#jennifer butt

[cometomecosette]

“Master of the House,” Broadway, 1988. Leo Burmester as Thénardier, Jennifer Butt as Mme. Thénardier.

I’ll never understand why the reviews I’ve read of the various Les Mis cast recordings have been prone to dismissing Leo Burmester and Jennifer Butt as “the mediocre Thénardiers,” or at least overlooking them compared to Alun Armstrong and Jenny Galloway or Barry James and Gay Soper. Is it their lack of Cockney accents? Since when does an accent make or break a performance? As far as I’m concerned, they’re excellent.

Leo (another performer sadly no longer with us – RIP) brings Thénardier to life with his gruff voice and exuberant, colorful delivery of each line. This is true both on the OBC album and in this live recording.

Jennifer’s Mme. T. is different from a standard Mme T. (or what would later become standard for the role), but just as good in her own way. I’m glad I saw her twice when she came back to the role in the 3rd National Tour from 2004 through 2006, because I think she needed to be seen to be fully appreciated. Instead of the standard broad comedy figure, she was all sharp edges, funny yet bitter, sardonic, and a little insane – kind of like an older, more comic version of the novel’s Éponine. And IMHO, it worked.

It’s nice to hear the full intro to the song, since the OBC cast album doesn’t include it. Am I right in thinking the “Crawling through the mud...” man is Jesse Corti, voice of Le Fou in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast? I know he was in this cast and I think it sounds like him.

[cometomecosette]

“One Day More,” Broadway, 1987. Colm Wilkinson as Jean Valjean, David Bryant as Marius, Judy Kuhn as Cosette, Frances Ruffelle as Éponine, Michael Maguire as Enjolras, Terrence Mann as Javert, Leo Burmester as Thénardier, Jennifer Butt as Mme. Thénardier.

Yes, we’ve all heard the original Broadway cast in their studio recording, but hearing a live recording is extra special.

[cometomecosette]

“Castle on a Cloud,” Broadway, 1987. Chrissie McDonald (?) as Young Cosette, Jennifer Butt as Mme. Thénardier.

For Cosette Appreciation Week.

Young Cosette is uncredited, but she doesn’t sound like Donna Vivino from the OBC album, so I can only assume she's the alternate, Chrissie McDonald. Her vibrato is heavy, but she still has a nice, clear and sweet voice, and she sounds appropriately terrified on “Oh help! I think I hear them now...”

Jennifer’s Mme. T. is more subdued than others, but she still sounds nicely mean, and I remember from seeing her onstage when she came back to the role from 2004 through 2006 that she made her subtlety work.

[cometomecosette]

“Wedding Chorale” and “Beggars at the Feast,” Broadway, 1987. Leo Burmester as Thénardier, Jennifer Butt as Mme. Thénardier, David Bryant as Marius.

The performers are familiar from the OBC album, but here we get to hear them in Marius’s full dialogue with the Thénardiers, which the cast album cuts. That includes the lines usually cut from performances today, which I wish would be reinstated – the irony is delicious when Thénardier tells Marius “I saw the corpse clear as I’m seeing you!”

Once again I’d like to express my fondness for Leo and Jennifer’s vivid, colorful Thénardiers. Just because they lack Cockney accents doesn’t mean they have any less character than their London counterparts in the roles.

I agree with most fans’ consensus about David’s mediocre Marius, though. There’s nothing offensive about him, but he does tend to sound leaden and bland. I’m sure he came across better onstage, though, and he’s definitely miles better than some later Marii (e.g. certain pop singers stunt-cast in the role).

[hylesmis]