The Muny’s Stunning Sets, Stellar Score makes
for Sensational Season Opening For “Les Miserables”

   by Pat Lindsey

The Muny has opened its 106th season with the granddaddy of all musicals, “Les Miserables.”This is the third time this beloved powerhouse of a play has    been presented on The Muny stage, but this one is the biggest and most breath-taking production of all.
Based on the classic 1862 Victor Hugo novel about Jean Valjean, a young man imprisoned for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his nephew, “Les Miz” takes us on an emotional journey through the streets of Paris and into the throes of the French Revolution. Almost from the moment Jean Valjean is released from prison, his parole officer, Javert, is determined to imprison him again. Jean Valjean then becomes the fugitive and the audience joins him on his lifelong flight from incarceration.
Early in the story we meet Fantine (Teal Wicks), a struggling single mother who is desperately trying to keep her young daughter alive. Life is especially difficult for Fantine as she resorts to prostitution to earn enough money for her daughter’s medication. Fantine eventually falls deathly ill and Jean Valjean is present at her deathbed to promise to raise her daughter, Cosette (Gracie Annabelle Parker).
What turns this otherwise depressing plot into a glorious theatrical experience is the stirring music and the well-developed main characters whose voices soar over an audience of thousands. John Riddle is Jean Valjean. Jordan Donica is his parole officer, Javert. Riddle conveys warmth and tenderness with his beautiful tenor rendition of “Bring Him Home.” Donica’s deep rich tones are filled with passion when he delivers his soliloquy in Act II. Their voices are                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            the windows to their souls as they continue their cat and mouse chase through several decades of 19th century France.
The three outstanding sopranos are Teal Wicks, who plays the distressed Fantine; Gracie Annabelle Parker, sweet and lovely Cosette; and Emily Bautista the dejected Eponine. Never have I ever heard higher notes hit with such precision and clarity. All three give rave performances.
There are many memorable songs in this score. My favorites are “I Dreamed a Dream” sung by Fantine (Wicks); “In My Life;” “One Day More;” “On My Own” sung by Eponine (Bautista); and “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” sung by Marius (Neureuther). The music and stellar voices are like shining beams radiating from the darkness.
In Act II, an enormous barricade of wooden planks and old chairs has been built across The Muny stage. In spite of its enormity, it’s not strong enough to protect the young men and women who are fighting against social injustice in an effort to create social reform for the poor and working classes. An older Jean Valjean has joined the fight. While he’s taking cover behind the barricade, he again faces Javert. He has the opportunity to shoot him, but he decides to let him go. Valjean also learns that a young insurrectionist named Marius (Peter Neureuther) is in love with his daughter, Cosette.
A bloody, dramatic battle ensues like you may have never seen before on stage The French army kills most of the students, including a young high-spirited boy named Gavroche played by Will Schulte. Valjean and Marius are both wounded in battle, but Valjean anonymously saves Marius by carrying him through the sewers and away from the gunfire.
From scenic design to wig design and every kind of design in between, this production is perfection. Those elements combined with remarkable direction by Seth Sklar-Heyn and James Moore and choreography by Tony nominee Jesse Robb make “Les Miz” a gift that keeps on giving. According to Skar-Heyn, it’s “the people’s musical.”
“Les Miz” is a big show with a big cast. I wish I could give due credit to every talented performer in it, including little Cosette (Kate Kappel) and the 20 members of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus. The running time is about three hours with intermission at 10 p.m.
“Les Miserables” is playing on The Muny stage in Forest Park nightly at 8:15 p.m. now through Sun., June 23. For tickets, go to muny.org or call 314-534-1111.

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