REV (NY 91)

This was the first time I saw Les Mis on Broadway. Most of the lead performers were fantastic. But the ensemble was very weak as was the orchestra. J Mark McVey was amazing as Valjean. He had the strongest and most precise voice I've ever heard for that character. Vocally and physically he reminded me a lot of Colm Wilkinson. At times when J Mark was singing, I thought I was listening to the Orig. London Cast Recording. He was that good. In pale comparison, Robert DuSold was one of the weaker Javerts I've seen. His voice was very small and tight sounding. And he had a very slow vibrato. This made numbers like "Stars" hard to listen to. Christy Baron had a pretty voice as Fantine. Ed Dixon was not a good choice as Thenardier. He sang his role like he was singing an opera. He sounded too upper class to be Thenardier and he just wasn't that funny. Evalyn Baron was only so-so as his wife. Joseph Kolinski was too laid back as Enjolras. He didn't have the power-house voice that his character needs. John Leone as Marius was great. He sang with the right style and his acting was really good as well. Natalie Toro as Eponine was incredible. She sang and acted her role flawlessly. Melissa Anne Davis as Cosette was adequate. The ensemble sang with a lot of volume but didn't sound good when they sang together on the big chorus numbers. They had an almost "Bad Opera" sound to them . They sounded like a bunch of older people with too much vibrato that didn't blend when they sang in harmony. The orchestra played too softly. This made some of the leads sing off pitch because they couldn't hear the music. Then a couple of times, someone in the horn section played a wrong note.


	Broadway (Imperial Theatre, Jul. 1991) REVIEW Valjean (J Mark McVey) Javert (Robert DuSold) Fantine (Christy Baron) Thenardier (Ed Dixon) Mme. Thenardier (Evalyn Baron) Enjolras (Joseph Kolinski) Marius (John Leone) Eponine (Natalie Toro) Cosette (Melissa Anne Davis) This was the first time I saw Les Mis on Broadway. Most of the lead performers were fantastic. But the ensemble was very weak as was the orchestra. J Mark McVey was amazing as Valjean. He had the strongest and most precise voice I've ever heard for that character. Vocally and physically he reminded me a lot of Colm Wilkinson. At times when J Mark was singing, I thought I was listening to the Orig. London Cast Recording. He was that good. In pale comparison, Robert DuSold was one of the weaker Javerts I've seen. His voice was very small and tight sounding. And he had a very slow vibrato. This made numbers like "Stars" hard to listen to. Christy Baron had a pretty voice as Fantine. Ed Dixon was not a good choice as Thenardier. He sang his role like he was singing an opera. He sounded too upper class to be Thenardier and he just wasn't that funny. Evalyn Baron was only so-so as his wife. Joseph Kolinski was too laid back as Enjolras. He didn't have the power-house voice that his character needs. John Leone as Marius was great. He sang with the right style and his acting was really good as well. Natalie Toro as Eponine was incredible. She sang and acted her role flawlessly. Melissa Anne Davis as Cosette was adequate. The ensemble sang with a lot of volume but didn't sound good when they sang together on the big chorus numbers. They had an almost "Bad Opera" sound to them . They sounded like a bunch of older people with too much vibrato that didn't blend when they sang in harmony. The orchestra played too softly. This made some of the leads sing off pitch because they couldn't hear the music. Then a couple of times, someone in the horn section played a wrong note.