Everyone who has followed my writing knows how much I love the musical Les Misérables. It was the first musical I ever really loved and one that has consistently inspired and entertained me my entire life. That said, my love and nostalgia for it does not mean I will give a weak production a pass. For example, I famously was not a fan of the recent national tour and I said so in the review you can read here. So I went into the production of Les Mis at Tuacahn Amphitheatre with some anticipation but fortunately it did not disappoint. In fact, it was a total triumph. Whether you are a die-hard Les Mis fan or not you’ll agree this is an incredible night of musical theatre.

There are a lot of aspects to praise about this Les Mis production but the most important part is director Sarah Hartmann has found ways to make the material fresh and exciting without feeling self-indulgent or distracting. For example, when the musical opens with the Prologue and “Work Song (Look Down)” they open up the back of the stage to the red rock canyon behind and they have the actors on the rocks acting like miners with pickaxes and shovels. As they sang “Look Down” you could feel the heat of the day and the onerous life experiences for these men. It was a great opening to Les Mis and is something only Tuacahn could offer the piece.

Of course, being Tuacahn the talent is also across the board excellent with David Toole leading the way as Valjean. He has a maturity the character needs and a beautiful tenor voice that is up for the challenging numbers like “Bring Him Home” and “Who Am I?.” Randall Keith is perhaps my favorite of the cast with his commanding performance of Javert. I especially love his rendition of “Stars” and how the large stage fills up with starlight (again something one could only experience in this way at Tuacahn. Love that!) Kelsey Lee Smith is powerful as Eponine with Janna Cardia bringing needed comic relief as Madame Thénardier.

The only miss for me is Zach Berger as Thénardier. While his acting is full of comedic energy he slurs his words together too much and if I hadn’t been so familiar with the songs I might struggle to understand what he is singing. I’m not sure why but there was something about J.T. Wood’s portrayal of Marius that makes him feel particularly lame. It’s not the best written character but especially with Eponine it’s like “dude she is clearly shot and you’re surprised by blood.” My friend called him a “purse boyfriend” which was a new term to me but if it means slightly clueless participatory male figure than the term works.

My favorite moment of the night was probably the greatest directorial risk. During the “Turning” number they have the women place the clothing of the barricade soldiers on the stage. Then during “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” (which I’ve been annoyed at avante-garde interpretations of this number in the past) the “ghosts” of the soldiers came and took their clothing and then sang with Marius the rest of the song. This is a powerful and surprising way to stage this song and bring home the message of their brave sacrifice. I was also shocked with how they stage both Gavroche and Javert’s deaths.

I enjoyed this production of Les Misérables at Tuacahn so much I am contemplating how I can get back down there and see it again in the coming months. Fortunately it is playing through October 23rd and it’s a show I highly recommend. It has set the bar for Les Mis productions and I’ve seen it 3 times on Broadway. Tickets can be purchased here.

Les Misérables features music by Claude-Michel Schönberg and lyrics by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel. The book is by Boublil and Schönberg. It is based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo which was first published in 1862. It began as a French musical in 1980 and then moved to the West End and to Broadway in 1985 where it won 8 Tony Awards cementing itself as an instant classic. The 10th anniversary concert in 1995 was my obsession as a teen, and one I highly recommend (ad).

If you enjoy my writing and would like me to review your production I’d love to. I also have a patreon which is a great way to support my shorter logs for shows I don’t get to review. I have some really fun perks. Please take a look here.