Coming Soon: Stage to Screen

Les Miserables
Due Date: 26th December 2012
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Helena Bonham Carter.

Eversince I was a teenager, this story has fascinated me. I remember going to see the musical on stage in Sydney with school and it has been something that has stuck with me for a very long time. When I saw it, Normie Rowe played the main character, Jean Valjean. I loved it so much that I saw it again with my mother and a school friend not long after.

Many years later, I have seen a few stage plays, Beauty and the Beast, Rocky Horror and Phantom of the Opera the only ones that I've committed to memory, but none have moved me the way Les Miserables did.

When the 1998 movie was released with Liam Neeson in the title role, I watched it eagerly, but while it was a great movie, it didn't have the power that the stage show does. I think the songs in this musical are incredibly powerful and make this story into an incredible piece of theatre.

This week, while my husband was away on business, I sat up late one night and watched the 25th Anniversary of Les Miserables on stage at The O2 in London. The power and passion of the performers moved me so much I ended up a sobbing mess on the lounge at one o'clock in the morning. This is a stage show that must be seen to be appreciated.

And now, the remake. This movie has so many things going for it that I'm almost as excited about this as I am for The Hobbitt.

An incredible cast has been assembled with the main part of Jean Valjean being played by our very own Hugh Jackman. Hugh has a wonderful stage prescence and I think he will bring a fantastic edginess to the character. I shall remain reserved about Russell Crowes casting as Inspector Javert. I know he has a band, but I'm not sure he has the right voice for someone as imposing as Javert.

I am however, incredibly excicted that they have used some of the cast of the current London production for this movie, including Samantha Barks, who plays Eponine and brings the most beautiful voice with her.

Of course, the most entertaining roles come in the forms of Madam and Monsieur Thenardier, the repulsive Innkeepers, who will be played by Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen. I can't wait to see these two together. Matt Lucas was responsible for the role of Monsieur Thenardier in the London production and I think Sacha has big shoes to fill!
Overall I think this movie will be a wonderful surprise and I plan to see it as soon as it opens. It truly is a moving story. I'm even considering getting tickets to a London performance, but not sure my kids will sit through nearly three hours of actors singing on stage. What is sure to be pure heaven for me, would be pure torture to a twelve year old boy!