You asked how Eponine died. She took a bullet meant for Marius whom she loved. It’s so sad to think that being in his arms in the last few moments of her life was perhaps one of the happiest moments in her very sad life.

Javert’s entire character deals in absolutes. Once someone steals, they are a thief. Thief’s are bad. There is no redemption. No change. Once his worldview is upended it upends him.

“I’m not saying much because I’m really invested in the story.” Isn’t that the highest compliment possible to the performance?

A few story notes for you for this section: - Eponine delivers the letter from Marius to Cosette, but is met by Valjean at the door so he receive the letter and learns about Marius and Cosettes feelings for each other. This is why he goes to the barricade to try and save this young man that his daughter loves. - Eponine decides to return to the barricade to be with Marius, but is wounded on her way there. - While Marius doesn't love Eponine the way she wants him to, he still thinks of her as a close friend - another small detail: Gavroche (the young boy) is actually Eponines brother - I want to go into more detail about Javert, but I can't just yet because I don't want to spoil anything. Just remember - he isn't the villain of this story. - and now get ready for the last parts of this amazing show - I recommend a box of tissues being at the ready. :) The very next song you get to is probably the biggest song in the entire show and was written especially for the actor you see perform it as he was in the original cast. btw: I'm sure someone has already mentioned this on the earlier videos, but just in case - all the clips you see with props and sets aren't from the actual concert. they were filmed separately on the actual stage of the musical in London. they are included in the video to convey the story better to people who might not know it already (same with the text at the bottom of the screen)

That part had two of the performances that make the 10th anniversary the best Les Miserables. Lea Salonga’s On My Own and her duet with Michael Ball of ‘A Little Fall of Rain’ are iconic. Those two along with the Philip Quast version of Javert’s song ‘Stars’ are what put this as the best version in my opinion.

Michael Ball, (the actor who plays Marius) went on to play Javert 34 years later in the 2019 staged concert of Les Misérables. He said it was so special because it felt like coming home.

I always kinda have to laugh at how tenderly Marius treats Eponine here - I like to say the musical gives his character too much credit, because in the book he kind of just uses her to do stuff for him and pretty much shrugs it off when she dies. But honestly, I’m glad the writers of the musical made him more empathetic because it’s a lot easier to root for him (book Marius is a little bitch) and I LOVE Michael Ball’s portrayal of him in this concert. It’s simply fantastic and so so moving.

Oh, here's another plot detail that may not be apparent: Act 2 begins with Eponine singing On My Own as she's on her way to deliver a letter from Marius to Cosette. But the letter doesn't reach Cosette... It was delivered to Valjean. So Valjean reads the letter and finds out about Marius's love for Cosette. That's why Valjean heads to the barricade to volunteer... He's going to find Marius and try to keep him safe.

No matter how many times I’ve seen Lea sing On My Own, I get chills every time. The Pride of the Philippines, the icon, the legend, my GOAT. Pitch perfect.

Lea Salonga (Eponine) is a double Disney princess.... she is signing voice for Mulan and Jasmine (Aladdin). Every other version of "On My Own" is judged against this one... hers is the gold standard.

Little Fall of Rain was where I started openly sobbing in the theatre in case you were wondering. “…and rain will make the flowers….” 😭

This was the dream cast Michael Ball doing Empty Table Empty Chairs is the master class on how to sing this song no-one has ever matched him doing it also Colm Wilkinson Bring him home is just brilliant you will enjoy part 6

There is a reason this 10th anniversary concert of LES MISERABLES is called the Dream Cast. Many of the performers chosen to take part originated roles in different productions around the world, but not all: Lea Salonga is someone who was a replacement on Broadway, in London and on the US national tour. But obviously they felt she was the best Eponine and put her in this dream cast concert. Jean Valjean is played by the original lead from London and Broadway, Marius was in the original London cast, Cossette was in the original Broadway cast, Javert was in the original Australian cast, Thernadier was in the original London cast. All other roles, like Eponine, were played by people who had some history with LES MISERABLES even if they didn't originate their parts.

Shortening the context of "Eponine is fatally wounded" is like... the grossest understatement. In the book, she actually blocks a shot that was aimed at Marius. And BOY is the description ever graphic. I read it like 20 years ago and it still gives me the willies. Not a chapter to read right after you've had lunch.

Eponine joined the others at the barricade and was shot by the other side. It isn't covered in this version, but little Gavroche is also Eponine's little brother. Gavroche also recognizes Javert when his parents (the inn keepers) were trying to get Valjean arrested for "stealing" Cosette from them.

Of all the themes in this story one of the strongest is mercy & redemption. Honor, character and freedom are there too but the bishop in act one and everything Valjean does to make up for what he did culminating in releasing Javert it is so moving. Yes, Javert has been Shook, he has no concept of mercy, he only understands law and duty. That is all I'll say.

It’s totally ok not to be talking much. What I remember about seeing LES MIZ on broadway in the late 80s is that I cried buckets during the 2nd act. I will never get tired of watching Lea’s performances of “On My Own” (her solo song) and “A Little Fall of Rain” (Eponine’s duet with Marius). Beautifully sung and acted.

So glad you are going to explore more musical theater!! Highly, highly recommend watching the 1987 version of Into the Woods!!!! It is so good (much better than the movie version Disney tried to do). To answer your question of how Eponine gets hurt and dies, she basically took a bullet for Marius while trying to get to the barricade

The one who plays older Cosette is the singing voice for Disneys Pocahontas. And the one who plays Eponine is the singing voice for Mulan and Jasmine

Eponinne was shot on the way to returning to Marius after delivering His farewell letter to Cosette. Can't say more ... sobbing.

Lea's name is pronounced Lay ah. I believe she was shot. Lea knows how to elicit emotion. Her diction is perfect.

A fun detail about Valjean's uniform: in the book, he had spent a handful of years serving in the French National Guard and kept hold of his uniform after he got out. It allowed him unimpeded access to the barricade so that he could get in contact with Marius after receiving his letter to Cosette.

I had the honor of playing Javert in my community theater's production of this show some years ago. It was an interesting dichotomy; playing a character with such a tough exterior, meanwhile whenever our Eponine started singing A Little Fall of Rain I'd be backstage just crying my eyes out. Definitely one of the more underrated songs from this amazing show.

your eyes were lookin pretty misty during a little fall of rain 💙💙💙

2 Musicals you have to see. The 1982 Pro-Shot of Sweeney Todd with Angela Lansbury and George Hearn and Chess in Concert with Josh Groban, Adam Pascal and Idina Menzel.

I keep rewatching this reaction. I knew you had already seen "On My Own" previously, but you were still captivated by Lea's performance. And I still think it's funny that you read in the captions that Eponine was fatally wounded, but it still took you a couple of minutes to realize that Eponine was dying in Marius's arms while they were singing "A Little Fall of Rain." (I can see the moment where it starts dawning on you.) But kudos to Lea Salonga for being able to make it clear what was happening even though the two actors are just standing in front of a microphone.

Lea salongas On My Own created my love of theater. This concert is iconic.

It's so much fun watching you enjoy this. And, yeah, as others have said, when Eponine went to join Marius ar the barricades, some shooting had begun, and she saved Marius by throwing herself in front of a bullet intended for him. Marius then grabs some dynamite and threatens to blow everyone up, so the government troops disperse for a while, allowing him to be there for Eponine as she dies.

I really can't tell you how lovely it is to watch your reactions to this!! And your questions don't sound weird or silly at all, they just add to the experience of getting to see all of this through the eyes of somebody for whom it's all brand new. I was born into a family that was pretty into theatre, so it's kind of just always been around for me. But seeing somebody else discover it for the first time as a grown-up really gives me a chance to see it all afresh. Like yeah, if you hadn't been to a play before, intermission would be quite a surprise! It's not like they do that when you go to see a movie (unless it's really, really long or something). Thanks for posting these videos and inviting us along for the experience :)

Miss Saigon is a Must. Watching from Southern California.

Hey there, SalvoG! - 3:27 - Lea Salonga as Eponine. Lea had a roundabout way of playing Eponine. She made her professional musical theater debut in the follow-up show written by 'Les Miz' writers Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg called 'Miss Saigon'. In that show, she played Kim, a Vietnamese girl who falls in love with an American soldier named Chris during the Vietnam War. It had a gimmick of landing a Huey Helicopter on stage during the 'Fall of Saigon' sequence. It also starred actor Jonathan Pryce in an Asian role that got a lot of flak but still got him tons of awards. The show was based on the opera 'Madam Butterfly'. She won the lead role and took London and then New York by storm winning the Olivier and Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical. Then...she ended up becoming the singing voice for both Princess Jasmine in 'Aladdin' and 'Mulan'. She has only gotten better. Her voice is just astounding! - The next song...is a kicker! One of the most beautiful, haunting, and moving songs written for a male singer. It also gets made fun of a bit. After you hear it I'll explain why. It's my favorite song in the show.

Lea is so clear when she sings. Eponine got shot by the government troops as she was trying to crawl over the barricade. The little kid who plays Gavroche is now over 40 years old. "Drink With Me" always makes me cry.

Best quote and one I use alot..."May the wine of friendship never run dry.".

Have you seen Wicked? I saw it in London and I was totally blown away by the costumes. I liked the music but not as much as Les Miserables. Of course, it is my favorite.

Dude was touched by a Fall of Rain. As he should be!!😊

Jumping off from your observations about Valjean, and how Javert was shook when he walked off: you were spot-on about Valjean. And the counterpoint for Javert is that he believes, absolutely and completely, in good and evil, God and Satan, heaven and hell. He's built his entire life as a police officer (or the equivalent) around that: that there are people who do evil, and those people will be punished in hell, and that he is a person who has committed his life to do good, and that it's his job to make sure the evildoers are caught and punished. His whole psyche is built around this, which is why Valjean letting him go shocked him so much -- it upended his entire worldview. Also, I mentioned the revolving stage on one of your other Les Mis videos. These scenes at the barricades are where it was put to incredible use -- they had the barricade built across the revolve, and during the battle scenes, it would slowly turn, so you'd see the action on both sides of it. That sort of thing hadn't really been done much in theatre before, and that slowly turning barricade, with people fighting around and over it, was one of the iconic images of the show. (I saw it for the first time when I was seven, and it was kind of late at night and I'd already fallen asleep by that point in the show, but my older sister woke me up when the barricade started turning, because she didn't want me to miss it.)

In the show there was some shooting at the barricade and Marus didn’t see the soldier lining up a shot and she jumped in front of him and took the bullet for him. It temporarily stopped the fighting because she wasn’t supposed to be shot. She was the 1st casualty of the barricade

You need to listen to and react to Alfie Boe performing Bring Him Home. He is a British tenor who sang the Val Jean part in the 25th anniversary special. He went on to play the part in London & Broadway productions of Les Mis. His performance is breathtaking & is my absolute favorite version of that beautiful song.

Lea Salonga sang On My Own as her audition song for Miss Saigon which is how she got her start. A beautiful irony that she sang the song that got her in the business.

As Eponine was climbing the barricade to be with Marius, shots ring out. In a brief prelude to "A Little Fall of Rain," Eponine tells Marius she left his letter with Cosette's father, and when she collapses, Marius realizes she's been shot. He opens her coat and sees blood everywhere; Eponine's first words in "A Little Fall of Rain" are to comfort him, showing that his feelings are a priority to her, even as she's dying. As I (and others) have mentioned, Valjean intercepted Marius's letter, which is why he went to the barricade. In the concert staging, you don't see Valjean overhearing Marius during "Drink With Me" when he says "Life without Cosette means nothing at all/Would you weep, Cosette, should Marius fall." This is when Valjean realizes Marius is the person who sent the letter, and this leads directly into the next song.

Ponine, the girl in his arms was dying from the crossfires. She is Lea Salonga a Filipina from my country -the Philippines. Watch it in the movie.

yes. i always tear up whenever i hear lea and micheal's version of a little fall of rain. You can watch Lea's theatre as well! Miss Saigon! That was sooooo good. She won best actress for that musical.

Have loved watching you get into this show and can’t wait for more. Honestly Colm Wilkinson and Philip Quast are just perfect in their roles (honestly Philip is my all time favourite Javert!) and the whole cast are stunning but I agree with everyone else that the concert did cut a lot plot wise. To get the full experience maybe watch a bootleg recorded version of the show on KZfaq (and I know I’ll get some flack here for promoting that but we all watched these before pro recorded musicals were a thing). Some aren’t bad quality and one with a great cast is with John Owen jones in London 2010. You can find that on KZfaq. It has the newer costumes and staging but you’ll understand the plot better and see the amazing staging

Because of Lea and Michael, I enjoy this concert most. BUT, they leave things out. I don't think the 25th anniversary leaves them out . There's an important part missing after Eponine sings "On My Own"

Would love to see your reaction to the live version of Rent on Broadway from 2008.

You have to watch the finale stuff from the later concerts. They bring out bunch of the of the actors who have played the different parts over the years to sing together and some of them are these guys. I can't remember if it's the 25th or not, I'll try to look it up but I would love for you to watch that.

Oh, I have chills! Glad to hear we'll get 2 reactions a week, I'm really curious to see your reaction to the second act (which is amazing, IMO) As already mentioned in the comments, it's easy to hate or to misunderstand Javert, but he really is an amazing character, but it's too early to discuss it :) Eponine is another great character, completely mesmerizing in her performance. Her last duet is heartbreaking, kudos for Marius for being there for her in her last moments (I don't like his character, but at least he's done one thing right...) Don't apologize for not being too talkative in these reactions, stay in the zone and immerse yourself in the story, we enjoy it either way ;)

Jean Valjean served under the name Ultime Fauchlevent in the Reserves. Even though he was really exempt by age. It helped with his cover. That's why he had the uniform

In the musical, Eponine, disguised as a boy, got shot on the way to Marius. In the book/recent film, she took a bullet for him. Towards the end of the song, she reaches towards as she was dying in hopes he would kiss her and dies in his arms.

Act 2 has some AMAZING POWERFUL songs and this cast slays them. I know everyone in past videos brings up the 25th anniversary concert, but it just doesn't hold up to this concert. Lea Salong is good as Fantine in the 25th anniversary, but she's AMAZING as Eponine here. This rule was more suited for her to shine. I think the role of Eponine is better than the role of Fantine. It has more stage time.

OOOOO I can't wait to see you do more musicals. I hope one of them will my favorite show of all time : "Miss Saigon". Also, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" has an excellent online video of the whole show.

Disclaimer : you should have read the book, because : 1) Marius only went to die on the barricades after his grandpa refused to let him married Cosette 2) Cosette and her father moved I secret to another adress în Paris (you can see this în the 2012 movie) and left a letter to Marius in the yard ( with her new adress) 3) Eponine finds the letter and hide it; then she send Marius a message to invite him to the barricade; she only reveals him the truth and give back Cosette's letter when she is deadly wounded; 4) only after Eponine's death, Marius sends Gavroche to Cosette's new place, and Valjean intercepts the letter (early in the day he had found a "copy" of Cosette's letter on the blotting paper, and now, also his answer, and that had pritty much stunned him)

I would recommend after this seeing Wicked

Man, I watch KZfaq videos at 2x speed, and I've listened to this musical a lot, but A Little Fall of Rain still made me cry, lmao.

You should watch the phantom of the opera

When I first saw this and when Lea sang her song...this moment made me want to be in this play and be the character Eponine. Of course, I cannot sing the way she does. It is such a powerful character, and her death song was so gentle and powerful at the same time. I was in tears by the end. I think it was also the acting within the song that touched my heart as well. I am enjoying these reactions so much! Thank you for reacting to Les Miserables!

I was browsing through your channel after watching your SB19 reactions and looking for other SB19 stuff you reacted to and came across this. She's Lea Salonga, our Philippine pride like our SB19 boys..She was the original Miss Saigon and did the original Disney songs of Mulan and Alladin... just sharing...lol

I grew up watching this! I am SO excited each time you post a new video.

Salvo, I so appreciate your reaction to this. I love this concert and have the DVD. I've watched it numerous times, but your reactions are priceless. Thanks for sharing with us.

It is fun seeing their performances with you! Love Les Mis

SalvoG just to let you know from part 6 on, if you get choked up easily, you may want or need tissues cause the rest is a rollercoaster

Just came across your videos because I’m a huge fan of Les Mis and subscribed because I really enjoyed watching your reactions. I can’t wait for the rest-it really is an incredible musical and story.

Watching this has been great. Thank you! Most musicals have an intermission but newer plays are moving away from that and only doing one act, which I think is a good idea.

Another wonderful reaction video!!! So enjoying this series!

Wait until you see the props and COSTUMES for "Phantom at the Opera" at Albert Hall in London!

This is my all time favorite musical from when I was among the first ones to see it in Paris in 1980 to watching it several times in Chicago. Seeing it again through your eyes is a delight!! Every day I've checked to see if the next section is out on your channel!!🤭🤗

I'm so glad you're reacting to more musical theatre!!! These Les Mis reaction videos are something I really look forward to every week; also check out more of Colm Wilkinson's stuff-he's a legend! Keep up the work mate, cheers!

It is so wonderful to rediscover Les Mis and re-experience the emotions through your eyes and reactions. Thank you

I love that you are loving this performance!!! It truly is the BEST! Of course these are like the all stars of the original casts from London, Broadway and others which makes it so amazing!!!❤

And it's a lot of fun for us! Thank you.

Absolutely love these reactions... I'd love to watch you do more plays if you choose. Its great seeing them through new eyes. A lot of us will definitely have ideas for new ones for you to try.

can never watch Eponine and Marius without tearing up... beautiful song, ..... loving watching this again with you guys...

Thank again Salvo

I wish I could explain the absolute chokehold that On My Own and Castle on a Cloud had on a generation of theater kids 😂

It’s time! So looking forward to this!!

In the Broadway show eponine pretends to be a guy so she can fight along side him and be with Marius in the baracade. There is a lot of gun fire in the first gunfire against the army and a few people die that are not main characters, she is also shot and he realizes it is her.

Eponine's death gets me every time.

Ok, you don't understand how much I have been looking forward to your reaction to Act 2. I have been hooked since the beginning. If you are taking recommendations for musicals... Tick Tick Boom (2021 Netflix). Lin-Manuel Miranda's directorial debut. Anyway, whatever you choose to do, I will be back.

Yes! New channel for musicals! I’m totally game for that, couldn’t recommend Into The Woods with Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters enough, and it just happens to be free on KZfaq. Enjoy!

Glad you are enjoying Les Miserables! I can throughly recommend Miss Saigon written by Boublil and Schonberg who wrote the music to Les Mis - its an amazing show and is a direct recording of the stage show (not just a song concert) so you get props, scenery and even a landing helicopter - can't recommend it enough!!!!

By the way - you can find clips of Lea Salonga singing other songs from LES MISERABLES. She went into the Broadway revival as Fantine in 2007 and was part of the 25th anniversary concert in 2010 as Fantine. I believe there is a video that strings together all of Lea's parts from the 25th anniversary concert. I think there are a few clips of Lea as Fantine on Broadway, too. Lea has sung "On My Own" and "I Dreamed a Dream" in concert many, many times over the years - sometimes one or the other individually, sometimes both as part of a medley. Lea sang "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" on a news program. Lea has also sung "Bring Him Home" many times since the pandemic began. Lea's own doctor had requested she sing it as part of some online performance she was going to do. Yes - besides being a LES MIZ fan, I'm a huge Lea Salonga fan!

that is my favorite musical and you will love another part of Les Miserables and please watching another musical i like

You talked about the Frozen musical, i absolutely love that one! I saw it live right before the pandemic. The costume change in Let it Go legitimately blows my mind

She is not the first to fall, that was added in the musical, it's not a true event in the book. In one of the first attacks on the barricade. The rebellion is almost overwhelmed and Marius is one of the last stranding in the line. A French soldier raises his gun at Marius and at the moment that he is about to shoot, a hand comes out of nowhere and the soldier fires his weapon, Marius does not see this happen, he is too engrossed in fighting for his life. Once the attackers retreat for the moment, Marius is checking on the wounded when he hears a faint cry and sees Eponine who's been shot through her hand and in the stomach. Through the rain he holds her and she dies in his arms and he kisses her on the forehead. It's truly one of the saddest scenes in the book. Makes me tear up slightly each time I hear the song. I know I'm adding this late, but as a person who has read the book and loves the musical I feel like I must clarify what happens.

Come From Away is another pro shoot on Apple TV that is amazing

Drink with me is my favourite song in this musical, I don't really know why

so excited!

If u r gonna watch more musicals, I recommend Starkid. They make brilliant musicals and upload them to yt. My favourite is the guy who didn't like musicals which is about an apocalypse of singing zombies. Another great one is Twisted which is Aladdin from Jafars point of view

How have you never heard I Dreamed a Dream before? It was everywhere for a while.

Seeing musicals in person is amazing. You should do it sometime. I am positive you will love it. Even "just" local reparatory theater stuff. Most of what I have seen has been that. And I've seen some AMAZING performances. It's beautiful seeing it in person. Even smaller productions

Just thought I'd mention that you should keep watching after the cast take their bows...the video cut out the post-bow speeches, but there is a special performance at the very end (don't want to say too much to avoid spoiling it). And after you've finished watching this, I'd recommend checking out Sideways' video about Les Mis...there's some basic discussion about the music itself, but it's mostly about the 2012 film, and why the choices they made really didn't work. *This isn't a reaction recommendation, just if you'd like some commentary* And if you are looking for more musical theatre to react to, I'd recommend checking out some Sondheim musicals! There's a concert version of Sweeney Todd with the NY Philharmonic starring Emma Thompson as Mrs. Lovett and Phillip Quast (Javert in this concert) as The Judge Into the Woods, starring Bernadette Peters Company, starring Raul Esparza The last two are not concerts, but recordings of the Broadway productions. I'd also highly recommend Come From Away on Apple TV+ And if you want to watch an actual movie musical vs. a stage show, I'd suggest tick, tick...BOOM! on Netflix

She (Éponine) got hurt delivering messages in the warzone for Marius. This musical changed my trajectory as a human woman. My real life daughter is named Éponine because someone gave me the abridged version of the novel Les Misérables when I was 10 years old, and both Fantine and Éponine struck me as tragic yet beautiful characters. The musical just added color to my already checkered understanding of these people, and my little 'Ponine will be 23 years old this year

When they drop the barricades in it is so cool and they continue to use the turn.

these are some of the greatest performers and singers on stage You have to see this on stage and Phantom ,, too or at least the movie version of Anniversary Performance

This play has some of the best music ever written. But funny you mentioned Phantom of the Opera a few sgments back. Andrew Loyd Webber wrote it for a young star that would later become his wife, a fantastic singer named Sarah Brightmen. She has a great duet with another fantastic singer Andrea Bocelli. "Time to Say Goodbye" you can get the video from one of his concerts about 20 years ago. Incredible performance. Highly recommend it, over Phantom even. Besides she was the woman he wrote Phantom for and she was the original lead Christine when the play opened in London anyway. She is an amazing singer.

les Mis is coming to San Francisco in July. I'm trying to convince my wife that we need to bring our kids to experience one of the best theater events.

The concert does have some very bizarre cuts. Right before Eponines death there is quick exchange of lines that describes that after delivering the letter Eponines was shot by some of the French soilder returning to the barricade and that’s when it picked up. Very confusing for a first time viewer

Good for you. Just a suggestion. The music from Jekyl and Hyde is terrific.

YAY, THEATER!!!!!! 😊😊😊

I would love for you to watch/react to Phantom of the Opera 25th anniversary cast!!! It's a full production, not a concert. It's not free on KZfaq though, but you can get it in DVD or streaming I think.🤔