Say, Do You Hear the Distant Drums?

“Epilogue” and curtain calls, US 2nd National Tour, Los Angeles, 1989. Jordan Bennett as Jean Valjean, Elinore O’Connell as Fantine, Karen Fineman as Cosette, Peter Gantenbein as Marius, Michelle Nicastro as Eponine.

Now here’s a rare gem! A high quality video from the 2nd National Tour at the Shubert Theatre in LA, 1989!

Jordan Bennett (i.e. the Complete Symphonic Recording’s Courfeyrac and Montparnasse) is a very touching Valjean. I don’t think I’ve ever heard another stage actor sound so much like a dying man in this scene. That feeble voice, those little cracks, small gasps for breath and notes that trail away into breathlessness... so poignant. It’s interesting that he doesn’t turn to look at Fantine when she appears; maybe it conveys that though he can hear her, he’s still of a different world than she is and can’t fully communicate with her yet, or maybe it shows that he’s so weak he can barely move. But when Cosette arrives, he regains just a little bit of life, and is overwhelmed with feeble joy. His sniff between “Now you are here...” and “...again beside me” sounds as if he’s crying real tears.

Karen’s Cosette is heartbreaking too. She seems truly worried on “Papa, Papa, I do not understand...”, then desperate on “You will live, Papa, you’re going to live!” and distraught after Valjean dies. Even at the point when most Cosettes finish crying and start to read Valjean’s confession, she only takes one look at it, then presses it to her heart and cries against Marius’s chest for a while longer before she can bring herself to read it.

The caressing, slightly Patti LuPone-like tones of Elinore’s Fantine and the warmth and urgency of Peter’s Marius enhance the scene further still.

Last but not least, we have a brief yet precious glimpse of the late Michelle Nicastro as Éponine. She looks so beautiful and provides sweet harmony with Fantine and Valjean.

Another interesting difference between this performance and most others I’ve seen is that Valjean doesn’t go limp after “...then gave you to my keeping,” but is still visibly alive through Fantine’s lines, stroking Cosette’s hair as she weeps. Thus the moment when he rises from his chair becomes the moment of his death itself, and as Fantine leads him away, poor Cosette reaches after him before turning to Marius’s comforting arms. This makes the moment less realistic and more stylized than I’m used to seeing it, both because Valjean’s physical death is never shown and because Cosette seems to actually see his spirit leaving. But the scene is inherently stylized, since the spirits of the dead are visible in the first place, so it works.

I just wish other clips from this performance would surface. I’d so love to see them!

“In My Life,” US 2nd National Tour, Los Angeles, 1988. Karen Fineman as Cosette, William Solo as Jean Valjean, Reece Holland as Marius, Michelle Nicastro as Éponine.

I have mixed feelings about Karen’s Cosette. He voice is pure, sweet, and effortless on the high notes, but also a little bit fluttery in the Tracy Shayne mold (although less so), and she has a strange habit of over-enunciating her voiced consonants. “In my llllife, I’m no longer allllone, now the love in my life is so nnnnear!” I think she’s good, but a bit of an acquired taste.

I feel much the same about William’s Valjean with his slightly odd, vaguely but not entirely Colm Wilkinson-like voice. He’s definitely grown on me since the first time I heard him, though.

Reece’s Marius sounds fantastic, as always. I wish the role were still cast more often with rich, robust, elegant voices like his. Michelle’s Éponine is good too, also as usual, though she sounds more like Frances Ruffelle here than in some other scenes.

Overall, well done.

“Attack on Rue Plumet,” US 2nd National Tour, Los Angeles, 1988. Michelle Nicastro as Éponine, Gary Beach as Thénardier, Reece Holland as Marius, William Solo as Jean Valjean, Karen Fineman as Cosette.

A clip featuring two very talented performers who are no longer with us. I knew Michelle Nicastro passed away in 2010, but I only just learned today that Gary Beach passed away in 2018. Listening to “Be Our Guest” on the Beauty and the Beast OBC album will be bittersweet now.

I love how agitated Michelle sounds from the beginning. She’s distinctly disturbed to see Montparnasse, not just surprised; knowing her relationship with him in the book, she probably dreads the possibility of him seeing Marius or vice-versa. Then she sounds truly panicked at the thought of the gang attacking while Marius is there, then truly fierce as she defends the house. Her scream is good too – I assume it’s her own since this is an American tour, unlike the London production which has mostly used Linzi Hateley’s prerecorded scream since 1988.

Even though Gary was usually a broad comedian, he does a good job being vicious and scary here. He certainly doesn’t sound Lumiére-like when he’s bellowing at the gang to run for it!

Reece, Karen and William all sound excellent too. One thing I really appreciate about this production, and probably most early productions, is how well the voices illustrate the characters’ class distinctions. Marius and Cosette’s voices are more refined and classical-sounding, while Thénardier and the gang’s rugged character voices and Éponine’s brassy pop singer’s belt emphasize their lower status. (That very quality to Michelle’s voice is why Liz Calloway sang for her in The Swan Princess – the execs decided her singing wasn’t “princess-like” enough.) Meanwhile, Valjean has the kind of voice that’s capable both of rugged rock belting and of classical sweetness. I don’t mean to sound like a crotchety old person, but more recent performances lose something worthwhile when they cast more popish voices all around.

“One Day More,” US 2nd National Tour, Los Angeles, 1988. William Solo as Jean Valjean, Reece Holland as Marius, Karen Fineman as Cosette, Michelle Nicastro as Éponine, Raymond Saar as Enjolras, Jeff McCarthy as Javert, Gary Beach as Thénardier and Kay Cole as Mme. Thénardier.

... a.k.a. Les Mis: ‘90s kids nostalgia edition. Michigan J. Frog as Javert, Princess Odette as Éponine, the March Hare as Marius, stage-Lumiére as Thénardier, and possibly Fievel Mousekewitz as Gavroche, though I don’t know if Philip Glasser was on at this performance or not.

It’s especially nice to hear Reece Holland’s real voice: so gorgeous, deep, and completely different from the high, nasal voice he affected in Adventures in Wonderland!

They all sound magnificent. I only wish I hadn’t been born too late to see this production!