Andrew Morton

Les Misérables in London:
Courfeyrac/understudy Jean Valjean/understudy Bishop 10 April 2000 - 3 March 2001

Currently in:
Taboo (the Boy George Musical) at The Venue, Notre Dame Hall, Leicester Square in London

Pictures:
Click on the pictures to see them in larger formats

Reviews:

Louise from England: I saw Andrew twice as Valjean and both times I was impressed by his performance. He has a really lovely voice which is quite soft in places and I also think he is quite a good looking bloke!! Great performer, and in my humble little opinion should become Jean Valjean full time!

Tom: Andrew Morton is a legend both on and off the stage. We love him and want to see him in a triumphant return to Australia!

Eli from Belgium: I had already heard some fairly good reviews about Andrew Morton playing the role of Jean Valjean. That's why as soon as I got to know that he would be playing the role for a few days in December I decided that the occasion was worth a nice pre-Christmas trip to London. I must  confess that my intention was also to have a milder transition from Simon Bowman (my ultimate Valjean.) and the new one who has taken over after him, and I'm happy to say that the "therapy" worked. I really enjoyed Andrew's performance a lot. It is clear that he has Simon's approach in mind for the characterisation of his role, but his performance looks original in its own right. In other words, it's as if Andy had watched Simon's performances closely in the past few months and wisely decided to pick all his good points and correct the little wrongs here and there. He certainly *acts* the role in an amazing way, just as Simon did, feeling each word, speaking at times. Certain bits (that sweet touching of Little Cosette's nose at the Thenardiers' Inn)  are Simon's brand 100%. But Andrew also puts some adorable extra touches here and there. For example, the way he warms Little Cosette's hands with his breath as soon as he meets her in the wood. Or when he moves away from Thenardier (smelling his stink, hilarious !!!) or also the way he strokes the doll's hair... He also 'ages' better: his coming down from the barricade in Act Two is much more realistic (sorry, Simon!). On the contrary some other scenes are maybe less refined, like the letter-reading or the "You are free" scene with Javert. But Simon was so fantastic in those moments, that I can't blame anybody not to live up to him, probably NObody could ever do. Vocally, Andrew Morton has a lighter and higher pitch - which allows him to hit the higher notes with more ease - and generally speaking he has a more melodic, almost melancholic approach. His first Confrontation with Javert is not aggressive, but rather imploring, and this more humble mood  is confirmed all through the show. Unfortunately it is impossible to catch all the details after one single performance. All I can do now is to hope that Andrew will get the opportunity to perform as JVJ more times in the near future, so that I - and lots of other LesMiz enthusiasts - will have a chance to enjoy his excellent work.

Related links:
More about Andrew Morton on our site