A Heart Full Of Love

Well now that we know they have this stupid rule to forbid understudies from revealing their cover date to fans, I wanna do something to spread the Les Mis understudy love. I’ll share u/s audio in current London Les Mis Cast. Hats off to all understudies, as they keep this brilliant show running.

First to share with you guys is On My Own by Hollie O’Donoghue, who, obviously, understudies Eponine in current London Les Mis cast.

28th February 2017

Matt Jeans (emergency cover Enjolras) and Paul Wilkins (Marius)

Matt Jeans was on for Enjolras for this show. From my understanding he used to cover Enjolras in the last cast, but as far as I can tell he’s no longer with the company and must’ve been called back because for whatever reason the principal and both understudies of the current cast were unavailable. (I recall Anton Zetterholm doing a similar thing a few years back).

(It was a slightly glitchy show, Simon Gleeson (Jean Valjean)’s mic didn’t work for his first few lines, and the iron got stuck at the interval so Act 2 was delayed for about 10 minutes.)

I was super impressed with Matt’s voice (I actually wondered if they’d enhanced his audio or something, it was so clear and crisp and really stood out), and thought he did a fantastic job. He was obviously a bit rusty with the blocking (and missed one of his lines), and was slightly awkward moving up and down the barricade, but that didn’t detract from the performance. 

The thing that made him a bit hard to take seriously - which was completely not his fault - is the awful awful wig they put on him. It involved a long bushy ponytail that looked so wrong, it barely looked like hair! I don’t know if that’s what he had to contend with when he was still in the cast, but surely they could’ve spared him from the indignity for one night!

His portrayal of Enjolras is very relaxed - the polar opposite of Chris Cowley - perhaps a bit too relaxed. He never shows any anger (not even to Javert at the barricade) and seems somewhat passive about the revolution. And as was the case of both Jonny Purchase and Steffan Harri, his vocals are wonderful but he doesn’t quite have the stage presence that Chris has. 

7th January 2017 

Jeremy Secomb’s final Stars before going on sabbatical.

Usually, during the curtain call after the cast have taken their bows, everyone runs off stage except the actor playing Jean Valjean, who turns back to the audience for another bow, and then the rest of the cast run back on for a final group bow.

For this performance, both Simon Gleeson and Jeremy Secomb stayed on stage, and it was a lovely moment of just Valjean and Javert on stage being happy and adorable together. (They didn’t go full Wilkinson/Quast at the end of the TAC, but it was enough.) 

Aaron Tveit performing at Wolf Trap on 1/21/17 - All Broadway Tunes!

1. Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’ - Oklahoma 2. Daybreak - Floyd Collins 3. The Streets of Dublin - Man of No Importance 4. Fighting Dragons - Big Fish 5. Love I Hear - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum 6. Proud Lady - The Baker’s Wife 7. Disney Medley (1) - When You Wish Upon A Star (Pinocchio) // Belle (Beginning) (Beauty and the Beast) // I’ve Got No Strings (Pinocchio) // Cruella De'Ville (101 Dalmatians) // Belle (Ending) (Beauty and the Beast) 8. Disney Medley (2) - Proud of Your Boy (Aladdin) // Go The Distance (Hercules) // Out There (The Hunchback of Norte Dame) 9. Les Mis Medley - Bring Him Home // I Dreamed a Dream // Do You Hear the People Sing (Sing-A-Long) 10. Sondheim Medley - Good Thing Going // Finishing The Hat 11. Sandy - Grease 12. Marry Me a Little - Company 13. At The Fountain - Sweet Smell of Success 14. It All Fades Away - Bridges of Madison County

(Thanks for the setlist @lovable22)

Aaron Tveit singing a (comedic) Les Miserables Medley at The Barns at Wolf Trap

Songs included:

Bring Him Home

I Dreamed a Dream (including Aaron’s new original lyrics)