Proctors set for ‘Les Mis’
Musical begins run Tuesday
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. » There are some musicals that people never tire of seeing. Certainly “Les Miserables“is one of those shows.
The legendary musical, which on Tuesday, opens a week run at Proctors in Schenectady, has been running continually since it opened in London in 1985 (on Broadway in 1987). It has been seen by 60-million people in 43 countries and translated in 21 languages. Along the way, it’s grossed over $1.8 billion.
In a recent telephone interview with Alain Boublil, the show’s lyricist and book writer, admits he does not know why the show has so captured the world’s imagination. “We know how it works,” he says. “But we don’t know why.” He adds, “Of course, there is the source material. Somehow we were able to convey the same honest, human emotions found in Victor Hugo’s novel about people caught in the serious problem of trying to change society.”
“I see our work as bridging the prose of the 19th century to form a contemporary sung-through musical. I think what is important is we convey the same emotions and dreams without betraying the source material.”
He and writing partner Claude-Michel Schonberg followed-up “Les Miserables” with another megahit, “Miss Saigon.” The musical was a take on the opera “Madame Butterfly,” set at the end of the Vietnam War. It, again, took place in a society torn apart by war.
Does setting their musicals in a period of war indicate the team is attracted to stories about countries in conflict?
His surprising answer was, “No. We don’t look for the big story. What we are attracted to is telling a fascinating love story within a big framework. When you can portray human emotions within an actual moment in history, it thrives on the turmoil. It heightens everything. It’s what I call ‘dancing on the edge of a volcano.’”
By the way, the subject of moments in history is a sensitive issue with Boublil. “For some reason, especially in the United States, people insist ‘Les Miserables’ is about the French revolution. It’s about the June Rebellion of 1832. The French Revolution started in 1789.”
The issue is about more than getting the facts straight. Boublil says that the novel was making the point that almost half a century after their revolution, the issues that caused the uprising were still plaguing French society. “The reason they are on the barricade is because the ideals of the French Revolution have to be continued. I think if you look around the world, you will see that the lack of equality and social justice still exist, almost everywhere.”
Though the themes of oppression, liberation and redemption are universal and timeless, for this tour the producers have done the unthinkable — they’ve tinkered with the production. According to Boublil the changes are mostly in the presentation. The set has more wood, projections have been added and some staging has been modi-
fied. It seems an attempt to make the work more cinematic as a result of the film that was released in 2012.
However, except for the visual look, there will be few other film influences in this stage production. Boublil says he supports the film’s vision for the story. “Claude-Michel and I are big movie buffs, so we knew going in that it would be different and were ready for it. I was invited to be a co-screenwriter for the adaptation. I moved the location of ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ and even wrote a new song for the film. I know a lot of people were troubled by the film, but I totally support what was on the screen.”
He says that he liked the new song for the film, “Suddenly,” so much that he wanted to incorporate it into the revised stage production. “I tried and tried, but finally decided it just doesn’t work for the stage. The show doesn’t need it.”
Looking back over the almost half century when he and Schonberg started work on “Les Miserables” he compared it to a dream “At first it was an impossible dream. Then it turned into I dreamed a dream.”