With its concept, book and original French lyrics by Alain Boublil, book and music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer, produced by Cameron Mackintosh, and proudly presented by Live Nation, the epic musical Les Misérables is back in Australia, with a limited residency at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena.
Les Misérables: The Arena Spectacular is a concert style version of the iconic musical and stars some of the world’s greatest theatre talents including, but not limited to, Michael Ball as Javert, Alfie Boe as Jean Valjean, James D. Gish as Enjoras, the Philippines’ Rachelle Ann Go as Fantine, and Australia’s own theatre legend, Marina Prior in the role as Madame Thénardier.
If you’re new to Les Misérables, the epic sung-through musical explores themes of conflict, social injustice, poverty, familial love and romantic love, all taking place during what appears to be civil unrest.
Every prominent character in Les Misérables appears to have their own story arc. While Fantine (Rachelle Ann Go) is at war with how 19th-century French society negatively views single mothers, Javert (Michael Ball) and Jean Valjean (Alfie Boe) play a constant cat and mouse game with each other, there’s a love triangle between Marius (Jac Yarrow), Cosette (Beatrice Penny-Touré) and Eponine (Shan Ako) that you know will end in heartbreak for one, Thénardier (Matt Lucas) and Madame Thénardier (Marina Prior) are the comic relief that swindle themselves to the top, and all the while a determined and very serious Enjolras (James D. Gish) is fiercely campaigning and gathering forces to fight on the barricade. It’s a lot, and the music that accompanies this epic tale is just as grand.
Rachelle Ann Go as Fantine is divine with her bittersweet rendition of the famous ‘I Dreamed a Dream’. Admittedly, I’ve been a long-time fan of Go, so I was super excited to finally see her perform live in Melbourne. Matt Lucas and Marina Prior have a lot of fun playing nasty characters Thénardier and Madame Thénardier and are hilariously entertaining with their numbers ‘Master of the House’ and ‘Beggars at the Feast’, Jac Yarrow’s performance of Marius’ solo ‘Empty Chairs at Empty Tables’ is executed exquisitely, and Shan Ako shines in Eponine’s iconic ballad ‘On My Own’.
Of course, ‘Do You Hear the People Sing?’ led fantastically by James D. Gish’s Enjoras and the famous ‘One Day More’ are ever present, but the real gift of this musical world tour is to see Michael Ball and Alfie Boe fill Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena with their phenomenal voices as Javert and Jean Valjean. Ball is tall, dark, vicious and intimidating, yet he glows with a hesitant fragility when he performs ‘Javert’s Suicide’. Boe is equally as sensational in his portrayal of Jean Valjean being determined, strong, yet soft and selfless. His solo of ‘Bring Him Home’ is I daresay the highlight of the night, with his vocals cutting through the respectful silence of the iconic venue with his jaw-dropping and booming vocals. Honestly, wow.
My only criticism is that despite Les Misérables being a celebrated and fantastic musical, its concert style format leaves a lot to be desired. The stage set up has clever moving parts, made to look like an inn at one point, and the other a barricade where the men are anticipating battle. Lighting is smartly used to help make the experience more dramatic when war breaks out. However, due to this being a concert format, a lot of the characters look towards the audience rather than at each other, which is fine but you often long for the characters to interact properly.
There are also three screens above where the massive orchestra sit. Although the screens on each side display a singular cast member singing or two at most, the middle screen is rarely utilised the same way and could have easily been used to consistently display the cast as a whole. Not a big deal for those seated closer, however, considering this is performed in an arena setting, a concert should always accommodate to all in the venue, not just those seated close to the stage. Many further back would have felt disconnected as a result.
Overall, Les Misérables: The Arena Spectacular is a great opportunity to catch world famous theatre performers in what is arguably one of the greatest musicals of all time, returning to Australia for the first time in 10 years.
Les Misérables: The Arena Spectacular is currently playing in Melbourne at Rod Laver Arena until May 25th. The production then heads to its final Australian city of the world tour, Brisbane, from May 28th at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.
For more information and ticketing, visit:
https://lesmisarenatour.com.au
Photography by Daniel Boud.
Hello and thanks for your review – some good things to look out for.
Just FYI, I believe that Les Mis is not about the French Revolution but about a period 30+ years later. Also, the spelling of the character is Enjolras 😊
I have been twice and I agree with your review . The screens above could have been utilised better . The scene of Javert’s suicide was very very moving but the way he moved off stage did not make it clear that he had committed suicide . I told my friend that the character had suicided and she was unaware .
Overall the show was mesmerising .Matt Lucas was unwell on our second visit but the understudy was brilliant
The vocals were amazing ..
But I feel the characters were impersonal..
Singing to an audience (separate mic)
But not to each other..
The deaths were a bit unclear .. as was mentioned in other comments..
And was looking forward to a more powerful ending ..