Les Miserables

Well, I did it.  I did the one thing people repeatedly told me to do while in London, see Les Miserables.  You see, the show opened here on the West End about 27 years ago, and it's been running strong ever since. 

Let me just tell you, the show was absolutely amazing!  It's a show that means a lot to me, it was my last high school production, and I'm usually very particular about shows that mean a lot to me (I even had complaints when I saw Rent!), but I had absolutely no complaints about this show.  It was stunning from start to finish.  The cast was on it from start to finish.

Perhaps the character who stole my heart the most was Gavroche.  I've always thought he's an adorable character, but the little boy who played him absolutely blew me out of the water.  Usually, I feel like children in theatrical performances try to get by on cuteness.  Yeah, they're adorable, but if they can't act, then I really don't care.  Well, this little boy was the complete package.  From start to finish, he was right there  stealing the hearts of everyone in the audience, and he was completely engaged in his character.  While the students were singing "Red and Black" and "Do You Hear the People Sing?" this Gavroche was cheering, making his own red revolutionary flag out of a rag and a stick, high-fiving other revolutionaries, etc.  I know he was probably told to do that by the director, but there was something about how this little boy did it that made it seem a million times better.  You could tell he understood what not only his character was feeling but also the characters around him (and Les Mis is a deep musical, so that alone was impressive), and his excitement was infectious.  Seeing him excited got me excited, and during "Do You Hear the People Sing?" I wanted to get up and join them!  I had the honor of running into a woman after the show who was Gavroche's grandmother (rather, the actor's grandmother).  I expressed to her that her grandson was beyond anything I'd ever seen before when it comes to children in theater, and she should be extremely proud of her grandson.

What I really liked about the version of Les Mis that I saw was it was a wonderful blend of cast from the 25th anniversary concert and the movie.  A lot of them were minor parts (either on stage or on film), but that doesn't mean it isn't cool.  The 25th anniversary concert is definitely worth checking out, here's a trailer below:

The musical version of the movie will also be out around Christmas time.  Once again, it's something worth checking out, it's a timeless story with something for everyone.

Speaking of Les Mis, I'll be seeing the original Marius from London in about a month in Sweeney Todd, but I don't want to give too much on that away quite yet.  Let's just say, I have some pretty exciting plans for that one.