Posted: 7/25/15 at 1:05am
http://youtu.be/BrVo5fUa-V8 Surprised none of the major Broadway platforms have made note of this. On July 23, Kyle Jean-Baptiste made his debut as the youngest ever and first African-American to portray Jean Valjean on Broadway. He's amazing and only 21!
Updated On: 7/25/15 at 01:05 AM
Posted: 7/25/15 at 1:08am
That wasn't his Broadway debut. He's been in the ensemble as Courfeyrac since Nathaniel Hackmann left.
Posted: 7/25/15 at 1:09am
oh yea i saw Lin tweet about this! Congrats to Kyle!!
Posted: 7/25/15 at 1:14am
Wow he is fantastic. I'd pay a ticket to see him.
Posted: 7/25/15 at 1:51am
It seems a lot more powerful when someone who is black is playing Jean valjean. Just like how at the beginning JVJ is like a slave.
Posted: 7/25/15 at 2:49am
"That wasn't his Broadway debut. He's been in the ensemble as Courfeyrac since Nathaniel Hackmann left."
My bad, I'll fix it! I looked at his credits and just assumed :-/
Posted: 7/25/15 at 9:29am
Hey, Zell. You might want to delete that link.
Posted: 7/25/15 at 10:21am
"Hey, Zell. You might want to delete that link."
Y
Posted: 7/25/15 at 1:14pm
Because it links to an unauthorized video. Watch and enjoy bootlegs all you want, but realize that the video is technically illegal and in light of all the phone issues in theaters lately, it's disrespectful to the actors.
Posted: 7/25/15 at 1:24pm
But give it enough time, and it'll be considered an "audience capture" and included in a documentary!
Posted: 7/26/15 at 4:58pm
Our impact! https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/LES-MISERABLES-Welcomes-Youngest-and-First-African-American-Jean-Valjean-in-Broadway-History-20150726
Posted: 7/26/15 at 11:16pm
http://www.cleveland.com/onstage/index.ssf/2015/07/baldwin_wallace_alum_kyle_jean.html
Posted: 7/28/15 at 3:04pm
FYI, Kyle Jean-Baptiste tweeted that he will be playing Jean Valjean on 29 July at 2PM, 1 August at 2PM, 13 August at 7PM, and 27 August at 7PM.
Posted: 7/28/15 at 3:07pm
Thanks! Awesome!
Posted: 7/28/15 at 3:13pm
"FYI, Kyle Jean-Baptiste tweeted that he will be playing Jean Valjean on 29 July at 2PM, 1 August at 2PM, 13 August at 7PM, and 27 August at 7PM.
"
So basically he's taking for the rest of Ramin's run lol
Posted: 7/28/15 at 3:14pm
When does Ramin finish?
Posted: 7/28/15 at 3:19pm
Posted: 7/28/15 at 3:19pm
while this is nice and all, how does this make any sense story wise?
Posted: 7/28/15 at 3:29pm
Right? I mean, black people have no idea what it's like to be chased by a cop for a rather long time for a petty reason.
Unless you're talking about him going to prison when he's two years old.
Updated On: 7/28/15 at 03:29 PM
Posted: 7/28/15 at 3:53pm
because Jean Valjean was a real person and this is still a production set in 1815. If it was contemporary sure go for it, but this just seems, odd.
Posted: 7/28/15 at 3:58pm
I looked more closely at the dates and I'm wondering if he's the alternate.
Posted: 7/28/15 at 4:07pm
Lightsout, JVJ is a fictional character who was completely made-up. There are no references to his race in the show. There were black people in France in 1815. And even if there weren't, the audience could still suspend disbelief regardless of race.
I made an all-black cast of WSS work, and that show is full of specific references to the characters Polish and Puerto Rican backgrounds.
Posted: 7/28/15 at 4:08pm
because Jean Valjean was a real person
OK, you're not really getting off on the right foot here.
Posted: 7/28/15 at 4:21pm
"while this is nice and all, how does this make any sense story wise?"
What sense does it make for people with British and American accents to do a musical set in France? I mean if we're talking technicalities here...
But in all seriousness, Les Mis transcends race, creed and nationality. You don't have to be a certain color or be from a certain place to play any of those parts. Les Mis has always about about diversity.
Posted: 7/28/15 at 4:26pm
Also, why is LightsOut90 acting like Lea Salonga/Joanna Ampil/Shanice/etc.'s Eponines never happened, Melba Moore's Fantine never happened, Edward Baruwa/Shaun Escoffery's Enjolras never happened, etc...? (Yes, I'm purposely naming people from productions well before this one.)
Call_me_jorge, Nathaniel Hackmann kind of was, so I'm guessing Kyle is too.
Updated On: 7/28/15 at 04:26 PM
