Les Miserables has become a familiar repeat in Milwaukee, as it played here just four years ago (most Broadway tours are seen perhaps once in a decade). It is indeed a welcome return, as this top-notch cast features many actors who came directly from the Broadway version (which closed about six months ago). Although it is impossible to duplicate a Broadway show on tour, this one comes close. This lavish production sparkles with rich production values and a stellar cast.
Based on Victor Hugo's classic novel, the venerable Les Miserables feels, sounds and looks as fresh as a daisy. Of all the elements that deserve praise, this production's strength is its singing. Powered by one of the best scores ever written for Broadway, Les Miserables soars in all the right places. The lone disappointment is the rousing, "Master of the House," which somehow wasn't quite pulled off on opening night. No matter. Thenardier (David Benoit), the lecherous, shameless innkeeper who leads the tune, has plenty of other moments to show his talents. Madame Thenardier is played by Jennifer Butt; her scrappy onstage demeanor is polished by years of experience (she was Broadway's original Mme. Thenardier).
Despite a cast the size of many rural Wisconsin towns, the fortune of Les Miserables rises or sets on the skill of its main character, Jean Valjean, a fugitive who then devotes his life to good works. This production is fortunate to have Randal Keith in this pivotal role. He moves the production along with crisp precision, stopping only long enough to thrill the audience with another song. His impressive vocal range is evident in the soft, lilting "Bring Him Home," as well as the thunderous "Who Am I?" Valjean's adversary, the policeman Javert, is appropriately stiff and unyielding in the hands of Robert Hunt. The ensemble turns in one blockbuster production number after another. "Lovely Ladies" (a song about the town prostitutes) has never looked (or sounded) better than it does here.
Tonya Dixon underplays the role of Fantine, the doomed factory worker. Conversely, Melissa Lyons tackles the role of Eponine at full pitch. Lyons allows the audience to feel the full impact of Eponine's misfortune and her misguided love for the handsome Marius. She aces her solo number, "On My Own," filling the enormous stage with her presence. She is such an indelible part of the French Revolution scenes that her death achieves a new level of poignancy. As the young lovers Cosette and Marius, both Leslie Henstock and Adam Jacobs are up to the task. So are the young kids, who are naturally adorable.
With its large cast and sets (let's not forget the barricades) Les Miserables is a difficult show to tour. But even in the bitter cold of January, let's hope audiences give it the warm welcome it deserves.
