‘Les Miserables:’ A beautiful message, beautifully told
Years ago a disgruntled reader tried to insult me by mocking me for finding a deep message in “Les Miserables.” I brushed it off then, but he came to mind Tuesday night as the hit musical opened the touring Broadway season at Orlando’s Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.
In today’s divisive climate, I feel sorry for that reader. How sad it must be to fail to appreciate a message that embodies the best of the human condition: perseverance in the face of struggle, faith in the face of injustice, hope in the face of despair.
The message of Jean Valjean’s epic tale, adapted from the novel by French writer Victor Hugo, is in mighty good hands on this latest tour. For those who’ve missed the past 35 years of theater history, Valjean is a convict who breaks his parole and then is ruthlessly pursued for years by righteous policeman Javert. Along the way, he adopts a girl and becomes involved in a student uprising against corrupt government. Death and tears follow, all to a tuneful score with such standout songs as “I Dreamed a Dream” and “On My Own.”
The iconic turntable that dominated productions for decades is long gone; this is the second tour to hit Orlando with the new staging (the last visit was at the Bob Carr Theater in 2012). The show touts its use of projections of Victor Hugo paintings, but they are so difficult to see that they vex more than intrigue. (Is that a smokestack? Should I be able to tell what that is?) One notable exception: The projections add motion to a trip through Paris’s underground sewers.
But in this production, the cast is strong enough to hold the attention without scenic bells and whistles. The lineup is packed with unusually strong singers, who as actors know how to make a character their own. There’s a freshness around this production that’s downright refreshing.
Nick Cartell superbly embodies every facet of Valjean’s character — from angry, vengeful young man to repentant middleage man to noble elder. His vocalizations match his acting, from an almost rock style at the start of Valjean’s journey to the tremulous sound of its conclusion. It’s a gorgeous performance that hits its peak with a breathtaking “Bring Him Home.”
Understudy Andrew Love played Valjean’s foil, Javert, on opening night — and he’s equally compelling. His face is set like flint in his certainty that he is on the just path, and his rendition of “Stars” just soared.
Olivia Dei Cicchi’s youthful Fantine is appealingly tragic; Joshua Grosso’s Marius unexpectedly provides some humanizing comic relief; Paige Smallwood beautifully shows Eponine’s toughness melt away in “A Little Fall of Rain”; and Allison Guinn and Jimmy Smagula make for especially raucous Thenardiers.
The orchestra, large for a touring show, beautifully does the music justice — even if some of the nips and tucks in the score still jar.
Go ahead and mock me for telling you that I was teary-eyed in the second act, if you want. I’m fine knowing I can still be moved by this glorious dream of what humanity could be.