Martin Smith as Jean Valjean (Les Misérables - 1987)
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- čas přidán 24. 03. 2017
- "Les Misérables" is the West End's longest running musical, having debuted in 1985 and run continuously since then.
In 1987, Martin was cast in the show at the Palace Theatre, and was given two roles: principle Marius, and understudy Jean Valjean.
When Martin went on for Valjean he became the very first in a very long line of performers to have played both Marius and Jean Valjean.
We are very pleased to share with you Martin's full performance in the role of Jean Valjean, recorded in 1987 at the Palace Theatre.
The cast includes:
Martin Smith (Jean Valjean u/s), Clive Carter (Javert), Kathleen Rowe McAllen (Fantine), Jayne Draper (Éponine), Maurice Clarke (Marius u/s), Jacinta Mulcahy (Cosette), David Delve (Thénardier), Myra Sands (Madame Thénardier), Martin George (Enjolras), Cameron Stewart (Grantaire u/s)
To learn more about Martin Smith, visit:
inmemoryofmartinsmith.weebly.com
0:28 Work Song
4:19 On Parole
8:49 Valjean Arrested/Valjean Forgiven
10:37 What Have I Done?
13:53 At the End of the Day
18:51 I Dreamed a Dream
22:59 Lovely Ladies
26:54 Fantine's Arrest
31:19 The Runaway Cart
35:05 Who Am I?
38:35 Fantine's Death/Come to Me
42:06 Confrontation
44:28 Castle on a Cloud
48:10 Master of the House
54:17 The Bargain/Waltz of Treachery
1:00:20 Look Down
1:03:22 The Robbery
1:08:05 Stars
1:11:24 Eponine's Errand
1:13:09 ABC Cafe/Red and Black
1:18:45 Do You Hear the People Sing?
1:20:45 In My Life
1:25:36 A Heart Full of Love
1:28:03 The Attack on Rue Plumet
1:31:45 One Day More
1:35:27 Building the Barricade/Upon These Stones
1:39:21 On My Own
1:43:07 At the Barricade
1:45:23 Javert's Arrival
1:46:10 Little People
1:47:45 A Little Fall of Rain
1:51:21 Night of Anguish
1:52:50 First Attack
1:57:07 Drink with Me
1:59:44 Bring Him Home
2:03:26 Dawn of Anguish
2:05:00 Second Attack/Death of Gavroche
2:07:31 The Final Battle
2:09:11 Dog Eats Dog/The Sewers
2:16:45 Javert's Suicide
2:20:14 Turning
2:22:21 Empty Chairs at Empty Tables
2:25:07 Every Day
2:27:15 Valjean's Confession
2:30:28 Wedding Chorale/Beggars at the Feast
2:36:26 Valjean's Death
2:42:59 Finale
watching this video today to commemorate the end of an era today, July 13, 2019 is the last day these sets willk be seen in London :(
they are doing a revival at the sondheim from December to July :) not dead just yet
@@elinorrose344 Isn't that revival going to have the new sets?
The original sets were absolutely breathtaking. I'm sad that I'll never get to see the show that way again. I still enjoy the show, but the original staging with the turntable was pure genius.
I saw this during the "reboot" on new years eve 2019. I didnt know this!
The revival will
Be the new proper production
Clive Carter played a fantastic Javert
Thank you so much for posting this!!! Nothing beats the show in its original form. NOTHING.
Well, this isn't actually the original production, but eh
I only got dissatisfied due to the ending of Who Am I being sung at one octave lower.
@@ghostpepper618 Yeah, yeah, we all know there was the Paris sports arena production before this one but I'm pretty sure the OP meant the original of the famous English language adaptation. And I agree with him, that this original production is unbeatable compared to most of what came after it.
i loved this!!
Can I just say how good the quality is it's so good like WOW!!!
This is splendid I was so lucky to travel from the US to see the Westend production in 1992. Before going blind. Before that I seen the show at least 50 times all over the states. I can still see every bit of the show in my head. Thank you so much for posting this! Gman’s mom
this eponine's voice is giving me hella goosebumps, damn
Totally misread this as "Martin SHORT as Jean Valjean..."
I’ve only seen the new sets which are amazing but I would love for them to revive this set and take it on tour
So great to see the original staging, which isn't done in the anniversary concerts or touring productions. The choreography, scene changes, and reveals on the revolving stage adds to the drama. and the pivoting sets that look like piles of junk transforming into buildings. it was pretty to amazing to watch in real life about 30 years ago! Thanks for posting this reminder of great production, even though most scenes are just wooden chairs and tables and spotlights.
This was the year I was born!!
This was before they gutted it, made the music faster and all over killed the emotion level the audience had with each character as they died. Thank You
Nice to see the original Thenardier couple wedding looks before they became cartoonish after Broadway. This was before the sewer-lighting backdrop was added that comes down behind the barricade, and before the wedding background scenery was added. I _think_ the Toulon gaol wall with "prison windows" was already gone by this point - it didn't last too long.
I mouth literally went wide with shock for this piece of history. Oh thank you so much!
30:22 got me in the feels - Valjean trying to deny it and Fantine makes him take accountability
Thank you for putting this performance up in full! There are other bits of it around the internet and I was wondering why it had Maurice Clarke doing Marius. Now I understand. I was very heavily part of the Les Mis fandom when this was all going on, saw Martin do Marius several times (Dave Willetts was doing Valjean). I also caught up with the Bittersweet tour in Manchester- I was a student at the time. Was very sad to hear of Martin's death in the 90s and wished I could have got to know him better. He was a shy and quiet gentleman if I remember rightly and fans around the stage door wouldn't really have been very helpful.
The men in this can SANG!!!!
Thanks for posting this! Great reminder of the classic staging before they changed it, and Martin is great.
The Pikachu Brothers that was true when you wrote that comment, but it sadly isn’t anymore :(
Thanks great memories of the Palace production
Fuck Yes!! Thank you! Love the original production of this show.. saw it so many times 💜
Clive Carter is a very underrated Javert
I was on this playlist the other day and was watching dear Evan Hansen but now I can’t find it anywhere and I’m so sad 😢
Thank you for posting this complete version. Considering it is over 30 years old, the quality is amazing. Was that still Frances Ruffelle as Eponine, or was she trying to sing like Frances? Martin Smith's Bring Him Home was softer than many of the Valjeans I've see. I love his version. Beautiful!
Thank you so much.
To watch this musical performed by the original casts was one of my bucket list. I have listern through cassette for more than 30 years.
Thanks again.
Cassettes of live performances or the official releases?
Official release.
Wow.
28:03
I’m happy to say that my local theatre performed Les Mis a lot closer to the original- I mean based on the feel of things. I was Cosette understudy, and the leads were granted a lot of character room and vocal liberty, and I think it actually helped keep the original tone alive. As a fifteen year old playing Cosette it definitely helped me since my voice isn’t as rich and full as this. Also, we wore a bleach blonde wig and I hated that part, I was like, “um the original Cosette was brunette??” Our main Cosette had dark hair and our main Eponine had blonde hair so I was very confused as to why we changed. Other than the fact that Thenardier’s hair was jet black, I didn’t see a problem.
Anyways I’m so glad you posted this!!! I love this so much!!! I wish I had found this while in the production though :( but yeah I absolutely love this and am going to watch it a million times over
Cameron, I saw the Broadway production in March of 1988. I saw it two more times on the road in 1991 & 1993. Both Cosettes had the dark wig. I think the touring company, if it is still posted on YT, was the first & only time, where I was shocked seeing Cosette with a blond wig. Eponine was Sutton Foster who went on to really big fame on Broadway. Cosette was Reagan Thiel. What I remember is her voice was really large and had a very strong tremelo. Where most Cosettes tend to go flat on the high note of "Everyday", her high note was so sharp that it went up through the rafters.Thinking back on it, she reminds me of Betsy Joslyn singing "Green Finch and Linnet Bird" in Sweeney Todd--the voice matched the wig. I saw it two more times with the original production style and Cosettes had the brunette wigs.
Is there anything out there of Martin Smith singing Empty Chairs?
2:08:11 Watch your step Enj after a little fall of rain!!
In '87, this would've been a huge camcorder. How could anyone have snuck that in???
Pretty sure this is the house cam footage that plays in the foyer through the show, for people who have arrived late, as the camera is sedentary and encompasses the whole stage. great footage (considering the date) for the show.
@@tonyandrade8131 Thanks for the info!!! :)
@@tonyandrade8131 It is indeed the house camera at the Palace.
At around 2:07:56 in the Final Battle, what are the lyrics?
ENJOLRAS
Come on, my friends, we stand here alone.
Let us go to our deaths with our face to our foes! (*though he seems to say 'the' foes, but I'm pretty sure 'our' is the original lyric)
COMBEFERRE
Let 'em pay for each death with a death of their own!
COURFEYRAC
If they get me, by God, they will pay through the nose!
ENJOLRAS
Let others rise to take our place
Until the earth is free!
(Not sure if it was Combeferre and Courfeyrac singing those lines back then, but I presume so.)
0:19
•You can’t video this•
*this guy*
•rules don’t apply to me•
Maurice Clarke & Jacinta Mulcahy were in BRIGADOON together!!!
I wish they’d release a dvd of the stage show (and not just the concerts). I’d love to watch this at anytime.
I wasn’t a fan of the movie. I found it incredibly bland.
I felt the cinematography and the wardrobe to be inspiring, but there was something missing in a few of the characters.
I liked the les Mis film, the CATS film however 😬
Anyone know who plays Gavroche?
I saw this cast live. The show was much better in the original form. Martin Smith is arguably the only Valjean to match Colm Wilkinson.
I agree. I saw the show many times in the early years and this is a great chance to remind myself of things.
Love the video, but does anyone know the dialogue during Look Down after Marius' "Only one man and that's Lamarque...." - it seems to be unique to London and isn't part of the CSR/current libretto
Raoul Fisher Starving for a meal, scrambling for a job,
Biting into anything and finding not a crumb,
Not a crumb, not a crumb, not a crumb, not a crumb.
Tony America - thanks so much! It was puzzling me.
Sorry Tony America, its ...
Something for a meal,
Something for a doss,
Something in the name of him
Who died upon the cross
On the cross, come across, on the cross, come across, come across
(I'm a bit of a libretto nerd and was there when they were singing this version - if you are interested contact me. I have the whole thing).
Ruth Kenyon - thanks :) - I'd definately be interested in the libretto, it'd be interesting to see the revisions they were working on. Were these changes they were working on for Broadway?
Loads of versions were used - put in, taken back out etc - in the 80s and 90s - major round of changes in the late 1990s are the ones that still persist. If you listen to the Barbican previews (several are on here), you can hear how much the lyrics changed in just the first week alone. I remember the US Tour (not sure which one) in the 90s had different lyrics for Fantine's arrest that never made it anywhere else. My favourite one was from the Barbican previews and cut very, very early on:
FANTINE: Gentle Jesus won't you save me, are there tears enough to cry?
JAVERT: It's the same pathetic story, "Please M'sieur, my child will die"; Honest work, just reward (etc)
I think it was changed because it makes Javert out to be a nasty bastard when he's really just a stickler for the rules and a bit jaded by his job.
2:07:56
Were these the original lyrics for "The Final Battle"? Because if so, it's interesting how they went from that to "Let us die facing our foes, make them bleed while we can"
Yep, these were the original lyrics! I believe they were changed when the show went to Broadway.
Is that Gareth Snook as Bamatabois?🤔
How interesting to see American actress Kathleen Rowe McAllen as Fantine.. I say that because of all those histrionics in 1988 to keep Sarah Brightman from originating the role of Christine Daaé on Broadway. Lloyd Webber promised to use an American actress & he used two: Ann Crumb & McAllen (Aspects of Love 1989). I also like the Thénardiers here. I always love it when they squabble/fight over the money. How much I prefer the original singing vocal style of Marius & Cosette in the London production--they both have such smoother and warmer voices. David Bryant as the original Marius on Broadway--absolutely awful. It is still a mystery why the change on Broadway with all that damn breathiness & wobbling. I am curious how much influence Bloubil & Schönberg had in casting. Jérôme Pradon & Marie Zamora had the same smooth & beautiful lyrical voices as Michael Ball & Rebecca Caine. Martin Smith & Maurice Clarke both do an outstanding job here. What a jewel you have posted for all "Les Misérables" fans. I truly thank you. :)
Equity had a similar fight with Les Miserables and Miss Saigon on Broadway.
And yet, there didn’t seem to be a problem with Patti LuPone being in the original London cast. The only American performing in the cast along with the RSC, and the first American to win an Olivier Award. 🤷🏻♂️ It seemed that Actors Equity had more of a problem with the British actors coming to Broadway more so then the other way around. They had issues using the original British actors with Evita, Phantom, Chess and Miss Saigon, to name a few.
@@bookemdano7567 Daniel, just curious, how long did LuPone did stay with the show? I do know she was not overjoyed with how small the part was and she did not stay with it very long. I had a voice professor who saw the original cast but I don't remember how long the show had been playing and Jackie Marks had already taken over for LuPone.
@@bookemdano7567 Don't you think so much of it had to do with the "British Invasion" of the 1980s? The British shows were succeeding and American productions just weren't doing all that great by comparison? I knew all about the POTO Sarah Brightman silliness but didn't know about Les Miz issues. I know they only allowed Frances Ruffelle on Broadway for 8 months. The producers allowed her understudy to take over the role and she did a great job. Was there an issue with Colm Wilcomson also? I saw it by March of 1988 on Broadway & only 3 of the originals were still in it. I certainly knew about Miss Saigon problems with Johnathan Price. (I did see him.) If there was a problem with bringing over Lea Salonga, I don't remember that so much.
Shane Brown... I think the standard is 6 months to a year, depending on your visa. She had already done 2 months at the Barbican prior to the West End transfer. Plus she had already been playing the role of Moll in The Cradle Will Rock before she got the role of Fantine.
I never heard that she was displeased with the size of the role. She has always commented on how it was “the perfect show with the perfect cast in the perfect environment” and that’s why she didn’t go to Broadway with it because she knew that atmosphere couldn’t be recreated again.
Jacinta Mulcahy played Cosette!?!?!
Is this called original london cast
No it's not the original london cast
Who is playing Eponine?
Markus Richter Jayne Draper
thx
She was nice. She met a few of us at the stage door in the summer of 87
Rowe McAllen's Fantine is outstanding.
25:39
Mm
Poor R T T
12:23 Nice try but not quite
12:23 Nice try
Not the biggest fan of this Javert actor, but otherwise a wonderful cast. I love this musical!
Me to
Gavroche kinda sucked
Whatever I find it seems like all the West End Gavroches just aren’t good. The new U.S. tour has two amazing Gavroches in Harrison Fox and Gabriel Lafazan
I want you to delete this video off of CZcams
No
Why?
If you don't like it, don't watch it. Not that hard.
Whits yer problem?