FIRST TIME WATCHING Les Misérables - 10th Anniversary Concert | PART 2 

Since you mentioned the revolving stage in Hamilton -- the original production of Les Mis in the eighties had a revolving stage, and it was considered one of the iconic parts of that production. There had been other shows to use revolving stages before, but Les Mis used it to an extent and in ways that hadn't been seen before.

FYI, women with beautiful long hair would sell it to wig makers to create either full wigs or falls/switches which were hair pieces that women could use to add to their own hair for that long hair in a gorgeous bun/up style so in demand for literally centuries. People still donate hair for cancer patients’ wigs-my niece has beautiful red hair that she had grown to about knee length in high school, and she had it cut to shoulder length and donated it.

Ruthie Henshall is the best Fantine of all for me! And she's always mesmerising in all the plays she's in. An amazing performer and what a voice!

17:32 No. It is not common for musicals to also have concert versions. This was the 10th anniversary special--a huge celebration of a highly acclaimed and successful show. After all, most musicals do not make it to the ten year mark or receive this amount of critical praise. I believe producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh came up with the idea to put on a concert and really showcase the music and talent. He worked with the show's other creators to select their "dream cast" (mostly performers who either originated their roles or had played the role in one of the many productions over that first decade). When Les Miserables first opened up in 1985, it got off to a slow start. It wasn't until people got the word out about how great it was that more people started going to see it. Then Mackintosh opened the show up in other countries and began touring the show as well. This brilliant move, which I don't believe had ever been done to that scale before, made Mackintosh a great fortune. The showrunners also made the decision to air this 10th anniversary special on PBS and opened up the world of Les Miserable to a much broader audience--people who had no other way of seeing a professional musical. Other shows had been putting out cast albums, and the creators of Les Mis took it a step farther and released their concert special on VHS...now audiences could watch a musical in their own homes. Brilliant move. And also: cha-ching cha-ching! The audience at this specific concert performance were most likely huge fans of the show and knew the story well. Many had to be quite familiar with some or all of the well-known lead performers as well. I'm guessing audience members had to pay a pretty penny to get a seat for such a special performance in such a special theatre: the Royal Albert Hall. With that said, I doubt there were too many noobs in this particular audience. 😉

11:45 One of the things I love most about Les Miserables is the juxtaposition of Javert and Jean Valjean. They are both clearly good men, but Javert is driven by legalism while Valjean becomes driven by love and family. Javert is more the anti-hero than the villain of the story and when he sings “Stars” later in the show I cry every time. So glad this is the first performance of Les Miserables you’re experiencing because it is the BEST!

SalvoG, I’m a major les miserable nerd and I’m here to tell you this whole thing is amazing and breathtaking and I suggest grabbing some tissue for later cause it’s a very emotional show

Ruthie Henshall will always be my favorite performer of Fantines role, because she put all the emotion and pain into it... She's amazing.

Can't believe you stopped in the middle of Master of the House!!! The most enjoyable song in the play 🤣 And now that it's out of my system: Javert and Valjean confrontation is AMAZING. No matter how many times I've listened or watched it, it blows my mind every time. "Tell Cossete I love her and I'll see her when I wake" - damn, Ruthie Henshall deliveres this line so beautifully. Fun fact: Victor Hugo once saw a man harassing a prostitute, and a police officer arrested her and not him. Hugo didn't know what to do, but later his conscious kicked in and he went to the police station and vouched for the poor woman. Since he was "an honourable man", the police officer took his word and released her. This incident (and another one, where he heard of a man sentenced for stealing bread) was the inspiration for the novel. I was lucky enough to see the play twice, and it was breathtaking. Especially one specific scene later on (no spoilers, we'll get there and we'll get there 😀). Although this cast here is phenomenal, the concert can't match the experience of a real show. So if you'll ever have the chance - go see it!

26:04 That sound was a balloon popping accidently and unexpectedly. The professionalism she showed by continuing right along shows how talented she is for her age!

So the beauty of Javert's character is that he's myopically moral. His arc essentially is that he doesn't accept that there are morally grey areas, that everything isn't black and white--and once he realizes it, that's it for him. || Note: This guy, Phillip Quast, for me he's the pinnacle of Javert. The absolute worst one ever is in the movie. Also! I love the commentary

When you're through with Les Mis, I recommend Phantom of the Opera, or Wicked. Your questions about Javert have been the questions asked in the years since the book came out. The song "Stars", which he sings later in the show, helps to explain what he stands for. It's my favorite song of the whole show, and I love the show. The Thenardiers are the comedy relief, but they're also very dark.

Life time Les Mis fan here. Alot of people will shit on the movie, and I dont think the criticisms are totally unwarranted but cinematically its 100% worth a watch if the story intrigues you at all, and for my money Samantha Bark's "On my own" is probably my favorite version of the song ever recorded. And Anne Hathaways "I dreamed a dream is without a doubt the most emotionally devastating. Definitely recommend. Thanks for the solid reaction.

Javier singing Stars gives me goosebumps every time I hear it but his version in this is one of the best and Norm Lewis singing it too gives me chills SOOO GOOOODD!

The 25th Anniversary Concert is INCREDIBLE! So if you want an HD version of the concert, then that’s a phenomenal one! I was lucky to be there at the O2 Arena, and it’s one of the best experiences of my life! Also, the previous Jean Valjean’s and the current one at the time all sang together at the end. It’s available on DVD, etc, and possibly available to rent. Enjoy! It’s incredible!!

I'm not really a 'cryer', but I've seen Les Mis 5 times and shed a little tear up to 5 times per show! This concert is superb and showcases the songs but the 'acting' element of the full show is very important and sadly missing. You will have to see the full scale performance with the incredible set designs. It is something everyone should have on their bucket list. As for the cast.... this was a stellar group of musical theatre stars, however my 5 visits to see Les Mis has involved 5 completely different casts and they were ALL superb, aided by the fact that the songs are so incredibly powerfully written! Well done for reacting to this......... a lot of people sadly under rate Musical Theatre which is a shame.

A lot of musical's would not translate into this kind of treatment. Les Mis works because there is virtually no dialogue, everything is contained within the music. This is part of its brilliance.

As far as the latest movie with Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway, I personally loved it! The acting is amazing, and the singing (for the most part) is incredible! There are obviously those who didn't like it. but I always find it best to watch regardless, to form my own opinion. There is also a great non-musical version starring Liam Neeson, Geoffrey Rush, and Uma Thurman.

You know when Cosett was singing about the "castle in the clouds", the "lady all in white" was her early memories of her mother. So sweet.

Your honest reaction to this is such a joy to watch. I’m not familiar with your channel (though I am looking forward to watching more of your content), but as somebody who has loved this show for 30 years - and who believes this is one of the best concert presentations of any Broadway musical - it’s like experiencing the show anew. Your instincts about the characters and about the performers are spot-on, and I’m getting goosebumps and tears anticipating your reaction to what’s coming!

The battle scene at the barricade....is some of the best set design ever....

Ruthie Henshall who plays Fantine is a very well know versatile actress on the Westend stage. IMO she's the best Fantine.

The staging of Les Miz is just as stunning as the story and the performances. It blows Hamilton away; undoubtedly the most impressive visual experience I've seen on Broadway. If you're ever blessed with the opportunity to see a full production, do whatever you have to, to get there.

You're watching the best of the best!! The 25th Anniversary is fine and the movie has it's moments but this one I've seen more than ten times as the voices are absolutely STELLAR!!

So happy to see someone reacting to this. And I like that musicals seem to have gotten a new fan. Fantines death always gets to tears especially this version because Ruthie Henshall is just outstanding in it. And I always have to listen to the confrontation (valjean and javert duet) at least twice to listen specifically along to each one at a time 😅 I am very much looking forward to rest because there is some fantastic stuff coming up, but don't stress about it, anticipation can be good and we can wait one day more 😉

You are not silly. IMHO, there’s never been a better show than Les Miserables. It’s a masterpiece.

Concert versions of musicals do happen. This is from 1995, they have a 1997 concert, also phantom of the opera has a 25th anniversary concert! Highly recommend it if you haven’t seen it. Im sorry if I’m rambling I’m just a major theater nerd and am very passionate about it. Feel free to ask any questions you have about this show if confused

I am thoroughly enjoying your discovery of Les Mis and Broadway theater. There is no better feeling then watching this live! Colm Wilkinson is brilliant. The movie has good and bad. I will say there is an Easter egg in the movie that thrilled me to see. Enjoy the remainder of the performance.

Please for the next episode restart Master of the House. It's such a brilliant song!

I first saw Les Miz in London in 1991. That was the first of thirteen years in a row that I took my students to Europe. After Switzerland, Italy, and France, we would end our trip in London, and before we left home the students voted on which musical we would watch. For seven of those years they voted for Les Miz, and I loved it every time we saw it. And as someone below said, that great revolving stage was used in a creative way. I saw it again in the states. Just love the soundtrack. Thanks for doing this.

The movie is a good introduction to Les Miserable. It’s easier to know what is going on to learn the story. But the 10th Anniversary is the best.

Loving your honest reaction and how you’re appreciating this masterpiece! I’ve seen almost 100 musicals and Les Mis is still my number 1 and I’ve seen it live 12 times. Total musical geek here!

The actress that played Fontine, won the academy award! You be the judge! Some people never like the movie version of a Broadway show!

If you’re enjoying this and liked the Hamilton filming, I recommend the 25th anniversary Miss Saigon. Same composer as Les Mis and the filming quality is up with Hamilton and it’s a filming of the show rather than a concert version.

Incredible reaction! I love this show so much, and I think the music is absolutely phenomenal (and this particular show has some of my favourite casting) and I can't wait to see your reaction to the rest of this! Once you've finished with this, I'd highly recommend you look at the 25th anniversary performance of Phantom of the Opera! There's a filmed version of the stage performance.

The cast of this concert as been dubbed the dream cast

If you ever get the chance to see this on stage, and see the full performance with the fabulous costumes and set design....you will be amazed...that on top of the wonderful music....its out of this world..

somewhere on youtube there’s a version of the concert that’s been run through an ai i believe, and it’s a bit higher quality edit: it’s by Passion the Music Guy here on youtube!

Okay, so what you are seeing is a rather extraordinary event. This, as you mentioned, is the 10th anniversary of the musical, and the 25th was filmed not that long ago, and that performance was also extraordinary. The people that are performing here, particularly the main characters, are some of the best in the world - not just in singing talent and skill, but all of the performing arts. This was a really big production of a musical that has toured around the world with local artists performing these roles in their own languages - yeah, it's been translated. Les Miserables is arguably the most well known musical theatre experiences that we have today - and probably because of this particular performance of it. The people who put this show together didn't want just another touring type performance. A lot of these performers have performed this work in smaller productions, but this was a HUGE stage, and a landmark moment. This production kind of put the musical into the hands of people who would probably never see this live in a theatre - and the musical grew tremendously in popularity because of this event that was filmed and packaged into video tape and shown on public television telethons all over America. It blew people who would never dream of actually going to the theatre away with it's power and ability to touch the rank and file of our society. I have actually performed this - not in a professional setting, but as a member of an audition community choir. There are even High-school editions of the musical available to those drama departments who want to perform it. So the performances range from extremely humble to extremely grandiose. You are seeing the pinnacle here. As for the movie, it too has a place in our society to bring more notoriety of the musical to the rank and file. However, the performers in the movie were actors first and musical performers second, so there was a lot of over emoting (compared to a musical like this) which can turn the vocals a little wonky. Don't get me wrong, the actors in the movie can sing and for the most part do an admirable job, particularly Eddie Redmayne - the movie is worth watching just for his performance of Empty Chairs at Empty Tables towards the end, and there are other good bits besides that. But ultimately the movie fell flat of its promise, and still this 10th anniversary performance is the one I turn to when I want to hear it really well performed. I don't have a recording of the 25th yet. If you really want a treat, go and see this live when you have an opportunity - even if it is a smaller touring production or even a high school performance. This whole thing live is a phenomenal experience, and one that you will never forget.

Why did you stop it in the middle of the song….please when you restart it, start at the beginning of the song….it’s my favorite part and worth it to have it all the way through

Alum Armstrong is just brilliant as master of the house

There is some controversy about the movie that was made in 2015 I believe, but it is definetly worth a watch, the performance of some of the actors (like hugh jackman and eddie redmayne) is incredible, love the content btw man

Glad you are loving this show. Many of us were totally obsessed with LES MISERABLES when it came out similar to the way others were obsessed with RENT in the 90s or more recently HAMILTON in the 10s.

Concert versions are not what is normally performed on Broadway or on tour, etc. You get a true stage show with the full story happening. Les Miz happens to be sung thru, like Hamilton, where all dialog is sung.

Concert stagings are actually fairly common when a full version of a show isn’t produced for various reasons, and I think there are several playing on Broadway (or have played recently) right now as of 2023.

Love how enthused you were in watching Les Mis. The 10th Anniversary concert is my favorite! You made watching it again fun. Thank you for that! Colm Wilkinson is my favorite Jean Valjean😍. His control while singing is just incredible. Please 🙏restart "Master of The House," for the next episode. You stopped a bit past the halfway point of the song. Thank you!

Major musical nerd, I came across part 1 and been dying for part 2. :) I love it! The movie version might be worth checking out, it explains the story much better. This isn't even the musical, but rather just a concert with all the songs. Still great, but it does get confusing when you don't know the story.

Also in the last video you asked if plays require actors who have a lot of singing talent. For musicals yes, there are three aspects you audition for, singing, acting, and dancing. Dancing is more or less dependent on the musical but singing is almost always required. The style of singing does depend on the musical as well. Non-musical plays usually just require acting auditions.

You mentioned that you wanted to see a version that was more staged but high quality video - definitely would recommend the 2020 Staged Concert as the 25th Anniversary version is still pretty static. You can get pretty high quality video versions of both on Amazon and YT though.

You got into Musicals the same way I did. I won tickets to see Hamilton and it blew me away so much!. I never thought i would like musical theater before that

Stopping in the middle of the song is torture. The next part can't come soon enough

Glad you are enjoying it - happy with length - just please don't cut it off mid-song!

pretty sure there's a 4k upscale of this concert on youtube, it doesn't have captions on screen but i think there's closed captions

Les Miserables is a perfect story... social historical backgound - crime - redemption - lovers tale - broken heart... top 3 of great stories all times. Some adaptation: 1930' - 1950' - 1978 - 1985 (tv series) - 1997 (Uma Thurman- Liam Neeson - Geoffrey Rush)... the one I met and fell in love of Les Miserables. - 2012 (Anne Hathaway - Hugh Jackman -Russel Crowe)... is adaptation of the musical... the same song but in movie format with dialogues and songs... gorgeous and perfect casting... I love the Eponine and Fantine song.

I love these videos!! I love watching someone watch theatre with no prior opinion or concept, it makes me so happy to see someone discover this powerful medium for the first time. Don’t apologize for not knowing!! The theatre community welcomes you and gatekeepers are not tolerated here

Please review the rest of the show ASAP. I'm really getting a kick out of watching your reactions. :)

To be honest i dont mind your talking because it shows how you are immersing yourself into the experience. Cant wait for the other parts. I read the book and it does drone on for ever. But be prepared this gets seriously emotional as its progresses so have some tissues handy. I've subsribed so i get notification of the next parts.

To each their own, but I'm just gonna keep on knowing they stopped after the 10th Anniversary because they knew it would never be better. ;)

Lot of fun watching you watch! Just keep in mind, this is what's called a recital performance. Meaning that this isn't what the actual show looks like, just the actors pretty much standing and singing their parts (with some minor stage direction to help the audience envision the show). To be honest I preferred this to seeing the actual show. As big as this show is, I felt let down seeing it in the theater because the stage is so confining and small. The show is way too big for a theater stage to hold LOL I look forward to when you can react to the stage production of Wicked! the performances and music in that will floor you! Until then, you should get the video of the stage production of Into the Woods with Bernadette Peters (NOT the movie version!).

Lol. Just cruel stopping right there. One of the best vocal performances.

I'm so glad you discovered Les Miserables. It is my favorite musical of all time. I wholeheartedly recommend that you watch the non-musical version starring Liam neeson and Jeffrey Rush. It is amazing. If you have been impressed by the vocals so far, my friend, you ain't heard nothing yet!

It came out in Paris in 1980 because I was one of the first 500,000 to see it.

I was lucky enough to have seen it on Broadway. Some scenes make you laugh and some make you cry. It is an emotional roller coaster. Love watching your reactions!

You should check out the 25th Anniversary of Phantom. That’s a great one too.

I have watched Les Mis, every showing I can get my hand on ( online). It’s so much fun seeing you, a newbie experiencing its greatness. I just wish I could converse with you and answer your questions! 😊

Okay so if you want more Les Mis: The movie has great acting but the musical aspect isn't as good due to reasons laid out in this sideways video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1ikqU6G6Xgs.html . The 25th anniversary concert is available at a higher quality and I really like that one. As far as I know there's no professional recordings (pro-shoots) of the fully staged version on the show, but there are bootleg (boots or recently slime tutorials) recordings you can find.

Also, in concert is quite common. Generally they're scaled down versions of a show. Pretty sure this proves it's sometimes scaled up. No way any stage production can afford an orchestra or chorus of that size continually lol

This was my first Broadway show in 1989 than you so much for the memories. You should react next to rent it's a rock musical they filmed live on Broadway from 2008 it was the last performance before the show closed

Cut them off between the acts and not in the middle of one like this one. So glad you're enjoying the show!!!

My favorite movie version of Les Miserables is with Liam Neeson, Uma Thurman, and Jeffrey Rush. Highly recommend it.

Hi, not sure if anyone already answered but regarding the quality, i believe this is the best you can get, i bought the DVD of the 10th anniversary and it came with the same quality as the one on youtube, which is a pity. But still, imo the voice of this cast overall is the best out of the recorded versions for this show (including the movie, and no hate to the other recordings), and it makes the 10th anniversary recording gold!!! If you should ever have the time, watching the movie of Les Mis is definitively worth because of its cinematography, which makes it so much easier to follow the story and grasp each character. I usually tell my friends to watch the movie first, and then go to the theatre, just to make it easier to appreciate each song and the context to it. Of course, if you should ever get the chance to come to the west end (London), seeing this live is the most overwhelming and best experience. Also I don't want to spoil anything so I won't say much, but regarding the point of Javert being good or bad, I would love to hear your view on Javert after you've watched the whole show. I feel like the more you watch this show, the more you discover things, and that was what happened to me with Javert, and he is one of my favourites now along Jean Valjean and Enjolras.

This is my absolute dream cast! So glad to watch your reviews and www you shockingly enjoy it lol

I am having such a blast watching your journey through this show.

I know this video is nearly a year old, but I'm watching it now for the first time. The concert itself is one of my favorites, I've watched my DVD of this 10th anniversary performance too many time to keep count. Watching your reaction to Ruthie Henshall perform as Fantine was fantastic, just getting to see you gradually realize how stunningly good she is. Henshall is just hte best performer of the Fantine roll that I've ever seen. Glad you enjoyed this. i'm now going to watch you react to the rest of this! :)

Love this journey for you! Can't wait for the next part!!!!! ...prefer longer segments; hope you make it to the end of Act 1 next time, and then you can break up Act 2 into two parts 👍

I saw the play with the Broadway cast Off-Broadway. It was absolutely amazing. The rotating stage and full orchestra.

Now that you've seen this you must see the stage production. Talk about amazing.

Broadway musicals require highly talented casts, usually people who can act, sing, and dance. Les Mis is unusual for Broadway in that it is entirely sung, like an opera. There is no spoken dialog. This 10th anniversary concert is a collection of the best cast members from various productions around the world. The orchestra is on the stage, but for a regular show of the play the orchestra would be in the orchestra pit in front of the stage. If you ever get the opportunity to see this live on the stage I recommend it. It's an experience.

To answer some of your questions.. Les Miz is a Broadway play (based on the novel by Hugo). All the songs you hear in the concert are also in the play, except that in the play it's a bit better because there are also additional dialogues and they also act out the scenes with sets and props, instead of just standing in positions as they do here in the concert.

I've been a part of theater for so long that i forget that there are people who have absolutely zero idea of the classic shows. Watching this with your fresh eyes is a treat.

Still here! Looking forward to the next ones!

Nooo you cut it off mid song!! PLEASE go back to the beginning of Master of the House on the next part, it’s such a good song but you need to listen to all of it!

It's so lovely to watch someone engage with musical theatre for the first time so earnestly and enthusiastically!! Helps remind me of why I fell in love with it. :) Thank you for these videos!

A concert version is performed with a large orchestra on stage, limited sets/costumes and the artists performing directly to the audience at microphones - often for a special occasion, like an anniversary. The standard version is the artists acting out the whole play/songs with stage sets, invisible mics and the orchestra in a pit under the stage. PS. Ruthie Henshall (Fantine) and Lea Salonga (Eponine, arrives later) are two of my all-time favourite musical theatre performers, I go to see them as often as I can!

Dude. You cut off the song. The great exchange between the innkeeper and his wife.

Nothing beats seeing this show live (I saw it 5 times) on Broadway. I love these anniversary concerts b/c it’s unique staging all the extra instruments & vocalist, not to mention the best of the best of casts from the years of this shows run. I know a lot of fans of the show didn’t love the movie adaptation starring Hugh Jackman, and Anne Hathaway. However, I loved it. I would recommend that movie. Anne Hathaway won best supporting actress I believe solely on her performance of the song I dreamed a dream, it’s heart wrenching. I think Hugh Jackman did an incredible job! I love that the original valjean (who’s singing that role in this concert) did a cameo as the bishop in the movie. I think we all agree that Russell Crowe did a great acting job, his singing left a little to be desired, but let’s cut him some slack. He had some huge shoes to fill they all did.

If it wasn't the anniversary concert, but a regular stage show, you could have seen Fantine getting a haircut, then beeing dressed and made-up likr a hooker then fighting with the gentleman, then dying on the hospital bed în the arms of the mayor; you could also see the mayor lifting a heavy cart, then fighting with Javert. Anyway maybe you shouldn't stop in the middle of the song😄

I’ve been a massive Les Mis fan for more than 30 years (and now I feel old), and it is SO fun to see someone else discover it for the first time. Welcome to the barricade, my friend!!

Concerts like this are usually done to celebrate what has become a classic show. Or to celebrate the composer.

The 25th Anniversary is available to download. It’s just as good, even better in some respects, and this cast appears at the end of the 25th Anniversary reunion concert.

Okay, I can appreciate you wanting to keep each of these to a reasonable length but stopping mid-song - really? You're killing me!!! To address some of your questions, the staged version of this is better than the movie. As you are discovering in watching some of these, the sensation of seeing it live, seeing the talent of the performers and realizing that there are no "second takes" available is a little mind boggling. I used to tell people about this show, "even if you don't like musicals, just go to see the set design and how they use it." You may have noticed that this production sometimes includes stills from the stage performances; for example, the image of Jean Valjean lifting the carriage off a man, which jars Javert's memory. Like "Hamilton" the staged production of Les Mis also uses a turntable on the stage.

I can't believe you stopped at that spot....no!!!!! haha. Look forward to the next.

Watching Fantine sing in her delerium in a hospital bed is so moving. Way better than her standing in front of a mic 🫤

You need to understand this not the stage version. It is anniversary special so it is different but still amazing.

Aside from the various movie versions that most people have already mentioned, there was also a television mini series made around the year 2000, starring no less than Gérard Depardieu as Jean Valjean and even more amazingly John Malcovich as Javert! It can ofc be watched right here on RU-vid and is well worth checking out, fleshing out the story a whole lot more than any other version put to the screen (or stage) I believe!

just you wait, the best is yet to come!

Can't wait for the next one. Stars is going to blow your mind

FYI, the 25th anniversary is a concert as well but has a great encode of previous Val Jeans, including this one.

I am thrilled that you are doing this ENTIRE concert!!! Thank you!!! Compared to this the movie rates low, but it helps explain some of the confusion left from this concert form. The concert version of plays is usually reserved for EPIC plays. You need to repeat the beginning of this scene and PAY CLOSE ATTENTION to the words he is singing!!! He is telling you what kind of a man he TRULY is. He and his wife are the people Fantine left her Cosette with while she was trying to get work, thank you again for reacting to this. After you finish this, you MUST go through and watch it without interruption!!! Then go to the movie with Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway!!! I look forward ANXIOUSLY, to the next part after each reaction!!!

You gotta see Anne Hathaway's performance man(from the movie)

High quality musical theater is an art form. I am so glad that you have discovered this new world. If you love the concert, you would be blown away by the full production. By the way, this is extremely high-level musical theater.