well with book!Valjean, I actually don't mind those aspects of his performance so much and there are some parts of it I quite like.
The parts that bother me have mostly to do with specific moments of overacting and/or under-singing.

l'ivrogne transfigur�

I will answer some of the more general points, first. I agree with Eppie-Sue that I am not at all surprised that you didn�t particularly like Jonathan, mm10. Their characterisations are, I think, pretty mutually exclusive. Also, I don�t want this to turn into one long Bowman-bashing session, but I�m afraid that in trying to answer your points, it may come across like that.

I am not a huge fan of Bowman�s voice myself � I�m not very keen on the tone quality, and I have never seen anything at all exceptional at any point. Then, of course, there�s the issue of the top B at the end of Who Am I, which I think ought to be left out of this debate at the moment, as I don�t think there�s anything more that can be said on that matter that hasn�t already been argued over several times. However, I�m afraid that the main problem I have with him musically is his intonation. I have had a lot of musical training my whole life, and this has resulted in a very sensitive ear (and perfect pitch, which, trust me, is often much more a curse than a blessing!). His BHH is almost always flat. Sometimes painfully so. Especially the long Es (such as on high in the first line) � they tend to start flat, and get gradually better as his vibrato starts to compensate. Some of the longer notes in songs such as Who Am I as well � for instance, his �damned� made me cringe on Wednesday. But, as I say, I tend to be particularly sensitive to tuning, and the intonation of Jonathan, Simon, Shannon etc is certainly not perfect, either � it�s far from being my main complaint. Interestingly, though, my brother came across Bowman (or some audio of him) somewhere, completely unrelated to Les Mis, and told me that he thought he was a very good singer. I trust my brother�s opinion � he�s much more musical than I am, so perhaps Valjean just doesn�t suit him vocally, or 8 shows a week is a bit much? I don�t know. But I think the vocal side of his performance is very much a matter of taste, and I�m not going to love or hate a performer in a musical based on this. Yes, it is important, but it is by no means the only thing that is going to leave an impression.

In terms of his acting in general, leaving characterisation aside, I do feel that it is generally over-acted. This may, again, be largely a matter of taste � loads of people rave about John Owen-Jones, but I had a similar problem with much of his performance on tour. I just feel that many of Bowman�s gestures and actions are unnecessary. I would also be interested to hear him describe his interpretation of Valjean � sometimes I wonder if he�s not always quite succeeding in portraying what he intends.

Now, his characterisation. This is a bit of a tricky issue, in that we come from different positions on this issue. The book leaves much less room for different interpretations of character than the musical, and as a massive fan of the book (indeed, I would class myself primarily as a Brick fan - my love of the musical stems from this), I take the book to be the definitive word. Therefore if a characterisation doesn�t line up with the Brick, it is, to my mind, wrong. That might be a bit blunt, but it is essentially how I feel. Of course, I understand that compromises have to be made, that the characters cannot, in all aspects, be taken straight from page to stage. This applies to some characters more than to others, for instance, in the case of Eponine, where her role in the musical has been quite significantly changed.
Naturally, I don�t expect everyone who sees the musical to have read the book. Nor do I expect people who call themselves fans, and post on forums etc. to have read it. The musical is capable of existing on its own, as its own entity. However, I cannot accept the view that the book is irrelevant, or that characters can be so altered as to lose the essence of what they are in the book � and to me, that is what Simon Bowman does.
I think that is where many of the problems in this dispute lie � coming from different Les Mis backgrounds, we expect different things of the productions we see. You want to see a Valjean whose characterisation fits the plot of the musical, whom you can relate to, feel sympathy for or whatever. Eppie-Sue, myself, and others who know the book back to front and upside down want to see Hugo�s Valjean. And whatever way you look at it, that�s not what we�re getting with Bowman. [I realise that this might sound a bit elitist � you know, separating people into those who know the book and are clearly better than those who haven�t. Please take my word for it, that it�s not meant like that at all � I just don�t know how else to explain what I mean.]
I don't want to repeat all the points that have been made already, so (for the moment, at least), I'll just say that on that basis, I agree entirely with Eppie-Sue on points of characterisation. Hugo defines his characters on so many levels, that I find it impossible to accept versions that stray far from this. And, well, she�s pretty much explained why Bowman does stray. Miles away.

And, with that, I'm off to bed. Phew!

Eppie-Sue

riverdawn and l'ivrogne have already pointed out that you misunderstood what I meant, but I feel that I have to respond to your post anyway. So here we go.

l'ivrogne transfigur�

mm10

Forgive me for not doing proper quotes here because I just want to reply quickly but you know I really didn�t mean to start another row about this but I am trying really hard to understand what it is about Simon Bowman that causes people to dislike him so much and as I�ve said I totally accept that his Valjean may not be like book Valjean and yes it is slightly elitist to separate people who have read the book from people who haven�t. I honestly don�t think you need to understand that Enjolras has certain students that are more involved in leading the revolt than others - its great that it is shown in the musical but it doesn�t lesson your understanding of the story as a whole if you don�t pick up on it. Like when someone said �oh Simon Bowman is perfectly fine for regular fans� in some way implying because they don�t know any better and you know I may not have perfect pitch but I�m pretty sure I know when someone is off key! I don�t mind hearing stories about him messing his lines up (and he�s not the only one who does that) or like with the wallet because these are funny and things like that happen in theatre all the time but when things are said like he pulls on Jonathans collar or makes Martin Ball fall over or he moves his chair noisily (which was mentioned before) these are not comments about him acting as Valjean and do not have any relevance to his performance or acting, and I�m quite sure none of them where intentional so why mention them at all? But I would hate to think that it would get to the point where people will be afraid to post anything bad at all and that is not my intention.

So can we please just agree to disagree on this now all I tried to do was show that there are people who not only like SBs Valjean but actually think its very good and yes I do feel insulted that people think its because I don�t know any better � I was a fan of Les Mis long before I ever saw Simon Bowman (and will still be a fan after he leaves). I have seen many Valjeans over the years so if I think Simon Bowman is one of the best (if not the best) I have seen then people should respect that. But I�m not going to say anymore on the subject because I really don�t want to create any animosity here and if I have offended anyone then I apologise.

l'ivrogne transfigur�

MizH

I noticed when I saw Les Mis a few weeks ago that when Javert took his bow at the curtain call, a few members of the audience booed like he was a pantomime villain! Has this become a regular occurrance? I know his portrayal isn't to everyone's taste, but HPJ did a good job, and Javert isn't the baddie, so I can't really understand the boos.

riverdawn

Yeah, I've seen it happen a few times, though by no means every time.

Usually it's the same times there are large numbers of audience members who seem to find the Thenardiers the best part of the show and who clap their hands to the music during Beggar at the Feast.

I agree that it's kind of inappropriate, as Javert isn't a villain. HPJ seems to take it graciously, however, smiling when it happens - so I guess there's no harm done.

aquirkofmatter

I've just heard from a friend at the Queen's... Killian's on for Enjolras today. I really hope there's someone there to review!

Eppie-Sue

riverdawn

l'ivrogne transfigur�

Any chance he'll be on tomorrow? If he is, I'll be there!

Eppie-Sue

I would have bet all my money on Killian being on today, tomorrow or on Wednesday. All of it. Mark on holiday, David just back from holiday and I'm not in London. It was bound to happen.
Grmlhmpfl.

riverdawn

So I guess this means no one was there last night?

If I'm not too jet-lagged and if can get a decent ticket, I might go tomorrow... (though for David's sake I can't say I hope Killian will still be on).

Eppie-Sue

Killian is on again tonight. And Simon Shorten is on, too. And I think l'ivrogne is going.

Two swings covering at least four tracks then? With Killian as Enjolras, I guess they can only have him in David's track before Paris... maybe as one of the constables, too, though. Jeff and Mark are on holiday, and with David off, Jonathan off and Simon as Valjean...?!

ETA: Anyone been to the Queen's today to check the u/s sheet? No? Thought so.

riverdawn

I'm at the Queen's tonight. Just checked the understudy sheet - not sure if it's still the one from the Matinee or already the evening one, but I'm guessing there won't be much difference:

Jonathan is on as Valjean
Helen is on as Eponine
Jeff is on as Grantaire (if I remember correctly)

Looks like David is back, then...

Eta: will, of course, keep you posted after the show. Also, at least they have finally fixed BB8.

flying_pigs

I go away for a week and miss Killian!Enjolras?! Daaaaaamnit!

Eppie-Sue

pastaeater

Oh - did anyone see Killian as Enjolras??? Reviews please if you did!!
(Also, does anyone know if he is leaving after cast change?)

Eppie-Sue

I know there's a long review coming up for last night, if that's any help!

riverdawn

teasers for tonight's review:
JonathanValjean greatness, DavidJolras epicness, and an EIC barricade fail.

The rest will have to wait until after I'm home and near a normal keyboard.

Eppie-Sue

riverdawn

Oops, yeah, that was meant to be epic. Stupid Kindle keyboard.

Anyway, on to the review (which is in totally random order. Forgive me):

So as I stated earlier, we had Jonathan as Valjean, Helen as Eponine and Jeff as Grantaire. Mark Dugdale is still off, so Mark Hedges was in his track, and Killian was covering parts of both Jonathan's track and Simon Shorten's track. This meant there was a tiny shortage of men just in the sense that there was only one policeman standing near Javert at the start, that Combeferre was the one to hold on to Javert after he was discovered as a spy etc. but as shortages go it was pretty minor.

So, Jonathan was really great. I think out of the three Valjean's I've seen (Bowman, Simon Shorten and him) he's my favorite. Shorten has a somewhat better upper range, but I love Jonathan's voice and his acting.

There is one thing I less enjoyed tonight, and that was that he sometimes over-acted the aging process. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE that his Valjean physically ages and starts to act like an older and older man, with joints creaking and having a hard time getting up and sitting down and stuff. However, as he came into the robbery scene in Paris he sort of did this mouth clucking thing that really old people do, which made it look less like a man in his 60s and more like someone's senile octogenarian uncle.

Also, I think he didn't actually go for the high ONNNEE either today (I'm not entirely sure. I don't have very good musical hearing). It was big and strong and nice, but I think it wasn't the high note. But I could be wrong about this.

And, he actually waltzed Cosette, the way Bowman does, which I like because I like it when Bowman does it - but I know some of you are not fans. Smile

Overall, however, truly an outstanding performance from him. He was remarkably expressive in his acting, I could really *feel* his Valjean, and his BHH once again brought tears to my eyes and that is quite rare. It was just staggeringly beautiful.

Also, when he first sees Cosette in the woods, and she sings "I'm called Cosette", he actually looked at her, surprised, and whispered "Oh! You're Cosette?" - which I thought was great, because when I've seen this part before it always looked a bit like Valjean was sort of expecting that to be Cosette, which of course he shouldn't be as he doesn't know that she's being mistreated or anything like that.

He did get massive (and well deserved) applause at the end. And the people in the row behind me asked me at the end of the show which was the best Valjean I'd seen and seemed intent on making me admit that it was Jonathan.They were not friends or family. They just really loved him, I think. (I did tell him something to that effect at the stage door, and he seemed very touched).

Rebbecca was outstanding today, especially with the acting, especially in the death scene. Her Fantine was very convincingly on the verge of death.

Helen was very good. Very different from Nancy, but good in her own way. OMO was particularly powerful. Alistair was on top form, especially in ECAET.

Killian was HILARIOUS as first traveler in MOTH. He wore glasses and acted this really nerdy pathetic looking guy, who kept trying, and failing, to snap his fingers to the music during the group parts of the song.

David was, as he often is after getting back from holiday/sickness, in full on EPIC mode. It started when after he and Jeff threw Valjean out of the inn during the prologue, he gave the most MASSIVE (and real) spit at JonathanValjean ( Very Happy

), but continued with I think the most EPIC EpicJolras I've ever seen.
ARIIISE was breathtaking (and, btw, back to the regular blocking with it being sung on the stairs).
LiD looked like pure insanity and there was a "they will come when we CAAAAAALLLLL!!!!!!"
DYHTPS was beautiful (again, I'm beginning to think that the quieter low notes at the beginning there are my favorite part of his performance) and there were just massive amounts of flag whipping and throwing in the air and a huge gigantic smile as he was wheeled off the stage.
There was also a particularly wicked "Marius, you're late!", holding the T in "late" to make it sound really really pissed off.

And, perhaps my favorite bit (and one I'd never seen before) - after Eponine's body was taken off the stage, when he goes to look at Javert (before he says "tie him up") - he gave him the evil stare, took his gun, and with the barrel of the gun lifted the tricolor sash still tied around Javert's waist, and gave the kind of look that seemed to say "You wearing that sash is an abomination of the lofty ideals it represents!" I swear for a moment I thought he was just going to tear the sash right off him then and there (just imagine the look on HPJ's face if he done that Very Happy

) - but he resisted the temptation. It was so good!

Jeff was good as Grantaire, in his characterization of him as the drunk cynic who does everything in his power to piss everyone off. He rolled his eyes at everything and was generally very drunk and very cynical. He got AntonyFeuilly to looked at him sternly and say (quite loudly) "sit down!" in the Cafe scenes. He gave the bottle to Enjolras during DWM, but as soon as Enjolras took it away he seemed ready to get back up and retrieve it. I think it's a good portrayal in that he really gets into character, but I do miss the kind of connection with Enjolras that MartinTaire has.

So, overall, really good show. Enjoyed it a lot - but, now to the barricade fail:

So, OMO ends, Helen walks off the stage, one side of the barricade comes down. The other half of the barricade stays up and unmoving.
The orchestra goes through the barricade music. Nothing. Still stuck.

The orchestra starts the music they play when people are supposed to be coming onto the barricade. Still, no movement on the half of the barricade.

People in the audience who know the show begin to mumble and facepalm and stuff. Finally, towards the very end of that music, the barricade deigns to move itself.

In the meantime, "You at the barricade listen to this!" begins with what is a completely empty barricade. As it is sung, everyone manages somehow to rush in, put up most of the set, stick the flag in it's place and just barely make it in time to actually be *in* the barricade when "damn their warnings, damn their lies" begins.

Most of the set, because as Javert begins to come in, one of the actors (I think it's the one who is supposed to play Prouvaire, but not sure), shows up from off stage with another one of the boxes that are supposed to be on the left side. At this point, Mark Hedges (as Courfeyrac) needs to be pulling out a map for Javert to point out the supposed troop movements - and because they set it up so frantically, they all have no idea which box is the right one, so they start opening boxes, rearranging them and finally finding the one with the map.

It was all kind of hilarious. I mean, they all handled it really well. After the first minute there was no sense of being rushed and no one acted particularly surprised or flustered by the situation and within a couple of minutes we were completely back in "suspension of disbelief" land - but for a moment there it looked kind of brutal.

I just felt a little sorry for those people who were seeing the show for the first and/or only time, because that moment when the barricade comes onto the stage is perhaps the visually strongest moment of the show and it's kind of sad not to have that impact.

But anyway, had a great time. Really enjoyed it. Best method of trying to beat jet-lag I've come across so far. Smile

l'ivrogne transfigur�

I'm glad you had a good show, riverdawn, and welcome back to England! Very Happy

Thanks for the review! The barricade fail sounds, er, fun. I'm still deciding whether a barricade that doesn't come on or one that doesn't go off is worse, but I think you probably win! Also, I'm fairly sure I've seen the thing with the sash before, but I don't think it's regular blocking, as such.

riverdawn

random_person

Nice overview, River - I'd have loved to have been there. Razz

Eppie-Sue

l'ivrogne transfigur�

Well, folks, here�s my Killianjolras review. Very Happy

I�m afraid parts of it are really pretty incoherent � I was going to go over it and edit it a bit before posting. But I really can�t be bothered. So stick with me on this.

To start with, though, I might mention that we had a very small male ensemble and a curious lack of swings. Rachel Bingham was the only girl off, but neither Katy nor Emma were ever on stage - we had Sophie playing Baptistine, Daniella taking most of her track in ATEOTD, Natalie playing both crones in Lovely Ladies (taking off her hood for the second) etc. Also, we had Simon Bowman, Jonathan Williams, Martin Neely, David Thaxton and Mark Dugdale off. So that's Simon Shorten and Killian Donnelly covering the two principals. (I thought Jeff was on holiday this week - but on the u/s sheet it said he was playing Factory Foreman and Grantaire. I thought maybe it was a mistake, but he was there, sure enough. Perhaps he'd been called back in the absence of both Martin and Jonathan?) Anyway, I was therefore expecting Killian to be in David's track, and Mark Hedges and Greg to cover the other tracks between them (Simon, Jonathan, Martin, Mark Dugdale). But Greg wasn't on. So Killian was not only on as Enjolras, but also truly showing his super-swing-ness. Particularly in the Prologue. There were two policeman, Mark and Antony (from now on, Mark refers to Mark Hedges, unless stated otherwise...), and nine convicts. Killian was covering Simon!convict's line. Then Gavin was by himself with Javert. Killian took Jonathan's line ('You broke the law, it's there for people to see...'), and Martin's line ('You'll leave my house or feel the weight of my rod...'). Alistair covered a few bits of David's track where necessary, like beating up Valjean in the inn. While Mark didn't really do anything, other than be the Mark of Cain policeman. I guess because he stayed in uniform the whole way through? The two constables after the Bishop were, once again, Antony and Mark. And so it went on. Killian was mostly in David's track throughout ATEOTD and Lovely Ladies. Lovely Ladies had only two sailors (no Jonathan), and significantly less men around and about. There were some points, actually, where the stage looked very empty - the general crowd scenes like Fantine's arrest. But then there were others where it wasn't actually that noticeable, such as ODM. The trial had Gavin and Killian holding the rod thing, both in uniform. Mark was Champmathieu, there were only two judges, and Thomas was on one side of the, what d'you call it?, in normal clothes. I think he was trying to look like he wasn't holding it, he just happened to be standing there - he was kind of turned inward watching what was going on, instead of facing forwards to attention - but it still looked a bit odd. Of the four who usually sit together in MOTH (Joe, Martin, Mark, Jonathan), only Joe was there, and none of the others were covered as Mark was on as first traveller and Killian was off being Enjolras by then. So he was joined by AJ, and was having a lot of fun getting her drunk and instead of arm-wrestling, he was leaning over to get her to kiss him instead. They were very funny together. Mark covered Courfeyrac, but Killian wasn't super-swing enough to play both Enjolras and Lesgle! So, with no Bossuet, Jeff!student or Simon!student, we were down to 9, including Enjolras. In my mind, I assumed that George!student was Lesgle, even though he didn't take any of his lines, and that pleased me, as we then had a whole set of Amis, without extras. Likewise, without Simon, we had Mark covering Brujon, and no Babet - poor Thomas had a lot to do in Rue Plumet keeping the others out of trouble! They managed six couples in the wedding, without a drunk. So nothing was too noticeable there.

Anyway, you probably don't really care about any of that (and certainly didn't need to know it in that much detail!). My original point was that being on as a principal didn't stop Killian the super-swing. But, his Enjolras. I'm afraid I really don't have much to say about it. A lot of his performance didn't really stick with me that much. I didn't come out with any very clear opinions. But I think I can explain why, and it's not really a criticism. With David, you (obviously) get Davidjolras. With Mark, you get Markjolras. With Killian, I felt that you were getting, not Killianjolras, but "Davidjolras brought to you today by Killian Donnelly". I think that's the best way I can describe it. I felt that I was watching David, but something just didn't feel right about it. Because it wasn't David, obviously.

Vocally, Killian was superb. In Look Down, I was a bit nervous, but he was fine. Although for a moment I thought he was going to crack on the very beginning of the 'arise'. But he didn't. And it went on for a long time. And ODM was mega-loud. I don't know if they turned up all the mics, because the chorus sounded louder than usual, but he more than held his own against the ensemble. The main thing I'd criticise about his singing was that there were a few places where he dropped his t's a bit. Like 'Le'all the women and fathers of children'.

In some places, he looked scarily like David as well. Which didn't help the whole David-gone-a-little-bit-wrong thing. Killian!waiter, particularly. I kept forgetting that it wasn't David - his face is similar enough that they look almost identical with those ridiculous glasses, and his hair fitted under the wig in the same way and everything.

He used a very standard David blocking all the way through. I can't think of anything that was noticeably new or unusual. That's where Killian is so amazing - he somehow manages to reproduce every single track practically perfectly. I'd love to see him do a one-man show. On the whole, he did seem very much the leader and in control, but there were moments when this slipped a little. At this point, I have to say that he was disappointingly slashy. Maybe this shouldn't be the biggest priority for an Enjolras, but having got used to David, and considering that it's Killian, I was expecting something. There wasn't the same extent of E/R interaction throughout, and there was no hug in DWM. I don't think there was even that look and nod afterwards. Jeff being on as Grantaire, we had the old Enjolras bending down to him blocking (on a side note, I think I prefer the newer blocking. It's the whole Grantaire rising to Enjolras' level, rather than Enjolras coming down to him thing). So Killian bent down and talked to Jeff (who seemed to be ignoring him for most of it). Then Jeff gave him the bottle, but didn't press it into his chest like he sometimes does, and then Killian just stood up and walked off. In fact, I have to say, there was probably more Enjolras/Courfeyrac going on than Enjolras/Grantaire. That wasn't there that much, but Mark seemed to get more attention than Jeff (and a very loud 'In there NOW'). Perhaps it was because there was no David. It's always Killian/David, whatever role Killian is in. (Talking of adlibbing, Antony was pretty vocal today, with a rather loud 'Piss off!' to Fantine, and a lot of insistence on 'There's four of us, Monsieur. We can lift it. There's four of us, Monsieur. Four of us!'.)

Sorry, this review is pretty incoherent. Perhaps I'll just try to work through the Enjolras bits and see if there's anything worth noting. So, Look Down. This was pretty standard David stuff. I don't have much to say about it, really. The usual over the bridge to the other side then back to the middle blocking. Killian didn't ever hand any leaflets to Marius like David does after the 'arise', for instance. In fact, I think there was probably a bit less interaction between him and Alistair in general in that bit. But, oh, I shouldn't have left this review so late - I don't remember Killian leaving. How annoying.

The Cafe. As the stage turned round, Killian was standing near George and Thomas. He seemed to be dictating something, or telling them what to write. He wasn't exactly annoyed with them, but did seem a bit ... impatient. He was being quite loud and frowning a bit, and was clearly determined to get it right. At any rate, you could certainly tell who the leader was from the moment the stage turned. A lot of his bits in Red and Black I don't remember very well. And as I say, I think that's because it was very similar to all the times I've seen David do it, so nothing really sticks out. His 'Marius, you're late!' sounded exactly like a standard David (although he does change how he sings that line). On the whole, he seemed very in command of the group. There were, throughout the show, quite a few places where he changed the words slightly. He put in one or two shalls instead of wills, but not as many as Mark Dugdale does (is this an Irish thing?!), and he did little things like 'Or is this a game for rich young boys to play'. None were very noticeable, but I just thought I'd point it out. There were moments in the cafe where he was very much just telling the other students what was what, without any room for questioning, where he came across as being quite dogmatic. Then there were other moments, I particularly noticed this in the early section of Lamarque is Dead, where he suddenly seemed less sure of himself, and seemed to be almost asking for their opinion. These didn't quite mesh together, but it wasn't very obvious. Overall, though, I think he came across as obviously the leader. Which is good. But I also felt that he occasionally came across as a bit condescending, like he was trying to explain all his lofty ideals in terms suitable for the simpleton masses, and that he knew that he was on a different plane and rather inaccessible to them. One of the things I really like about David is that he shows the 'Enjolras and his Lieutenants' side of the character - the Enjolras who knows his friends very well, and appreciates all their different qualities equally, even if they're qualities he doesn't have, and probably doesn't want, himself. Killian just felt a little too high above them in some places. He also paid more attention to Marius making a fool of himself than David tends to, and once again, he seemed rather impatient with him on the 'Marius, you're no longer a child'.

His DYHTPS was good, too, although his low notes weren't as strong as they could have been. At this point there was a little bit of Mark's 'Aren't revolutions so much fun?!' attitude - but it worked quite well. There was a little bit where he turned to Mark to clap him on the back/shake his hand/hug him/whatever, and then stopped himself and turned back. It was a very slight uncertainty with the blocking, but it really wasn't very noticeable, and you certainly wouldn't have known it was only his second show at any point. When he was up on the cart, he had one leg actually up on the side and was leaning back heavily on the rope. David doesn�t do this, apparently Mark does, but I�ve never noticed it. I kept thinking he was going to fall off backwards. Oh, and he whipped the flag against the cart. At least twice. And being in the slips on the wrong side, he may well have done it a third time that I didn't see.

Um... the next time we see Enjolras is ODM. As I�ve already said, he was amazing vocally. And easily outsang everyone else on stage. It�s not a particularly prominent part so I don�t really have much to say, except that, completely irrelevantly, I noticed his posture seemed a bit odd � he seemed to be leaning back quite a lot and his gun was at a funny angle. But, really, if that�s all I can criticise him for!..

In the second half, the barricades were a bit empty. With only 9 students (+ Sophie and Laura), and George running on and off to do the loudhailer bits, there really weren�t that many people for Killian to command. But on the whole, as in the Cafe, I thought there was a good sense of authority coming from him. There really were bits where he reminded me of David � I swear he ran his hands through his hair at the exact same points most of the time! His �Wait!� was also extremely similar. Oh, and I loved Gavin�s loud �Marius! What are you doing?�. He looked utterly perplexed that he could be talking to Eponine when there�s a barricade to build � does he always do this?

Killian had a little problem with the flag, too. Well, actually, it looked like much more effort for him just to get to the top of the barricade than it should have been. They had just got it in place by the �Get Down!�, but he still had to tie it. So he stood there and tied it as everyone else crouched. He made it work, though � he didn�t get down himself immediately, just wandered coolly along the top and got down in his own time. This gave it quite a lovely noble defiance of death feeling. I loved his �Have faith�. I�m not quite sure why � just something about the way he directed it Antony and ... someone else, who is it with Feuilly at that moment? ... and then turned back to Javert for the rest of the line. He was generally very in charge with the don�t shoot the spy thing.

He had quite a lot of poise in Night of Anguish and gave Javert a wonderful glare when Antony brought him on stage. Interestingly, of all the little bits of David blocking, he didn�t hold Nancy�s hand as she was taken out. When Thomas was shot, Killian did a pretty big jump down to him. He also got himself up, instead of waiting for a hand from Simon (I�m not sure if this was him, or if Simon didn�t give a hand, but either way, I quite liked it). He got back up on the barricade, where David tends to go over to the table. Depending on how long it takes this can result in Enjolras sitting on the barricade with nothing to do and looking a bit stupid, but fortunately the battle finished almost as soon as he got up there. There was a nice bit of hesitation before handing Javert over (with hand through hair), and proceeded to sound very annoyed on �The enemy may be regrouping...�, softening on �Come, my friends,� but he wasn�t going to let any rowdiness erupt on his barricade.

I don�t know what he did during Valjean�s Revenge � I felt I ought to give poor Simon some of my attention! But, more regrettably, I don�t really remember how he handled the eagle lines either. Really should have done this review sooner! But his �Marius. Rest.� I loved it. And again, I don�t really know exactly why. He said it quite deadpan. Alistair ignored him. And he just reached down and took the gun without any effort at all. It was like he�d only said anything as a courtesy, because he was telling Marius to rest. And so Marius would rest. Whether he liked it or not. Can�t quite describe it, sorry.

I�ve already talked about DWM. Killian started talking with Courfeyrac, then when Mark took the light, he went down, ruffled Gavroche�s hair, and sat on the barricade until �Can it be you fear to die?�. After the Jeff stuff he then went back to the top and shook Mark�s hand. Actually held his hand rather than the arm-clasping thing, which usually goes on on the Queen�s� barricade. For the entirety of BHH he sat completely still at the top of the barricade facing the audience, in a kind of praying posture � hands clasped, head bowed. This worked fine, but I prefer David�s greater alertness and the way he is constantly aware of what is going on beyond the barricade � the world doesn�t stop for barricade boys to get their beauty sleep, after all.

Another bit I�m afraid I don�t remember all that well is the Dawn of Anguish. I wish whoever it is that�s been producing those shiny videos on YouTube was around and videoing this performance. It would make my job so much easier! I think the rather impatient side of him showed through again in �How do we stand...�. There was a certain urgency that gave the feeling that it was all falling apart a bit, whereas I think that in musical verse, Enjolras has pretty much accepted their fate by the Dawn of Anguish, so is completely in control. When Killian reached back to stop Marius going over, I honestly thought for a moment that Alistair might get away. I think Killian was maybe a little late in reaching out, so Alistair was slightly out of his grasp or something. Gavroche (little William, who really is amazing) completely misthrew the bag. It went up in the air a bit, but to the side, falling back down through the steps which Enjolras dies on, and landing underneath. And, now I think of it, I don�t remember sobbing woman. That either means that Laura Medforth didn�t do it, which I doubt ... or I�ve gone beyond the point of being irritated like hell by it. Or maybe it was just the excitement over Killian and upcoming Final Battle.

So, yeah, Final Battle. Needless to say, he went for the B flat. And got it fine. He also had what some might call David�s �rock star� moment. He did the hands very similarly, but without clenching his fists, threw his head back a bit, and even turned round in the same way David does. His jump down was sort of halfway between Mark�s two-legged plummet and David�s big leap, but once again there was a sad lack of E/R. Not that Simon showed any tact in giving them much time together ... he reminded me in that respect of Drew in the 08/09 video. I have to say, I wasn�t hugely impressed with Killian�s flag-waving � it seemed a little bit out of control and jerky. I think, maybe, he was holding it too far down? But I�m no expert on flag-waving, and, once again, it�s a very minor point. His death was much closer to David�s than Mark�s, sliding under that bar. Except that, as Grantaire was going up, he raised himself high enough that you could see his face above the barricade and reached out an arm. I�m afraid I found the moment rather comical � he looked a bit too much like a drowning man who�s scared of fishes. When the barricade turned, I noticed two things � firstly Gavroche�s bag had moved and was now at his feet, and secondly, Killian seemed to have managed to get more blood over the barricade than actually on himself. He had a few spatterings on his chest, a little bit on his left arm, and a short trail going downwards from his mouth (as in, it would have been up a little and to the left had he been standing upright). His arms were about half-way between David and Mark, for those of you who like to notice these things. Oh, and I�ve just realised that I haven�t yet mentioned that he was wearing his own gauntlets of power!

And that�s Killian�s Enjolras for you. I�m just trying to think if there�s anything else worth mentioning. He didn�t blink at all in ECAET. He didn�t count the cutlery at the wedding.

I�m worried that this review may have come across as a bit unenthusiastic. It�s not meant to be � he really was brilliant. It�s just that the best way I can describe his performance is in comparing him to David, and in general the bits I mention are the bits which are less good. All the bits, therefore, that I don�t mention, you can assume to be very good. Really, I would be very happy to have him as principal, especially if he was given time to work a little on character development and settle into the role. And, really, we�re spoiled having three London Enjolrati who are all, in so many ways, better than many of the principals of the last few years.

Before wrapping this up, I feel it�s only fair to say a few words about Simon Shorten � he is, after all, a second understudy and isn�t on very much. He�s very good, both vocally and acting-wise, although I do still prefer Jonathan. There�s parts where he heads a little towards a Bowman characterisation, particularly in the Bargain, which is a shame, but then there�s also some really lovely bits. Due to the excitement over Killian I wasn�t paying a huge amount of attention to him, but there were some bits that really stuck with me. I loved him in Fantine�s Death � he seemed really unsure of what to do. He had a woman dying in his arms, and just looked massively uncomfortable with the whole situation, yet clearly wanting to help as much as possible. When she reaches up to hug him, he put his hands behind her back very gingerly, and was clearly worrying if this was the right thing to do. It was really quite endearing, and I thought it fitted the socially awkwardness of Valjean. I also really liked his relationship with Cosette � all the way through he was clearly besotted with her, without ever having to be particularly demonstrative, which worked so well. You could just see how much she meant to him in the way he looked at her and spoke to her. He didn�t need any nose-tapping or waltzing to show it, it was just a part of him. Which was absolutely lovely. (By the way, something that�s been annoying me about Bowman recently is the fact that after he gives the doll to Cosette, he puts his arms out to pick her up before she�s shown any reaction. Surely he can�t be expecting her to run into his arms because he knows it�s such a wonderful gift? I�d rather see a sort of surprised pleasure, or even relief, both of which involve putting out your arms once she reaches you...). Vocally, I didn�t think he was on top-form, some of the high bits in the Soliloquy sounded a bit weak, and he got a bit outsung in ODM, but his BHH was really lovely, and I very much enjoyed his overall performance.

Huh. What is it with me and long reviews? Sorry � I�ll try to be a little more concise and less rambly next time!

Eppie-Sue

First off, epic review, and as I'm heading off to the airport in a bit I can't reply properly, but this

riverdawn

Thanks for the really detailed review of KillianJolras! I really enjoyed reading it!

I was actually wondering whether he would sort of be a David-like Enjolras, especially as they really do look quite a bit alike.

Regarding the lack of slashy, I think it's somewhat to be expected as with Jeff on as Grantaire there isn't a lot of slashyness anyway (just the head thing in DWM), so I'm not that surprised that with Killian on as Enjolras and JeffTaire it wasn't there.

Antony was also really vocal last night, in the factory scenes as well as the student scenes. Also, his Feuilly was, even more than usual, extremely serious looking - like he really really meant business with this whole revolution stuff. In a sense, it was almost a sort of FeuillyFeyrac, with Mark Dugdale not there and Mark Hedges just not having quite the same degree of Courfeyrac-ness.

Anyway, sorry, back to KillianJolras - I'm mostly really glad that he did well vocally. All the other little things are I think the most important to those of us who know the show really really well, but for generally - just singing the role really well is the most important thing.

As for him being principal Enjolras, I think it would be great - especially as it would give him the opportunity to develop an Enjolras of his own, rather than doing his version of David's Enjolras.

l'ivrogne transfigur�

I've just realised that I've made a lot of Brick references in the review, and assumed knowledge of the Brick which I know many here don't have. I try not to do this too much, and I really didn't want to draw attention to it, either, given the previous conversation about elitism. So I apologise.

But just to clarify:
- Mlle Baptistine is the Bishop's sister
- Champmathieu is the guy who was falsely accused of being Valjean
- Bossuet is a nickname for Lesgle
- 'Enjolras and his Lieutenants' is a random chapter in which Enjolras sends out the Amis to various parts of the city to get a measure of the support. Most of it centres around his giving Grantaire a chance to prove himself by sending him to talk to a group, then going to check on him and finding that he is, in fact, playing dominoes. It's one of my favourite chapters, but what I'm talking about here is a particular passage, quoted here from Norman Denny, because it's the only translation I brought home from uni:

beyondthebarricade

Sorry for asking this, but since it's partially related, who normally plays Champmanthieu? And Fauchelevent?

Love the Killian review, by the way.

l'ivrogne transfigur�

Thanks! Champmathieu's usually Jonathan (which is nice - having JVJ u/s in that role), and Fauchelevent is Joe.

Eppie-Sue

Oh I want to comment on everything, but I went to see the show tonight, and there were loooots of understudies... Jonathan was on as Valjean (now, has Bowman taken his holiday this week all of a sudden?!), Natalie was on as Fantine, Helen as Eponine and Greg as Th�nardier... Sophie was off, so Katy was Factory Bitch, she and Emma shared Sophie's, Helen's and Natalie's tracks... Mark H was in Jonathan's track and KILLIAN WAS IN MARK'S AND THAT WAS AWESOME.
The funniest thing you'll ever see is David and Killian in identical outfits standing next to each other at the gate in ATEOTD with identical expressions on their faces. They were having a lot of fun, especially on the barricades. Killian really, really wanted to shoot the bastard. And when he wasn't allowed to and then even was ignored (when Valjean gets to "shoot" Javert), he was so pissed off, he yelled at Davidjolras for a minute at the beginning of DWM, marched off, head high and stood on the very end of the barricade, pouting and ignoring everyone and everything. Gold. (Obviously, they made up at the end of the song.)

Speaking of David, riverdawn was absolutely right. I believe it was one of the strongest performances I've seen him give (and I've seen way, way too many), which I didn't expect, but it's always nice to see. Also, I love the complete awareness he has of the context and... the whole story, the character, the book, you name it, and it shows in the performance. So that was great.

Jonathan was incredibly strong in the first few songs, I was so amazed. I really like him. Vocally, he isn't perfect for the part, it's not even his range, being bass/baritone, but I just love his Valjean.

Natalie was good, but I've definitely seen her better. With her, it's really that I like her acting, adore her voice colour, but I'm not sure about her vocal strength, which is a pity.

Greg was reliably good as Th�nardier... his strongest bits are The Bargain and The Attack On Rue Plumet for me. I can live with his Th�nardier in all the other scenes, but I'm not a big fan of his DED. Just the way he... sings the lines... I don't know.

Oh, and Helen - I liked her! I really did, although I was once again thinking about how she doesn't touch me at all, and, unfortunately, her Eponine doesn't seem insanely in love with Marius at all. But it might be me.

Also, I watched the couples during the wedding, and ... you just have to imagine the guys greeting each other with: "Oh, hello, didn't we die on the barricades together?! YES!"
Very Happy

much amusement.

The audience seemed a bit boring at first, I mean, normal applause, very taken by the Bargain, they seemed to really like Jonathan, adore David, and hey, just when I thought they were really ordinary, they went and APPLAUDED THE FINAL BATTLE! Wonderful.

Complained to Killian about his being on when I wasn't in London. Not much else to report from stage door or anything... nope.

riverdawn

Eppie-Sue

Usually, Greg or Mark H are on as Courfeyrac. I've only seen Killian in Mark's track a few times, and all of them with Mark as Enjolras, I believe. So that was very exciting today. xD

flying_pigs

Thanks for all the reviews guys! Really need to get myself down to Queen's before June!

Eppie-Sue

I need to quote one bit from the Killianjolras review that went through my mind yesterday, too:

l'ivrogne transfigur�

riverdawn

Eppie-Sue

pastaeater

Thank you so much for the Killianjolras review - loved reading it. Just wish I could see him in the role myself, but I am probably only going one more time before cast change, (end of May), and I can't bear the thought of not seeing Davidjolras for the last time!
I don't suppose that there is any chance of Killian staying on and being made principal Enjolras......... does anybody know??

Eppie-Sue

So, before I review tonight's show, I need to VENT.

I was at the stage door and while it wasn't as busy as the Gielgud stage door (can't wait to see Hair, by the way!), ---- hell, there were two of the most inconsiderate people that I have ever seen there.
Obviously, I have nothing against going to the stage door, I think it's wonderful if you do it for the performer and primarily do it for them, to let them know that their performance was appreciated, that it meant something to you, that you really liked them, maybe to ask about something, etc. This only applies if you can be certain that the performer doesn't mind it, though. If they leave, let them leave, their job is done, they have lives and maybe they're having a bad day. If they're busy, don't interrupt them.
Tonight, there were two women around 40, 50 with a giant camera standing there. At first they seemed fairly nice, one was wiping her eyes a little, but when they and a friend started smoking in front of the window that says "PLEASE DO NOT SMOKE OUTSIDE THIS WINDOW" I was already sending them Evil Stares (which I'm perfectly capable of). They had two kids with them, young teenagers, who just stood there without doing anything.
I was talking to Helen, because I quite loved her tonight and thought her OMO was the strongest I'd ever heard her, (HELEN IS STAYING BY THE WAY! YAY!) and we talked a bit about the 25th Anniversary (no one knows anything), etc., and then her friend, who had been in, appeared, so they hugged and talked and she said good-bye and chatted with her friend. At that point, those two women recognised her, walked over, interrupted the conversation and without asking, one took a photo of Helen talking to the other woman (who clearly was the bigger fan while the other one was there to take pictures).
Once they had done that, they spotted Greg, who had been on as Th�nardier, on the other side of the door, went "OOOOH!" and rushed over. Now, Greg was on his phone. He wasn't talking to anyone but apparently waiting for someone to pick up the phone, but he might as well have been in a conversation. They just came over and started talking to him immediately, so he hung up. They took a photo, too. He didn't seem to mind that much, after all, he seemed to have time and wait for someone anyway, but still.
So, they came back to the right side of the door (POV from inside) as David rushed out of the door and left in the opposite direction. Sure, he has a habit of kind of wandering off without expecting to be stopped, but he was obviously in a hurry. Not quick enough though. Woman with camera went: "Oh!", pointed and, I do not kid you, they ran after him, tapped him on the back, and also took a photo, although they took their time with that. Can anyone explain to me why women think it's okay for them to hug actors round their waist? Especially if they're f'ing twice the guys' age? I actually said: "Oh, don't stop him, just leave it..." as they chased after him, but probably not loud enough.
Then they interrupted Alistair, who was talking to a group of friends and seemed very puzzled about the whole thing.

They quite clearly were only there to get photos taken. I think it was horribly inconsiderate, very rude and egoistical, especially considering all of the ones they stopped were either in a conversation/busy or leaving in a hurry.

Sorry, I needed to rant.

ETA: was so outraged that I bought apple and elderflower instead of apple juice. BAH!

riverdawn

Wow. That just sounds so incredibly rude! I have seen some pretty weird behavior from people the last few times I've been there, and they seemed pretty oblivious to the fact that it was rude.

It actually made me worry a bit that maybe I'm also seen as rude and weird, even though I just stand quietly on the side and only talk if someone stops near me and says something.

Anyway, on to nicer things: I look forward to your review of the show, though.

I was in the area of the Queen's tonight (went to see a different show, amazingly enough) and thought I might run into you, but no luck. Smile

Eppie-Sue

Oh I'm so tired. I'll try to get some coherent thoughts together...

Rebecca was back... Simon Bowman still off (with virus, so I suppose Jonathan will be on tomorrow, and of course all of next week), Nancy on holiday, therefore Helen as Eponine, and Greg was still on as Th�nardier.
In the ensemble, apart from Jonathan and Helen and Greg missing, Rachel Bingham was off as well as Sophie, so Katy and Emma Westhead covered their tracks, and with Mark on holiday, Jonathan and Greg as principals and, sadly, Gavin suddenly off as well, Killian and Mark H covered three tracks, with Thomas being on as Bishop. We ended up having Killian mostly in Gavin's track (very exciting, Enjolras, Courfeyrac and Combeferre all in four days!), Mark H mostly in Mark's and them sharing Jonathan's bits.

Jonathan later told me that they all couldn't hear anything on stage, so they didn't have any feedback or orientation and, according to him: "Out of tune and off tempo all the time" - I didn't notice much about tune, but tempo definitely, especially HPJ. He rushed through the Suicide, it was very strange.

I felt a bit bad for Jonathan, I always have to think about the fact that the range Valjean sings in isn't his natural range, and actually, today, he went for lower note at the end of Who Am I?, too. Might be better with no idea what he was singing. He was a lot stronger in the second half than in the first half, by the way.

Helen was wonderful, I loved her OMO. She isn't my favourite understudy at the Queen's, really, but she was so, so good today! Lovely.

Oh God, so tired.

I have to mention Killian again. So hilarious. He was right in front of me in MotH, when he was on as Posh Traveller, only that his traveller wasn't posh and outraged, but like a very helpless, awkward professor-like person. Too funny, especially because his costume fit perfectlly.
He also was a very good Combeferre, and special mention to his Superswing skills in the Final Battle, when he died on the barricade and then still managed to stumble/fall down to land on the boxes in front of the barricade, as Jonathan normally does, so Javert can throw him over to the side.
Oh and as for Killian and David - this is the best thing ever: To see them both together in the Wedding, identical wigs, absolutely identical look on both their faces, Killian for some reason with the silly, dorky glasses on, too, both in the same costume.... so endlessly funny!

David was Epicjolras again, btw, especially in ODM and the Final Battle. It was one of the loudest "Let us die facing our foe" etc. I've ever heard, so amazing. I also love the way he says "Feuilly", it's gorgeous.

Alistair was very good as well, I loved ECAET. And I enjoyed Greg's performance a lot more than I did yesterday.

That's all I can think of right now, I'm falling asleep here...

riverdawn

Oh, I didn't realize Jonathan was supposed to be on all of next week. Happy about that as I have tickets.

Thanks for the review. I love the idea of the practically identical waiters. It must have looked great. Smile

pastaeater

Thanks for the review - loving the bits about Killian and David as identical twins.......hilarious! (I've never really thought they looked that much alike, but I suppose I've only ever seen Killian with a beard).
Still appalled at the stage dooring - how can anyone be so thoughtless? If they put getting their wretched photos/autographs before showing any consideration to the cast they can't be real fans....or maybe they are just incredibly rude people. Rolling Eyes

Eppie-Sue

To reply to this...

flying_pigs

I would very much like to see Killian!Grantaire, I think it would make my life!

Fiwen9430

Oh didn't realise that Jonathon was supposed to be on for next week! And I was kind of hoping that I would see Simon Bowman just to see what his Valjean was like.

Absolutely appalled at that kind of stage door behaviour. Why would you be so intrusive? But the being unable to hear anything on stage sounds pretty scary, so props to everyone for managing as they did.

l'ivrogne transfigur�

Wandering Ranger · I loved it!

just to chime in I was down on Wednesday and thought Jonathan was incredible. Not having seen Simon Bowman I obviously can't compare the two but he seemed to be really at home with the role and gave a performance to die for. It gives me some hope that a baritone like myself may one day play Valjean! I was hoping to catch Hans Peter Jannsen but I got talking to someone outside the stage door and he walked on by before I could free myself. do any of you know if he responds to fan mail? I wanted to send him a letter with my programme for him to sign but if he doesn't often respond then there's not much point I guess.

pastaeater

Hmmm - I take your point Eppie-Sue about super-swing Killian being too valuable as a swing to be made a principal....seems a bit unfair on him, though as surely he would get a lot more recognition as an Enjolras.... Sad

Eppie-Sue

l'ivrogne transfigur�

Eppie-Sue

riverdawn

The Very Angry Woman

pastaeater

Eppie-Sue

So, I really wanted to review Saturday's performance in much detail. The only thing that really stuck with me, though, was a moment in the caf� when David and Killian, standing next to each other, both ran their hand through their hair at the very same second and then leaned on the table in the absolute same way. Amusement.

It was a good show, although, compared to Thursday in particular, everyone seemed a bit tired. I can't blame them, really, and I very much doubt it was noticeable, but to have the comparison means to be aware of stuff like that.

Um, there were two of the female ensemble off... well, no, there was Helen's track, as she was on as Eponine, and Emma Westhead was doing that job (I still think she's not suited to be a barricade boy, sorry), and Katy was in Sophie's track... that's all, I believe.
The guys were down a few people- AH. Right. So, we didn't get Jonathan as Valjean! Apparently, during the matinee, Alistair had kicked Valjean's gun against Jonathan's eyebrow or something during the Final Battle (as a matter of fact exactly at the "IIS FREEE", because Alistair told us at the stage door and did a Davidjolras impression, suddenly going for the high note and all, which was quite hilarious, especially because it was a very chipmunk-y version) - and, within an hour before the evening show, Jonathan had a black eye of sorts, it being very heavily swollen and not looking good. So Simon went on as Valjean and Jonathan was off... This meant that with Greg as Th�nardier, Gavin off, Mark on holiday, Killian and Mark H covered four tracks together, with occasional help from others. It went well, mostly it was Killian in Gavin's and Jonathan's track and Mark in, well, Mark's and Simon's. Thomas once again as Bishop, doing a good job despite his mic being switched on only half-way through his scene. Yeaaah.

Killian also was, once again, the funniest person on stage at random moments, especially in MotH, when George The Drunk stole the ridiculous glasses Killian The Helpless Absent-Minded Professor (not sure how to describe him any better) was wearing. So Killian immediately became blind as a bat, which was very hilarious for anyone who was watching. As in, Elbow and me.
Also, there was a lot of ad-libbing, most notably again during Lamarque Is Dead, Killian shouting ENJOLRAAAAAAAAAAAAS! at the top of his voice like in a football stadium and Antony declaring "WE'LL NEVER GIVE UP!" very loudly when everyone else had calmed down.

There. Not a coherent review at all. Everyone was quite good. I've lost count of how many times Simon has been on as Valjean, but I believe it must be the double amount of performances from all the other second understudies combined or something. And he's great. Favourite bits are still "Who Am I?" and the "Fliiiiight" (f'cking gorgeous note that), and his acting, especially in Act 1. Smile

riverdawn

Thanks for the review. It sounds like it was lots of fun.

I think Killian in MOTH should now officially be referred to as "nerdy traveler". Did he do the thing where he attempts to snap his fingers to the music but has no sense of rhythm? That was so funny last time I saw him.

But I think the most hilarious part of your review was the idea of Alistair (of all people) doing an impersonation of DavidJolras' IS FREEE. I would have loved to have seen it. Nearly made me laugh out loud in the middle of the library, which would have been bad.

Poor Jonathan, though, with the black eye and all. It looks like being Valjean at the Queen's is quite a high-risk thing. Broken fingers, black eyes... tsk tsk.

Dawnstar

Does anyone know why some of the larger ensemble roles, like Grantaire & the Bishop, are covered separately rather than taken as part of a swing track? I was at the matinee on Saturday & was wondering why Thomas played the Bishop but Killian covered the rest of Gavin's track. If Killian can sing Valjean, Javert & Enjolras he's presumably more than capeable of doing the Bishop's short part. Not that I didn't enjoy seeing Thomas playing the Bishop - he's one of my favourite ensemble members & it was lovely hearing him sing more lyrically than his usual track allows - I'm just curious as to if there's a reason for it.

Eppie-Sue

Saw the show, loved it, will review a bit later.

ETA: Or, well, maybe not actually reviewing tonight. The awards for sublime epicness, though, go to Wink

Mark, who was back and on top form in the caf�, seemingly telling Alistair that well, it was nice to see him but that he should just shut up about his lonely soul when there was a revolution to plan, followed by marching over to Martin and positively shoving him back into his chair with all the force he could muster. I swear he's having too much fun.
Killian, who wore a huge dark moustache as the Second Traveller. Amazing.
and David, who sang everyone else off stage and therefore made me and the girls next to me, who knew the show but couldn't pronounce Enjolras properly, very happy.
Oh, and to Jonathan, who held the "begiiiiiin" in the Soliloquy until way after the music had ended. Win.

riverdawn

I was also there tonight (in fact, I think I was probably sitting right under Eppie-Sue, which may explain why we didn't notice each other until after the show).

It was, indeed, a great show. For some reason, I was particularly emotional and practically sobbing in all the right moments. It may just be due to the fact that for the first time in a while I *wasn't* sitting in the BB seats, but in a good seat in the stalls, and so I once again got the full visual effect of the various scenes - which is actually pretty stunning, really.

Jonathan did indeed carry begiiiin to the end of the music, to the result that the poor guy got no applause at the end of the soliloquy.
However, the gentlemen sitting next to me seemed to realize that there should have been applause, and thereafter tried to applaud everything, left and right, including Turning, Javert's suicide, Turning and... DeadJolras (WTF???!?? Who applauds at the heart-wrenching image of a young man lying dead on the barricade?)
He did, however, succeed (with my help) in creating a wave of applause at the end of DWM, which was awesome (he started to applaud, and as I thought this was actually quite nice, I joined in, which made other people join in as well).

There were a whole bunch of other understudies on today, with AJ on as Cosette, Greg as Thenardier, Martin Neely being factory foreman with Jeff off and Katy Hana as Factory Bitch.

It was the first time I saw Greg's Thenardier. I thought he was quite good. His singing is very good, and he played the role well in a sort of campy kind of way, but he definitely lacks some of Martin Ball's comic timing.

It was great to have MarkFeyrac back (I think he was off the last few times I've been). He was definitely in an Epic kind of a mood, what with the shoving of MartinTaire back into the chair during "give me brandy on my breath, and I'll breath them all to death). He also made it clear that he was being particularly vicious when tying Javert to the chair and HPJ actually played along and grimaced and went "aAA!"

David was, as Eppie-Sue said, amazing, especially (although not exclusively) during One Day More.

AJ was good, although there was a moment there at the beginning of "In my life" where she seemed a little "Disney princess" somehow, flitting around in the garden left and right. But overall I like her Cosette.

There were various other things I found funny or touching or interesting but I can't for the life of me remember what they are. All I know is, as I said, I got really emotional and was tearing up half the time.

Eppie-Sue

riverdawn

Eppie-Sue

No, of course, I agree. It is one of the most powerful images of the show, and one of the moments that never lose their impact.
But I just think that, sometimes, I can understand applause, not in a cheerful way, of course... I don't know. For me, the Final Battle is over when the barricade turns around again and all the dead students have been shown, and that's when I wish there would be applause, COULD be applause - right before Javert notices the sewers. It wouldn't destroy the silence that is so poignant right after the chaos and gunfire and loud music of the Final Battle, nor the stillness and breathtaking impact of dead Enjolras on the red flag.

Eppie-Sue

So, double post. Sue me.
Saw Mark Hedges as Th�nardier last night ... I had seen him before, twice in January, and I remembered that I loved him, and YES. He was wonderful. It's amazing how, in MotH, his Th�nardier should actually be likeable by the way he acts but then... somehow... isn't. And you can't put your finger on it, but there is always something that strikes you as odd and wrong, even in MotH, and that is exactly how it should be. He was brilliant in The Bargain... there always is that awkward moment after Lorraine/Mme Th�nardier has failed to do a correct cross sign and Valjean turns to look at Th�nardier... I wish they wouldn't do that, Martin Ball and Greg both don't really seem to know what to do with that moment (Martin doing a correct cross sign, Greg failing to do so, just like Mme T), and it always gets a few laughs, but I always feel people are more laughing because they prepared themselves to laugh after all the hilarity in the minutes before, not because they genuinely thought it was funny (because it isn't). Now, Mark. While Lorraine was singing about not begrudging a Sou and all, he was slowly, veeeery slowly leaning forwards, his hand moving closer and closer to the money on the table, only focusing on the money and nothing else at all. So, as Valjean turns around, he's standing there, his hand almost hovering above the note, and that alone is quite funny, considering his wife has just been going on about how they are such good Christians. And then he does the most rushed and akward wrong-cross sign, both hands gesturing around, only wanting to get this over and done with because THERE IS MONEY RIGHT THERE AND HE WANTS IT. He has the most brilliant comic timing. It's awesome. Even I was laughing, and I have seen the show way too often.
He disappeared a bit in Paris, I thought, although he was good, the Rue Plumet Attack was great, he actually changed the lyrics to "take care, young miss, you've got a lot to learn", which worked perfectly fine.
Dog Eats Dog was AWESOME. I loved it so much. He was absolutely terrifying, I can only compare him to Gollum there, absolutely disgusting and not funny at all, only creepy and dangerous and exactly how he should be. And that is amazing, because Mark is probably one of the loveliest people I've met at the Queen's, really. Very Happy

BatF was great, too, simply because he wasn't obviously "misbehaving" or being quirky and just out of place, but because he still was this dangerous, sleazy guy who will to anything for money and who has dragged corpses into the sewers and broken teeth out of their skulls and all that, and it didn't disappear underneath that ridiculous costume and make-up.
Very glad I went.

l'ivrogne transfigur�

riverdawn

Ok, editing my post from last night to review.

So, as I said last night - it was truly a brilliant show last night. I'm not sure I can quite put my finger on what made it so exceptionally good, except that there seemed to be an incredible energy on stage and it translated really well to the audience. In some ways, I almost felt as though I was watching the show for the first time, because I was really moved by everything (helped that I was sitting next to an actual first time watcher, whose reactions were lovely).

The cast was more or less the same as on Monday (so Jonathan as Valjean, AJ as Cosette, Greg as Thenardier, Katy Hana as Factory Bitch, Martin Neely as Factory Foreman), but Mark Hedges was in Jeff's track, while Killian was in Jonathan's.

Jonathan was spectacular, and as he came on for curtain call he got massive cheers from the audience, and seemed really pleasantly surprised by this. His "Bring Him Home" had half the audience in tears, I think.

Rebbecca was also excellent. Really emotion IDAD (I think she may have actually cried).

Nancy was great and also, very emotional. Especially during ALFOR.

Really, just overall everyone was really good and as I said, the energy was just insane.

In the cafe scene, KillianLesgles (I assume he was Lesgles, as he was in Jonathan's track) was sitting at the same table as DylanJoly at the start, and as the stage turned he and DavidJolras were debating some of the finer points of the leaflets, but then as DavidJolras went to hear the reports of Courfeyrac, Feuilly and Combeferre ("at notre dame" etc.), Killian just sort of looked at Dylan, rolled his eyes and went "bla bla bla", as though making fun of the seriousness of the report. It was good, because you know how there are always some of the students who take things seriously and others who, at least initially, are sort of there for the heck of it...

When MartinTaire got on the chair during "red/black" GavinFerre went up to him and said "Get down!" and he just went "no!", and they went through this a few times. It was hilarious.

LiD was so absolutely mad that David kicked over a stool or two in his haste to start building barricades.

At the barricade scenes we have a particularly intense MarkFeyrac with lots of "But Enjolras!!!"

There was loads of EpicJolras with a "HOLD yourselves in RRRRREADINESSS!" and lots of other stuff...

And the saga of Javert and the Tricolor sash (after Eponine is taken off stage after her death) got another twist. This time David stood there and said to Mark Hedges (as Jeff's usual barricade guy) "bring him here" (looking at the floor in front of him)... "I said, bring him here!" and then he grabbed Javert's sash up in his hand, crumpled it, gave his patented Evil Look (TM) and then went for "tie him up". I swear I would totally not be surprised if one of these days he would tear that sash right off... Maybe he hasn't done it so far because he hasn't figured out a way to do it without taking too much time or destroying the sash.

Anyway, there weren't lot of particular details that I remember, but the overall feeling was just that everyone was in exceptionally good form, exceptionally invested in it... just so great!

Eppie-Sue

Thanks for the review!

riverdawn

Eppie-Sue

I can't blame him. He's had a perfect example in front of him for almost two years, and it's only this year that he became second understudy; and going on as second understudy, in general, it's often best to just go for what you know is a safe way to play and sing a part, and if that means copying the principal and if that's what you can, admittedly, do quite well (similar voice quality, similar looks, etc.), then it's a good decision.
That aside - I don't think he sounds like David, except for the fact that he stresses the lines the same way, and it is very much due to the fact that he's a tenor, I suppose. And that said, I have to agree, I prefer him as Javert and especially as Valjean, his voice colour is absolutely perfect for that role... I thought they suited him more, which just demonstrates that just because Enjolras is a smaller part, it doesn't automatically mean it's an automatic success if a good singer performs it. Then again, my perception might be heavily influenced and biased, because I not only adore but have gotten used to David's way of singing the lines. And because I think his voice has just the right, assured depth and clarity.
But again. I think Killian is amazing, I think he did a fantastic job, I do like what I've heard and it's not a definite judgement, as first performances, especially as understudy or even second understudy, are not the thing to go by. And I also think that going on for the first times as u/s Enjolras is completely different to the other roles, because you can't concentrate on the character himself that much, because he doesn't ever refer to himself or sing about himself or have any interactions with the others that are relevant for the main plot. And on the other hand, there is immense interaction with the ensemble, and basically most of the big moments in the entire musical (in the score and in the staging) are his.
If anyone's interested, I believe this is a fairly early recording from David as u/s Enjolras in 2005, and, while definitely impressive, it's quite different (and he sings what is actually in the script - "shall the barricade rise" Wink

). ...and whoever has watched the video with the failwig knows that a lot has changed.

riverdawn

Yeah, I agree with most of what you said.

First, yes, I think he did a great job, especially for second understudy going on for the first or second time. So it wasn't meant as a general criticism or anything like that. More of a discussion kind of thing. Smile

I agree with you that as a second U/S it makes sense that he followed David's way of doing things, but I think because (as you said) he is a tenor and the color of his voice is quite different, it didn't come out perfectly (at least to my taste), although still excellent both considering he is second U/S and compared to many other Enjolrati I've heard.

Basically, I think that with Mark's Enjolras, he has found a way to play the role so that it fits well with the fact that he is a Tenor and has maybe a softer quality to his voice. And I think that if Killian becomes principal Enjolras he will have to try and think about that as well. For Valjean, as you said, his voice color is already very suited.

All this is not, of course, to take anything from either the excellence of Killian or his super-swingiosity (although in this case, of course, he wasn't 'swinging' it).

By the way, speaking of second understudies, I found myself wondering yesterday - who are the second understudies for Cosette and Eponine? Have they ever been on?

Eppie-Sue

KatyRoseLand

l'ivrogne transfigur�

I'm sat on a train and I'm bored, so I thought I might as well review tonight's show. Well, not review exactly. Comment. GIve you some random thoughts.
Killian totally made the night in Jonathan's track. Highlight had to be his mimicking Gavin's super camp 'Landlord!' in MOTH.
Laura Medforth was being particularly annoying for some reason - I don't know why, I just couldn't stop noticing her.
Martin broke my heart again - I don't know what it is about his Grantaire, but it gets me every time. And not having seen him much recently probably helped.
Oh, I'm at my stop. Perhaps I'll say more when I get home...

riverdawn

l'ivrogne transfigur�

riverdawn

That was plenty coherent, l'ivorgne, and I actually know exactly what you mean about MartinTaire. I also think he plays the role beautifully.

I also think what you said about the slashy but not in-your-face slashy is actually him (and David) doing a really good job of interpreting Hugo's text. Because it has that dimension where you can easily see Grantaire is in love with Enjolras in the slashy sense - but given the kind of passionate writing you get between straight men in the 19th century, you can also choose to interpret it in a non-slashy way. I think Martin's portrayal of Grantaire really allows for both of those interpretations in the most beautiful way.

And as for what you wrote in the tiny script regarding Enjolras/Courfeyrac, don't worry, you're not the first person to have their imagination run wild.

Actually, I just remembered that on Monday there was this really funny thing at the end of DWM, when DavidJolras went back up the barricade, and MarkFeyrac was standing there... David took the edge of the flag and threw it, sort of playfully (like you would throw a tennis ball or something) at Mark, who caught it and (I think) kept on holding on to it during the whole bit when they were sleeping, only letting go of it when they woke up. Make of that what you will. Smile

KatyRoseLand

belladonnadarling · one

It's been a while, I know Wink

I have been able to see a few real nice performances during the holidays. I have to say I have enjoyed Williams as Valjean, he seems to be more comfortable in the part now having played it for a longer period.
However, I do find it strange that hardly any comments have been made on here by people who always seemed to be shocked that Bowman doesn't sing the top note at the end of Who am I. Now that Williams doesn't sing that note either, for good reasons I'm sure, nobody seems to feel shortchanged.
Looks like different measures for different people.

riverdawn

I actually did point out that he didn't sing that note in my first review after getting back to England (and I think I even expressed surprise that he didn't because I've seen him sing it before, but maybe I didn't do that in writing and just did it in my head. I sometimes forget to put things in my reviews that I think during the show).

However, since in the last time we went through this debate, most of us agreed that the discussion of the "oooneee" was just a minor thing, it's not that surprising that people didn't mention it.

belladonnadarling · one

It was only a 'minor' issue to some people, not to others, even after the debate. But now 'everybody' thinks it's minor apparently?
Remembering how Bowman was attacked on the issue it still shows that it was not a very objective call to make.

Violet

Or perhaps people are more used to it, so it doesn't jump out as much?

riverdawn

It also may have to do with the fact that when you see an actor whose performance you don't like overall, and who makes many choices you don't like, then every little thing just adds fuel to the fire of things you don't like, and you might mention several minor things as well as some major ones.

On the other hand, when you see an actor whose performance you overall enjoy quite a bit, and you think he does an excellent job, then you are willing to "forgive" minor things that you don't like because the overall performance is so good.

And I say this as someone who has in the past a) pointed out things I liked about Bowman's performance as well as things I disliked and b) has pointed out things I disliked about Jonathan Williams' performance as well as things I've liked.

Honestly, belladonadarling, I'm not sure why you feel the need to defend Simon Bowman's honor. Some people dislike his performance. Some people like his performance. Some people like some things about his performance and dislike other things. We are all entitled to an opinion.

mm10

l'ivrogne transfigur�

Eppie-Sue

Oh my God tonight was so epic. I can't review right now, but for the time being I'll let you know that, f'cking hell, David Thaxton is not allowed to leave the Queen's. It's as easy as that. Must have been the best performance I've seen since the madness that was the 24th Anniversary.

HannahM

HannahM

I really need to work on this double posting thing Embarassed

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I loved it!

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