EAT + PLAY

Think you can skip Les Misérables because you’ve already seen it? Think again.

After witnessing the Les Misérables World Tour Spectacular in Manila, I can safely say that mindset deserves a serious rethink—though, admittedly, that advice may come too late, with the show now completely sold out.

This production may well be the best Les Mis experience you’ll ever get. It belongs in the same rarefied company as the legendary 10th and 25th anniversary concerts that many of us know by heart. Personally, I’d even rank it above the 25th — if only because there’s none of the infamous stunt casting (yes, you, Nick Jonas) that distracted from that version. What you get here is Les Misérables at its most focused, most powerful, and most theatrically satisfying.

While the performances are uniformly phenomenal, what’s striking is how perfectly calibrated this cast feels for Manila. Lea Salonga is here. Rachelle Ann Go is here. Red Concepcion is here. These are artists who have earned their stature on the world stage, and the confidence, discipline, and emotional intelligence they bring elevate the entire production.

Red Concepcion, in particular, is a revelation. His Thénardier marks a major leap in his growth as a theater performer. Paired with Lea Salonga’s Madame Thénardier, he transforms what is often treated as mere comic relief into something far more textured and essential. Their chemistry reframes the Thénardiers as genuinely dangerous figures—wicked, immoral, and unsettling rather than buffoonish. It’s a bold, smart interpretation that deepens the storytelling.

Then there are Jeremy Secomb and Gerónimo Rauch, who together form one of the most formidable Javert–Valjean pairings you’re ever likely to encounter. Secomb’s Javert is obsessive and unnervingly intense, a rigidity that becomes downright frightening — especially magnified by the production’s use of large-scale projections. Rauch, meanwhile, delivers a Valjean for the ages: vocally fearless, emotionally grounded, and capable of cutting straight through the orchestra with spine-tingling clarity.

Crucially, this is not just a concert dressed up with costumes. The World Tour Spectacular is thoughtfully staged, with genuine theatrical flourishes throughout. The lighting design is particularly arresting, none more so than during the “At the Barricade” sequence, as the students fall one by one. The sense of scale and cumulative heartbreak is overwhelming, all the more impressive given how streamlined and efficient the production is.

What this version ultimately offers is a renewed appreciation for Les Misérables as one of the greatest musical theater scores ever written. Schönberg and Boublil’s music lands with renewed force, song after song, and hearing it performed with the orchestra prominently featured feels almost overpowering — in the best possible way. The musical direction sharpens the drama, clarifies the narrative, and reminds you just how masterfully constructed this score really is.

I could go on—and honestly, I want to. But here’s the bottom line: if there is any way for you to see this production, take it. Call in favors. Watch for ticket releases. Grab a seat from anyone who can no longer attend.

It is absolutely worth the effort.