It had been over 4 years since the last time I saw Les Mis, and I actually wasn’t really desperate to see it again, but two things made up my mind that I would include it on my New York trip: the first being that it was closing in New York on May 18, and the second being that Terrence Mann was back at Javert for the end of the show’s run.
However, I had a bit of a tougher time getting a ticket than I had anticipated! Originally we were going to see the show on Friday, May 2, but we ended up arriving in the city late, and weren’t able to see a show at all that evening. So I had decided that I wouldn’t see it after all. But, the next day, Alison was going to get us tickets for Man of La Mancha at TKTS, but there were none available. So she went and bought herself a ticket for Les Mis (for full price!) for that evening. I decided to just go to TKTS and see what was available, and had pretty much decided I’d probably be seeing Phantom again, when I came around the corner to the ticket window, and all of a sudden, Les Mis popped up on the board! So I grabbed one of those instead, and actually ended up in the front row!
The first thing we did upon entering the theatre was to check the understudy board to ensure that Terrence was in fact there, and we weren’t disappointed on that! We also quickly noticed that we had an understudy for Valjean, by the name of Roger Seyer, and I just have to say that he was fantastic! Not a false step, and definitely on par with most of the other Valjeans I’ve seen. I was highly impressed.
About Terrence – he seemed to slur his way through a lot of the lines, which was unfortunate, because when he decided to sing, it was magnificent. Stars was beautiful, and then Javert’s Suicide was about 10 times better. Really, it was breathtaking. And he did a gorgeous “chain” in the Confrontation. I also liked the way he was very confrontational with the mayor in the early scenes, as if somewhere in the back of his mind, he’d already figured out it was Valjean. His utter contempt for the students at the barricade was dead-on.
There were a few flubbed lines throughout the night, including the very first line. But the funniest thing of the night was when the swing who was replacing Roger Seyer ran out to the front of the stage to sing his line in Lovely Ladies, he fell! Right on his butt! He bounced right back up, and kept going, which was impressive, but I found it pretty amusing. 🙂
Among the rest of the cast, I thought that Nick Wyman really stood out as Thénardier. This was my first time EVER seeing somebody other than J.P. Dougherty, so I appreciated the fresh take on some lines. My biggest laugh of the night also came from him, in the scene in Paris before Stars, where he says “In the absence of a victim, dear Inspector, may I go?” Terrence slowly started to turn around and fix this glare on him, so by the time he got to, “And remember when you’ve nicked him”, all of a sudden he just fell back on the ground, put his arms over his head, and said, “Never mind, it doesn’t matter!” 🙂
Diana Kaarina was a lovely Eponine, and I enjoyed Kevin Kern as Marius as well. Christopher Peterson as Enjolras reminded me *so* much of somebody, but I can’t figure out who it is. I have no complaints with him either! Jayne Paterson was a good Fantine as well.
Probably the weirdest thing about seeing the show on Broadway was the cuts. Although it’s been several years that they’ve been in effect, I’ve never seen the show with them, so it was a little strange. I would forget that anything was different, and all of a sudden there’d be lines missing, and it was a little jarring. And it seemed that weird things were cut, like Valjean’s part in In My Life.
Anyway, overall I enjoyed the show very much, and I’m glad that it worked out that I was able to see it once on Broadway before it closes there. However, I’d have to say that overall, the Toronto production remains my favourite that I’ve seen!
| Jean Valjean | ROGER SEYER |
| Javert | TERRENCE MANN |
| Chain Gang | MIKE ELDRED DAVID McDONALD DAVE HUGO DON BREWER EDWARD JUVIER NEAL MAYER CHRISTOPHER MARK PETERSON KEVIN KERN NICK WYMAN |
| Farmer | NEAL MAYER |
| Labourer | ALLAN SNYDER |
| The Bishop of Digne | JAMES CHIP LEONARD |
| Constables | MAX von ESSEN DAVID GAGNON |
| Fantine | JAYNE PATERSON |
| Foreman | DAVID McDONALD |
| Workers | ANDREW VARELA EDWARD JUVIER |
| Women Workers | MARINE NICOLELLA LISA CAPPS HEATHER FERGUSON MELISSA MINYARD GINA MILO |
| Factory Girl | SUSAN SPENCER |
| Sailors | DON BREWER MIKE ELDRED EDWARD JUVIER |
| Whores | KATHY SANTEN LISA CAPPS MELISSA MINYARD GINA MILO MARNIE NICOLELLA SUSAN SPENCER DIANA KAARINA SANDRA TURLEY |
| Old Woman | SARAH DACEY CHARLES |
| Crone | HEATHER FERGUSON |
| Pimp | DAVID GAGNON |
| Bamatabois | DAVE HUGO |
| Fauchelevant | MAX von ESSEN |
| Champmathieu | MIKE ELDRED |
| Young Cosette | ALEXANDRA ROSE SULLIVAN |
| Madame Thenardier | AYMEE GARCIA |
| Thenardier | NICK WYMAN |
| Young Eponine | KRISTIN DANIELLE KLABUNDE |
| Drinker | ANDREW VARELA |
| Young Couple | DON BREWER MELISSA MINYARD |
| Drunk | MAX von ESSEN |
| Diners | JAMES CHIP LEONARD LISA CAPPS |
| Other Drinkers | NEAL MAYER DAVID GAGNON DAVE HUGO |
| Young Man | MIKE ELDRED |
| Young Girls | MARNIE NICOLELLA HEATHER FERGUSON |
| Old Couple | GINA MILO EDWARD JUVIER |
| Travelers | DAVID McDONALD ALLAN SNYDER |
| Gavroche | NICHOLAS JONAS |
| Old Beggar Woman | SARAH DACEY CHARLES |
| Young Prostitute | MARNIE NICOLELLA |
| Pimp | DAVID McDONALD |
| Eponine | DIANA KAARINA |
| Montparnasse | JAMES CHIP LEONARD |
| Babet | ALLAN SNYDER |
| Brujon | MIKE ELDRED |
| Claquesous | NEAL MAYER |
| Enjolras | CHRISTOPHER MARK PETERSON |
| Marius | KEVIN KERN |
| Cosette | SANDRA TURLEY |
| Combeferre | DAVID McDONALD |
| Feuilly | DON BREWER |
| Courfeyrac | ANDREW VARELA |
| Joly | EDWARD JUVIER |
| Grantaire | DAVE HUGO |
| Lesgles | DAVID GAGNON |
| Jean Prouvaire | MAX von ESSEN |
| Major Domo | EDWARD JUVIER |