Cameron Mackintosh brings his hybrid version of the world’s longest running musical Les Misérables to arenas around the world and arrives here in Glasgow with musical superstars Michael Ball (Javert) and Alfie Boe (Jean Valjean) at the helm.
Essentially a concert version of Boublil and Schonbergs’s masterpiece, staging a beloved work in such vast and expansive arenas is no mean feat. The majority of the audience in this fourteen and a half thousand capacity arena are a fair distance from the stage. While costumed, it is minimally staged with a large lighting rig and a trio of projection screens above the stage to add context and atmosphere. The huge ensemble perform either across the broad but narrow stage or on stepped platforms. The leads step front and centre to thin standing mics to deliver the biggest songs. The orchestra are placed on stage high above the action.
Where this production shines is the quality of the cast, the vocals are truly exceptional, absolutely flawless. The cast list itself is enough to get any true musical theatre fan salivating: Ball and Boe, much-lauded rising leading man Jac Yarrow as Marius, West End and Broadway royalty Jeremy Secomb, Bonnie Langford and Gavin Lee as the Bishop of Digne, and Madame and Monsieur Thenardier respectively.
Each performer is given and takes their moment to shine. The power and perfection of Ball and Boe are matched by the beautifully toned James D. Gish as the best sounding Enjolras I’ve ever heard (and I’ve heard a few, including Killian Donnelly who has now matured into sharing the role of Jean Valjean with Alfie Boe on this tour) and a fine trio of female leads in Channah Hewitt as Fantine, Beatrice Penny-Touré as Cosette and Emily Bautista as Eponine. Each and every song, be it from lead or ensemble, brings the house down. The entirety of this vast, vast auditorium are on their feet in a wave of cheers and applause at the end.
While some of the interactions between characters is a little lost in the staging (necessary within the limitations of an arena) fans will be delighted to know that Les Misérables never fails to pack an emotional punch. You would be hard-hearted indeed not to be moved by the sheer perfection of the singing if not Victor Hugo’s story of love, loss and redemption.
It will be a long time before we see and hear a cast as talented as this gathered on one stage together again. Truly spectacular.