Prelude

Colm Wilkinson (l) and John Owen-Jones at the Les Misérables 25th Anniversary Concert

Colm Wilkinson (l) and John Owen-Jones at the Les Misérables 25th Anniversary Concert

I grew up in the theaters in Boston. My grandparents worked the concessions in the theaters for years. My parents met each other (my father was my mother’s boss!) working in the theaters. Both my sister and I worked there as well and when we weren’t working we got to see all of the shows that came through (back in the 80s when I was there some shows still previewed in Boston before they went to New York). My father owned reel-to-reel tapes of the recordings of the older musicals he worked and we listened to them all the time. The theater, especially musical theater, is in my blood. Most people know me as a rabid baseball fan but if I had to make a choice between live theater and baseball I wouldn’t even pause to head straight to the theater.

PBS has always been my connection to anything theater related I didn’t or couldn’t see in Boston. Somewhere among my things is an old VCR tape with their presentation of Sweeney Todd on it. The video is fuzzy and the audio crackly because I watched it over and over again. That was in 1982 and to this day PBS continues to support the arts, bringing me as close to the stage as I want.

In 1996 it was PBS airing the 10th Anniversary Dream Concert that got me hooked on Les Misérables. I had only seen one production in person but listened to the Broadway and London Cast Recordings so often that I actually wore out the CDs and had to replace them. (When the house I was living in burned down in 2002, my best friend since childhood did two things: Went clothes shopping for me so I had something to wear, and gave me a copy of the Broadway Les Miz recording because she knew I lost mine in the fire.)

I was in bed ill one Sunday in 2011 when I came upon the Les Misérables 25th Anniversary Concert at the O2 on PBS. It’s a wonderful production and available on DVD (and Amazon Prime!) so if it’s of interest to you, hey go check it out. For me, the highlight came at the end of the show when they brought out various different casts including the Original London Cast and the current (at the time) casts. They brought together what has come to be known as the Valjean QuartetColm Wilkinson (the original Jean Valjean), Alfie Boe (who was Valjean for the Anniversary Concert), Simon Bowman and John Owen-Jones (who were both playing Valjean in different London productions at the time). Immediately, I was struck by John Owen-Jones. His reaction (in the below video) when Colm Wilkinson begins singing was so honest and refreshing that I quickly took notice.

And then I heard him sing.

I am not a skilled enough writer to properly describe how John Owen-Jones’ voice makes me feel. Music has always been my home. Whether I’m sad or happy, busy or bored, there is always music on around me. ALWAYS. (David Bowie is singing about the Cat People as I write this.) I don’t think I could live if I had to go a day without it. So when I find someone new to listen to, it’s a huge deal for me. John Owen-Jones brings such feeling and emotion to every note his sings that I get lost in every breath. I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that I spend a good three months, after first hearing him, listening to absolutely nothing but his songs on my iPod. I’d never heard such a stunningly beautiful voice. And he looks like he’s enjoying himself more than the people watching him. I love that in a performer. Not only is he great at what he does but he loves to do it.

A few minutes online after the concert and I found out his name, visited his website, ordered a cd and started following him on Twitter. (I’m not one to half-ass this kind of thing.) Along with having the best voice I’ve ever heard, I found that he’s enchanting online. Between interactions with his fans and with his co-workers (Google “John vs Killian” and I promise you won’t be disappointed) his Twitter feed revealed a funny, gracious and down to earth person whose Tweets you wouldn’t regret showing up in your feed.

So, I’m a fan. Have been now for about 5 years. I own his albums, enjoy his Twitter feed and occasionally visit YouTube to watch videos of his performances in the UK. I never thought I’d have an opportunity to see him in person so the Internet would have to be good enough for me.

Or would it?

Late last year he announced on Twitter that he would be taking over for Alfie Boe as Jean Valjean on Broadway in the Spring of 2016 through the rest of Les Misérables‘ Broadway run (which ends on September 4, 2016). I’m in Boston. There was no way I could be in Boston in 2016 knowing John Owen-Jones was in New York and not try to get there. No way.

I don’t have a bucket list. But if I did, at the top of it would be seeing John Owen-Jones perform live, in person. In front of my face. RIGHT THERE. So the fact that I was unemployed wasn’t going to stop me from finding a way down to New York.

And I did.

And when I come down off of Cloud 9 I’m going to write about it.

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