Rating: 
Summary: Magnificient performance
Review: First I want to apologize for my writing, I'm form The Netherlands and I'm not write often in English.
After I heard the dutch version of Les Miserables, I bought this DVD en was overwelmed. The voices of the main characters are great, at the top the voice of Jean Valjean.
The cast is great and the choir wonderful. I must seer (or hear) the music of this DVD at least once a week.
I want to recommend it to everyone who loves musicals.
Rating:
Summary: LEA IS AMAZING!
Review: This DVD is amazing! Les Miserables is truly one of the best musicals ever made! DREAM CAST INDEED.EPONINE (Lea Salonga): I can understand how some people had a hard time adjusting to her rendition of "On My Own" after getting used to Francis Ruffelle's subdued, weak, sad and miserable portrayal of the character of Eponine. "On My Own" has always been sung in a very slow, soft, sad and pitiful manner, and with Lea's powerful and emotional performance, many people had a hard time adjusting to a very interesting interpretation of the character of Eponine. Lea Salonga sang it the way it should be sang --- starting with a bitter note with the words "without a home, without a friend..." and began the song itself with such lightness and hopefulness (On my own I dream that he's beside me) and began to belt out the powerful words of the song "and I know it's only in my mind..." with such angry and desperate force. She sang the song in TOTAL perfection, in my opinion. SHE MADE THE SONG HER OWN. Some may argue that her voice is too pretty for the role, but I do believe that she captured all the emotions needed for the character. Her voice was not lost in the operatic voices of the other characters, it actually stood out. "A Little Fall of Rain" was one of the highlights of the concert. The angelic voice of Lea Salonga blended with the godly voice of Michael Ball, aahhhh, PERFECT! The way Lea Salonga sang the song was phenomenal. She sang the song with so much pain, yet with so much love. Other reviews of Lea Salonga were quite harsh, but still, there are so many more people who loved her performance in this concert. She worked hard to get this role meant for a Caucasian woman, as she used to fear that she might not get it because she is ASIAN. Having her play the part of Eponine broke many barriers and even surpassed many expectations. Let us just give her credit for that.
Rating:
Summary: Magnificent
Review: This is a concert rather than the play but it's not a deficiency as it gives yet another perspective on one of the greatest plays ever to go on-stage. I have yet to spin this DVD without hearing someone say that he or she would give anything to have been in the audience that night.
Rating:
Summary: Broadway Perfection!!!
Review: I laughed, I cried, and I have never seen a play quite like this before. This story has changed my life and has encouraged me loose 123 pounds. I was a fat hairy man weighing in at 459 pounds and now I am down to a slim 326. I reccomend this to anybody.
Rating: 
Summary: ALMOST a dream cast
Review: The is no doubt that all these people are amazingly talented and that this is definatly a near dream cast. It would be a dream cast if Tony Award winner Sutton Foster had sung for Eponine. Lea Solango is great...but no one in this world is as AMAZING as Sutton Foster. If you have heard her sing on my own you know there is no comparison to any Eponine EVER before. This is a Great show with a Great cast of people but everything would be better with Sutton Foster.
Rating:
Summary: For all Les Mis fans!
Review: I was a bit disappointed that the actors were only dressed in costumes and did not act out the parts, so I enjoy the CD better because you can truly appreciate the music because the images and the screen detract from the awesome music. Photos of the production are shown at the beginning of some songs instead of acting, and in other parts they show doubles acting out the parts while the real singers sing at microphones. Some of the acting doubles are laughable because the acting is terrible, so that is why the visuals sometimes detract from the gorgeous music. Colm Wilkinson and Philip Quast as the rivals Jean Valjean and Javert will blow you away because they are such a great team. Ruthie Henshall shows a lot of emotion in her part as Fantine because she puts a lot of emotion into her part without wailing like Graff on the Original Broadway Cast Version. Jenny Galloway and Allun Armstrong have great chemistry together and do well as the Thenardiers. They are comical yet disgusting at the same time. Hannah Chick will make your heart melt in "Castle on the Cloud." Michael Ball and Judy Kuhn show lots of emotion in their parts as Marius and Cosette. They make these slightly annoying characters more understandable. Adam Searles is cute as Gavroche with his bubbly little voice, and Michael Maguire as Enjolras will make you gasp, especially in "One Day More." A must buy for all Les Mis fans!
Rating:
Summary: What's Happened?
Review: For some odd reason, I have never though much about the Broadway musical, Les Misérables until our local High School decided to do the School Edition this year. With this, I have not only read the book, but first purchased the 10th year CD and then rented the DVD! I am now Hooked on the musical! The problem is, not only is the DVD out of print, but a long awaited re-release has been postponed (apparantly)! How do we let the producers of this DVD know that they should get this new version out? This performance is too incredible to even attempt to desribe!
Rating:
Summary: OUT OF THIS WORLD
Review: WHEN I SAW THE BROADWAY SHOW I WAS IN THE FRONT ROW AND I ALREADY HAD MEMORIZED THE WORDS TO IT. I STILL LISTEN TO IT EVERY WEEKEND AND CRY EVERY TIME. I AM A FAN OF COLM WILKISON,I HAVE ALL OF HIS MUSIC. HIS VOICE IS BEAUTIFUL. I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL THE DVD COMES OUT SO I CAN SEE IT AGAIN. I HAVE MOVED AWAY FROM NEW YORK SO I WON'T GET TO SEE THE SHOW LIVE ANYMORE. IT WAS ONE OF MY BEST MUSUCALS THAT I HAD SEEN ON BROADWAY.
JILL
Rating:
Summary: Gives New Meaning to the Word, "Goosebumps"
Review: This 10th anniversary concert made my month. Javert was absolutely incredible. Chills ran up and down my spine whenever he sang. I can't even handle it. His performance was perfect in every way and I could just fast forward to his parts over and over again and never get tired of it. Fantine and Eponine were also astoundingly wonderful. I don't think I'll ever accept anyone else in those parts again. It's a shame really. I've been spoiled by their perfect voices. Marius had to grow on me. I loathed him at first but after seeing the concert, I've had a change of heart and come to respect and appreciate his voice. I really don't like Judy Kuhn as Cosette although I love Judy Kuhn in 'Pocahontas.' Maybe it's just the music she has to sing. Enjolras, the Thenardiers, and, of course, Valjean, and everyone else were excellent. Although the musical is not acted out, it remains gripping, passionate, and emotionally exhausting. And just when you think you can't take anymore bliss, all the Valjeans from around the world sing an encore and it's just indescribable. Excellent.
Rating:
Summary: The Dream Cast
Review: I absolutely loved Les Miserables in Concert. Even though the actors weren't actually acting out the scenes, the singing was still incredible. I don't think they could have picked a better array of talent to be on that stage than they did. The irriplaceable Colm Wilkinson returned as Jean Valjean--the character he created in the London and Broadway premieres. Ruthie Henshall was a wonderful Fantine and in my opinion, 'I Dreamed a Dream' was one of the best songs in the show. Lea Solanga sang beautifully as usual, playing the love sick and ignored Eponine. Michael Ball. Wow. What more can I say about him? He was, as always, incredible. I wish I could have seen him in the original London production of Les Mis! I am glad that I at least own the original London cast CD of Les Mis so that I can hear how he sounded then compared to now. The children, Hannah Chick (young Cosette) and Adam Searles (Gavroche) were terrific. There was one point in Young Cosette's song, Castle on a Cloud, when you could hear a loud bang, but being the professional that she is, she kept going, even though you could tell that she definitely heard it. Judy Kuhn (Cosette) did a wonderful job as well, but there were times when it sounded as if she was a little sharp. I think that this role makes her strain her voice a little. I know she was in the original Broadway production, but over the years, one's voice changes and I think you can tell that has happened with her. Other than that, she did a wonderful job with most of the songs. Michael Maguire was terrfic as Enjorlas. He is such an incredible singer (not to mention very tall--I think he's taller than the rest of the cast!) and that was proven in 'Do You Hear the People Sing?' and 'Red and Black'. Philip Quast is truly wonderful as Javert, the policeman after Valjean. His singing cannot be matched, especially in the song where he plummets to his death. Alun Armstrong was simply hilarious. He does a wonderful job of making a complete fool out of Thenardier (which the character is). Jenny Galloway is also very funny as Madame Thendardier. Their duet, 'Beggar at the Feast' was so funny that I had tears in my eyes! They are rather convincing (even though it's only a concert, one can only imagine what it is like on an actual stage). So, if you loved the London and Broadway productions or just love Les Miserables, go and buy this version. It may not be an actual performance, but it is well worth the purchase just to see such wonderful talent on stage.
| 
