Les Mis, Saturday, 28 February 2:30pm

We didn’t plan to see this production because we’ve seen Les Mis too many times in the West End, in both the original and the new staging. We even saw the 25th Anniversary live at the O2 and in various non-replica productions, even the one staged by Repertory at the Meralco Theater ages ago. But my son insisted because he’s a fan, so we booked the cheapest tickets, and we managed to buy center balcony seats. This was before the cast announcement! Then, they announced the cast. I was happy that there were four Filipinos cast, although I was nervous about Lea as it sounded like a miscast. I was hoping for the Killian Donnelly/Bradley Jaden tandem, but I was glad that we had Jeremy Secomb because we saw him as Sweeney Todd in Old Friends, and he was great.

So, for someone very familiar with the musical, this tour is a well-oiled machine. The technical aspects are impressive, and the talents are all world-class. It is a solid production. Regarding the four Filipinos, I think Red Concepcion is the standout; Rachelle Ann Go and Emily Bautista don’t really shine and don’t register too much for me. Lea, as expected, is not funny, but she makes for a scary Madame Thénardier. There is a lot of Mrs. Lovett in her performance, and Red kind of guides her in the comedy bits. But she still has the stage presence as expected. Gerónimo Rauch is an okay Jean Valjean: effective but not memorable. Jeremy Secomb’s Javert is the star of the production.

All in all, we enjoyed it. We are glad we saw it. We are also glad that we got a good view, even in the balcony seats. We were lucky we got the tickets before the frenzy.