Mr. Y and I caught the last part of Les Miserables' 25th Anniversary Concert Special at the O2 Arena in London. It featured Alfie Boe as Jean Valjean, Norm Lewis as Javert, Lea Salonga as Fantine, Nick Jonas as Marius, Katie Hall as Cosette, Jenny Galloway as Madame Thénardier, Ramin Karimloo as Enjolras, Samantha Barks as Éponine, Matt Lucas as Thénardier, Mia Jenkins as Young Cosette, Robert Madge as Gavroche and Earl Carpenter as Bishop of Digne.
I am a big Lea Salonga fan and have seen her twice - once in Miss Saigon and once in Flower Drum Song. She had also played
Éponine, but in this concert she plays Fantine. It's disconcerting to realize that she is old enough to play Fantine, because I still remember her as the young Kim in Miss Saigon. But she is now 41 years old, so she is clearly more of a mom than the young urchin.
Nick Jonas was a revelation. I never followed the Jonas Brothers, and I didn't realize he can sing like that. Apparently he was in musical theatre when he was younger and played Marius at the West End between Jonas Brothers gigs. I knew he was basically the frontman and musical genius behind the Jonas Brothers, but this is the first time I truly heard his voice.
The one who is about to break out as a star is Samantha Barks. She plays
Éponine in the concert, and she has been cast as
Éponine in the big screen version of Les Miserables the musical (as opposed to the movie version of the book), beating out Taylor Swift, Lea Michele, and Scarlett Johanssen. The big screen version will star Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, Russell Crowe as Javert, Anne Hathaway as Fantine, Eddie Redmayne as Marius, Amanda Seyfried as Cosette, and Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter as the Thénardiers. Samantha is hugely talented, so she should be able to hold her own among these amazing actors.
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