For this Valjean I'd love to feel miserable eight times a week!
Les Miserables - Queens Theatre, London, 22nd October, 2013
I hadn't really intended to see the show as I saw the open air production in >>Magdeburg this summer but when I learnt that the ONE understudy I had wanted to see since June 2012 would be on just when I was in London it was clear I had to go.
Who you may ask (or maybe not ;-) ) so the answer is Chris Holland.
Who you may ask (or maybe not ;-) ) so the answer is he has been with the show since summer 2012 and actually is not only the 1st understudy but also the alternate usually doing one show per week since last cast change.
Who you may ask (or maybe not ;-) ) so the answer is Chris Holland.
Who you may ask (or maybe not ;-) ) so the answer is he has been with the show since summer 2012 and actually is not only the 1st understudy but also the alternate usually doing one show per week since last cast change.
Well, it was summer 2003 when I went to see two We Will Rock You shows in London. The show is not really one of my favourites but I need to confess I have seen it LOADS of times especially when living in London as I adored some people in the cast.
When I went the second time there were (at least) two understudies on, well two kinda changing my musical fan being quite massively. One was called Mig Ayesa who was on as Galileo that night and the other one was Chris Holland who was on as Britney - back then "just" in the ensemble and 2nd understudy but I hadn't really known that then. The following year he was promoted to Big Macca and 1st understudy of Britney plus Khashoggi and I got to see him several more times - always so much fun in whatever part on stage but also to see him off stage was always so much fun him being funny, witty and just adorable.
Unfortunately at the cast change in spring 2005 he left the show and with also Mig Ayesa leaving a few months later WWRY never felt the same again so I never returned after one final show in autumn 2005.
I followed Chris' career as much as I could - he was in Whistle Down The Wind after, then joined Dirty Dancing in 2006, as little as I liked the show I still went a few times to see him and some others in it, I saw him in POTO just one time and the two other shows unfortunately ran too short and during months when I could not manage to go to London.
Seeing him joining Les Miserables was a bit of surprise and as I had no time to go to London for over year I just finally got to see him in it this month but it was so worth the wait.
I managed to get my hands on a front row ticket for the Tuesday evening show when for all other shows pretty much nothing decent was left - it was as if it had just waited for me.
So with way too much excitement I was off to the Queens theatre and when they made the announcement that the role of Jean Valjean would be played by Chris Holland that night I was even more buzzing and I was not disappointed.
Already from the first moments when Valjean is released from prison when then wandering around on parole and further on to "What Have I Done?" I was totally amazed by his rather unique performance. I think (and I have seen most probably at least a dozen different Valjeans) I had never seen a Valjean with so much anger, so much fervour and expressiveness than this performance. Especially when Valjean is emotionally enraged I was totally taken with him.
Yes, I have heard the songs sung more, well let's call it beautiful, not saying that the singing was not great, it was totally matching the atmosphere him showing his skills admirably and that is what made the performance even more special with the singing not taking over and the focus away from the play as I have seen in other Valjean's.
Saying that his "Bring Him Home" though was just simply BEAUTIFUL but also heartbreaking and poignant giving me goosebumps and shivers running down my spine which happens rarely when seeing performers onstage but when it does I know someone does it just RIGHT for me.
While also not being the tallest with around 5'9" being about my height but with his sturdy imposing built he also looks physically proper for the part (as also the height difference with Tam Mutu who is around 6' is not too bad as seen in past when Valjean was more one slender and rather unbelievable as one of the strongest men Javert has ever seen) and never feels contrived but natural and well elaborated.
His Valjean also manages to age wonderfully, not only by the looks but also by his play and his voice he certainly has grown old and shows decay close to the end with his singing sounding still intense but also vulnerable and moribund that even if you do not know what will happen at end you can just hear it in his voice.
Overall a most incredible performance I had the pleasure to watch at last that I really need to catch him once more before he is to leave in June next year as he told me after the show he would.
Find out more about Chris Holland >>here.
But not only he was a star that night. The whole cast was a delight to watch finally again after the last casts I watched in the London production were usually only partly convincing.
We also had an understudy on for the part of Fantine - Melanie Bright who was such a touching ravishing Fantine who made me believe how much she loves her daughter Cosette.
The surprise of the evening most probably was Anton Zetterholm as Enjolras, whom I was never too much a fan of when he was in Tarzan here in Hamburg and I honestly couldn't picture him in that part but he was a strong persuasive Enjolras who would have done anything for justice.
The Thenardiers (Cameron Blakely and Wendy Ferguson) were funny and entertaining after the last Thenardiers I had seen were more boring and the lovely Carrie Hope Fletcher whom I had seen the last time onstage as Jane Banks in Mary Poppins about nine years ago has grown into a compelling enchanting young woman delivering a moving job as Eponine.
So lovely was as always seeing the beloved Sarah Lark in the ensemble and the awesome Adam Linstead as Grantaire and standing out from the ensemble were James Gant, the highly adored George Miller and Niall Sheehy.
A wonderful night out that I really need to repeat before next year's cast change - ideally when Daniel Koek is off. ;-)
When I went the second time there were (at least) two understudies on, well two kinda changing my musical fan being quite massively. One was called Mig Ayesa who was on as Galileo that night and the other one was Chris Holland who was on as Britney - back then "just" in the ensemble and 2nd understudy but I hadn't really known that then. The following year he was promoted to Big Macca and 1st understudy of Britney plus Khashoggi and I got to see him several more times - always so much fun in whatever part on stage but also to see him off stage was always so much fun him being funny, witty and just adorable.
Unfortunately at the cast change in spring 2005 he left the show and with also Mig Ayesa leaving a few months later WWRY never felt the same again so I never returned after one final show in autumn 2005.
I followed Chris' career as much as I could - he was in Whistle Down The Wind after, then joined Dirty Dancing in 2006, as little as I liked the show I still went a few times to see him and some others in it, I saw him in POTO just one time and the two other shows unfortunately ran too short and during months when I could not manage to go to London.
Seeing him joining Les Miserables was a bit of surprise and as I had no time to go to London for over year I just finally got to see him in it this month but it was so worth the wait.
I managed to get my hands on a front row ticket for the Tuesday evening show when for all other shows pretty much nothing decent was left - it was as if it had just waited for me.
So with way too much excitement I was off to the Queens theatre and when they made the announcement that the role of Jean Valjean would be played by Chris Holland that night I was even more buzzing and I was not disappointed.
Already from the first moments when Valjean is released from prison when then wandering around on parole and further on to "What Have I Done?" I was totally amazed by his rather unique performance. I think (and I have seen most probably at least a dozen different Valjeans) I had never seen a Valjean with so much anger, so much fervour and expressiveness than this performance. Especially when Valjean is emotionally enraged I was totally taken with him.
Yes, I have heard the songs sung more, well let's call it beautiful, not saying that the singing was not great, it was totally matching the atmosphere him showing his skills admirably and that is what made the performance even more special with the singing not taking over and the focus away from the play as I have seen in other Valjean's.
Saying that his "Bring Him Home" though was just simply BEAUTIFUL but also heartbreaking and poignant giving me goosebumps and shivers running down my spine which happens rarely when seeing performers onstage but when it does I know someone does it just RIGHT for me.
While also not being the tallest with around 5'9" being about my height but with his sturdy imposing built he also looks physically proper for the part (as also the height difference with Tam Mutu who is around 6' is not too bad as seen in past when Valjean was more one slender and rather unbelievable as one of the strongest men Javert has ever seen) and never feels contrived but natural and well elaborated.
His Valjean also manages to age wonderfully, not only by the looks but also by his play and his voice he certainly has grown old and shows decay close to the end with his singing sounding still intense but also vulnerable and moribund that even if you do not know what will happen at end you can just hear it in his voice.
Overall a most incredible performance I had the pleasure to watch at last that I really need to catch him once more before he is to leave in June next year as he told me after the show he would.
Find out more about Chris Holland >>here.
But not only he was a star that night. The whole cast was a delight to watch finally again after the last casts I watched in the London production were usually only partly convincing.
We also had an understudy on for the part of Fantine - Melanie Bright who was such a touching ravishing Fantine who made me believe how much she loves her daughter Cosette.
The surprise of the evening most probably was Anton Zetterholm as Enjolras, whom I was never too much a fan of when he was in Tarzan here in Hamburg and I honestly couldn't picture him in that part but he was a strong persuasive Enjolras who would have done anything for justice.
The Thenardiers (Cameron Blakely and Wendy Ferguson) were funny and entertaining after the last Thenardiers I had seen were more boring and the lovely Carrie Hope Fletcher whom I had seen the last time onstage as Jane Banks in Mary Poppins about nine years ago has grown into a compelling enchanting young woman delivering a moving job as Eponine.
So lovely was as always seeing the beloved Sarah Lark in the ensemble and the awesome Adam Linstead as Grantaire and standing out from the ensemble were James Gant, the highly adored George Miller and Niall Sheehy.
A wonderful night out that I really need to repeat before next year's cast change - ideally when Daniel Koek is off. ;-)
