LCT Review of LES MISERABLES

This review has been reposted courtesy of the League of Cincinnati Theatres. For more LCT reviews click here to visit their reviews page.

I am a self-proclaimed connoisseur of Les Miserables. And I think maybe it’s because I went in with such high expectations, that I was disappointed in NKU‘s mounting. With the choice to use minimal sets and props, as opposed toNKU‘s typical grandiose musical stagings, it felt like a lightly blocked concert. Knowing that Ken Jones was in charge of the beast, I entered expecting his usual all around fully polished direction, but he missed some spots on this one. To begin with, this show is too big for educational theatre. It’s too big for most theatre. Taking the reigns as the reformed convict Jean Valjean was NKU music Professor Jason Vest, who has studied opera performance around the globe. I’ve never been a proponent of guest artists in educational theatre, but in a show revolving around said guest performer’s role, I fail to see the benefits for the student cast, especially when NKU has so many capable musical theatre and vocal performance majors. Vest has the vocals down, but I kept waiting for more emotional expression. It is a tough gig, moonlighting as one of the more hyped and challenging roles in all of musical theatre. I always look forward to “Valjean’s Soliloquy”, which occurs a few numbers into the show. The song is designed to suck the audience in and allow witness to Valjean’s moral transformation. It sets the tone for the rest of the sojourn, however, in this production it felt rushed and unimportant. One of the beautiful aspects of the Valjean character is his vocal range, which needs justification through subtext, but in the end it felt like a very talented opera performer singing pretty words for the crowd.

When reflecting on Les Mis, I always ask myself if Inspector Javert’s lifelong and obsessive disdain for Valjean is justified by the actor’s choices. While Brandon Huber as Javert is vocally strong and one of the better interpretations I’ve seen,  I had trouble pondering this question due to the little emphasis placed on the conflict between the two, even in the famous “Confrontation”. Without the sizzling passion between the foes, which should ultimately be realized through Javert’s ethical and religious plight, that major plot point is lost. I honestly barely remember the two being on stage together (kudos, however, to Jones for Javert’s final scene, seriously well done). Another important question is how well the director handles Valjean’s sudden and rapid aging/declining health at the end, which more often than not is thrown to the wind. While many brush it off as an error in the script, it’s there for a reason and I feel it is the director’s responsibility to interpret this phenomenon, which Jones has not.

Definitely familiarize yourself with the story before you head to the theater. The story takes place over several decades in post-revolution France, focusing on the lives of over a dozen named characters.  It was a very fast paced three hour production. So much was rushed, specifically in the introductions of major characters, so anyone not familiar with the plot would have trouble keeping up. Everything felt safe, which at times was confusing, especially the decision to have Marius sing ‘Empty Chairs at Empty Tables’ while sitting on another character’s death bed, with no chairs or tables in sight. The sound was all over the place, with mic issues, I’m assuming a result of super quick costume changes and fight/dance choreography. The lighting was distracting, primarily during solos with no spotlights. As previously mentioned, there was barely a set. You don’t necessarily need turntables or an elaborate set to stage Les Mis, but you need to throw the audience a bone, draw them into the story, give the actors more to interact with. We saw half hints of city buildings on the edges of the stage which I kept waiting to roll out, but never did. We saw a completely nondescript mass in the middle of the stage, which, while providing some layering to the staging, had no meaning to me whatsoever.  What sets they did drop down, like the gate for Cosette’s home and the arch for the wedding, felt cheap and flimsy, almost comical.  And of course, there was the most blatant miscue of all–engraving “Les Miserables” in stone on the floor of the set to scream to the audience, “Yes, we are doing Les Miserables”. This was really to me symbolic of the entire show, Ken Jones basically asking the audience to concentrate on the vocal performance.

With all of this being said, there were some fine performances. The Barricade Ensemble saves the show. Cason Walden as Enjorlas and Miki Abraham as Eponine, both hailing from Paducah Kentucky, were absolutely stellar. Both have an undeniable presence, with the skills to back it up. You should see this show for their performances. The entire Barricade crew, for that matter, was truly delightful. Every one of them has some major acting and vocal chops, and is probably capable of playing the previously mentioned out-sourced lead. It is nice to see Abraham go out on such a strong note, and comforting to see a fresh crop with Walden.

This production just felt incomplete. If you want to do a concert version of Les Mis then fine, do that, and call it that. And this would have been a fine concert version. But to stage a production and then undercut it like this leaves the performers and the audience out in the cold.

For more information on the production cilck here.