John Owen-Jones
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Owen-Jones (b. May 5, 1971) is a British musical theatre actor, best known for his portrayals of Jean Valjean in Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schönberg's Les Misérables and of The Phantom in Andrew Lloyd-Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. He most recently appeared as Jean Valjean in the Broadway revival of Les Misérables.
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[edit] Background
John was born in 1971 and originates from Burry Port in Carmarthenshire He was educated at Glan-y-mor Comprehensive School, and went on to train at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. He graduated in 1994 with a B.A. in Acting.
[edit] Musical Theatre
During 1995 he played the 'liebeslieder' in Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music at the National Theatre along with Dame Judi Dench, Patricia Hodge, Joanna Riding and Sian Phillips, and in The Ladies Paradise (also by Sondheim) at the RNT Studio.
In 1998 he became the youngest person ever to play the role of Jean Valjean full-time when he took over in the London production at just 26 years of age. He had previously understudied the role, and played the factory foreman, Feuilly and Grantaire. John also appeared in the choir of the Tenth Anniversary Concert at the Royal Albert Hall in 1995.
In 2000 he was part of that year's season at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. He played roles in The Pirates of Penzance and Much Ado About Nothing.
In 2001 he was chosen to succeed Scott Davies in the title role in Phantom of the Opera. He left the role on 26 February 2005, after three and a half years and nearly 1400 performances, making him the longest running London Phantom. His last performance was with Rachel Barrell.
His other theatre work includes Antipholus in The Boys from Syracuse and Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice at Harrogate Theatre, Herr Zeller in The Sound of Music, Cleante in The Hypochondriac, Valere in Le Medecin Volant at the West Yorkshire Playhouse and Uprooted at the Tricycle Theatre.
He has been reprising his role of Jean Valjean in 'Les Misérables' at the Queen's Theatre in London since June 27, 2005. He had a month off starting in late May of 2006, during which he played the role of Ravenal in Show Boat, the first fully staged musical performed at the Royal Albert Hall which played for a limited season between 10 and 25 June 2006. He then returned to 'Les Misérables' and his contract as Valjean in the West End expired on 6 October, 2007. At the 2007 Faenol Festival it was revealed that after finishing his London contract, John would go to the US to take up the role of Valjean on Broadway. He began this role on 23rd October 2007.
[edit] Television
John's work on television includes The Bill; The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickelby; The South Bank Show; The Margaret Williams Show; A Week in the West End; Record Breakers; and Backstage: Pebble Mill.
In December 2004 he appeared in a televised Christmas Concert as a featured soloist, alongside Michael Ball.
[edit] Recordings
In late 2006, John released his first solo CD, a five-track EP entitled Hallelujah, which can be purchased through his website.
