“One Day More,” Broadway, 2006. Alexander Gemignani as Jean Valjean, Adam Jacobs as Marius, Ali Ewoldt as Cosette, Celia Keenan-Bolger as Éponine, Aaron Lazar as Enjolras, Norm Lewis as Javert, Gary Beach as Thénardier, Jenny Galloway as Mme. Thénardier.

Because tonight (June 4) is when this song would have been sung.

The first Broadway revival of 2006 (just three years after the original Broadway production closed!) was controversial in its day, namely for certain casting choices, certain small changes to the classic staging and costumes, and especially for its new orchestrations. But I managed to see the production multiple times and I loved every performance. Revisiting it now through these videos, I think my love was fully justified.

This is a good, strong cast, well-directed by the original London co-director John Caird, and they deliver an excellent performance of this epic Act I finale.

I especially like the business given to Éponine in this staging. It’s made clear, much clearer than in most productions, that she’s the one who convinces Marius to fight at the barricade instead of following Cosette to England: he delivers “Do I follow where she goes?” to her rather than to himself, and in response, she looks him in the eye and holds out her hand, and after a moment’s inner struggle he takes it and lets her lead him to his friends. I don’t know if Celia viewed her Éponine as wanting Marius to die with her at the barricade or just as wanting to stop him from leaving, but either way, it’s an effective shout-out to what she does in the novel. I also like the fact that as Marius sings “My place is here! I fight with you!” with his hand on Enjolras’s shoulder, Éponine silently echoes the sentiment with her own hand on Marius’s shoulder.

Every Broadway Cosette, 1987-present

My last post for Cosette Appreciation Week: photos of every actress (minus understudies) to have played Cosette on Broadway, in chronological order.

Original Broadway Production (1987-2003)

Judy Kuhn

Tracy Shayne

Jacquline Piro

Melissa Anne Davis

Jennifer Lee Andrews

Jodie Langel (sorry, no photo of her in the role)

Tamra Hayden

Kate Fisher

Chisteena Michelle Riggs

Tobi Foster

Sandra Turley

Stephanie Waters (sorry, no photo of her from Broadway, only this one from a regional production)

1st Broadway Revival (2006-2008)

Ali Ewoldt

Leah Horowitz

2nd Broadway Revival (2014-2016)

Samantha Hill

Alex Finke

“Valjean’s Confession,” Broadway, February, 2007. Alexander Gemignani as Jean Valjean, Adam Jacobs as Marius, Ali Ewoldt as Cosette.

I remember that at the time of this production, on the Les Mis message boards I followed, one prominent fan criticized Alexander’s Valjean for being too “weepy” in this scene. She preferred Drew Sarich, who played it more gruffly, as if he were fighting hard to hide his emotion. But I also remember that when I saw this cast onstage, at the end of this scene, the woman sitting next to me broke down in open sobs.

Alexander makes is clear what a struggle it is for Valjean to reveal his past to Marius, and after the confession, he seems truly, utterly broken at the thought of leaving Cosette forever. The way he chokes up on “Tell her my heart was too full for farewells” reveals the truth of those words. I understand why some other Valjeans wear a more stoic mask, so as not to get unwanted pity from Marius. But Alexander’s Valjean was always a more emotional, less hardened portrayal. This isn’t out of character for him. It’s not untrue to the book either. Lest we forget, Hugo’s Valjean is very openly emotional in this scene: he gives long, passionate speeches of self-condemnation and fear for the future, and then cries and mutters that he wishes he could die.

My only personal quibble is that at the beginning, when he stumbles and grabs the table for support, it looks a little awkward. It could have been an effective hint at Valjean’s declining health, but he does it, then bounces back from it, a bit too fast and energetically. But I suppose this is a natural pitfall for a 27-year-old actor playing an elderly man.

Adam does a fine job as Marius too. I especially like his reaction to “How could he tell Cosette and break her heart?” when he realizes that Valjean isn’t telling the somehow-relevant life story of a stranger, but is talking about himself.

Ali Ewoldt as Cosette, Marissa McGowan as understudy for Éponine, 2006-07 Broadway revival.

I love this photo, not only because they’re both adorable, but because we have a dark-haired, dark-eyed, dark-complexioned Filipino Cosette paired with a light-skinned, strawberry blonde-haired, blue-eyed Éponine. Yay for subverting color stereotypes!

The last love triangle trio of the US 3rd National Tour, 2006. Ali Ewoldt (Cosette), Dan Bogart (Marius) and Melissa Lyons (Éponine).

The 2007 Broadway cast was the first and possibly only cast outside of the Philippines to feature three Filipino or part-Filipino performers in lead roles.

Lea Salonga (Fantine, shown here in her Act II barricade boy costume), Adam Jacobs (Marius) and Ali Ewoldt (Cosette).

“A Heart Full of Love,” Broadway, August, 2007. Adam Jacobs as Marius, Ali Ewoldt as Cosette, Megan McGinnis as Éponine.

This was the first Nunn/Caird “replica” production to give Cosette a different dress than the classic black one, in this case a white dress trimmed with black lace. She only wore it in this one scene. It’s a pretty dress, and I think it has more distinctive character than either of the two alternate Cosette dresses from the London production, Zoë Doano’s mint one or Amara Okereke’s silver-gray one. I prefer the basic aesthetic of Amara’s gray dress, though, and costuming the ingénue in white is a cliché.

Speaking of costume changes, this staging also has the unique touch of having Marius put his jacket around Éponine before he climbs the gate. This is a nice touch in several ways, I think. It gives Marius some added kindness to Éponine, wanting to keep her warm while she stands guard outside; it adds some fresh poignancy to her subsequent lines as she cradles the jacket while pining for its owner; and it lets Marius look less stiff during the love scene.

Adam’s Marius and Ali’s Cosette are absolutely adorable. How could anyone not root for these two to be happy together? The beginning is hilarious, with Adam trying to play the dashing lover but making a fool of himself (socially awkward Marius is the best Marius). I just adore “Do I dream?” “I’m awake!” too, with both reaching out to each other but not daring to touch, until finally Cosette gains courage and grabs Marius’s hand, and then they melt into each other’s arms (not just holding hands, but a real embrace!). We can really believe that these are two innocent virgins who have no idea what they’re doing, but as Hugo would say, “love all the more passionately because they love ignorantly.”

Megan’s Éponine is sweet and sad, but this moment really belongs to Adam and Ali.

“One Day More,” Broadway, August, 2007. Drew Sarich as Jean Valjean, Adam Jacobs as Marius, Ali Ewoldt as Cosette, Megan McGinnis as Éponine, Max von Essen as Enjolras, Robert Hunt as Javert, Chip Zien as Thénardier, Becca Ayers as Mme. Thénardier.

I vividly remember seeing this cast. Excellent performances all around.

By the way, this is why Marius is without his jacket at the beginning and Éponine helps him put it back on: At the end of “In My Life,” just before climbing the garden gate, Marius took off his jacket and put it around Éponine’s shoulders to keep her warm while she stood guard outside. She then affectionately cradled it as she sang her interjections in “A Heart Full of Love.” As far as I know, that staging detail was unique to this 2006-07 production.