Les Miserables
25th Anniversary Concert vs. West End Stage Show
The Actors
A selection of a few actors/characters that caught my attention. **Edit: May 5th 2013**I have added the names of the actors I saw in my second Les Mis jaunt**
Valjean: Alfie Boe=Geronimo Rauch
Frankly, I'm not a huge Valjean. I find the character quite dry and predictable. Both had strong voices, and I liked them both for different reasons. I though Geronimo's acting was better, but his accent at the beginning got on my nerves.
Javert: Norm Lewis<Tam Mutu
Tam Mutu is epic. Norm Lewis made me want Javert to get off the stage, fast. He didn't put any feeling into the songs; he was just standing there singing. It was boring. Tam, on the other hand, made me pity Javert. Tam's Javert's Suicide rendered me speechless and brought me to tears. I don't think any other Javert will be able to match Tam's amazing performance.
Fantine: Lea Salonga<Sierra Boggess<Celinde Schoenmaker
In this case, I'm a little biased. I absolutely adore Sierra Boggess; she is such a versatile actress/singer, and her performances are emotionally excellent; they don't feel like an act. I found Lea's Fantine to be a little too glowery for my liking; all she did was look upset. I think Lea's voice was better for Fantine; Sierra struggled a little with the low notes. But I much preferred Sierra's overall portrayal of Fantine. Plus her voice is just divine.
Enjolras: Ramin Karimloo>Liam Tamne<Samuel Edwards
This was another case where I am a little biased. Ramin is epic. Liam bored me. There was no fire, no passion. Nothing about Liam's Enjolras inspired rebellion. In my mind, Enjolras has to make you want to follow him, even if you're in the audience. I didn't get that with Liam. Ramin, on the other hand, I would have done anything for his Enjolras.
Eponine: Samantha Barks=Helen Owen<Sarah O'Connor
I thought no one could even come close to Samantha's Eponine. So I walked into the show pitying Helen Owen. Boy was I wrong. There are days when I remember Samantha's performance and like her better, and days when I remember Helen's and prefer her. But they're both absolutely phenomenal actresses and singers (I would love for someone to explain to me why Helen is only the understudy), and I adore both of their performances.
Cosette: Katie Hall=Samantha Dorsey
This is another tough one. Cosette is a difficult character to bring some dimension to, and it's even harder when you have to stand in front of a microphone and can't move around a lot. So I found Katie's Cosette extremely dry and uninteresting, although she clearly tried very hard to make her more interesting. I would've loved to her on stage, as opposed to a concert. Samantha, on the other hand, brought a little more dimension to Cosette, which I loved, but her voice was somewhat weak. She hit every not, but there was no strength or confidence behind it. I couldn't even hear her during the end of One Day More. So, I prefer Katie's voice, but Samantha's performance.
Marius: Nick Jonas<Craig Mather>Jamie Ward
This is an easy one. Nick Jonas, while he did a good job, was in over his head. Surrounded by such amazing voices, his seemed quite weak. He also did nothing to make me like Marius. I kept hoping Marius would die at the barricade. Craig Mather, on the other hand, was astounding. I absolutely bawled during A Little Fall of Rain, and I was even tearing up during Empty Chairs. He made me like and care about Marius (although I'll never forgive him for picking Cosette).
Bishop of Digne: Earl Carpenter>Adam Linstead
Adam Linstead had an awful wig on. He also played Grantaire in the very same performance. Enough said.
Young Cosette: Mia Jenkins<Isabelle Allen=Samantha or Sarah Something
This was tough; neither of them really had noteworthy voices. Both were nice, but nothing special. What made me prefer Isabelle was the acting. Isabelle acted, and reacted. Mia just kind of stood there looking either scared or nervous... not sure which. Both were cute as a button though!
The Performance
Costumes: The costumes were pretty much the same in both shows. The only thing I feel the need to mention about the 25AC is Eponine's lack of blood during A Little Fall of Rain. It, along with Nick Jonas' bad acting, kind of ruined the song. Also, Fantine was dark haired (I prefer a blonde Fantine and Cosette), and in the stage show, Cosette was dark haired. Not my favourite; I like them both to be blonde. I also like Cosette and Eponine to have contrasting hair colours. I though Eponine had way too much 'pretty' makeup on in the Concert, and I wish they'd somehow whitened Valjean's hair in the Concert as well. There was no illusion of aging at all.
Set: Obviously, the stage show was better. I did like the way the actors came on and off the stage in the Concert though. But the stage show was just amazing. The set actually extended into the audience a bit, which was awesome. The rotating stage was just epic - it was amazing. No words to describe that fantastic set.
These are my impressions, and obviously, not everyone will agree. But enjoy the read anyway :)
