The National Tour of Les Misérables is holding court at Syracuse’s Landmark Theatre this week. I got to see it with my old buddy Dylan Spencer Thursday night. A nostalgic watch for us both because while I directed and choreographed the show twice for JD High School, young Dylan designed the sound. Once in 2003, as a junior in high school – he ran 19 body mics off an old school sound board, manually turning on and off microphones, bumping levels up and down, mixing sound for ensemble of 60 kids as fast as he could! A fairly monumental feat for a seventeen-year-old kid with only 10 fingers. He did it again in 2012, well after graduating high school, a professional sound designer now, armed with a new sound board and more mics than ever.
I myself got to do the show a third time in 2014, staging a concert version for Wit’s End Players. Hands down one of the best things I have ever put my name to.
I’ve seen Les Misérables (here on out known simply as Les Miz) a dozen times. From national tours in town to Toronto and back. I even saw Colm Wilkinson’s final performance in the role. And having staged the show three times, with three phenomenally talented casts, it’s safe to say – I KNOW Les Miz.
And I love it. I know, its long and loud and the characters sing every single moment, and I don’t care. I unabashedly admit this is one of my favorite shows of all time. I never tire of it. (The movie doesn’t count btw. It is unforgivably bad. I despise it. Do not try to convince me otherwise!)
This current national tour isn’t new. I saw it last time through town. But it has improved. It’s a tighter, faster, almost clipped version of the show that moves along at such a brisk pace, if you do not know the show (and I can’t imagine anyone over 25 does not) you best pay attention! For those of us that can’t make it an hour without peeing, the pacing is a blessing. The first act is a healthy hour and 45 minutes, but with the very tight quarters of the Landmark’s orchestra level hindering any movement, if you plan on peeing during intermission ladies, you had better run for it! Show runners made it crystal clear that this production starts on time, both first and second act. They aren’t waiting for anyone; not matter how badly you have to go! Downbeat for act 2 was exactly at the 15-minute mark. At least half of the ladies in line did not make the beginning of act 2.
But if the cast members were thrown off by the number of patrons clambering back to their seats while they sang, they didn’t show it. Props to Eponine for roaring out her solo while half the audience continued to stand and sit, stand and sit, to allow folks back into their seats.
The show is still over three hours. I think it is better to say that this production is tighter. A handful of lines, even whole verses have been cut or changed, significantly pushing the story along. The new set design also helps. Gone is the Salt City Playhouse-type turn table and the hulking barricade that turns to reveal all of the dead students. Instead, there are two vertical walls on either side of the stage, one with a balcony and both with cave-like exits underneath that characters can duck in and out of. They serve as street archways, houses, and sewer entrances. Smaller set pieces float onto the stage at need. A gate to Valjean’s house, the interior of the bishop’s home, benches and bed Eventually the two walls expand, sliding out to the center of the stage like closet doors, creating upper and lower levels of Paris.
And let’s talk about the lighting…
I’m not exactly sure how deep the Landmark’s stage is, but I know it isn’t unusually large. But in this production, the entire back wall is covered with computer driven slides/pictures of outdoor settings. The sea, the streets of Paris, the sewers, all of which only enhance the minimal sets and are never too detailed to take away from the actors.
When the screen is off however, it appears there is only blackness for miles. Multiple times, actors simply appeared in the black hole of that upstage space. How did they arrive there without us seeing them?
There are footlights on the sides of the stage, high pin-spots above the actors, magically hitting faces from sides and backs, creating a depth of space that made my breath catch several times. At the end of the barricade battle when (spoiler) the students are all tragically killed, they each get their own pin-spot, one that sharply flickers on and off their bodies to simulate a killing gunshot.
If anything, some moments of the show may be too dark and shadowy. I don’t mind scenes that take place in shadow, but there were a handful of times when I was squinting to see some faces, even those actors who were being featured, appeared too dark to me.
Vocally, this production is quite polished. I have to shout out of the conductor of this show. I was in a position to see his wand, and that man’s cut-offs were perfection. And the actors were clearly paying close attention to him. And it wasn’t as if the conductor were controlling the singers, or that they were exactly following him. Rather there was this perfect partnership that was happening between both conductor and singer. Many times, leading actors held notes out far longer than I am used to hearing in this show. In fact, I would argue that this style was a near epidemic Thursday night. As if there were some sort of contest as to who could hold out the longest note. I didn’t mind it. It’s damn impressive. But often when a singer over-holds a note, the band finishes playing and the vocalist continues holding their note beyond the final chord, if that makes sense. But here, conductor and singer were perfectly in sync. Conductor wand came down, band cut off and singer finished all at the exact same time. Perfectly executed.
Back to the pacing. As I said, the show is tighter, quicker perhaps, but mostly it is a matter of some edges being sanded down. For example: the cart crash. In the original production, a giant cart would begin its roll onto the stage, the lights would flicker, and the entire ensemble would go into a slow motion run around the turn table until the cart “crashed” and landed on our unlucky ensemble member who is pinned by the wheel of the cart. Then, Val Jean would spend the next several interminable pieces of music, acting strong and putting his back into the cartwheel like a version of a circus strong man, lifting it, saving the man and then staggering away out of breath for even more sections of music. How I remember struggling to stage this piece on a high school stage. Twice! Minus the turn table!
This version has cut the entire scene down to a handful of quick, sharp seconds. The cart floats out of the darkness, makes one half a turn, stops. Everyone freezes. Perhaps two ensemble members warn the mayor to stay back (it used to be 4 or 5 lines) Val Jean resolutely sheds his coat, the cart is lifted, man is freed. one line of vocals for him, and he is carried off. Cart disappears, leaving Val Jean and Javert alone in that inky blackness. Brilliant.
Over-all, the production is more violent too. Two thumbs up from me. I know how that sounds but stick with me on this – Val Jean is supposed to be this unusually strong former prisoner right? But other than the cart crash, the musical never used to show us just how strong he could be. Now, there are multiple fights or threats of violence. It often will take several men to hold onto Val Jean. As it should! If he is as strong as Javert claims. In previous versions of the show, at the end of the famous “Confrontation” scene after Fantine’s death, Val Jean threatens Javert with a breakable chair, sings his last verse to Fantine, and them bum rushes Javert and runs off. But here we get a full-fledged fight! Perhaps it overly choreographed and a tad unrealistic, but it is a vast improvement. I don’t need realism, I need the suggestion of the strength this man possesses, and this version gives us that. Ditto for the multiple brutal scenes Fantine endures. It’s more difficult to watch than ever, but it is important.
In order for the pace of this version to work, it is essential to have the talent to pull it off. The show is flying by and if you do not have actors that can emote at that pace and convey the years and years that this story takes place over then you are sunk. Fortunately, the two leading men are experts at keeping up. The push and pull of Val Jean and Javert, their years of chasing and fighting each other, is acted out beautifully between these two seasoned performers. I saw a more acute connection than I have in the past. Despite the racing pace, there are long, pauses taken between Val Jean and Javert, quiet moments of contemplating and staring at each other that gave me chills to watch. These two are constantly sizing each other up, forever thinking about the next move the other one will make. And while I expected to enjoy Val jean’s performance, it was Javert that really stole the show. I bought hook, line and sinker, everything this actor was giving me. He was stoic, uncompromising and yet he manages to show us a man on a journey, a slow burn of an arc. His suicide scene was one of the best I have ever seen.
The speed of the show did not work as well, for the two leading ladies. Fantine was good. Best I thought, in the prostitution scenes and her death. Her first entrance and “her big solo “I Dreamed a Dream” were slightly less successful. Again, good. Just not great. Even more underwhelming was Eponine. And don’t get me wrong, her “On My Own” was sensational. She roared, as I said above. But the rest of the time I never connected with her and I didn’t see any other character connecting either. It was as if, she couldn’t quite keep up with the speed everyone else was going at and she got lost in the shuffle.
Marius and Cosette were darling. Both of their voices were lighter and younger than I have ever heard, giving them an innocence I think both parts need. Both characters were quite humorous as well. Their “meet cute”, and the “Heart Full of Love” sequence had the audience chuckling and smiling and in the one part of the show I have always found to be a bit boring.
The Thenardiers, as in every show I have ever seen, were brilliant! Different this time, but brilliant all the same. They weren’t over-the top but still very funny, and rotten to the core in a way that makes the audience cheer them on without any guilt whatsoever!
The two minis of the show, Gavroche and little Cosette, had the best diction by far. Whoever trained the kids should be congratulated. They are little stars in the making.
Enjolras, who is always one of my favorites, did not disappoint, and each and every ensemble member practically blew the roof off the Landmark with their powerhouse solos. None of them took the material for granted and made the most out of every second they were on stage.
I know my review doesn’t matter, these are professionals, but Les Miz matters a lot to me, and to a whole battalion of kids and adults I’ve had the pleasure of working with on this show. It’s good to know then, that after more than 35 years of performances, this epic musical is still a powerhouse of theatre.
2012 Cast
2014 Cast
