Les Miserables in NYC

We saw a couple (well, actually four) Broadway productions.  We tried to get NEWSIES, the Disney musical, but the best we could do was two seats at one end of a row and two at the other (so we picked MOTOWN, where we could all sit together instead). 

Anyone who reads my blogs is going to know that I love Les Miserables.  We had main floor center tickets months before we left for New York.  One of our main reasons for going to see it was that the star, playing Jean Valjean, would be Ramin Karimloo, who has become one of our favorite singers. 

The whole production was spectacular.  I put it at the top of all four that we saw last week, a bit ahead of Phantom (which I admit I enjoyed more on my second viewing than on my first - maybe if I get to twelve, I will put it up there with Les Mis) and solidly ahead of Motown and Mamma Mia (which we were seeing for about the fourth time). 

Ramin, in particular, was incredible.  The man has such a powerful voice and presence onstage.  His performance of BRING HIM HOME was especially wonderful.  You can see him  here on Katie Couric .  He sang the song on the show, but this clip doesn't include it.  I'm sure it will be on YouTube soon. 

He was also on CBS with Dana Tyler which you can see here.

The other cool thing was that as I reviewed the program, I found an actor playing some of the parts who I knew as a child and young man in my home town.  His name is Arbender J. Robinson, and I can recall talking to him and asking him if he was playing sports (because he was a good sized kid and I think his dad played), and him telling me that no, he was doing theater.  So it was with a lot of excitement and pride that I watched him performing a couple of decent roles in Les Mis.  He was terrific. 

Great shows, all of them, but Les Miserables was the tops.

*****