Colm Wilkinson created the role of Jean Valjean in the original London and Broadway productions of Les Miserables, earning a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor as well as Tony and Drama Desk nominations, and winning the Helen Hayes Award, the Outer Critics’ Circle Award, and a Theatre World Award. Colm returned to the role of Valjean for one night only in October of 1995, starring in the London 10th Anniversary Concert at the Royal Albert Hall.
Colm created the role of “The Phantom” in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera at the composer’s annual music festival at Sydmonton. He went on to star in the Toronto production at the Pantages Theatre from the show’s premiere in September 1989 until May 1994, giving 1653 performances and earning nightly standing ovations from more than 3.5 million theatre-goers. For his portrayal Colm received the 1989-90 Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Revue or Musical.
Colm also created the role of “Che” on the original concept recording of Evita and starred as Judas in the Dublin production of Jesus Christ Superstar, a role he later performed for two and a half years in London’s West End and on the British national tour. Other Dublin and London theatre credits include Rock Nativity, Adam and Eve, Fire Angel, and Voices.
An accomplished recording artist, Colm has numerous albums to his credit. He performs on the London, Broadway, and Royal Albert Hall cast albums of Les Miserables, and can be heard as the Phantom on the original Canadian cast recording of The Phantom of the Opera, as well as the original concept recording of the musical Jekyll and Hyde. His solo recordings include Stage Heroes, a collection of theatre songs from classic Broadway musicals.
As a concert performer, Colm performed throughout North America in Andrew Lloyd Webber - Music of the Night. He has appeared around the world in his concerts One Man Show and Stage Heroes. He most recently starred in a concert television special for PBS featuring his son Aaron and Patti Lupone.
The Phantom of the Opera
Lots of people have told me that they don’t like Colm’s Phantom, that he was too harsh and cruel. I honestly didn’t see that. He remains my favourite Phantom of all the ones I’ve seen or heard, and I thought his performance was fantastic and very moving. His moment on the angel at the end of Act One made me cry every time, and his final lair scene was riveting. See my Phantom page for more random, general thoughts on the show.
Les Miserables
Colm *is* Jean Valjean, as far as I’m concerned, so I went to the show expecting to be blown away. And I wasn’t disappointed. :-) He is one of those performers that you simply can’t take your eyes off while he’s on stage, and the intensity of his performance is unbelievable. He had me in tears several times, and we won’t even talk about the mess I was during “Bring Him Home”. :-) I have a Les Mis page with more general information about the show, and a more indepth review of the Toronto production (a fantastic show even without Colm!) is here.
Go back