#also saw the understudy for eponine and LOVED HER SO MUCH

[granhairdo]

when i saw les mis us this year i saw the understudy for montparnasse and thought he was really good but now that im gonna see it again im hoping we get the og dude so i can see his portrayal as well

[valjeans]

Best combined cast tour v west end? P.s all hail Chris Jacobsen

ooooh ok i think i maybe did this a while ago but will go again, and maybe mention covers to a bit:

valjean - look. im finally gonna just say it. at the moment i think jon is better than dean. dean’s voice just hasn’t been the same since lockdown and even though his acting is still great, jon has really grown into the role and his portrayal is great!

and on valjean understudies chris jacobsen is absolutely wasted as SECOND cover and should have got principle a few years after his enjolras run instead of this.

javert - bradley is genuinely now one of the all times faves. nic continues to massively disappoint, he’s had essentially just as long as bradley in the role and he still manages to give the most wooden and boring performance ever.

honestly atm i have no real strong feelings on the understudy javerts. richard has really gone down hill recently and i’ve only see a boot of jordan.

fantine - going to cheat and say katie hall here lol cause i dislike both rachelle and chanice’s performances.

as for understudies i absolutely adore kathy and jess in the west end cast!

marius - HARRY APPS MY BELOVED MARIUS. his acting is just perfect, i am obsessed with his heart full of love cause his marius is such an awkward freak. his empty chairs is also fucking heartbreaking. will is fine but he’s nowhere near harry’s level.

enjolras - hate to say it but sam wyn morris is absolutely fantastic as enjolras. jordan is very talented but badly miscast in the role.

for understudies i have to say im more a fan of harry from the tour than leo who looks like character from a tim burton movie.

cosette - honestly no real feelings. neither of them are proper sopranos who can hit the highest notes. paige is better acting wise though. at least there’s that.

eponine - ok but i love natty and sha SO MUCH. and i refuse to choose between them…maybe sha just cause i’ve seen her more and really look forward to it!

shout out to jessie in the west end who is also fantastic in the role!

thenardier - ian. always. gerard has regained a bit of his former energy recently but he still doesn’t match up. ian’s thenardier has a sinister side too and he doesn’t do the fucking quiche line which is a bonus!

also honourable mention to mark pearce. i saw the first preview of the restaged version and nobody really remembered but he had to go on as thenardier with four hours notice having never played or rehearsed the part. and another honourable mention to dean read the tour cover cause i think he’s fit x

madame thenardier - lol i seriously dislike josefina’s madame t so absolutely always helen.

no real feelings on the covers. do quite like kelly though and always love catching her instead of josefina.

grantaire - it is my belief that grantaire should be a weird little gremlin man and not a pretentious little indie boy and so connor jones is my preference here. he’s hilarious and always does something unexpected in the abc cafe. but his barricade acting his heartbreaking.

the bishop - feel like pure shit just want earl carpenter back xxx

[drinkwithmoi]

i saw the staged concert a couple nights ago and my chest felt like it would explode from the amount of emotions rocketing around in there so here's just a couple of my thoughts/notes:

carrie hope fletcher's performance as fantine was unbelievable!!! she had such a quiet strength and power to her every move, the emotion was so THERE

apparently the spit coming from javert literally sprays the people in the first couple rows and that is so so so funny to me oh my god

i have never found the thénardiers funny unfortunately but this time i actually found myself laughing out loud at matt lucas . he was insanely funny and i loved his energy

idk man maybe this is an unpopular opinion but i found lily's cossette to b kinda..... dry? idk how to explain it but i didn't feel anything or see much emotion in her performance but i hate being too critical i love her regardless

bradley jaden's enj could not get a smile off his face and it was the most passionate adorable portrayal ive seen omg i want to die w him in the barricade but also just give him a high five u know

during the "don't let the wine go to your brains" everyone pointed/looked at/called out grantaire and i laughed. so hard

it was my first time seeing raymond's grantaire cus an understudy was on when i saw les mis at the queens roughly a year ago and DAMN I LOVE HIM

his irish accent...... it was so strong and i loved it

his solo during drink w me was everything that i could have possibly wanted

i loved how fed up he constantly seemed to b w enjolras, rather than the other way around

grantaire holding gavroche in his arms . so . damn . cute .

when eponine's hat fell off i KNOW IT WASNT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN but they dealt w it so smoothly n tbh ,, not to b dramatic but the way marius held it in his hands was so sweet and sincere and sentimental i wanted to cry i almost wish it happened like that every time

the (1) tear streak down marius' face..... that hurt like a mothertrucker

i thought the staging was so clever and awesome i loved how they did it

in general i was just so absorbed and entranced by every little detail i'm so in love with this show and this wonderful cast of talented creative people i'm so sad to know it's over but i'm glad i got the chance to see it

ps. if anyone knows where i can watch it online, please link me up i'd love to rewatch it!

pps. my sister was in the orchestra and you could see her curly hair very occasionally but it made my heart burst seeing her a part of something that's so special to me hehe

the end

[boopliette]

Heeey, what's your opinion of the current London les mis cast?

i love them! 

(thank you @gelphieandfluff for the gif!)

the current west end is probably my favourite cast of les mis like ever and a lot of the performers in it are my favourite versions of that character (ill list a few under the cut, because this is my favourite thing to talk about thank you!)

all in all its a really really strong cast with a lot of really strong understudies too and i’ll be so sad to see them go :(

some of my cast highlights!! 

Dean Chisnall is by far my favourite valjean, he has the worlds strongest dad energy and also I saw him hold the bring him home end note for 21 seconds and like,, hot damn 

James Hume(1st cover javert) is my favourite javert! he’s really everything i look for in a javert (i prefer them like, gruffer as opposed to the kind of slimy smarmy javert bradley jaden plays - even though he’s also very good!) and i hope i manage to see him again 

Carley Stenson is, flawless. I don’t even have more to say she’s just phenomenal as Fantine.

Steven Meo was literally born to play thenardier, he’s hysterical

AMARA OKEREKE IS THE MOST PERFECT COSETTE - she has the most gorgeous voice and her cosette is so likeable and she has incredible chemistry with toby miles - they play their romance as almost giddy and its probably the most i’ve ever believed a marius and cosette could fall in love that fast

Toby Miles is just a phenomenal Marius aside from cosette, he’s really found how to make the character special and not just a bit of a wet blanket as some marius’s can be. His Empty Chairs kills me every time, and also he’s always in tears after Eponine’s death and it really shows his commitment to the role. He’s so likeable and awkward and it’s the kind of Marius the world deserves. He also has like, a really interesting friendship with Grantaire? It’s very good

Speaking of Grantaire - all three are Wonderful. Shout out to Raymond Walsh, Adam Filipe and Ciaran Joyce who all have like really unique takes from each other. Ray is very angry, Adam is very sad and Ciaran is a mix of the two and a bit more silly.

Jessica Lee (1st cover Eponine) is probably my favourite Eponine I’ve seen recently (I saw Eva Noblezada in 2016 but can’t really remember that show too well), she’s really scrappy but confident and I really like that

Elena Skye is also an amazing Eponine, I think she comes off better when you see her than in audios - she’s also very scrappy but has a sort of awkward vibe especially around Marius and I love her. Also that girl can Belt hot damn

Sometimes Vivien Parry does a high note in Master of the House and its amazing, she’s also so funny

The other principals Samuel Edwards (Enjolras), Bradley Jaden (Javert) are really really good. Sam’s really grown into the role and gets better every time! I think he really captures the balance between a stern Enjolras and an Enjolras who loves his friends and is very fond of their antics, whereas a lot of Enjolrai go for a solely angry boy, this is a really nice change! The more I get used to Bradley’s Javert the more I like him - his Javert’s Suicide is phenomenal

THE WHOLE ENSEMBLE IS KILLER, but a select few:

Sam Harrison in particular is a highlight as Bamatbois, that character sucks but Sam nails it

Katie Kerr can do whatever she wants and I’ll be grateful, she’s so much fun

Adam Bayjou has been the Factory Foreman for like four years, and has understudied Valjean the whole time and he’s so damn talented.

Also, Joe Vetch who plays Feuilly and is a Wonderful Enjolras understudy.

Ciaran Joyce is a great tiny lil Montparnasse, and I couldn’t care less about Montparnasse so that’s saying something

So yes, I love this cast so much, maybe too much haha - thank you if you read all of this! This is just scraping the surface of my love, so thanks for putting up with me!

[lifestooshortnottobewhoyouare]

I have finally, finally seen Les Mis again (in London), so here’s some thoughts:

I was excited for days and then I kept telling my friend (who had seen the movie once and basically didn’t know anything about the show) Les Mis trivia on the way to the theatre which she didn’t ask for. I practiced some self-restraint and didn’t tell her about Enjoltaire. It was hard. 

I basically saw a cast of understudies, which is always a joy and one of my favourite things when I watch musicals live. They were all amazing. 

James Hume was spectacular as Javert. I actually liked his version of Stars and I have to agree that Javert on stage is a million times better than in the movie. (I still like Russell Crowe in the movie, but the music is better on stage). I had forgotten how his suicide works and was a bit amused at how he was just rolling off the stage. (I generally felt like I was laughing at all the wrong parts, but oh well, such are the joys of being a Les Mis fangirl.)

Javert also had a ponytail. With a little bow. It was great.

Adam Bayjou played Valjean and he was really good. Not my favourite Valjean ever, but he did a solid job. I completely forgot that Valjean basically screams “flight” and then runs around the stage when he steals the silver and it was absolutely hilarious. 

Carley Stenson was so good as Fantine! Her I Dreamed a Dream was absolutely beautiful!

I loved Elena Skye as Eponine. She has quite a rough voice, which fit the part so well and brought her closer to book Eponine again. I think she’s one of my new favourite Eponines.

I don’t like Bring Him Home, but this was the first time I realised that when Valjean reads Marius’ letter to Cosette, Marius writes “I pray that god will bring me home” and now I like the song a little better. Like, a tiny bit. 

But on to the important stuff: Ciaran Joyce played Grantaire and he portrayed him amazingly! He really accentuated the friendship between Marius and Grantaire, which I absolutely loved. During “Is Marius in love at last” he just straight gay up kissed Marius and then when Enjolras was singing, they were wispering and giggling like school children. After Eponine’s death, Grantaire consolidated Marius for a solid minute and he kept hugging him, kissing him on the head (I think, I was quite far away) and cupping his face. And then before the final attack, they were hugging and it was all just so sweet. (I ship it.)

Marius (Toby Miles) was pontmercying so hard. It was beautiful. 

There was the obligatory hug between Grantaire and Enjolras during Drink With Me and two very long stares between them. When Enjolras was being shot, Grantaire tried to climb up to him, which was heartbreaking (but obviously no “Permet-tu?”). 

Enjolras (played by Joe Vetch) was really good in general. 10/10 would participate in a revolution for him. 

There was a moment in the beginning though where I wasn’t sure which one was supposed to be Enjolras and there was a guy in a shirt with red/pink (it was really hard to tell) and white stripes and I was really scared for a moment that they had changed Enjolras’ vest to that. 

I always forget how much I like that moment in The Barricade when Enjolras sings “There are ways that a people can fight” because I absolutely love the music in that part. 

The finale made me feel stuff in my stomach. It may have been period-induced cramps. It was beautiful. 

I bought a Drink With Me water bottle and it’s my new favourite thing.

Completely irrelevant but I must have been acting gay because afterwards my friend (after three months) asked me whether I was in the university’s LGBT+ society for solidarity, so some coming out happened. I hope that Enjolras would be proud. 

[in-elysium]

Second musical of the month, Les Misérables! It was amazing, and the cast were very sweet about autographs. I definitely enjoyed it, and I need to go again!

Jean Valjean (Adam Bayjou) The regular Jean Valjean for West End at the moment is Killian Donnelly (who you may know played Combeferre in the film), however we had one of the understudies for this performance. He was absolutely incredible, and he hit both the low and high notes with so little effort that it was clear he has an amazing range. Honestly, I would love to see him in the role again if I go back.

Javert (Hayden Tee) Hayden has the perfect voice for Javert, very deep and slightly ragged. His acting was also very good, especially in the scene just after the barricade, he was practically tearing his hair out!

The Bishop of Digne (Andy Conaghan) Andy has a really deep and rich voice, it suits the Bishop really well. It’s a shame we don’t have that many scenes with him.

Fantine (Carley Stenson) She has a richer voice than other Fantines I have heard, but she hits the notes well so it really works to her advantage and makes her sound more mature than Cosette or Eponine. She really sells her emotions, especially in Come to Me and when she is saved from arrest by Valjean.

Young Cosette (Grace Salsoni/ Talia Etherington/ Holly McDonagh) While I have to admit that I’m not entirely sure which of the three I saw, she had a very lovely voice and it was incredibly strong. Some Cosettes can be quite quiet (understandably) but that was not a problem here.

The Thénardiers (Steven Meo and Jacqueline Tate) These two were absolutely brilliant! They were hilariously funny, and their antics were a bit of relief from the depressing scenes. Thénardier’s little responses to things (Such as saying ‘fair enough’ when Javert refuses to release him and his gang) really add to the humour and the two actors have great charisma together. Also I met Madame Thénardier and she was so lovely about giving autographs and even chatted with us for a bit!

Gavroche (Felix Warren/ Ben Perkins/ Charlie Strip) Once again, I’m not sure which Gavroche I saw (though my mum later pointed out that it was likely 2 of them), but this kid had me in tears. I don’t cry easily at media, but his death tore me up. Really great, probably the best Gavroche I’ve heard. Also, when the curtain call was in progress they split the actors into groups, so Enjolras was with him, and when they separated they grinned and saluted each other and??? My heart??? It was adorable.

Eponine (Karis Jack) I actually want to die. This was one of the best Eponine’s I’ve ever heard, and she looks almost exactly like I imagine her to look. Honestly if I were Marius it would be a no brainer on who to pick. Once again, A Little Fall of Rain made me cry, and she harmonised with Marius really well. She also came with Fantine to get Valjean, and they all stood looking over Marius and Cosette for a while before anyone joins them.

Cosette (Charlotte Kennedy) Now, here’s where I have to be mean. First, I just want to say that the actress was so sweet and this is nothing against her character, but she was just outmatched. Her voice was really shrill and shaky, but not in the way that sopranos normally are, it seemed like she’d strained her vocal chords or something? If that is the case then of course nothing against her and I hope she feels better soon, but if not… Well, she was still a brilliant actress, just not the best singer.

Enjolras and Grantaire (Hyoie O'Grady and Hugo Chiarella) I was originally intending to group all the boys together, but honestly Enjolras needed his own segment and I knew if I wrote about him on his own I’d end up talking about Grantaire a lot because they had really sweet moments together. My solution? Group them. OK, so starting with the actors themselves, Enjolras was really well cast, enigmatic and the actor himself was so sweet and chatted for a while. He really made me want to join a revolution. We don’t hear as much of Grantaire, but he had a very smooth voice and was really funny (in Red and Black when teasing Marius he sits on his lap and kisses his cheek(?)). He was also very good at being serious though, such as when he comforts Marius about Eponine’s death. The two together were gold. They worked really well together, and had both funny and heartwarming moments. Funny moment: Enjolras is giving all the barricade boys a brohug™ but leaves R out, so he just stands there and does the ‘what the hell’ gesture. Heartwarming/sad: Enjolras finally gives Grantaire that hug during Drink with Me. As in, the actors stand there hugging each other for pretty much the remainder of the song. Also, Grantaire dies when he jumps over the barricade after Enjolras (who is killed by an explosion). I’ve spent too much time talking about these two, but I couldn’t not.

Marius (Paul Wilkins) This Marius was brilliant. He had a really rich voice, and he paired really well with the other barricade boys. He also hits Thénardier, which is definitely a bonus. He’s very good at projecting emotion with his voice; he sounds like he’s genuinely crying in both A Little Fall Of Rain and Empty Chairs at Empty Tables.

The Barricade Boys (sans Marius, Enjolras and Grantaire) First, two pieces of explanation. One, I haven’t written out all the names, because there’s a point where even I lose patience. I instead included a photo of the cast. Two, I really wanted to do a separate listing for each of the boys, but I didn’t have enough information on each of them to be detailed. Anyway, they all harmonised very well, and there was a real range of voices, with Shaq Taylor as Jehan most noticeably bringing up the rear with a very low voice. They all bounced very well off of each other, and had a lot of fun or sober moments.

Finally, a call-out post to specifically Clare Findlater, but more broadly to creatives, ensemble members and anyone who isn’t visibly up on stage playing a main role: Please, when people ask you for autographs, don’t say, ‘oh I’m only an ensemble member’ or 'technician’ or in this cast 'orchestra member’, because you know what? You guys are just as important as the Jean Valjeans and the Enjolras’, if not more so. Without you the show wouldn’t run at all. So you aren’t 'just’ something, you’re the (vastly unappreciated) backbone of the show. Well done you guys!

[designsbyporcelain]

I NEED YOU NOW ⇄ KLAINE

TAGGING ➝ Blaine Anderson & Kurt Hummel

LOCATION ➝ Kurt’s apartment.

TIME FRAME ➝ Late evening, July 4th.

WARNINGS ➝ None as of yet.

NOTES ➝ After being devastated by a letter from his ex-boyfriend, Blaine doesn’t know what to do with himself or where to go, and he soon finds himself at Kurt’s doorstep.

Blaine was enjoying his night watching the fireworks, surely he was alone but watching it from the roof of his apartment building. The fourth of July made him think about his ex boyfriend who was off in the military. He sighed, drinking his wine cooler, swirling the last half in his bottle. After the show was over he went down towards his apartment and he came to see a box there and a gift basket with things Blaine loved. Blaine took it inside and knew it was from his ex. He went to open things and then seen a letter, Blaine read it and he felt his heart break, he was getting married to a man he met in boot camp, apparently they were childhood friends and the letter was asking for Blaine to be the best man. He was completely devastated and he couldn’t attend his wedding so he immediately texted him telling him thanks for the offer but he couldn’t make it. Blaine didn’t know where to go, it was late enough that Kurt was probably home so he went to the boy he was always fond of, someone he enjoyed being around, he was hating to bother Kurt but he sat in front of the door and just waited for Kurt to show back up to his place.

Kurt sighed heavily as he pulled into the parking lot of his building, putting the car in park and shutting off the engine. Today had been the longest day ever. It had started off easy enough, with Kurt dropping Fiyero off at Cody’s ranch for the day; the ranch was far enough away that he shouldn’t have been affected by the fireworks too much. The problematic times had started when he got to the theater. Not long into their first dress rehearsal, during the “Master of the House” performance, the man playing Thenardier had stepped on the dress of the woman playing his wife and managed to completely rip the skirt off of the dress. Kurt wasn’t even sure how he’d done it, considering just how tight his stitches had been, but of course he had. So now he had to completely fix the costume while the choreographer had to spend extra time on the blocking so it didn’t happen again. It didn’t help that he also had to fix Eponine’s costume. The woman playing Eponine had quit at the last minute, and Vanessa had volunteered to take the role since they didn’t have an understudy for her. Kurt was thankful for that, but now he had to fix all of Eponine’s costumes by Friday night. It was safe to say that he had a lot to get done in the next few days. Grabbing his things and the fabric pieces that used to be Madam Thernardier’s costume, Kurt pulled himself out of his car. “Come on, Fi,” he remarked, watching with a smile as his dog hopped out of the car. At least the day had gone well for someone. Getting to his apartment too a little longer than normal - Fiyero had gotten distracted a few times along the way since Kurt hadn’t put him on a leash - but soon enough he was on his floor and heading down his hallway. He hadn’t even noticed someone was in front of his door until Fiyero went bounding down the hallway. “Fiyero!” he called, a dominant tone in his voice that made the dog stop at Blaine’s feet, though his tail was still wagging excitedly. Even from halfway down the hallway, Kurt recognized Blaine standing in front of his door. It was almost as if Blaine’s presence alone had made him forget all about how stressful his day had been. “Hey gorgeous,” he said with a smile on his lips, though it quickly faltered as he got closer and saw the state the other man was in. “What’s wrong?” he asked with furrowed brows, juggling his things to free one of his hands in order to grab his keys and unlock his door.

Blaine was in his own world he didn’t even hear Kurt shout for his dog who was happy to see him, Blaine smiled, petting the dogs head, “Hey Fiyero, who’s a good boy,” he smiled softly, but the smile didn’t last long remembering why he was here in the first place. “I just, hey Kurt, I got some news that- well that I honestly wish I didn’t have gotten.” Blaine entered Kurt’s apartment and went to go sit down on the couch, he’s been over at least a dozen times since moving here six months ago. “He’s getting married… Jeremiah is getting married and he-he wrote me a letter and wants me to be the best man… we’ve only been broken up a little more than six months ago. He sent me gifts and I read the letter and my heart just felt like it shattered.”

Kurt opened his front door and let Blaine into the apartment, listening as he spoke about what was wrong while Kurt put his things down on the table and kicked the door shut. “He’s…wait,” he paused for a moment, stopping in the middle of the living room area. “You’ve been broken up for six months, and he’s already a) getting married and b) wants you of all people to be his best man? Seriously?” he asked with a flabbergasted look on his face. “Like, I get that you guys are best friends…or-or used to be, but things change when you take that kind of friendship to the next level. He can’t honestly believe that would be something you’d be okay with doing?” he asked, moving to sit down next to Blaine.

Blaine nodded, his face falling into his hands as he let out a soft sob, mainly out of frustration. “They were childhood best friends who reunited in boot camp, it’s like a love story Kurt, people would love to fall for their friends they’ve had a past with. I just, how could he think him inviting me was a good idea, he was sweet and I just, it broke me Kurt, I thought I was done with the past but there’s always something that comes back to bite me in the ass.” When Kurt sat down next to Blaine he couldn’t help but throw his arms around Kurt’s neck, “Why would he do this to me?”

Kurt frowned as he watched Blaine partially fall apart. Instinctively, he really wanted to just wrap his arms around Blaine protectively while also yelling at Jeremiah. How in the world could Blaine’s ex think that this would ever be a good idea? He listened as Blaine spoke about Jeremiah’s relationship with the man he was marrying, but listening as Blaine spoke about how this had broken him pushed Kurt forward. Almost as soon as he sat down next to him, Blaine’s arms were suddenly thrown around his neck, and Kurt stiffened just a bit before relaxing and wrapping his arms around Blaine in return. Running his hand down Blaine’s back in a comforting manner, Kurt nuzzled his nose against the side of Blaine’s neck for a moment before shaking his head a bit. “I don’t know, hun,” he whispered in response. “He obviously wasn’t thinking.”

Blaine kind of just melted in Kurt’s arms, he was good at this comforting thing, he felt a little embarrassed coming to Kurt about his past relationship when he was feeling whatever it was he was feeling for the Hummel boy. Blaine just rested his head on Kurt’s shoulder feeling like nothing else was going on, he felt like he was calming down in Kurt’s arms, like he was the most comfortable pillow Blaine ever needed. He couldn’t help but felt a shiver run down his spine when Kurt’s nose nuzzled against the side of his neck. “He wasn’t, but it’s okay, because I have the one thing he will never have again, and that’s my heart back, I can give it to someone who deserves it, you know?” he moved out of Kurt’s hold and wiped his eyes, “Do you have any kind of beverage, what a hell of a fourth of July, this is one of the first holidays I’ve had to spend alone in what feels like forever.”

Kurt smiled a bit to himself as he felt Blaine starting to relax in his arms, calming down the longer Kurt held him. If he thought about it, he could really get used to this. Not the whole Blaine being hurt thing, but having Blaine in his arms. Normally, Kurt loved being the one who was being held, but in this instance he really didn’t mind. He loved the way Blaine just sort of melted into his embrace. Nodding in response to Blaine’s comment about how he still had his heart, which he could give to someone who really deserved it, Kurt smiled a bit as Blaine sat back, out of his grasp. “That’s what matters. You deserve to be with someone who can actually appreciate what they have, even if they’re not in the same place as you. Someone who’s not stupid enough to let you go,” he said with a light smile, sitting back against the couch for a moment. When Blaine asked for something to drink, Kurt nodded a bit before pulling himself up off the couch. “Of course,” he said with a smile. “Do you want a regular drink - water, soda, et cetera - or do you want something stronger?” he asked as he walked into his kitchen. “I’ve got Diet Coke, Sprite, water…even some tea if you don’t mind waiting a little bit. And when it comes to something stronger I’ve got wine coolers, vodka, and about six different bottles of wine,” he said with a laugh.