My first experience with the Musical Les Mis was the 10th anniversary concert in 1995 which was broadcast on PBS. I fell in love with it. I bought the CD of the concert and even went to see the US version of the show when it came to my town.
You would expect a 25th anniversary special to be huge with a great cast. I just finished watching it and a huge disappointment is how I would describe it.
First the Pros: Alfie Boe has a good voice and while not as good as Colm Wilkinson he is one of the better singers in the cast. Samantha Barks has a beautiful voice and was a credit to the roll of Eponine. Ramin Karimloo in the roll of Enjolras has a strong voice and is well suited for the part. The singers making up the supporting members of the ABC group also did well in their rolls. Jenny Galloway returned to sing the part Madame Thénardier and as before was perfect.
For the most part that's all the good I can say. Let move to the Cons: The first thing I noticed were the changes they made to the songs. While in some cases they did help the story, in many cases they made the songs seem jumpy and chaotic. Nick Jonas in the role of Marius was absolutely awful. He did not have the vocal strength or emotion for the role. Why Matt Lucas was picked to be Monsieur Thénardier I will may never know. The role calls for energy and the ability to provide comedic relief through gestures and voice. Mr. Lucas had neither and his voice was worse. Robert Madge played the role of Gavroche and his voice was OK at best. The weird looks he gave the audience while singing were ridiculous and overall he was not believable. Lastly the Part of Javert was sung by Norm Lewis. His voice again lacked strength and emotion. In some cases it was almost as if he was singing in a monotone manner or reading his lines.
As a final note, at the very end, the original cast appears and puts this new cast to shame.
You would expect a 25th anniversary special to be huge with a great cast. I just finished watching it and a huge disappointment is how I would describe it.
First the Pros: Alfie Boe has a good voice and while not as good as Colm Wilkinson he is one of the better singers in the cast. Samantha Barks has a beautiful voice and was a credit to the roll of Eponine. Ramin Karimloo in the roll of Enjolras has a strong voice and is well suited for the part. The singers making up the supporting members of the ABC group also did well in their rolls. Jenny Galloway returned to sing the part Madame Thénardier and as before was perfect.
For the most part that's all the good I can say. Let move to the Cons: The first thing I noticed were the changes they made to the songs. While in some cases they did help the story, in many cases they made the songs seem jumpy and chaotic. Nick Jonas in the role of Marius was absolutely awful. He did not have the vocal strength or emotion for the role. Why Matt Lucas was picked to be Monsieur Thénardier I will may never know. The role calls for energy and the ability to provide comedic relief through gestures and voice. Mr. Lucas had neither and his voice was worse. Robert Madge played the role of Gavroche and his voice was OK at best. The weird looks he gave the audience while singing were ridiculous and overall he was not believable. Lastly the Part of Javert was sung by Norm Lewis. His voice again lacked strength and emotion. In some cases it was almost as if he was singing in a monotone manner or reading his lines.
As a final note, at the very end, the original cast appears and puts this new cast to shame.