There鈥檚 a moment in the second act of 鈥淟es Mis茅rables,鈥 at Centennial Hall through Sept. 9, that makes the price of a ticket more than worth it:
Nick Cartell as Jean Valjean, who has spent his life dodging arrest and being good to others, is sitting on the barricade the student revolutionaries have built. While those around him sleep, he sings 鈥淏ring Him Home,鈥 a prayer that the man his daughter loves will survive the impending battle.
Cartell brought us to church. This is a gorgeous song, and he did it beautiful justice.
But for the bulk of the Sept. 4 opening performance of this Broadway road show, everything was not quite so copacetic. Centennial Hall鈥檚 muddy acoustics never make loud musicals easy. The mics for minor characters crackled at times, and sometimes weren鈥檛 on at all. The singing was mighty 鈥 until it became screechy 鈥 and the orchestra at times seemed too loud.
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You could chalk it up to opening night bugs, but this production has been on the road since last fall. There should not be bugs.
Still, it has gotten excellent reviews while it鈥檚 been on the road. And at times you can see why reviewers have embraced it:
- Mary Kate Moore played Fantine, and her voice has a purity that served her well when she sang 鈥淚 Dreamed a Dream.鈥
- Paige Smallwood was deeply rooted in the character of 脡ponine, and her heartbreaking 鈥淥n My Own鈥 was riveting.
- Josh Davis鈥 relentless Javert, the man who devotes his life to tracking down Valjean for jumping parole, was frightening in his persistence and moving when he realizes his sense of justice doesn鈥檛 hold up to Valjean鈥檚 kindness.
- Comic relief in this musical based on Victor Hugo鈥檚 book came from Matt Moisey and Allison Guinn, who played the reprehensible, thieving and greedy innkeepers. However, the delicious 鈥淢aster of the House鈥 became a bit of a mess as the actors fought the orchestra.
This is the reworked version of the play about injustice, greed and love. While some things are missed 鈥 the revolving barricade is no more 鈥 the use of multimedia, which includes projections of Hugo鈥檚 art used in the novel, deepened the darkness of the story.
But this version 鈥 or maybe it was just this production 鈥 lacks the emotional punch we鈥檝e come to expect with 鈥淟es Mis茅rables.鈥
We should have been roused when the students sang 鈥淥ne More Day,鈥 and heartbroken when 鈥淓mpty Chairs at Empty Tables鈥 was sung.
We weren鈥檛.
But the moment that Cartell sings 鈥淏ring Him Home鈥 was so exquisite that we can almost forgive what wasn鈥檛.
Contact reporter Kathleen Allen at kallen@tucson.com or 573-4128. On Twitter: @kallenStar
Kathleen Allen
Reporter
