Les Miserables - The Staged Concert

I returned my ticket for tonight's show due to a work commitment(T_T). Delfont agreed to put it up for resale as it was a full house tonight. So, I will have to wait for my first night till next Monday (JOJ!).

As for AB raising the roof with BHH, it is exactly what puts me off AB's JVJ. The aria is not there for an actor/singer to show off his voice but to tell the story. The reason I admire JOJ so much is that he never puts himself before the music. Rather, he is there to serve it because he respects it. He pays his respect to the music by singing it perfectly. Anyway, that's what I think.

AB used to be a fine, but not exceptional, opera singer and I enjoyed listening to him in several different operas. But am I wrong in thinking that the less one is familiar with opera, the more he/she tends to be impressed by AB's BHH?

I think people either like Alfie or they don’t, I doubt whether it’s to do with how much they know about Opera.

JOJ is brilliant but I’ve seen him in les mis twice if not three times so I’m going for Alfie for the concert. I wouldn’t care in the slightest if there were to be a last minute substitution though!

How so? This was the common method back in the late '90s when I started talking about the show on message boards. Abbreviate the names, abbreviate the names of the songs. People got it.

Add me to the people who find the initials confusing. This isn't a Les Mis specific board, so we don't all have an encyclopedic knowledge of who the artists are or what the songs are. The custom across the whole of Theatreboard is to use names.

Of course one CAN figure it out but this board isn't intended to be some elaborate cryptogram. More clarity, please, less compression.

Sit back and relax, there is no gunshots, sound effects from the sound desk, but they’re not that loud.

I speak as one who hates the gunshots in the conventional one.

What does BWW mean? 😉 

Ha, you wouldn't want to know!!!!!!

Saw this tonight. It looks impressive, set and lighting are amazing as is the orchestra.

Mr Boe sings it as if he's performing La Boheme and gets away with doing that in this concert format. His acting is woeful and there is no subtlety whatsoever, everything is telegraphed and he's physically rigid throughout. There is no inner struggle whatsoever.

Michael Ball is the disappointment of the evening. He just isn't able to sing Javert. He backphrases to buggery and struggles for the money notes. Ego over ability, I'm afraid. I wonder if Cameron would allow any other performer to deliver such a poor performance?

Carrie H-F is beautiful. Her voice is sublime and she delivers all the emotion as well as doing justice to IDAD.

Matt Lucas is doing his panto/Little Britain turn. I would love to see a darker interpretation and vocally he is weak.

Katy Secombe is brilliant as Mme T. Delivers what it says on the tin as does Bradley Jayden's charismatic Enjolras.

Rob Houchen makes very little impression as Marius, preferring to play it like he is in a Merchant-Ivory classic and not as a young man feeling the thunderbolts of love for the first time.

The Ensemble are terrific. Loads of seasoned pros and Les Mis alumni all doing very little, but looking and sounding fantastic. They are the best thing in it for me as well as the wonderful Eponine, whose name escapes me. Apologies.

Apart from Carrie the other three names on the poster are the let down with Ball being the worst. Paid £95 for my ticket and slightly resent it although I believe the the pros outwieighed the cons.

So glad I chose to go on a John Owen Jones night.

Goes without saying that we was amazing.

Apparently they are from 22nd onwards on sold out shows.