Does Lea Salonga Works Magic for Les Misérables?

Posted by dmeemai on October 8, 2007 · Leave a Comment

Is she the secret weapon of this musical comeback? I am obviously biased here because we share the same Filipino heritage. However, when Les Misérables (The Miserable Ones) re-opened in November 2006, it initially advertised itself as a limited six-month engagement. Now ten months later, it has an open-run date and has scheduled shows all the way to January 2008. She wasn’t among the original revival cast, she came in 3 months prior to its supposed closing in May 2007. In that short time the role Lea currently plays had to be replaced not once but twice before everyone was comfortable with the character fit. Although majority of the original cast are no longer in the show for various reasons, Lea maintains her role (7 months and counting) with the only two remaining original revival cast Adam Jacobs and Ali Ewoldt, who happen to be Filipino-Americans!

It is a pleasant surprise that it is still playing in New York. I saw the musical in May this year and I was among those who weren’t totally impressed with this version. The critical reviews were rough. Learning that, I wasn’t inclined to watch until they especially singled out Lea Salonga to ’save’ Fantine’s role. It would have been really les misérable for me to sit through an almost three hour musical if I didn’t at least see Lea Salonga.

Les Miz as it’s devotedly called has pretty good statistics to brag about- 16 years in New York Broadway, 22 years in London West End, ranks third as the longest-running show in Broadway history, and has been witnessed by over 54 million people in 38 countries and 21 languages since its first London performance in October 1985. The original Broadway production opened in 1987, garnering 7 Tony Awards, including Best Musical for that year. The Broadway production ended in 2003 after 6,680 performances.

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