Notes on the West End Les Misérables pro-shot, Palace Theatre 2004.03.25 E (Act 1)
Cast: Jeff Leyton (Jean Valjean), Michael McCarthy (Javert), Jon Lee (Marius), Sophia Ragavelas (Eponine), Lydia Griffiths (Cosette), Oliver Thornton (Enjolras), Katy Secombe (Mme Thénardier), Joanna Ampil (Fantine), Stephen Tate (Thénardier)
(As a sidenote, does anyone know why they're listed in that order?)
Total runtime: 165 mins
Accessed via the National Art Library in the V&A
Act 2 notes here
Electric guitar in the prologue YAY
Most of the convicts have ponytails (possibly all; I couldn’t see)
Leyton’s hair is shoulder-length and loose, and his beard is short. His t-shirt is grey with 24601 across the chest
McCarthy puts his baton under Leyton’s face but doesn’t use it to pull Leyton towards him. They maintain a respectful and disappointing distance from each other. McCarthy hands Leyton the yellow paper like a normal human being
There’s a lot more music between "What this new world will do for me" and "You’ll have to go"
All the peasants are wearing red shirts lmao
Short bishop which I now remember is brick-accurate and wow Earl is not bishop-shaped
Leyton grabs the bread from Magloire, scaring her, and Baptistine puts her hand on Magloire’s shoulder to comfort her for like a solid five seconds …
Leyton sounds like he’s doing a Colm Wilkinson impression, especially his vowels
Maglistine walk offstage holding hands
Leyton’s voice is quite light on "Flight"
Dogs out (Bishop)
One of the officers looks so excited when the bishop says "I commend you for your duty" bottom behaviour
Bishop puts the silver into the bag, raises Leyton on "raise", holds his last note for quite a while
Wow this song is going quickly
"That man" (anyone know when they changed that? Certainly by the 25th anniversary)
Leyton sways his shoulders a lot. He kneels at "bread" and rises at "I am reaching"
I think the yellow paper is yellower than it is in the West End Revival
Song ran for 3:05 (OLC is 3:18, 2010 is 3:02)
Intro to At the End of the Day was longer
At least most of the male ensemble have ponytails here too
Oh wait no it’s still the boring black coat not the fun green one (mayor costume)
Ampil has the softest, prettiest smile between the intro and first proper verse of I Dreamed A Dream
Sad, lost, and upset, doesn’t quite make it to angry
Imagine my disappointment when the Lovely Ladies sailors didn’t hump each other
I prefer when the "God I’m weary" etc lines stay high, as was still the case when this performance was recorded. Sounds more like they’re forcing it to be happy and also just makes the music a little less repetitive
"I don’t want you" delivered very weakly, more like 'please no' than 'fuck off'
No "It’s the same with a tart" etc lines. Fuck I did track the progression of those lines at some point where did I put that
McCarthy’s ponytail is curled in a spiral
Longer Runaway Cart music
Leyton checks the ropes on the cart and then uses them to lift it. Bro what
No "Monsieur le Maire" as McCarthy leaves
Why is Leyton’s wig so flat. Sad times
The indistinct grey rectangle brand …
Good dying woman make-up. Pale lips, huge eye bags, gaunt cheeks
Dies on "wake"
I still don’t like the Javert opt-up in Confrontation. Even if it’s probably the official version now. Not doing it is possibly Earl’s only valid singing choice ever
Leyton sings "within my ca-y-are"
Male ensemble still have ponytails in Master of the House
At the line "When it comes to fixing prices", Tate turns away from the audience to piss into the bottle
After Cosette introduces herself, Leyton says "Cosette, that’s a beautiful name"
Ensemble walk behind them and one of the men says "Merry Christmas" to another ensemble member
When Leyton picks Cosette up after they leave the Thénardiers, he holds her in one arm and Catherine in the other for their waltz Second prostitute punched by pimp
"It’ll come" repeated until "See our children fed" (by 25th anniversary it stops when the students start)
Blond Marius??? Brunette Enjolras???
Montparnasse tries to feel up Eponine; she shoves him off disgustedly
Secombe has a bandage around her arm that she goes to show Leyton, then Tate says "Here’s a child" and she turns the bandage into the baby
Tate goes to grab Leyton’s arm; Leyton grabs his arm instead and twists it
Good silence before McCarthy’s lines
Tate has a dangly earring
GUITAR STARSSSSS
That’s some insane under eyeliner
Drooled. Big fat drop of saliva rolled down his face
Loved the orchestration, voice was fine, got nothing from McCarthy’s acting. He was pretty much just standing still until the kneeling and the baton raise
At the end of Do You Hear the People Sing, Ragavelas comes up to Lee and points him which direction to go in. He runs offstage then comes back to bring her with him
Annoyed Cosette :) I like Griffiths
When Lee first climbs over the wall and approaches, Griffiths looks shocked but not scared, and they both take a few steps back. Lee approaches again, she backs away again. He goes to climb back over the wall and she either physically tugs him down or gestures at him to come down; I couldn’t tell. She turns away from him with an excited sort of WHAT DID I JUST DO look
Griffiths is adorable
That was a lower-pitched scream from Ragavelas. She was a little inert in the Attack on Rue Plumet scene
Griffiths is comforting Leyton but also very much trying to tell him what to do
One Day More felt slower





















