The anticipation for US fans is over – I’m thrilled to be able to tell you that Alfie and Michael will bring their Ball and Boe Together show to the New York City Center venue for one night only – May 23 2017!
Their album Together was the top selling UK release of 2016 and went on to become the Christmas Number 1 and has recently returned to the top ten of the UK chart. Together is a compilation of musical theatre and popular classics including a Les Miserables medley, Somewhere, Music of the Night, When You Wish Upon a Star, You’ll Never Walk Alone, Speak Softly Love and For Once in My Life.
Here they are on the UK tour last year:
The album was recorded in New York last year and you might see some NYC locations in the official video!
Another Saturday night, another city, this time Sheffield, another concert and another guest review, this time from Joan Rowe.
What more is there to say about this wonderful pair which has not already been said? I have been privileged to see Alfie and Michael once each before but nothing could prepare you for what we experienced at the Sheffield City Hall last night – my ears are still ringing! There was less banter I think than clips of other concerts I have seen but that may be because this was a slightly different audience and if I may use the term the venue is a little more intimate having only 2000 seats.
We were amazed at the power of Alfie’s voice singing Love Reign O’er Me and then on to the absolute sweetness of Bring Him Home. We were then hurled into the seduction of Michael and the anguish of Gethsemane.
These two gentleman have such a rapport between them it comes across beautifully. Alfie and Michael made it to the stage door but only briefly; Michael explaining they had a long journey to Bournemouth. I will leave the last word to Michael: Alfie has a voice that would make angels weep. Every one of us last night would agree.
We can never get enough of Alfie singing Bring Him Home and to hear Michael singing Empty Chairs is an experience everyone should enjoy so thanks to Linda W for sharing:
Thanks Joan for that review.
If you would like to send a message to Alfie and Michael to be given in a card at the end of the tour, click here!
Or, to be precise, at number two! Yes, in the first week of release, Alfie Boe and Michael Ball are Together celebrating entering the UK album chart at number two, just behind Robbie Williams.
Fantastic – well done Alfie and Michael…and to all the fans who have bought the album! If you haven’t yet, it’s available here:
My favourite track is A Thousand Years which I’m happy to say is sung on their current tour (click here for dates). However, a close second is the Les Mis Medley and here it is from the first night of the tour in Cardiff (thanks to Linda W for sharing):
What’s your favourite track on Together? Comment and tell me!
He made the shortlist! Just a couple of days ago we voted in the nominations round of the Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards. Alfie was nominated as Favourite Replacement for both Les Mis and Finding Neverland and he made the shortlist for Les Mis. Voting is now open to choose the winner so click here and vote! You can also vote for Les Mis as Favourite Long Running Show if you want.
This video from MoTab is now getting on for 2 million views!
It’s been quite a week for Alfie: announced for the Memorial Day concert on 29 May, making the shortlist for the Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards and it was also announced that he’ll be appearing on the Kathie Lee and Hoda segment of the Today Show on 9 May. If you remember, Alfie sang Bring Him Home on this show in November 2015 and fans were hopeful that a return appearance would be called for.
That was the question answered by a few people, Alfie amongst them, in today’s edition of BBC Radio 4’s Soul Music (click here to listen).
Bring Him Home is Alfie’s most famous song and also the most famous song to come out of the show for which it was written, Les Miserables. Unsurprisingly, it was voted as Alfie Boe’s Best Ever Song by fans in 2014 and is the one song which is always heard at an Alfie concert (short guest appearances excluded). Alfie himself says that he’d probably be lynched if he ever left it out and has been known to joke at concerts that “you can all go home now, that’s what you came for, isn’t it?” straight after singing the song.
Being an Alfie fan it’s all too easy to forget that Bring Him Home was actually written for someone, not simply for the show. Of course, I’m talking about Colm Wilkinson and one of the most interesting parts of the programme for me was an Oxford College music director talking about how the power of the tenor voice is contained in the song, producing such an emotional response in the listener; we are aware that the voice could soar into the rafters but doesn’t. The power is in the restraint and of course the words which perfectly capture the feeling of a prayer – the song is referred to as The Prayer in the show. The lyricist, Herbert Kretzmer, interviewed for the programme, said that on the face of it, it could be a difficult song to write as an atheist but wasn’t as he did not need to believe in God, just in Jean Valjean’s belief in God.
Alfie was one of several people interviewed for the programme and his contribution was short and right at the beginning. He talked movingly about how much the song means to him professionally and personally and how much he has gained by his association with it but the interesting thing was the challenge of getting the words right; get that right and the tune almost comes along by itself. Being vocally tired when singing such an emotionally charged song means that the song sounds different, “gives it a different colour”. I’ve heard Alfie sing this song many times in concert and each time has been different. Different but wonderful every time.
The other contributors were divided into two groups: music professionals (Rebecca Caine, Herbert Kretzmer and Jeremy Summer, music director at St. Peters, Oxford) and people who had turned to Bring Him Home in times of need and bereavement. Becky Douglas was one of the latter and listening to her talk about her daughter, Amber was painful but also, ultimately uplifting; out of the darkest time of her life had come joy and purpose and meaning. There was no doubt that Bring Him Home was a crucial part of Becky’s relationship to her daughter and also to her subsequent charity work. Maybe the fact that I’m also a parent meant that Becky’s story spoke to me so directly and I think that is also the reason that I found Rebecca Caine speaking about the song so moving as well. Specifically, hearing her talk about not being a parent was intensely moving. As may be expected with a song that is often associated with loss and funerals, the programme included someone who had sung Bring Him Home at a funeral. Frank Pearson, secretary of the Greater Manchester Police Male Voice Choir, spoke with grace and clarity about singing such an evocative and emotional song at the funeral of PC Dave Phillips, killed in Liverpool last year. PC Phillips was a Les Mis fan apparently and it was entirely fitting that he featured on Soul Music.
Lest you fear that the programme was unremittingly sad, let me put your mind as rest by saying that it was, as I said earlier, mainly uplifting. Listening to others talk about the power of music and the mechanics of the song itself felt like a spiritual process, whatever spiritual means to you.
So, listening to the programme inspired me to ask you what Bring Him Home means to you? Let me know below.
To help you along, here’s a playlist of Alfie singing Bring Him Home:
Which role will Alfie shortly take over on Broadway? JM Barrie in Finding Neverland
Who did Alfie pick as his favourite Javert in an interview with thoughtsofjustafan last year? Norm Lewis and Earl Carpenter (click here for the interview)
How many brothers and sisters does Alfie have and what are their names? 8: Anne, Joseph, John, Pauline, Michael, Fran, Teresa, Maria
What are the names of the two alternate Rodolfo’s in Baz Luhrman’s La Boheme? David Miller and Jesus Garcia
What is the name of Alfie’s management company? Vector
Name the support acts for Alfie’s three headline tours (Bring Him Home, Storyteller and Serenata). Laura Wright (if you relied on the tour DVD for this answer you may have got it wrong!), Emilia Mitiku and Sol3 Mio
Alfie won Glyndebourne’s Christie prize – what was the role? Albert Herring
In which opera house was Alfie’s last operatic role? Coliseum (ENO)
And which opera was he performing in? The Mikado
What was the name of the new song that Alfie revealed at Leeds in 2015? Against the Tide
If you got 10 you’re an Alfie Boe mastermind champion
If you got 6+, you’re a strong contender
If you got 3-5, call yourself a fan?
Less than 4 and you’re probably scratching your head and saying Alfie who?
So, how did you do? Come and tell us if you got 10 out of 10!
If you’re reading this then you must be a fan of Alfie Boe, right? But how well do you know the man himself? Could he be your specialist subject on Mastermind? If you’ve been left shouting ‘Alfie Boe’ at the TV during Pointless when the contestants didn’t have a clue, perhaps this is the quiz for you.
There’s not a prize though, just the satisfaction of scoring ten out of ten. Good luck – answers next week.
Which role will Alfie shortly take over on Broadway?
Who did Alfie pick as his favourite Javert in an interview with thoughtsofjustafan last year?
How many brothers and sisters does Alfie have and what are their names?
What are the names of the two alternate Rodolfo’s in Baz Luhrman’s La Boheme?
What is the name of Alfie’s management company?
Name the support acts for Alfie’s three headline tours (Bring Him Home, Storyteller and Serenata).
Alfie won Glyndebourne’s Christie prize – what was the role?
In which opera house was Alfie’s last operatic role?
And which opera was he performing in?
What was the name of the new song that Alfie revealed at Leeds in 2015?
Answers revealed next week! In the meantime, don’t forget to tun into BBC Radio 2 on Monday 14 March at 10pm for Alfie’s Opera Heroes!
Yes, it’s official that thoughtsofjustafan is the Official Alfie Boe Fan Blog! If you love Alfie Boe and his music, this is the place to be – all the news as and when it happens and lots of fun to be had too.
Luckily I know just the way to celebrate this (and also Alfie’s last day as Jean Valjean on Broadway) by announcing the winner of the Alfie Boe Les Mis Goodie Bag.
Thank you to all the entrants who answered the following question:
How many productions of Les Mis has Alfie Boe appeared in?
The correct answer was 3 productions – and well done to the 87 people who got it right. Those productions are:
25th anniversary concert, West End and Broadway.
The winner (picked at random) is Maureen MacDonald who will receive a signed Les Mis playbill, a Les Mis programme, a City Guide featuring Alfie on the cover, a signed photo and a stick of Classic Quadrophenia rock. Please click here Maureen to send me your address!
Hope everyone in New York for Alfie’s last day has a great time – have a great last show Alfie!
thanks for reading – please share on twitter and facebook!
The news is official! Alfie Boe’s post Les Mis Show is Finding Neverland and he will start on March 29th, taking over from Tony Yazbeck.
Producer Harvey Weinstein said “… who better to take over the role than Alfie Boe? Known for his exquisite tenor voice, he’s also a superb actor whom we’re thrilled to have as part of the family.”
Director Diane Paulus went on to say “It is very exciting that our next J.M. Barrie will be Alfie Boe, whose breadth of experience and enormous musical talents I know will make him a thrilling Barrie. I can’t wait to work with Alfie and to welcome him to our company at the Lunt-Fontanne.”
Alfie himself said “I can’t wait to join this wonderful show and cast. I’m so excited. Just a little disappointed I’m not Tinkerbell” – glad to see the sense of humour is still intact!
So, how do we feel about Alfie taking on the role of JM Barrie in this new musical? When the rumours first surfaced this week, there were a fair amount of tweeters suggesting that while Alfie has a wonderful voice, he’s not right for the part. Looking closer at these tweets, it seems that most of the concern revolved around Alfie’s age as the previous performers in the role have been younger; add in the casting of a younger Sylvia and you can see why the comments were made.
However, what if the casting of a actor who is the same age as Barrie when he wrote about Peter Pan were to redefine the role? To answer this question, I turned to Angry Baby Music’s Flo Bannigan, who recently chose Finding Neverland as one of her Top Ten Shows of 2016. This is what she had to say:
Alfie is currently the same age as JM Barrie when he first wrote about Peter Pan so he is the perfect choice for the role. So far, younger actors have been cast but having someone older might mean a change of emphasis on the way the relationships are played out. The main relationship centres around that of Barrie and Sylvia but I’m intrigued to see how Alfie’s portrayal brings out Barrie’s relationship to the children – many reviews of him in Les Mis have specifically mentioned the authenticity of Alfie’s relationship with little Cosette. Different actors bring different aspects to the same character, no actor wants to take on a new role and play it exactly the same as all the others who went before.
When Alfie stepped onto the stage at the O2, he transformed the role of Jean Valjean forever. This was underlined when he stepped forward during the Valjean quartet – there was a definite sense of the baton having passed and a new style of JVJ was born from a different genre of performing arts. Before that, if you had asked ardent Les Mis fans whether JVJ could be played by an opera singer who wasn’t big and full of muscles they would probably have said no. That all changed after the 25th anniversary concert. Why shouldn’t he do the same for JM Barrie in Finding Neverland?
Thanks Flo. So, as Alfie so successfully redefined one of the most iconic roles in modern musical theatre, what if he could do the same for a new musical like Finding Neverland? How amazing would that be!
In the meantime, have you entered the Alfie Boe Les Mis Goodie Bag competition yet? Click here – good luck!
