Les Miserables

That scene, right there...by the time the bishop took in Valjean, I was crying. That's, what? 8 minutes in? I tell ya.

I'd seen a brief report on the new production and wasn't altogether sure I'd like the changes. The original production was so engrained that it's like hearing your favorite song being sung by someone other than the original artist and not liking their version with a flair here or added emphasis there. But I'll give 'em credit. The changes were creative and served to better cradle certain parts.

*Spoiler Alert* If you have tickets to the show, and don’t want to know about the changes in the new production, you may not want to read ahead.

I think that, easily, the most effective change that I saw was the scene in the sewers. The prior production used the rotating stage and lighting that projected grill-like spots of light on the ground. Valjean carried Marius as he walked along the rotating platform and passed these grill spotlights. The setting was clear and we got the gist. But the new production had projected images of underground sewer tunnels that moved along with Valjean, like the blue-screen takes in a movie. What’s more, it wasn’t just one projection, but about four different takes, each time with Valjean shifting how he carried Marius (dragging, hoisted over one shoulder, over both shoulders, and carried in his arms). This approach accomplished the impact of distance and time much more poignantly, emphasizing the magnitude of the effort Valjean went to in saving Marius’s life. Incredibly effective.

The original production was lean on stage sets, which made the barricade stage set an iconic and beloved climax in the story. I distinctly remember that at one of the shows that I went to 20 years ago, when the curtain rose on the scene of the barricades, the audience burst into applause, such was the contrast with the prior sets as well as the recognition that this was the core of the whole story. This new production is much more set-heavy, but also clever about transitioning smoothly from one to another.

Javert’s suicide was one I was looking forward to. The original production had the bridge rail raised behind him as he stood on the platform and flailed. If you were invested in the story (and who wasn’t by then) it was easy to be generous and let your imagination fill in the effect. But I do remember that it was a risky special effect, liable to pull you out of the story for its almost hokey minimal approach. This new production resorted to the same pulling up of the bridge rail, but added the afore-mentioned projection of swirling water and darkness such that it took care of the holes in the original design.

Certainly, after listening to the London cast’s CD for 20 years, I’ve become accustomed to the songs being sung just so. That can’t be helped. I think that the voice that was most notably different was Eponine’s, which I’d grown used to hearing as Frances Ruffelle’s higher and more desperate version. The current actress (Chasten Harmon) has a sort of breathy, deep voice that I didn’t find as vulnerable as the higher notes of actresses past. On the other hand, as much as I’d dreaded anyone even attempting to replace Colm Wilkinson’s voice for me as Valjean, J. Mark McVey had moments when his voice was surprisingly similar, and I have to give him props for his Bring Him Home which is the inevitable compass he was to be measured by, and which always brings the house down.

On the subject of Bring Him Home, I think I’ll always be torn regarding the strength of the musical. On the one hand, the arias are beautiful and emotive. Bring Him Home is easily the most striking of the lot, Eponine’s On My Own is also emotive, and more popularly, thanks to Susan Boyle’s version, I Dreamed a Dream is notable. But for me, the layered songs, the ones that are an ensemble, are much more complex and really do it for me. There’s a strength, an aggression that goes with At the End of the Day, with those women coming together as one voice. Master of the House simply would not be the same if it was only Thernardier singing it. It’s everyone’s joining in that makes it so festive. One Day More is the most complex of all of them, layering everyone’s themes and melding them until they converge so perfectly into one common melody. And of course, Do You Hear the People Sing, which begins so hauntingly then builds, is emotive for the growing voices that it gathers.

For me, the best aria is Bring Him Home, and the best ensemble song is One Day More. I didn’t buy the new CD, mostly because, as I’ve mentioned, I have the original and am enamored with it. My guess is that I’ll be listening to it for quite some time. Last night, as I watched, I kept thinking that I know all the parts and the songs so well, I could very well climb up on that stage with them and join right in. THAT would be fun.

This post is dedicated to my cousin, Rosa, the only other human being on the planet who gets what I'm talking about.

*Image: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/06/theater-review-les-mis%C3%A9rables-at-the-ahmanson-theatre.html