Les Miserables at the Hollywood Bowl

Jason and I were privileged to perform in the Mitch Hanlon Singers in a spectacular performance of Les Miserables at the Hollywood Bowl August 8, 9, and 10. The show was quite spectacular. I must admit I did not really care for the show before. It always seemed to be overestimated as the best musical ever written. I always thought the solos/arias were quite simplistic and often sung dreadfully. But as I studied, learned, listened and performed the music over the last 2 weeks, I really learned to appreciate, even love it. I still believe the arias to be simply constructed, but the emotion and passion in the music really is what makes it beautiful. I also really got to hear all the recitatives and other incidental music in the show which one does not often hear. I thought that music is the most amazing. My favorite sequence of the show is called "Confrontation" between Jean ValJean and Javert, a fantastic recitative duet. Here is a clip from our production.

Brian Stokes Mitchell as Javert and J. Mark McVey as Jean ValJean. Simply amazing!




I have been performing with the Mitch Hanlon Singers at the Hollywood Bowl since 1999, performing in such shows as South Pacific, Carousel, The Music Man, Mame, Camelot, The Sound of Music, South Pacific (again), and now Les Mis. I also had a solo in a special concert featuring the music of Woody Allen movies. I've worked with such performers as Marilyn Horne, Jeremy Irons, James Barbour, Susan Egan, Tom Bosley, Michele Lee, Christine Ebersole, Fred Willard, Eric McCormick, Kristen Chenoweth, John Scheider, Jeffrey Tambour, Michael McKean, Brian Stokes Mitchell (Stokes), and Reba McEntire, I really feel lucky to have been part of so many amazing experiences.
This production had the best singing of all of them.


This is me sitting on the stage of the Disney Concert Hall during the orchestra rehearsal on Tuesday, August 5.


Jason and I at the Bowl on opening night


The view of the audience from the roof of the Hollywood Bowl


Jason and Michael McCormick (Thenardier)



Rachel and Jason with Tom Lowe (Enjolras) hubba, hubba...


Kevin Stites was our musical director and he was really wonderful. He was very nice and treated us with a great deal of respect. And he definitely knew his stuff. I loved watching him teach music as well as conduct the orchestra.
Here is the Mitch Hanlon Singers (with Mitch in the blue in the front row with Kevin Stites sitting to his left.