One last Les Mis highlights real for Barricade Day

This one is a truly rare gem: highlights from the Broadway 10th Anniversary cast, 1997.

"Red and Black," "Bring Him Home," "Do You Hear the People Sing?" "A Little Fall of Rain," "I Dreamed a Dream," "One Day More," "Master of the House," and "Javert's Suicide."

Robert Marien (Jean Valjean), Christopher Innvar (Javert), Juliet Lambert (Fantine), Peter Lockyer (Marius), Sarah Uriarte Berry (Éponine), Stephen Buntrock (Enjolras), Christeena Michelle Riggs (Cosette), Nick Wyman (Thénardier), Fuschia Walker (Mme. Thénardier), Tom Zemon (Grantaire)

Two more Les Mis highlights reels in honor of Barricade Day. Both from non-replica productions staged in the round at North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, Massachusetts.

The first is from their 2007 production: Fred Inkley (Jean Valjean), Devin Richards (Javert), Jacquelyn Piro Donovan (Fantine), Charles Haggarty (Marius), Joanne Javien (Éponine), Renée Brna (Cosette), Charlie Brady (Enjolras), Ron Wisniski (Thénardier), Inga Ballard (Mme. Thénardier), Sebastian Hoffman (Gavroche), Joanna Rosen (Young Cosette)

The second is from their 2014 production: Will Ray (Jean Valjean), Danny Rothman (Javert), Daniella Dalli (Fantine), Blake Stadnik (Marius), Lizzie Klemperer (Éponine), Siri Howard (Cosette) Steve Czarnecki (Enjolras), Gary Troy (Thénardier), Tregony Shepherd (Mme. Thénardier), Gavin Swartz (Gavroche), Carly Williams (Young Cosette), and fan favorite Joseph Spieldenner (the Bishop/Grantaire)

In honor of Barricade Day, another rare and intriguing find for Les Mis musical fans.

A highlights reel from the US 3rd National Tour, 1993.

Most notably, it features a 30-year-old Alice Ripley as Fantine. Meanwhile, the rest of the cast includes Donn Cook (Jean Valjean), David Masenheimer (Javert), Ron Sharpe (Marius), Angela Pupello (Éponine), Barbra Russell (Cosette), Gary Mauer (Enjolras), J.P. Dougherty (Thénardier), Gina Farrell (Mme. Thénardier), and Jamie Cronin (Young Cosette). And if I'm not mistaken, Courfeyrac, whom we get to hear sing one line ("Then join in the fight that will give you the right to be free!") is none other than Brian d'Arcy James.

An excellent video I just found of tender Enjolras/Grantaire moments in performances from 2000 through 2013.

I really miss the YouTube channel "MiserablesMoments." I understand that it was taken down out of respect for the bootleg industry, but I loved having such easy, free access to so many video and audio clips from bygone Les Mis productions. I miss it so much.

Character ask: Marius Pontmercy

Requested by anonymous

Favorite thing about them: I love how passionate, tender, and romantic he is, how deeply he feels everything, and I love that he’s allowed to be that way, without having to become “manlier” to be worthy of respect. I laugh like the rest of the fandom at his goofy, awkward, and melodramatic moments (his “Pontmercying,” as fans call it), but with affection, not disdain. The comic relief those moments provide from the story’s general heaviness endears him to me all the more. I also like his idealism and social conscience, even though the latter is imperfect in the novel compared to the musical. Of course, he has his flaws, and I fully understand why he’s a divisive character, but I always want to defend him whenever someone outright dislikes him.

Least favorite thing about them: In the novel, the obvious worst thing he does is separating Valjean and Cosette after he learns Valjean’s past. But beyond that, there’s the simple fact that when he’s unhappy or uncomfortable, he tends not to be very nice. His coldness to Éponine is the textbook case, but sometimes not even Cosette herself is spared – for example, his hissy fit when she tells him she’s leaving for England, as if he thinks she’s willfully abandoning him even though she’s crying and clearly as distraught as he is. This is a very human flaw, but it’s unpleasant.

In the musical, it’s something my rational mind knows is really heroic. The fact that no matter how much his love for Cosette briefly distracts him, his loyalty to his friends and their cause ultimately comes first, even if it means losing Cosette forever (so he thinks) for their sake. My rational mind admires him for this, but I’m tired of men shoving women aside in favor of their causes, their careers, or their bonds with other men. I feel sorry for musical Cosette, because only after Marius’s friends all die can she really be as central to his life as he is to hers.

Three things I have in common with them:

*I’m sensitive and can be melodramatic.

*I can be socially awkward.

*I’m idealistic, or at least I want to be.

Three things I don’t have in common with them:

*My parents are both still alive.

*I’ve never taken part in an armed conflict.

*I’m female.

Favorite line:

From the novel:

The entire text of his love letter to Cosette in the chapter “A Heart Beneath a Stone,” but probably these two lines above all:

“God is behind everything, but everything hides God. Things are black, creatures are opaque. To love a being is to render that being transparent.”

This line probably inspired the musical’s famous “To love another person is to see the face of God,” and in the novel it’s a quote from Marius!

And the letter’s concluding line:

“If no one loved, the sun would go out.”

From the musical:

His verse in “Red and Black”:

“Had you been there tonight, you might know how it feels

To be struck to the bone in a moment of breathless delight!

Had you been there tonight, you might also have known

How your world may be changed in just what burst of light,

And what was right seems wrong, and what was wrong seems right!

Red – I feel my soul on fire!

Black – my world if she’s not there!

Red – the color of desire!

Black – the color of despair!”

And from “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables”:

“Phantom faces at the window, phantom shadows on the floor.

Empty chairs at empty tables, where my friends will meet no more.

Oh, my friends, my friends, don’t ask me what your sacrifice was for!

Empty chairs at empty tables, where my friends will sing no more.

brOTP: All the Amis, especially Courfeyrac, and Éponine, though more so in the musical than in the novel.

OTP: Cosette.

nOTP: His grandfather, his aunt, Valjean, Javert, or either of the Thénardiers.

Random headcanon: When he’s older he’ll become an author and eventually write a Les Misérables-like novel. His fictionalized counterpart in that book will be named Victor.

Unpopular opinion: I’m of two minds about his relationship with Éponine in the novel vs. the musical, and I don’t prefer one over the other. On the one hand, I like their friendship in the musical. It’s very endearing to see him be so warm and kind to her, be grateful for all she does for him, and value her as a friend despite the class difference between them. But on the other hand, his aloofness in the novel is more realistic, and the fact that he treats her this way despite being framed as a good person, Hugo’s self-insert no less, creates more pointed social commentary. The same applies to his response to her death. It’s moving and heartwarming to see musical Marius mourn her passing and (implicitly) learn to appreciate her love and sacrifices, but there’s more social commentary in the fact that Hugo’s Marius so quickly turns his mind to Cosette’s letter and rarely thinks again of the “unfortunate creature” who gave her life for him. I suppose each version is most appropriate for its own medium, with a musical needing simpler, more likable characterizations, while a novel allows for more complexity.

Song I associate with them:

“A Heart Full of Love"

“Empty Chairs at Empty Tables”

“Love Changes Everything” from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Aspects of Love. It has nothing to do with Marius, but it’s fitting all the same, and it’s the signature song of Michael Ball.

Favorite picture of them:

Michael Ball, London, 1985

Matthew Porretta with Jacquelyn Piro as Cosette and Gary Barker as Valjean, 3rd National Tour, 1989

Rich Affannato (RIP), 3rd National Tour, 1996

Tom Lucas with Amanda Salmon as Éponine, London, 1999

Niklas Andersson crying over Éponine’s death with Jason McCann as Enjolras, London, 2000

Hadley Fraser with Helen French as Cosette and Sophia Ragavelas as Éponine, London, 2002

Peter Lockyer with Sandra Turley as Cosette, Broadway, 2002

Eddie Redmayne, 2012 film

Rob Houchen, London, 2013

Paul Wilkins, London, 2017

“Les Misérables” complete performance: US 3rd National Tour, Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, February 7, 2000

Here’s a compilation post for the links to every part of this excellent filmed performance, with my personal thoughts on each of them.

Cast

Jean Valjean: Ivan Rutherford

Javert: Stephen Bishop

Fantine: Joan Almedilla

Thénardier: J.P. Dougherty

Mme. Thénardier: Aymee Garcia

Marius: Tim Howar

Enjolras: Kevin Earley

Éponine: Sutton Foster

Cosette: Regan Thiel

Grantaire/Bamatabois: Trent Blanton

Young Cosette: Stephanie Mieko Cohen

Gavroche: Christopher Carlson

Part 1: Prologue

Part 2: “At the End of the Day,” “I Dreamed a Dream,” “Lovely Ladies”

Part 3: “Fantine’s Arrest,” “The Runaway Cart,” “Who Am I?”

Part 4: “Fantine’s Death,” “Confrontation,” “Castle on a Cloud”

Part 5: “Master of the House,” “Well Scene,” “The Bargain/Waltz of Treachery”

Part 6: “Look Down,” “The Robbery,” “Stars,” “Éponine’s Errand”

Part 7: “The ABC Café/Red and Black,” “Do You Hear the People Sing?” “In My Life”

Part 8: “A Heart Full of Love,” “Attack on Rue Plumet,” “One Day More”

Part 9: “Upon These Stones,” “On My Own,” “The Barricade,” “Javert at the Barricade,” “Little People”

Part 10: “A Little Fall of Rain,” “Night of Anguish,” “First Attack,” “Drink With Me”

Part 11: “Bring Him Home,” “Dawn of Anguish,” “Second Attack (Death of Gavroche),” “The Final Battle,” “Dog Eats Dog”

Part 12: “The Sewers,” “Javert’s Suicide,” “Turning,” “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables,” “Every Day”

Part 13: “Valjean’s Confession,” “Wedding Chorale/Beggars at the Feast”

Part 14: Epilogue

“Attack on Rue Plumet,” London,  2005. A.J. Callaghan as Éponine, Barry James as Thénardier, Hayden Tee as Marius, Julia Möller as Cosette, Tim Godwin as Jean Valjean.

A.J.’s Éponine is excellent here. She sings with a nice strong voice and is appropriately tough and defiant, but in a way that’s truer to the novel than many stage Éponines: stolid and calmly unbending rather than desperate and aggressive. Just before Thénardier’s last threat to her, I like the way she braces her body against the gate, as if she’s worried that he’ll make a last-ditch effort to break in and is ready to defy him at all costs.

Almost 20 years after his first stint in the role, Barry’s Thénardier is still appropriately colorful and loathsome. He seems slightly less vicious than in the 2000 video with Joanna Ampil, though, or in his studio performance on the Complete Symphonic Recording. The overall violence that both he and the gang members direct toward Éponine seems to be slightly toned down compared to London performances from a few years earlier. He still shows us his dark, aggressive side, though, as he knees Brujon in the nether regions on “You shut your mouth!” and as he drags his daughter away from the gate by her hair on “Don’t interfere!”

The gang members are nicely colorful. Maybe a little bit noisy and rowdy, but not in an unfitting way. I think it’s interesting that when Montparnasse first lunges at Éponine with his knife, Brujon holds him back. I wonder, does he just want to stop his younger cohort from causing a bigger scene than Éponine is already causing, or is he actually being protective of Éponine?

Julia’s sweet-voiced, believably anxious Cosette, Tim’s Valjean with his Colm Wilkinson-like tone, and the brief snippet we hear of Hayden’s Marius effectively round out the scene.

“Who Am I?” UK Tour, 2019. Joseph Anthony as Jean Valjean.

A good, solid rendition from a slightly lightweight yet handsome voiced understudy.

“The Runaway Cart,” London, 2011. Jonathan Williams as Jean Valjean, Norm Lewis as Javert.

The ensemble work is strong, creating an excellent atmosphere of suspense, although the scene does feel slightly rushed with its post-2000 cuts.

Norm’s Javert is excellent here, subtly yet clearly conveying his sudden suspicion that Monsieur Madeleine might be Jean Valjean, and the conflict between that suspicion and both his respect for Madeleine as an authority and his belief that Valjean had already been found. His aside glance at the end after “This time there is no mistake!” belies the certainty of his words.

By the way, is it just me, or is his ponytail much longer than other Javerts’? If he were so inclined, he could sell his hair for as much money as Fantine did!

Jonathan’s Valjean is also good, seeming so calm and casual, never letting Javert know that he’s just uprooted his world.

“Empty Chairs at Empty Tables,” Fresno Grand Opera, 2014. Max Quinlan as Marius.

A handsome, powerful rendition by a Marius whose voice nicely combines the youthful lightness of most recent casting with the rich, dignified tone of the Marii of yesteryear.

“On My Own,” UK Tour, 1999. Alex Sharpe as Éponine.

A lovely, impassioned rendition by an Irish singer now best known as a sometime member of the group Celtic Woman.

“Lovely Ladies” and “Fantine’s Arrest,” London, 2014. Na-Young Jeon as Fantine, Tam Mutu as Javert, Daniel Koek as Jean Valjean, Carl Mullaney as Bamatabois.

A strong performance all-around.

Na-Young is a graceful, delicate, vulnerable Fantine, but one with inner strength as well, and with a beautiful voice. Her anger, fear and anguish are vivid throughout the scene, if not always as raw as some other actresses’, and at the moment of her turn to prostitution, I like the decisive way she gulps down the liquor and then runs forward, offering her hand to the sailor. It shows that she isn’t being coerced into this by other people, but is making a brave sacrifice for her daughter. My only real objection to her performance is that we don’t necessarily see that Fantine is sick. She does seem weak toward the end, as she collapses from the effort of scratching Bamatabois’s face, but she doesn’t cough, hold her chest in pain, or anything like that. But she’s hardly the first Fantine not to do much in that regard.

Tam’s Javert, as always, is fierce and fiery, especially as he intimidates the fleeing whores and as he forces Fantine nearly onto her back with the end of his nightstick on “Honest work, just reward...” Daniel’s Valjean is solid in his concern for Fantine and quiet sternness toward Javert.

Carl’s Bamatabois is very strong: more dandy than brute, without laying too much physical abuse on Fantine (though still enough), but in a way that works. The ensemble is excellent, with standouts including Jenny O’Leary as the hard, ruthless Old Woman who buys Fantine’s locket and Lee Dillon-Stuart the Scottish-accented Pimp. It’s a horrifying moment when he grabs Fantine after she scratches Bamatabois, apparently ready to give her a beating, only for Bamatabois to scare him away with his stick so he can give her a worse punishment himself.

Thanks to @doyouhearthefranzising for letting me know the ensemble members’ names!

Comparison: “Take my hand... To love another person is to see the face of God.”

Over an hour of Fantine, Éponine and Valjean as heavenly spirits, although the Valjeans are uncredited.

Once again, we have interesting lyric changes over the years. Originally, Fantine and Éponine sang “Take my hand and lead me to salvation.” These lyrics were sung in London and in all US productions throughout the musical’s first six years of existence – but not in Australia, where they sang “Take my hand, I’ll lead you to salvation” instead. Even though Debbie Byrne and Kaho Shimada sang “I’ll lead you” on the Complete Symphonic Recording (since Debbie was from the Australian production and Kaho recorded her part in Australia, it makes sense that they used the Australian lyrics), British and American ladies still sang “and lead me” for a while afterwards. But then in the innovative 1992 UK tour, which introduced quite a few lyric changes that later became permanent, “I’ll lead you” was finally sung on UK soil, and soon afterward the lyrics were changed on Broadway too, then in London, and then in the US tour. Ruthie Henshall and Lea Salonga in the 10th Anniversary Concert seem to have been the last Fantine and Éponine ever to sing “and lead me” in an official CamMack production. Jessica Bogart and Christina DeCiccio did sing “and lead me” in the 2008 non-replica Walnut Street Theatre production, though.

Now it’s clear why this change was made and I’m surprised it didn’t become widespread sooner. Fantine and Éponine are the ones welcoming Valjean into heaven, not the other way around. But I do remember once reading a comment from someone who preferred the original lyrics. He argued that Valjean has come spiritually further than Fantine and Éponine ever did – while they merely suffered and died for loved ones, and did it instinctively, he had the more profound experience of choosing redemption after almost falling into evil and then spent his life overcoming moral dilemmas, choosing the right path over the easy one, and learning to selflessly love all humankind. So even though Fantine and Fantine were in heaven first, this fan argued, they should look up to Valjean and beckon him to lead them. Still, that’s a deep interpretation that would probably go over most audiences’ heads, so I think it’s probably for the best that “I’ll lead you” became universal.

A later interesting change is the fact that all the productions directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell give “And remember the truth that once was spoken...” to Valjean alone. This works with the staging those productions use: the three spirits start to walk toward “heaven” (represented by a backdrop of Victor Hugo’s drawing Planet), but then Valjean stops, turns back toward Marius and Cosette, and sings “And remember...” directly to them, as an affectionate parting wish.

One small mistaken attribution: Daphne Rubin-Vega is accidentally credited as Éponine at one point, when she never played Éponine, only Fantine.

“Javert’s Suicide,” London, 2014. Tam Mutu as Javert.

A fierce, frantic, fiery portrayal of Javert’s ultimate despair by an especially fierce, frantic, fiery Javert.

So far, at least, Tam is the only Javert I’ve ever heard sing “And my thoughts fly apart...” using the same key change with which Valjean sings “Take an eye for an eye...” in his Soliloquy. I don’t know if he chose to do this to add fresh dramatic power to the music or if he couldn’t quite reach the low notes as written – that I can imagine, because his voice is slightly lighter than other Javerts’, although his tone is nicely rich and dark. But either way, the key change enhances the effect of just how wildly unhinged he is, with his shouting, growling, shuddering, and raw physicality as he jolts this way and that, collapses over the railing and desperately clutches it. His almost childlike rocking and hyperventilating through his final words are especially heartbreaking. It’s completely different from the outwardly calm, coldly decisive plunge of Hugo’s Javert, but it vividly conveys the torment that the novel’s Javert has within him and only needs not express outwardly because Hugo’s narrator voice describes it.

“Dog Eats Dog,” UK Tour, 1992. Tony Timberlake as Thénardier.

Tony Timberlake is quite a prominent veteran of the Parisian underworld within Les Mis. Besides multiple stints as Thénardier over the years, he was Babet in the 10th Anniversary Concert and Claquesous in the 25th!

In this early clip, he gives a nicely colorful, creepy rendition of Thénardier’s solo in the sewers.

Comparison: “Let us die facing our foes...” “Let others rise to take our place until the earth is free!”

In honor of Barricade Day, more than 30 minutes of Enjolras’s heroic last words.

One small mistake in the credits: Jeremy Hays’ 2010 Enjolras wasn’t in London, but in the US tour. I saw him in the role that year in LA.

Once again, we hear some interesting differences over the years. From 1985 until the early ‘90s, apart from the last line, this passage was different in London than anywhere else in the world. The original London lyrics are hard to make out, but according to @miserablesme, they were...

Enjolras

Come on, my friends, though we stand here alone,

Let us go to our deaths with our face to our foes!

Combeferre

Let ‘em pay for each death with a death of their own!

Courfeyrac

If they get me, by God, they will pay through the nose!

Apparently not until 1992 or thereabout did London adopt the familiar lyrics that were already being sung in US and Australian productions:

Enjolras

Let us die facing our foes!

Make them bleed while we can!

Combeferre

Make ‘em pay through the nose!

Courfeyrac

Make ‘em pay for every man!

The more succinct revised lyrics are definitely an improvement, although I do like the staccato sound of the originals.

As for comparing the Enjolras actors, there’s definitely been a general lightening of voices over the years, although it’s less dramatic a difference than we hear when we compare Marius voices. The days of hearing heavy, almost Javert-like baritones in the role seems to have more-or-less ended with the turn of the millennium. With this lightening of voices has come the introduction of the high B-flat on “...free!” which was apparently first heard around 1997, before which the word had always been shouted. Although interestingly, for a long time that note seems to have been exclusively a London feature, with US and Australian actors still either shouting the word or singing it on the same low note as the army officer’s “Why throw your lives away?” Only starting around 2013 and 2014 (i.e. after Aaron Tveit sang it in the 2012 movie) do we hear the occasional American Enjolras take on the high B-flat too.