Les Miserables opened in Boston on Tuesday night, and I was there. Holy cow. I knew I’d like it a lot, because, well, it’s Les Mis; but I hadn’t done my homework beforehand, and was therefore completely unprepared for this stellar, stunning cast. This production didn’t start on Broadway; the tour is its only USA presence. Therefore, we had the likes of J. Mark McVey as Jean Valjean (he was AMAZING). Andrew Varela, Chasten Harmon, Jeremy Hays, Betsy Morgan, Julie Benko, Max Quinlan, Richard Vida, Shawna Hamic, the ensemble singing their hearts out, the beautiful design, the beautiful orchestra — the performance was better than some of the best I’ve seen on Broadway. Here are photos of the national tour.

Thank you, you wonderful, dear people, for coming to my backyard.