Music steps forward as ‘Les Misérables: World Tour Spectacular’ rocks Manila
The multi-awarded and well-loved musical returns, bringing a powerful mix of theater and concert.
“Spectacular does not sum up what you’ve seen and I’m certain that the Filipino audience is going to be amazed and dazzled by the scale of this production,” said Carlos Candal, CEO of GMG Productions, during the media launch of Les Miserables: World Tour Spectacular.
Currently running at The Theatre at Solaire until March 1, 2026, the show features a live orchestra that combines the dramatic power of a theater production and the thrill of a rock concert.
“This spectacular version brings a passionate way of telling the story,” says Geronimo Rauch, who plays Jean Valjean. “It’s definitely a rock concert, we deliver every night… (in which) music takes a step forward.”
STAND AND DELIVER
Rauch’s foil Jeremy Secomb, who plays Javert, praised the timeless and incredible score that Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil, and Cameron Mackintosh put together 40 years ago.
”[Les Miserables: World Tour Spectacular] brings the emotion of the music—you get it in the staged show—but what this does is it just lifts the music and the storytelling,” Rauch adds. We stand and we deliver this incredible score that we are all fans of. Every single person involved backstage, we are all fans of this show. And I think it really shows when we go out, with the incredible orchestra behind us, the incredible sound team, the lighting.”
“As a performer, it’s just exciting to stand there and tell a story,” adds Red Concepcion, who plays the dark comic relief Thénardier.
Lea Salonga, who has had memorable runs as Éponine and Fantine in different iterations of Les Misérables through the years, adds that Les Misérables works as a concert, as proven by the 10th and 25th anniversary shows. For the Manila production, she puts her spin on the character of Madame Thénardier.
“We know that the score by itself… without set pieces or actual staging, it works,” she says. “And I think part of the reason is how engraved the score is with audiences. There is stuff that the audience already knows that they know what’s coming. So it’s not like we have to spell it all out… and these songs are so timeless.”
A SPECTACULAR HOMECOMING
While Salonga has performed selections from Les Miz on concert stages in Manila, she has never been part of an actual production of it in the Philippines.
”Until now,” Salonga says. “(And) I get to do it with friends, family, with musicians that have been in concert with me here. I get to play with Rachelle Ann Go, we’ve sung together, but we’ve never done a show like this. I get to work with Red and with Emily. It’s such a joyous experience and I hope that joy travels to the audience… we’re just having fun.”
Concepcion, who has played Thenardier at the St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre in 2024, shares the same sentiment, pointing out how the show is in the DNA of Filipinos who connect with the story’s theme and the relatable characters.
”There really is something about this show that resonates with us Filipinos,” he says. “Not only do we love its sweepingly beautiful music, but its themes of righteous revolution strike a chord in all of us.”
Emily Bautista, who plays Éponine in this production, is a proud daughter and granddaughter of Filipino immigrants and says that she had to pinch herself knowing she’ll get to perform in Les Misérables in her ancestors’ homeland.
“We would watch the 10th anniversary, then the 25th anniversary, and never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I’d be Éponine for the 40th. And not only that, but to do it here in the Philippines,” Bautista says.
Go, who was part of the 2016 Les Misérables stage production, returns as Fantine in what she describes as a full circle moment.
As one of the most tragic characters in the show, it is difficult not to feel deeply for Fantine and Go shares that she continues to discover things about her, and perhaps herself, 11 years on.
”I am very grateful to the company for entrusting me with this role,” Go says. “Fantine has been with me through every season of my life, from [being] a single woman, to getting married, and having two kids. It’s amazing to discover things about the role. Sometimes I learn about her strength; sometimes, her vulnerability. I’m just grateful that I’m still here doing the role and I can still sing it. To be able to share the stage with my idols and to sing for our kababayans, it’s a dream come true.”
‘A JOY TO BE BACK’
In his message, Cameron Mackintosh highlights Les Misérables as the only musical that has proved to be equally successful on stage, as an award-winning movie, and as a concert spectacular.
”Les Miz will always remain revolutionary as every generation this extraordinary musical attracts exciting new performers who go on to become stars,” Mackintosh writes. “It is a joy to be back in the Philippines.”
Les Miserables: World Tour Spectacular runs until March 1, 2026 at The Theatre at Solaire.
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