Review: Les Misérables

CAPA

130 million people, 53 countries, 22 languages. The numbers don’t lie when it comes to the renown of Les Misérables.

Since its Broadway debut nearly four decades ago, Les Miz has seen nominations for 12 Tony awards, and received eight – from best musical to best original score to best scenic design and best lighting design and more. Now, it continues its national tour from late 2022, approaching its close in June of this year.

Coming from Nashville, the show started in Columbus on Tues., Jan. 27, in a flourish of color and emotion, casting over a story of rebellion and justice, love and sacrifice.

Against the minimalist modern marvel that is Hamilton, Les Miz feels romantically embellished and reminiscent – with scene shots pulled straight out of a Neoclassical painting, with classically beautiful and powerful voices gracing the stage alongside immaculate set pieces and masterful lighting configurations.

Randy Jeter’s Jean Valjean embodies the just, reliable man, with a smooth, hope-filled voice with a lethal poignancy. Hayden Tee’s Javert gave a classic villain flair to his tone, providing a formidable contrast to Jeter’s tender tenor.

“Master of the House” from Kyle Adams brings humor in height and body language. He not only sells the sewer rat; he brings a piecemealed humorous and ominous presence, as well as drawn-out physical comedy from height and slenderness that emerges in his scooching across the stage to Tee’s Javert to tattle on Valjean and silly heel kicks for emphasis throughout the show.

Fast-moving, layered set pieces give no room for mistakes, and the cast and crew gave no leeway either, drawing from it opportunities for not only spotlighted moments of emotional connection, but witty interactions, particularly between Thérnadier and his wife, played by despicably charming Victoria Huston-Elem, and one-liners from Rocco Van Auken’s Gavroche as he weaves through people and the narrowing pathways in escape.

Of the beloved love triangle, the grit of Jaedynn Latter’s Éponine echoed from the shadows, watching the innocent, loving exchanges of Alexa Lopez’s Cosette and Peter Neureuther’s Marius. Éponine’s hollow heart reverberates in her final note, overlapping the duo on “A Heart Full of Love.”

The vision of lighting offers opposition to itself, evoking contrast between the embrace of camaraderie and despair and the excess of wealth and war. From the grime hanging in the air in the factory and streets to sharp flashes of light in battle scenes to warm light in moments of camaraderie, scenemaking happens in the details.

While the stage fighting choreography and sound effects brought audiences out of the moment at some occasions, many moments were capturing: the angelic spotlight on Fantine, Éponine and Gavroche, the lingering smell of gunfire after the fall of the barricade, the applause surmounting Jeter’s final note of “Bring Him Home.”

Les Misérables continues at the Ohio Theatre through Feb. 1.