Les Misérables (Queens Theatre) 26.01.2013

Alright, after we just had seen “Billy Elliot”, we hurried over to the Queens Theatre to see the last show of “Les Misérables” before the Cast Change, where Liam Tamne (as Enjolras) & Craig Mather (as Marius) would have their farewell show. What a night. I’ve never seen an actor on a stage cry during the very last song, but this night, it happened, and they totally touched me with it. But from the beginning.
As I’d never heard anything about the Musical, I went into it a bit sceptical; therefore, the ticket I had booked had its seat on the “balcony”, on the left to the stage – worst idea EVER. I could barely move my feet, I had to lean over almost the entire time (and still didn’t see everything) and everytime I moved, I touched the guy who sat on the right next to me, so that I thought he might actually start to think I did it on purpose.
When the show started, the first goosebumps found their way up my arms – “Look Down” was playing, and it was amazing! You have to know, I’ve never heard any song that is sung in that Musical, so I went in totally blank. Of course, there were a few songs that I really didn’t like (mostly the slow ones, I call them “Sad Songs”), but a lot that I thought were so amazing that I needed to somehow get them (Like “Do You Hear The People Sing”, “At The End Of The Day”, “Master Of The House”, “I Dreamed A Dream”, “Castle On A Cloud”). And though I honestly have to admit that I was a bit disappointed as I noticed that there is almost NONE word spoken in that show, but that it’s mostly done with singing voices, I also have to be honest to say that the voices themselves took my breath away. I can’t even tell you any specific actors/singers, because they were all just stunning. As my friends both had seen Liam Tamne in his role as Enjolras more than once, I was quite excited to hear him sing, and I really wasn’t disappointed at all. His voice was so perfect that night, and the way he’s in his role is really, really impressive; I know why everyone liked him so much and why it was so hard for most of the people in the audience to see him leave. Who also really found his way into my heart was Jake Poolman, who played the role of Gavroche that night. Such a lovely little boy, loved his voice, and especially his accent, and I was shocked when his death scene came. But as I said, I can’t give you specific names who was the most amazing, because everyone was breathtaking to me.
And just as the last song came on – “Do You Hear The People Sing”, I really didn’t know what was happening to me. The entire Cast was on stage and sang out of their lungs, and Liam & Craig – who enjoyed their last few minutes ever as Enjolras & Marius – were in the middle of them, slowly walking up to the front of the stage. And then it happened: I looked down to the stage, my eyes fixed on Liam, and I saw that he wasn’t even singing. The only thing I could see was that he was constantly swallowing. and that his gaze was fixed on some far away point at the ceiling of the Theatre, while everyone, including Craig, was singing their parts. And even from that high above, I could see that his eyes were wet, that he was having a real hard time to fight back the tears that just didn’t stop welling up in them. By then, it was over for me, and I had to fight back tears, too. It was heartbreaking, really. I’ve never been part of a “Farewell Show” before, so that was totally new to me, and it was so hard to see Liam cry on stage while the show was still running, to see the love he had for the show and his role, that he made me instantly cry, too. I just wanted to storm down there and give him massive consolation hugs! When the song was done, he, Craig and a few others that left that night were standing in the middle of a circle that the rest of the Cast had made for them, taking flowers that were given to him, and there, even Craig started crying. And even I, who wasn’t a fan of the show, as I’d only seen it it this one time, was touched by everything: the songs, the story, the actors, the effort to put up such an epic Musical, and, of course, to be an eyewitness to the atmosphere of a Cast Change.
Sadly, as my friend and I had a “Date” with the Hippodrome Casino just after the Show was over, we didn’t get the chance to go and see the actors at the Stage Door, but maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing, as the pics I would’ve taken with them might’ve come out pretty bad, due to my slightly red and puffy eyes.
All in all, I’m glad I did that show, and I’m honoured that I was allowed to be a part of Liam’s last Show. I hope that he and everyone else who left that night will find a role that they will love as much as they did theirs at the Queens Theatre. Great show, great actors, really worth watching!