Les Misérables - 25th Anniversary in Concert (2010)

Truly Dreadful Film

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The acting in this movie is really good.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Like most Americans, I first saw the 25th on PBS. I had read the book and seen the road show in Chicago many years before. When it first aired, I was distracted and it barely registered. But the second time, I wandered into the room as Alfie Boe began "Who Am I?" stopped dead in my tracks and didn't move for the next three hours.Alfie Boe is magnificent, he may be the best Valjean in Les Mis' thirty year history. (That includes the movie too). His voice is angry, vengeful, baffled, pleading, commanding, tender and loving. Boe has a bright tenor voice that snarls or rings out with all the nuance of speech. Les Mis is a tough sing that would tax any tenor, but you never worry if he'll hit a high, only wonder how stunning it will be. The four minute standing ovation (cut down to one minute on the DVD) for "Bring Him Home" was completely deserved. The song is a prayer, and you feel Boe isn't singing a prayer, he's praying on stage.The other cast members are equally impressive. Norm Lewis' Javert is all menace and malice. He despises this peasant and thief, and will wipe out the one blot on his record. Norm's baritone can be completely chilling, and "The Confrontation" is practically a duel. Another singer might have drowned against Boe, but each meeting is tense and powerful.Lea Salonga and Samantha Barks as Fantine and Eponine are each heart breaking, doomed by fate and love. They pour themselves into "I Dreamed a Dream" and "On My Own" and bring down the house. Ramin Karimloo is a passionate, charismatic Enjorlas. Matt Lucas and Jennie Galloway seem like comic relief until you see the sinister charm behind them, very well done.Much has been written about Nick Jonas and Katie Hall. Nick was only 17yo for the 25th, and their voices blend well. Nick can't quite keep up with the older, more powerful singers, but he makes "Empty Chairs, Empty Tables" his own. They are sweet lovers here.A show this big deserves big encores. They bring on the Queen's Theater cast, the 25th Anniversary Touring cast, and the original 1985 cast. And the crowd goes wild, with good reason. The rewritten "Bring Him Home" for the four Valjeans (and the key change), is almost worth the price of the DVD by itself.A huge orchestra and choir, a massive stage, spectacular lighting and effects, three screens for a crowd of 17,000, cameras everywhere, costumes, and sensitive editing. Les Miserables as it should be done.

I'm not sure I can think of a more excellent performance. Every emotion I can think of was elicited by the cast. WOW! Alfie Boe was extraordinary and showed vocal range and acting ability-dare I say humility? Norm Lewis was so near his equal in both acting and singing ability. Lea Salonga shows that she can act as well as she sings and that her voice stands the test of time. What can I say about Ramin Karimloo? Vocals, acting, stage presence and so much more. I particularly liked the casting of Matt Lucas to show the comedic side to this production and Jenny Galloway was next to superb.Heck, the whole ensemble is all so mentionable, Samantha Barks brings so much wonder to her tragic role of Eponine. This production reminded me of a line from a movie about opera, "You either love it or hate it." Well, I love "Les Miserables" and anyone who is connected with the productions through the years-is blessed. We have Victor Hugo to thank for the wonderful novel he wrote, 2 Frenchmen for adapting it and Cameron MacKintosh for bringing it all together.

Les Misérables has been around for a long time, pleasing audiences around the world - its songs are recorded by an vast array of singers and its impact on audiences is justifiably powerful. Though this filming of the concert production of the musical as performed at London's O2 Arena in January 2010 is hailed as the 25th anniversary of the musical, it is too frequently forgotten that the show, based on the Victor Hugo novel, was originally written by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boubil with Herbert Kretzmer and Jean-Marc Natel and produced in Paris, France in 1980 (it closed after 3 months). This English Adaptation is by Trevor Nunn and John Caird (with additional material by James Fenton) was brought to England and the world through the efforts of Cameron Mitchell in 1985. The concert version is performed with orchestra and chorus in the top of the platforms in O2 Arena and the characters in the musical are in costume standing before microphones at the edge of the performing structure. The light crew performs spectacular effects with the enormous facilities at this 23,000 seat arena. Some action is projected on screens above the performers (the lifting of the cart by Valjean, the barricade, etc) and at other times the screens offer the audience huge close-up view of the performers. It works well under the direction of Nick Morris. The celebration of the birthday of the show is accompanied by prolonged appearances by past members of casts of the show, a light show, and much confetti and self congratulation speeches. As for the production itself it is populate by a generally strong cast. Alfie Boe, a 37 year old British tenor who studied opera but now sings the big demanding musicals, is a very fine Jean Valjean. Norm Lewis, and American actor/baritone is one of the strongest Jauverts on record: he is a talent to watch. Lea Salonga brings years of experience to her interpretation of Fantine, Samantha Banks is a very strong Eponine, the Iranian-born Canadian musical theater singing actor Ramin Karimloo makes a striking impression in the role of Enjolras (he has been playing the role of Phantom in the 'Phantom of the Opera' in England for years), but the performance of Katie Hall as Cosette sounds strained, the Monsieur Thénardier of Matt Lucas is completely unfocused (Jenny Galloway fares better as Madame Thénardier), and it is obvious the producers elected to play to the young audience by miscasting pop star Nick Jonas as Marius: he tries very hard but is out of his league here. In all this is an entertaining memento of a birthday celebration - heavy on audience screaming and special party effects - and rewards the creators of this lasting fine musical with due respect. Grady Harp

Santa very kindly brought the DVD round and it is spectacular. This is much longer than the tenth anniversary concert (TAC), with much more of the secondary action being included. As a result, this performance is much fuller and more rounded. The production values are superb, and easily surpass TAC. This is nearer the actual show itself. I especially enjoyed the use of the over stage camera angles. As to the performances themselves I am one of those who think that Colm Wilkinson is Valjean and Philip Quast is Javert. Alfie Boe and Norm Lewis came very close to changing my mind. Boe is terrific but his voice, while technically superb, just lacks that little bit of raw power that CW has and he lacks the physical presence. Valjean is supposed to be a big man and when he tells Javert that he is the stronger man by far Boe doesn't look it. Lewis brings a commanding aspect to the role. It's a bit unfair to compare Matt Lucas with Alun Armstrong since Lucas gets a lot more to do in this role and does it very well, alternating from the cuddly comic to the downright malevolent. Perhaps I can't stop seeing Brian Lane or Mr Southouse but Alun doesn't come across as evil. The rest of the cast are uniformly excellent, especially Enjolras. Except one! I have never heard of Nick Jonas and I have no idea how he got the part but he is the one weak link in whole performance. His voice and presence are weak and unsubstantial, and he looks as though he has to go and have shaving lessons after the show. I actually felt really sorry for him when Michael Ball comes out and shows him how do it properly. The appearance of the original cast at the end is a wonderful touch and CW shows that he can still do Bring Him Home wonderfully. The only other criticism is that the DVD is just that, a DVD in a case. A booklet or sleeve notes would have been nice! All in all a wonderful performance which just makes you wish you had been there.Jane in Australia: Dog eats Dog is in there but Little People has been cut. No great loss as far as I am concerned since it doesn't have any effect on the main story