Say, Do You Hear the Distant Drums?

I've been doing another watch-through of Disney's Adventures in Wonderland, in which Reece Holland (Marius in the 1988 2nd National Tour of Les Mis and Joly on the Complete Symphonic Recording) played the March Hare.

Once again, it's been giving me funny thoughts about Holland in those roles.

Just imagine if he had played Marius as the March Hare! Granted, both characters are adorkable, but... in slightly different ways.

That achingly beautiful photo that shows his Marius weeping into Enjolras's lap after Éponine's death also loses some of its sad poignancy when I think of the small handful of times the Hare cries in AIW. I feel tempted to imagine this Marius breaking the somber mood by pulling out a garishly bright-colored hanky and blowing his nose loudly and inelegantly, as the Hare would do.

And because he played Joly on the CSR, I'm tempted to take some Hare and Hatter quotes from the show now and post them as Incorrect Quotes for Joly and Bossuet.

@hathousehappenings @spikrock

Once again, the three classic production photos of Enjolras comforting a crying Marius after Éponine's death.

Because every now and then, they need to be shared.

*John Herrera and Hugh Panaro (US 1st National Tour, 1987)

*Greg Blanchard and Reece Holland (US 2nd National Tour, 1988)

*Jason McCann and Niklas Andersson (London, 2000)

“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.

“Wedding Chorale” and “Beggars at the Feast,” US 2nd National Tour, 1988. Gary Beach as Thénardier, Kay Cole as Mme. Thénardier, Reece Holland as Marius.

Lumiere blackmails the March Hare out of 500 francs.

An excellent performance which, judging by the audience’s laughter, must have been hilarious to see live.

“Valjean’s Confession,” US 2nd National Tour, Los Angeles, 1988. William Solo as Jean Valjean, Reece Holland as Marius.

William’s Valjean has definitely grown on me since the first time I heard him. His voice is slightly in the Colm Wilkinson mold, but distinctly different from Colm too, and very interesting, pleasant and well-suited to the role in its own right.

Reece’s Marius is always excellent.

Their performance of this scene is emotionally understated compared to a few others I’ve heard, but still just fine.

“A Little Fall of Rain,” US 2nd National Tour, Los Angeles, 1988. Michelle Nicastro as Éponine, Reece Holland as Marius, Raymond Saar as Enjolras.

RIP Michelle Nicastro. It’s not easy to listen to a death scene when the actress playing the dying character isn’t with us anymore in real life.

Note the Amis cheering at the beginning when they think Éponine has made it safely over the barricade. Based on the bootlegs I’ve listened to, they seem to have done this fairly often in the show’s early productions. But the only time I’ve ever seen it done onstage was in a high school production directed by an ex-member of this very production’s ensemble. I wonder why it was dropped?

Michelle and Reece give an excellent performance. Michelle sounds quite a bit like Frances Ruffelle here, but she never becomes a mere imitator: she makes the song her own and does more than Frances did to convey Éponine’s physical pain and frail condition through her voice, yet never at the expense of the song’s beauty. Meanwhile, Reece’s warm, rich voice compliments her well. Not to sound like a broken record, but the contrast between his more classical voice and Michelle’s more popish sound beautifully illustrates the class divide that dooms Éponine’s love to be unrequited.

Since this was 1988, the instrumental melody as Éponine’s body is carried away is “Drink With Me,” just as it is on the Complete Symphonic Recording. I think it was in the early ‘90s that this was replaced with more of “A Little Fall of Rain.” I might like to discuss that change in one of my analyses someday.

“Drink With Me,” US 2nd National Tour, Los Angeles, 1988. Raymond Saar as Enjolras, Kenny D’Aquila (?) as Grantaire, Reece Holland as Marius.

Grantaire is uncredited, but Kenny D’Aquila was the regular Grantaire in this production, and I’m fairly sure I recognize his voice from the CSR.

At any rate, this is a lovely performance. No histrionics from Grantaire or from his friends reacting to him. Just a quiet, poignant rendition of the song.

“The Robbery,” US 2nd National Tour, Los Angeles, 1988. Gary Beach as Thénardier, Kay Cole as Mme. Thénardier, Reece Holland as Marius, Michelle Nicastro as Éponine, William Solo as Jean Valjean, Jeff McCarthy as Javert.

The sound briefly cuts out as Thénardier is luring Valjean over to him, but only for a moment.

Gary’s Thénardier is his usual colorful self, both as the gruff street criminal and in his simpering obsequiousness on “In the absence of a victim...” Kay’s Mme. T. sounds appropriately mean.

Michelle’s Éponine continues to make a great impression too. She sounds appropriately sassy when teasing Marius, then nicely tough when ordering him to stay out of the robbery (she gives lie to the claim Lea Salonga fans sometimes make that no one played Éponine as strong or feisty until Lea did), and her “It’s Javeeeeeert!” is truly impressive. Reece’s Marius also sounds good, as usual.

Notice the thump after Marius sings “I like the way you always tease.” Presumably that’s Éponine knocking the books she just gave back to him out of his hands and onto the ground the moment he lets his guard down. I wonder why so few Éponines do that anymore? From what I gather, it was standard business for ‘80s and ‘90s Éponines, but seems to have been phased out in the 2000s. Maybe they decided it was too brash and aggressive... but this is the Thénardiers’ daughter we’re talking about! To me it seems fitting for the bold, cheeky facade she presents, in contrast to the romantic young girl underneath.

I like that we hear Karen Fineman’s Cosette scream when Thénardier shouts her name and (presumably) Montparnasse grabs her. It’s good to hear her be a living presence even when she has no lines.

Jeff’s Javert sounds as fierce and driven as ever. Just from the few clips I’ve heard, I think he was definitely one of the more aggressive, obsessive Javerts, as opposed to the more stolid variety.

“The ABC Café”/“Red and Black,” US 2nd National Tour, Los Angeles, 1988. Raymond Saar as Enjolras, Reece Holland as Marius, Kenny d’Aquila (?) as Grantaire.

Parts of this recording sound uncannily like the Complete Symphonic Recording, just minus Anthony Warlow and Michael Ball. Of course this is because the CSR’s barricade boys all came from this production. This is why even though the Grantaire is uncredited, I’m 99.9% positive it’s Kenny d’Aquila. His raspy, wild, annoying yet endearing drunk voice is hard to mistake.

I’m not entirely sure what to make of Raymond’s Enjolras, but I think I like him. His voice is clear, youthful and handsome; maybe a little light and not as powerful as some, but certainly not weak either. Judging by the way he growls some of his lines, he sounds like a bit of a G.I. Jolras (not surprisingly, since Michael Maguire’s portrayal would still have been so fresh in everyone’s minds), but not a Hunjolras, thank goodness.

I still love Reece’s Marius. Such a warm, passionate voice.

I notice that we don’t hear the Amis chiming in “Yes! That’s right!” etc., the way we usually do nowadays when Enjolras sings “...but now there is a higher call.” Was that one of the changes in direction that came with the show’s 1997 10th Anniversary overhaul?

This is also the first time I’ve ever heard Gavroche’s “LISTEN!!!!” get a laugh from the audience. The boy (Philip Glasser?) must have humorously played up Gavroche’s struggling to be heard and finally losing patience and shrieking.

“Look Down,’ US 2nd National Tour, Los Angeles, 1988. Raymond Saar as Enjolras, Reece Holland as Marius, unknown Gavroche.

I’m so happy we have recordings of this productions. It’s one of the casts I most wish I could have seen, but I was just a baby.

The Gavroche is uncredited, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s Philip Glasser, i.e. the voice of Fievel in the first two American Tail movies and Gus in A Troll in Central Park. I’ve probably mentioned a hundred times that he was one of this production’s Gavroches and this boy sounds a lot like him. His voice is on the high and squeaky side, which might be a turnoff for anyone who loathes “cute” Gavroches, but he has plenty of feisty attitude to compensate.

Raymond Saar’s first impression as Enjolras isn’t quite a powerhouse one, but he still has a nice, bright, clarion voice and conveys good ferocity on “...cut the fat ones down to size.” Reece Holland’s Marius sounds excellent, as in all the audio I’ve heard of him.

The ensemble sounds fantastic too. So vivid and alive.

“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.

“Empty Chairs at Empty Tables,” US 2nd National Tour, Los Angeles, 1988. Reece Holland as Marius.

Beautiful.

I never would have guessed that he was the March Hare from the Disney Channel’s Adventures in Wonderland. But I won’t go into that because I’ve talked enough about it before.

I love the way he belts “Oh, my friends, my friends, don’t ask me...” with full power, rage and anguish, but then melts into softer, gentler despair on “...what your sacrifice was for.” That’s a poignant interpretation I’ve never heard before.

I wish Marius were more often cast today with a voice like this: warm, rich, lyrical, youthful yet masculine, and not thin or popish. I remember that interview with Rebecca Caine where she talked about the difference in how Marius (and Cosette, and Christine Daaé) used to be cast in the ‘80s and early ‘90s vs. how they tend to be cast now, with vocal richness and color jettisoned in favor of lightness and youthfulness. While of course those boyish voices have their own effectiveness in the role, more robust tones like Reece’s or Michael Ball’s feel better suited to the passion and Romantic character of the music. Besides, when Marius, Cosette, Enjolras, et al, have more classical sounding voices, while Valjean’s voice has more of a rugged rocker’s edge like Colm Wilkinson’s, Éponine has more of a pop singer’s belt, etc., their voices help to portray the class distinctions between them.

“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!

Rewatching old episodes of the Disney Channel’s “Adventures in Wonderland” on YouTube... it takes me straight back to being six years old...

I still can’t believe the March Hare is Reece Holland, a.k.a. Marius in the 2nd National Tour of Les Mis and Joly on the CSR!

Of all the notable past productions of Les Mis, the one I most wish I could go back in time to see is the 2nd National Tour's premiere in 1988, at the Shubert Theatre in LA. If I could only go back in time once, and had to choose between seeing the original London cast and seeing that first LA cast, I'd pick the LA cast.

Why?

Because their Javert was his voice actor...

... their Éponine was her voice actress...

... one of their Gavroches was his voice actor...

...and this was their Marius!

Has any other Les Mis cast been so populated with figures from a ’90s kid’s childhood?