Who's Your Favortie Jean Valjean? — Page 2
#27
Posted: 11/21/08 at 5:10am
Yes he sang it very well - his Bring Him Home was a highlight and good to hear in the original French.
#28
Posted: 11/21/08 at 6:22am
"Bring Him Home" isn't in that movie, thank God.
#29
Posted: 11/21/08 at 8:04am
Colm Wilkinson
"TO LOVE ANOTHER PERSON IS TO SEE THE FACE OF GOD"- LES MISERABLES---
"THERE'S A SPECIAL KIND OF PEOPLE KNOWN AS SHOW PEOPLE... WE'RE BORN EVERY NIGHT AT HALF HOUR CALL!"--- CURTAINS
#30
Posted: 11/21/08 at 8:36am
If we're going that route, Nobodyhome, then I'll say Harry Baur and Lino Ventura. 
My favorite stage Valjean was J. Mark McVey for a very long time. However, after seeing Hugh Panaro in the Walnut Street production, I'd have to go with him. Honestly, I never thought that would be the case. I was never a fan of his Phantom and he most certainly would have never occurred to me as a possible candidate for Valjean, but he knocked the role out of the park! I've never heard it better sung via any format, and his acting was spot-on. So, yes, I was able to excuse the fact that he didn't look like he'd ever be able to lift a cart. ... But then again how many Valjeans actually are built like bison?
My favorite stage Valjean was J. Mark McVey for a very long time. However, after seeing Hugh Panaro in the Walnut Street production, I'd have to go with him. Honestly, I never thought that would be the case. I was never a fan of his Phantom and he most certainly would have never occurred to me as a possible candidate for Valjean, but he knocked the role out of the park! I've never heard it better sung via any format, and his acting was spot-on. So, yes, I was able to excuse the fact that he didn't look like he'd ever be able to lift a cart. ... But then again how many Valjeans actually are built like bison?
Updated On: 11/21/08 at 08:36 AM
#31
Posted: 11/21/08 at 9:40am
no love for Jeff Leyton? hahaha
#32
Posted: 11/21/08 at 9:51am
I might be slightly biased, but Colm Wilkinson for sure, followed closely by Michael Burgess.
"You see, I told you so! There's lots of things I know. 'Ponine, she knows her way around."
#33
Posted: 11/21/08 at 11:25am
Ivan Rutherford and Craig Shulman.
Honorable mention: Drew Sarich, miscast but captivating from start to finish.
Honorable mention: Drew Sarich, miscast but captivating from start to finish.
#35
Posted: 11/21/08 at 11:30am
Gary Morris who was the first replacement for Wilkinson and who I saw. FANTASTIC in voice and acting. He is great on the 3 CD version but better in person.
#36
Posted: 11/21/08 at 11:36am
Honorable mention: Drew Sarich, miscast but captivating from start to finish.
Oh, hell yes. To all of it.
Oh, hell yes. To all of it.
"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt
#37
Posted: 11/21/08 at 11:43am
Randal Keith's "Bring Him Home" absolutely brought the house down. He was wonderful.
"Writing should be easy, like a monkey driving a speedboat..." -[title of show]
"I'm tired of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're going and meet up with them later." -Mitch Hedberg
#38
Posted: 11/21/08 at 12:08pm
I guess I've seen about 10-12 Valjeans, and my favorite would be Robert Marien (London and the US 10th Anniversary cast)
His acting was what always made me FEEL I was seeing Valjean in the flesh
A close 2nd would be Randal Keith, cuz his acting was spot-on and I thought his voice was best of all the ones I've seen
And I have a VERY soft spot in my heart for Craig Schulman. I didn't always agree with his acting choices, but he ALWAYS moved me to tears at the end, no matter how many times I saw him
(and I think it's 'Andrew Varela', not 'Andrew Valera' as somone said in an earlier post. I saw him as an understudy the last weekend of the original run, and as an understudy in 'Sunday in the Park' this spring. He's a total sweetie)
His acting was what always made me FEEL I was seeing Valjean in the flesh
A close 2nd would be Randal Keith, cuz his acting was spot-on and I thought his voice was best of all the ones I've seen
And I have a VERY soft spot in my heart for Craig Schulman. I didn't always agree with his acting choices, but he ALWAYS moved me to tears at the end, no matter how many times I saw him
(and I think it's 'Andrew Varela', not 'Andrew Valera' as somone said in an earlier post. I saw him as an understudy the last weekend of the original run, and as an understudy in 'Sunday in the Park' this spring. He's a total sweetie)
You don't go to the dragon without a present - Mark Rylance
#39
Posted: 11/21/08 at 12:11pm
It is Varela, and he's in the Phantom tour right now (!).
http://andrewvarela.com/
http://andrewvarela.com/
"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt
#40
Posted: 11/21/08 at 12:17pm
Drew Sarich, miscast but captivating from start to finish.
He was so miscast in the Broadway revival that they sent him away to London, where he only lasted a year.
p.s. In addition to Jeff Kready as Alex's understudy, how about Victor Hawks' performances. Victor was probably the strongest JVJ I've seen.
He was so miscast in the Broadway revival that they sent him away to London, where he only lasted a year.
p.s. In addition to Jeff Kready as Alex's understudy, how about Victor Hawks' performances. Victor was probably the strongest JVJ I've seen.
#41
Posted: 11/21/08 at 12:25pm
no question - J. Mark McVey! He is totally AWESOME! (great picture of him TheaterDiva!)
#42
Posted: 11/21/08 at 3:24pm
Drew Sarich - the only Valjean whose death has made me cry.
#43
Posted: 11/21/08 at 3:28pm
Hey, javertim. Thanks for the recommendation. I didn't really know much about that version with Harry Baur, but looking online I see that it's regarded very highly indeed. I'll have to get a copy.
#44
Posted: 11/21/08 at 3:42pm
The screaming Hungarian guy! He's hilarious.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
#45
Posted: 11/21/08 at 3:44pm
Whoever portrays him in Forbidden Broadway
OR
COLM WILKINSON!!
OR
COLM WILKINSON!!
I once heard someone describe her (Ruthie Henshall) singing as sounding as though she's trying to swallow a whole meatball slightly larger than her windpipe. (The same person compared Michael Ball's singing to sounding as though he's sitting on a washing machine on spin cycle and Colm Wilkinson's to a man with a paralyzed lip trying to eat cottage cheese.) --- Schmerg_The_Impaler
#46
Posted: 11/21/08 at 4:03pm
**My Bad.
I thought you meant
Jean Valjean Raymond.**
I LOVE YOU CURTAINDPULLDOWNER!!!!!!! lol!!
I thought you meant
Jean Valjean Raymond.**
I LOVE YOU CURTAINDPULLDOWNER!!!!!!! lol!!
#47
Posted: 11/21/08 at 4:08pm
Of the dozen or so I've seen over the years, Timothy Shew (Broadway, 198
remains my favorite.
remains my favorite.
"This is wanting something, this is reaching for it,
This is wishing that a moment would arrive.
This is taking chances, this is almost touching, what the beauty is." --The Light in the Piazza
#48
Posted: 11/21/08 at 4:56pm
I saw Timothy Shew as Jesus in JCS around that time. He was fantastic. I met him a year or so later at my university and he's such a nice guy. Haven't heard that name in a long time.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
#49
Posted: 11/21/08 at 5:25pm
Victor Hawks, Randal Keith and Gary Morris were the ones I saw and were my favorites. I don't remember the guy I saw a national tour, but it might have been Dave Clemmons.
This is Harvard, not a stripper bar...
#50
Posted: 11/21/08 at 5:34pm
OOPS! It wasn't Timothy Shew I saw in JCS. It was Stephen Lehew. I got my ews mixed up. Never mind.
HOUFlip - It was Dave Clemmons with Chuck Wagner as Javert. The best pairing of those two roles I ever saw. I met Chuck the night I saw that production. I remember a rumor about them swapping roles at one point, but I don't know if it was true.
HOUFlip - It was Dave Clemmons with Chuck Wagner as Javert. The best pairing of those two roles I ever saw. I met Chuck the night I saw that production. I remember a rumor about them swapping roles at one point, but I don't know if it was true.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
Tickets From $59
Tickets From $71
Tickets From $71
Tickets From $95