BWW Blog: Abigail Shapiro - CD Release Concert and LES MISERABLES

Our CD release concert and seeing Les Miserables

Hello Broadway World! Our fourth cabaret at 54 BELOW went really well! Milly and I had such a great time-we had the chance to perform with some of our favorite actors, Ben Thompson, who Milly shared the stage with in Matilda The Musical, and the incredibly talented Laura Osnes who originated the title role in Cinderella. We got to try out some new material, including a medley in which we sing duets together with bits of choreography included which was a bit nerve-wracking but I think it paid off-the audience seemed to really enjoy the show.

We sold a limited number of our CDs, "The Shapiro Sisters: Live Out Loud", at our performance, although the CD is officially being released on September 9th (available now for pre-order on iTunes and Amazon). We had the chance to sign CDs for everyone who purchased a copy-it was great getting to witness people's reactions to seeing the CD for the first time and looking at all the different content we included inside the disc.

After all of the excitement (and exhaustion) last week brought, this past Saturday, we had the chance to see one of my favorite musicals, Les Miserables, and coincidentally, Milly and I caught ourselves on Taxi TV en route to the show, from an interview we did with the wonderful Sandy Kenyon before our second show at 54 Below!

Les Miserable went far beyond my expectations. I really enjoyed this reimagined version of the show. First off, I have to compliment the sets! They were amazing! What really added to it were the projections. They really stood out during Javert's death scene. I've never seen a production of Les Miz with sets as intricate as these.

Compared to previous productions I've seen, this version was much more entertaining! I would imagine it's difficult to revive a show for many reasons, particularly a show as iconic as Les Miserables. I thought that it would have tried to be almost identical to the original production; quite similar to other versions I've seen. You could tell that the audience thoroughly enjoyed the production because it seemed to have more of an original vibe.

You would never have guessed it was Ramin Karimloo's Broadway debut! Although, admittedly, he was already a big time West End star! He was fantastic! He did justice to Jean Valjean, and vocally he was impeccable. I was blown away by his performance. In my opinion he is one of the best male performers I have seen live.

This is definitely a show to see! It was a superb production that I enjoyed. I'd recommend it to tweens and adults who love theatre.

Well our CD will officially be available in a week...we are bouncing off the walls! That's all for now Broadway World--thank you so much!

-Abigail Shapiro