Hey everyone! On June 6, 2013, I saw the nation tour of Les Miserables in Sacramento! Oh. My. God. This show was absolutely terrific! I am so glad that I saw it! I loved every second of it! I'm going to review specific actors/actresses from the show, then point out my favorite parts from the show, like always.
Peter Lockyer played Jean Valjean and his performance was unbelievable! His "Soliloquy" was so emotional and you can see how at the beginning of the song, he was very weak and broken down and in the end, he was independent and strong again. His voice was really great and his acting was outstanding. I think his acting vocally really sold this part for me. He also physically looked the part. Of course he sang "Who Am I?" with so much power and clarity. It sent chills down my spine. And lastly, his "Bring Him Home" was so beautiful. Peter was crying the entire time he was singing the saw which added so much more raw emotion to a beautifully written song.
Andrew Varela played Javert. He was REALLY good. Of course, my favorite Javert will always be Norm Lewis, but Andrew comes in a quick 2nd place for me. A lot of the Javert's play the part very slyly and cunning, but Andrew played him very tough and "soldiery" like he had been raised in the military all of his life. His diction was very clear and powerful and his "Stars" was just absolutely brilliant.
Genevieve Leclerc was Fantine. BEST FANTINE EVER! She tops Lea Salonga (who I LOVE) and Patti LuPone and every other Fantine. Her "I Dream the Dream" was so beautiful. It send chills down my spine and made me cry, and it is very hard to make me cry during a show, so kudos to her!
Julie Benko was Cosette. Now Cosette isn't a particularly interesting character, but she made this character interesting and very loveable. Her voice was so beautiful, as was she. When she sang, it sounded like a little bird. Her voice just floated effortlessly and it was so beautiful.
Briana Carlson-Goodman played Eponine. PHENOMENAL! Perfection! Her voice was so powerful and amazing and her acting was outstanding. "On My Own" was just beautiful and perfect and hands down brilliant. Devin Ilaw was Marius and he was sooooo good! His voice was the best I have ever heard from a Marius before! "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" was so heart breaking and sounded perfect! His performance was very young and high energy! Loved it!
Now we got the highlight of Les Mis, the Thenardier's. Timothy Gulan and Shawna M. Hamic were absolutely hilarious in these roles! Timothy Gulan was very shady and sly in his portrayal. Shawna M. Hamic was very comedic and stole the show whenever she was onstage! These two were terrific!
The ensemble was great and so were the children! The sets were amazing and the costumes were beautiful! The orchestra was in really great shape and sounded outstanding! This show is definitely in good hands! My favorite part was definitely "One Day More". That song is just so fantastic and powerful and when they held the last notes of the song, I got chills like I had never gotten from a musical theatre number before!
There were quite a few major mistakes. During "Castle on a Cloud", Young Cosette's microphone broke so it was not picking up her voice. But I could still hear her alllll the way in the second balcony so kudos to Ava Della Pietra! And then...after "On My Own", the barricade comes out, and is just there, onstage, for like 20 seconds, with no actors on it, as we are all sitting there in silence. Then we hear "Due to technical difficulties, we will be taking a short break" literally 5 minutes after intermission ended. But hey, that's live theatre! The show was phenomenal! Go see it if it comes near you! :D
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