Les Misérables, West End, 31st March 2018, matinée

featuring Jonny Purchase (u/s Enjolras), Ciarán Bowling (swing Feuilly), John Lumsden (Joly), George Tebbutt (swing Prouvaire), Hugo Chiarella (Grantaire) and Paul Wilkins (Marius).

After Grantaire’s solo, ExR forehead touch happened and I’m still not over it. ‘Happy’ Barricade Day everyone!

 So I’m trying to learn how to draw Hugo R LOL.

X

I’m not saying enjoltaire is canon, but it’s canon

Best of 2017 Countdown #14 :: Celebrating Team Covers in Les Mis London, 2017–2018. [ 15 ]

The West End cast of Les Miserables this year is again teeming with absolutely gorgeous covers, including:

• Adam Bayjou (alternate Valjean); Antony Hansen (2nd Valjean) and Shaq Taylor (1st Javert); and Alice Ellen Wright (1st Fantine); • Jonny Purchase (1st Enjolras) and Ciaran Joyce (2nd Marius); Alice Ellen Wright again (1st Eponine); Rebecca Lafferty (3rd Eponine) and Holly-Anne Hull (1st Cosette); • Sophie-May Feek (2nd Fantine); Katie Kerr (1st Madame Thenardier) and James Hume (1st Thenardier); Catherine Hannay (2nd Cosette) and John Lumsden (1st Marius); • Hugo Chiarella (2nd Thenardier) and Anna McGarahan (2nd Madame Thenardier); Andy Conaghan (1st Grantaire); Oliver Brenin (3rd Valjean); • Lee Van Geleen (2nd Javert); Danny Whitehead (2nd Enjolras) and Jonny Purchase again (emergency Marius); Lauren Soley (2nd Eponine); • Emma Barr (3rd Fantine); Ciaran Joyce again (2nd Grantaire), and Holly-Anne Hull again (emergency Gavroche)

excuse me but hugo chiarella is a wonderful R and i love him

@killiandonnelly Happy #WorldBeardDay from all of us (who have them) @lesmisofficial

hot takes courtesy of me and @williamvapespeare

we do not take constructive criticism but let us know where your favourite grantaires fit !

LMFAO throwback to last week or whatever when i was casually flicking through the phantom programme and saw hugo fucking chiarella is the resident director now like 😭😭😭 WIT

Grantaire in the showing at Queen’s Theatre

  After obsessing over the way Grantaire was played by Hugo Chiarella, which was far different than any other portrayal according to my mom who has seen the show many times before, I’ve come to the conclusion that, whether intentionally or not, every scene that Grantaire was in stripped away another mask he had put up to protect himself.

 In “Red and Black,” Grantaire is in full messing around mode. He throws a map at Comferre during the song, makes a lude gesture, and is overall acting like his only purpose is to be a nuisance.

 Then, when Enjolras starts his talk about rallying cries, all of the other Amis gather around him except for Grantaire, who sits at a table with his bottle. But, he no longer has his immature grin; that has been wiped of and replaced with a blank and slightly doubtful expression.

 During “Do You Hear the People Sing,” his grin returns slightly as Enjolras catches sight of him at their rally and he spreads his arms in a gesture that says ‘well, I’m here, weren’t expecting that were you?’ His grin once again fades, though, as Enjolras turns away after a pause.

 We next see how angry Grantaire is after Eponine dies. His attempts at pretending not to care are momentarily halted as he intercepts Enjolras from reaching a crying Marius with a rough shove to the shoulder. Grantaire then wraps an arm around Marius, who he seemed to view as a little brother. He’s clearly angry and tense, not even bothering to hide the fact that he’s mad that they’re putting themselves through this. He’s also mad that the only people he cares about are going off to die for something he believes won’t work.

 At the beginning of “Drink With Me,” Grantiare makes a weak attempt at fooling around, though his words about fearing death let on how heartbroken he was over watching his friends go to their deaths. When Enjolras stands in front of him to diffuse the tension Grantaire’s words had created, however, Grantaire’s facade completely crumbles as his voice cracks on the last line of his solo. He then falls into the arms of a rather shocked Enjolras who eventually returns the hug, places a hand against Grantaire’s head, and presses his cheek against Grantaire’s hair. Grantaire’s strained smile never makes a reappearance.

 Throughout the rest of the play, Grantaire’s face finally shows just how hopeless he feels, unable to help his friends, to stop them. His despair only continues to grow, no longer hidden by humor, and his attempt at apathy no longer protecting him from feeling the immense loss of watching those he cares about fall. It gets to the point where Marius embraces him after the death of Gavroche, pressing his cheek against that of the man mourning the death of a boy he saw as a little brother. No matter how hard Grantaire tried to protect him, shielding him during part of the first attack and forcing him to leave with the women and fathers, only for the boy to comeback and be killed.

 The final blow that breaks Grantaire, of course, is watching Enjolras fall over the side of the barricade. He calls out his name and desperately tries to climb to him, only to be killed.

 Grantaire, who started off as a disruptive, immature nuisance, suffered blow after blow, shattering the walls of humor and anger and bitterness that would protect him from heartbreak until he becomes a man who is bitter because of his friends choices to go get killed, but loves them even more, so he watches them die one by one, and deals with heartbreak after heartbreak until he is broken emotionally and then physically as he too gets killed.

MY HEART

Les Miserables (London) 26th December 2017

Cast: Killian Donnelly (Jean Valjean), Hayden Tee (Javert), Carley Stenson (Fantine), Charlotte Kennedy (Cosette), Paul Wilkins (Marius), Karis Jack (Eponine), Hyoie O’Grady (Enjolras), Steven Meo (Thenardier), Jacqueline Tate (Madame Thenardier), Hugo Chiarella (Grantaire)

Full audio (untracked, mp3)

Please do not post outside of Tumblr

Happy New Year!

FRIENDLY REMINDER THAT MY COUSIN HUGO CHIARELLA (aka grantaire in les mis on the west end) HAS JUST RELEASED A NEW MUSICAL CALLED EVIE MAY: A TIVOLI STORY and i BETTER not see my aussie theatre friends sleeping on that

Second musical of the month, Les Misérables! It was amazing, and the cast were very sweet about autographs. I definitely enjoyed it, and I need to go again!

Jean Valjean (Adam Bayjou) The regular Jean Valjean for West End at the moment is Killian Donnelly (who you may know played Combeferre in the film), however we had one of the understudies for this performance. He was absolutely incredible, and he hit both the low and high notes with so little effort that it was clear he has an amazing range. Honestly, I would love to see him in the role again if I go back.

Javert (Hayden Tee) Hayden has the perfect voice for Javert, very deep and slightly ragged. His acting was also very good, especially in the scene just after the barricade, he was practically tearing his hair out!

The Bishop of Digne (Andy Conaghan) Andy has a really deep and rich voice, it suits the Bishop really well. It’s a shame we don’t have that many scenes with him.

Fantine (Carley Stenson) She has a richer voice than other Fantines I have heard, but she hits the notes well so it really works to her advantage and makes her sound more mature than Cosette or Eponine. She really sells her emotions, especially in Come to Me and when she is saved from arrest by Valjean.

Young Cosette (Grace Salsoni/ Talia Etherington/ Holly McDonagh) While I have to admit that I’m not entirely sure which of the three I saw, she had a very lovely voice and it was incredibly strong. Some Cosettes can be quite quiet (understandably) but that was not a problem here.

The Thénardiers (Steven Meo and Jacqueline Tate) These two were absolutely brilliant! They were hilariously funny, and their antics were a bit of relief from the depressing scenes. Thénardier’s little responses to things (Such as saying ‘fair enough’ when Javert refuses to release him and his gang) really add to the humour and the two actors have great charisma together. Also I met Madame Thénardier and she was so lovely about giving autographs and even chatted with us for a bit!

Gavroche (Felix Warren/ Ben Perkins/ Charlie Strip) Once again, I’m not sure which Gavroche I saw (though my mum later pointed out that it was likely 2 of them), but this kid had me in tears. I don’t cry easily at media, but his death tore me up. Really great, probably the best Gavroche I’ve heard. Also, when the curtain call was in progress they split the actors into groups, so Enjolras was with him, and when they separated they grinned and saluted each other and??? My heart??? It was adorable.

Eponine (Karis Jack) I actually want to die. This was one of the best Eponine’s I’ve ever heard, and she looks almost exactly like I imagine her to look. Honestly if I were Marius it would be a no brainer on who to pick. Once again, A Little Fall of Rain made me cry, and she harmonised with Marius really well. She also came with Fantine to get Valjean, and they all stood looking over Marius and Cosette for a while before anyone joins them.

Cosette (Charlotte Kennedy) Now, here’s where I have to be mean. First, I just want to say that the actress was so sweet and this is nothing against her character, but she was just outmatched. Her voice was really shrill and shaky, but not in the way that sopranos normally are, it seemed like she’d strained her vocal chords or something? If that is the case then of course nothing against her and I hope she feels better soon, but if not… Well, she was still a brilliant actress, just not the best singer.

Enjolras and Grantaire (Hyoie O'Grady and Hugo Chiarella) I was originally intending to group all the boys together, but honestly Enjolras needed his own segment and I knew if I wrote about him on his own I’d end up talking about Grantaire a lot because they had really sweet moments together. My solution? Group them. OK, so starting with the actors themselves, Enjolras was really well cast, enigmatic and the actor himself was so sweet and chatted for a while. He really made me want to join a revolution. We don’t hear as much of Grantaire, but he had a very smooth voice and was really funny (in Red and Black when teasing Marius he sits on his lap and kisses his cheek(?)). He was also very good at being serious though, such as when he comforts Marius about Eponine’s death. The two together were gold. They worked really well together, and had both funny and heartwarming moments. Funny moment: Enjolras is giving all the barricade boys a brohug™ but leaves R out, so he just stands there and does the ‘what the hell’ gesture. Heartwarming/sad: Enjolras finally gives Grantaire that hug during Drink with Me. As in, the actors stand there hugging each other for pretty much the remainder of the song. Also, Grantaire dies when he jumps over the barricade after Enjolras (who is killed by an explosion). I’ve spent too much time talking about these two, but I couldn’t not.

Marius (Paul Wilkins) This Marius was brilliant. He had a really rich voice, and he paired really well with the other barricade boys. He also hits Thénardier, which is definitely a bonus. He’s very good at projecting emotion with his voice; he sounds like he’s genuinely crying in both A Little Fall Of Rain and Empty Chairs at Empty Tables.

The Barricade Boys (sans Marius, Enjolras and Grantaire) First, two pieces of explanation. One, I haven’t written out all the names, because there’s a point where even I lose patience. I instead included a photo of the cast. Two, I really wanted to do a separate listing for each of the boys, but I didn’t have enough information on each of them to be detailed. Anyway, they all harmonised very well, and there was a real range of voices, with Shaq Taylor as Jehan most noticeably bringing up the rear with a very low voice. They all bounced very well off of each other, and had a lot of fun or sober moments.

Finally, a call-out post to specifically Clare Findlater, but more broadly to creatives, ensemble members and anyone who isn’t visibly up on stage playing a main role: Please, when people ask you for autographs, don’t say, ‘oh I’m only an ensemble member’ or 'technician’ or in this cast 'orchestra member’, because you know what? You guys are just as important as the Jean Valjeans and the Enjolras’, if not more so. Without you the show wouldn’t run at all. So you aren’t 'just’ something, you’re the (vastly unappreciated) backbone of the show. Well done you guys!

You’d think I’d have my head around this by now, but no, no indeed, no the nth phantasmic degree. Lucy St. Louis will be gorgeous as Christine; I’m thrilled for Harrop and Linstead; that Jameses Hume and Gant and Hugo Chiarella have work through this as well is excellent (and of course Holly Anne Hull, too). But that directorial disaster Sam Hiller is part of this production as well, and that does not bode well, to put it politely, and the cuts to the orchestra and the overall show changes ... All in all, get that money, potato honey, tonight and for the next year or however long it takes, but as I have said before and will say again, passing bells and sculpted angels, cold and monumental, seem for you the wrong companions, maybe even more wrong than they were for Thaxton in his short run, and that is saying something. 

ok but i didn’t tell you guys about when i went to see les mis on the west end and cried my little heart out

basically i’m a massive slut for grantaire because i relate to him way, way more than i should and i was really worried i was going to be disappointed but nope this guy was absolutely fucking amazing

whenever he was onstage i was watching him and not just because he’s my favourite character ok the actor was just great

anyway during drink with me (a pivotal moment obviously) the cast decided to do it in a way i’ve never seen before and during grantaire’s solo, a couple of the amis (don’t remember exactly who because i was very teary but probs joly and jehan) try to stop him from saying what he’s saying and physically restrain him because he’s basically getting mad at enjolras and bringing down morale and i’ve never seen it done like that but it was amazing

eventually they back off and he’s just left standing there and enjolras just comes up to comfort him (they’re still centre stage despite marius’s solo it isn’t off to the side like usual) and he just pauses and then collapses on him and enj just wraps his arms around him really tight like a load of the good productions do

the real kicker that got me bawling was when gavroche died though because the guy played it so well i’m yelling he was a broken man and you could see it in his face good lord

he sat there with his head in his hands for so long and barely looked up when enjolras tried to comfort him again

eventually he did though and that’s when they went to their deaths lmao

the two of them had another major moment (centre stage again) just before enj climbs the barricade and i swear to god grantaire touched his hand until the last possible moment which was a great homage to the brick

anyway it was incredible and i cried for ten years afterwards i am a woman changed

the actor’s name is hugo chiarella and he retweets a lot of e/r stuff

also valjean was meant to be played by killian donnelly but it was an understudy so obviously i was really disappointed but he was So Good that man done poured his heart into that performance thank you adam bayjou