Cameron Mackintosh marched on stage at the end of the concert marking the 25th
anniversary of Les Miz and declared, 'This is going to be the best and most exciting night of my life." Which prompted one English critic to wonder what the producer had planned for the rest of the evening.
That’s a bit harsh but Mackintosh shouldn’t have been too smug. As he watched the performance at the 02 Arena, he probably wasn’t aware of the technical glitches: the sound dropping out at one point, several jerky camera shots, and the camera sometimes picking up a performer a beat or two after he or she started singing.
But even more glaring were the deficiencies in the casting. Alfie Boe, who plays the heroic Jean Valjean, is an opera tenor – he was the lead in Baz Luhrmann’s production of La Bohème – with no experience in musical theatre, and it shows. The man has a terrific voice but almost zero stage presence and an inexpressive face: he’s a waxworks dummy compared to Valjean’s nemesis, police inspector Javert, played by Norm Lewis, a wonderful baritone and a veteran of the tuner’s New York and London productions.
As student revolutionary Marius, Nick Jonas can hold a tune – he’s one of the Jonas Brothers – but his voice lacks the vocal power and range of almost everyone else on stage. Folks of a certain age will recall the role was made famous by Michael Ball, who was one of the former cast members who appeared at the end. Also, I’d argue that the concert staging, with the orchestra elevated above the stage and a 300-voice choir behind them, robs the show of the immediacy and some of the dramatic energy you’d experience in the theatre.
Still, such quibbles probably are just pissing into the wind for the multitudes who’ve been flocking to Les Misérables since it bowed in London at the Barbican Theatre on October 8 1985. According to the blurb, the musical has been seen by more than 56 million people worldwide in 42 countries and in 21 languages.
To be fair, the concert features some exceptional performances, most notably from Lea Salonga as the doomed Fantine, Samantha Barks as Éponine, Ramin Karimloo as the student leader Enjolras and Katie Hall as Fantine’s daughter Cosette. Providing comic relief, Matt Lucas is an exuberantly high-camp TheÌnardier in his musical theatre debut, well matched by Jenny Galloway as the bawdy Madame TheÌnardier.
Among the musical highpoints are Valjean’s Who Am I? and Bring Him Home, Javert’s Stars, Fantine’s I Dream a Dream, Éponine’s On My Own, and several items featuring the scheming TheÌnardiers. However it may be best not to listen too closely to some of the lyrics, which border on the banal or syrupy, such as, 'You keep me safe and you keep me close"¦.The rain that you hear is heaven-blessed."
Still, fans of The Glums might well say don’t nitpick, just sit back and enjoy the entire experience.
