"Would Les Miserables have reached its 25th anniversary without Susan Boyle? Yes. Would it have sold 57 million tickets? Sir Cameron Mackintosh thinks not.""Until Susan Boyle it was the great score that never had a hit song. How wonderfully ironic that it took someone who was just an ordinary person to give a song a hit life" ...
I was among those thrilled to see Susan Boyle's appearance on Britain's Got Talent and wowed by her awesome performance of I Dreamed a Dream! I was also excited to see the subsequent resurgence in popularity of Les Miserables hoping that it might mean a more likelier chance of Les Mis touring near me or hasten the production of a new Les Mis movie that Mackintosh has previously mentioned. (now indicating that he hopes it will be in cinemas within two to three years)
Having missed an opportunity years ago to see Les Miserables (and not knowing at the time how much I would love it in the future), I was excited for the chance to watch the broadcast of the 25th anniversary production at the cinema. Being familiar with the 10th anniversary production and listening to the CD starring Colm Wilkinson, I was resistant to accept another Valjean in my life but I ended up being totally in awe of the performance of Alfie Boe with his soulful, pitch perfect portrayal of Victor Hugo's protagonist. Wow - he stole my heart!
Other highlights for me included Lea Solanga's I Dreamed a Dream, Samantha Barks On My Own, Nick Jonas' Empty Chairs at Empty Tables and Ramin Karimloo as Enjolras. (Colm & Ramin shown on right)
My hopes of seeing Colm appear at this event were not disappointed. I loved the finale with four Jean Valjean's performing Bring Him Home as a quartet. (Shown on left - Simon Bowman, Alfie Boe, Colm Wilkinson and John Owen-Jones). This was followed by a wonderful performance of One Day More including the cast from 1985. Now, to wait for the DVD to be available...
Video: One Day More with Original Cast from 1985
(Michael Ball, Rebecca Caine, Frances Ruffelle, Susan Jane Tanner, Alun Armstrong, Roger Allam)
Having missed an opportunity years ago to see Les Miserables (and not knowing at the time how much I would love it in the future), I was excited for the chance to watch the broadcast of the 25th anniversary production at the cinema. Being familiar with the 10th anniversary production and listening to the CD starring Colm Wilkinson, I was resistant to accept another Valjean in my life but I ended up being totally in awe of the performance of Alfie Boe with his soulful, pitch perfect portrayal of Victor Hugo's protagonist. Wow - he stole my heart!
Other highlights for me included Lea Solanga's I Dreamed a Dream, Samantha Barks On My Own, Nick Jonas' Empty Chairs at Empty Tables and Ramin Karimloo as Enjolras. (Colm & Ramin shown on right)
My hopes of seeing Colm appear at this event were not disappointed. I loved the finale with four Jean Valjean's performing Bring Him Home as a quartet. (Shown on left - Simon Bowman, Alfie Boe, Colm Wilkinson and John Owen-Jones). This was followed by a wonderful performance of One Day More including the cast from 1985. Now, to wait for the DVD to be available...Claude-Michel Schonberg, Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil
Thank you for your masterpiece!
Thank you for your masterpiece!
Video: Bring Him Home sung by 4 Jean Valjeans
Video: One Day More with Original Cast from 1985
(Michael Ball, Rebecca Caine, Frances Ruffelle, Susan Jane Tanner, Alun Armstrong, Roger Allam)
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