The 5 Most Enjoyable Renditions of Les Misérables "The Confrontation"
Les Misérables is arguably the greatest Broadway musical ever (note, how you define “best ever” is worth a 10,000-word editorial, but just run with that for now since we used the qualifier “arguably”). There are so many memorable songs from the musical, but, inarguably, the most fun song of the musical, perhaps only fun in the sense of being fun to sing with friends, is “The Confrontation”. The song is dramatic, fun, and thrilling to see on stage when done right.
Also, it’s a great Broadway song because you don’t need to know the show to enjoy it. Lyrically, it’s straightforward; if a theatre novice jumps into the song, they know what the scene is generally about (24601 might be confusing, but maybe a newbie will think it’s a follow-up to this 80s classic).
“The Confrontation” is an example of a Broadway song that should be mass-marketed more due to the intrinsic fun anyone can have listening to and performing it.
We would love to see great singers from all genres of music take this song on (much like we’re finally starting to see different singers take on Defying Gravity). We think any Broadway theatre running Les Misérables should be funding these efforts to promote their show.
One of the great things about “The Confrontation” is that, when sung casually for pure entertainment purposes, it lets the singer’s personality come out during the performance, so it’s always at least interesting for the first stanza.
We combed through YouTube to find the 5 most enjoyable performances of “The Confrontation.” Please note that these are the “most fun” performances, not “the best.” If you want the best versions, you’re best off googling various televised professional performances of the show (and by all means, it’s worth it, especially this rendition!).
“The Confrontation” is a great song, but also a fun one, and there are several fun versions out there that will have you giggling as much as the performers.
Let’s rank them:
#5 Megan Hilty and Jennifer Samard
What We Liked About It: This is a delightfully weird performance from two Broadway vets performing this song for Miscast. The outfits and the shovels are great, and the change in vocal styling mid-song are gripping, if not just a touch alarming. Again, this is delightfully weird and fun to watch.
#4 Miranda West & Emily Kay Shrader (2018)
What We Liked About It: We feel this proves our notion that this song can be entertaining with different singing styles, even when Emily Kay Schrader switches styles halfway through the performance! We also love anytime a performer brings out the Javert hat, as West does.
#3 Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe (Joe’s Pub, 2012)
What We Liked About It: This is a performance that promoted the upcoming feature film in 2012. Long time readers know we were not fans of Crowe being cast in the role of Javert, and its not exactly like he sings any better live than he did in the movie. However, Crowe is bonkers during this performance and is a must watch. From the googly eyes he gives to Jackman, to bobbing his head like he’s on the NYC subway listening to “What is Love”, its mesmerizing in a totally wierd way.
Plus, Jackman sings live just as well as anyone. In the wide angled shot which shows the band, its clear they were clearly enjoying and laughing at seeing them do this live (I mean how could you not with Crowe doing whatever the heck it is he’s doing)
#2 Paul Rudd, David Wain (2006)
What We Liked About It: We’re not quite sure how this happened, but they did a rendition of this at a standup event in New York City in 2006, and we’ll be honest, we had no idea this happened until a month ago. They did a more formal version to promote “Role Models” in 2008, but its inferior to seeing Paul Rudd come out to the Javert hat to a raucous crowd.
#1 Jason Segal, Neil Patrick Harris (2014)
What We Liked About It: So this is a bit they have done a bunch of times, but, this is the gold standard of random enjoyable renditions. While Harris’s over the top hamming is fun, Segal just wins the duel hands down, from starting to sing to sign with his arms folded, to his over the top comedic lyric reading of “STEAL SOME BREAD”.
Bonus points goes to the rest of the “How I met Your Mother” cast for both laughing during this and also clearly recognizing this is a bit Segal and Harris have always done. Its like the joke your close group of friends have told repeatedly for years and years, and its still funny for the 100th retelling because, it just is.
Frankly, this isn’t nearly enough renditions to parse through. While these renditions are great, we need more diversity of singers and song styles to promote the great show that is Les Misérables. Did we miss any renditions we should note? Let us know in the comments or email us onstageblog at gmail.