Review: LES MISERABLES at the Eccles Theater is Awe-Inspiring

The national tour of Les Miserables, now playing at the Eccles Theater in Salt Lake City, is an awe-inspiring production with thrilling performances and exquisite design that capture the spirit and setting of the beloved story.

LES MISERABLES (a musical by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, with lyrics also by Jean-Marc Natel and Herbert Kretzmer, additional material by James Fenton, adaptation by Trevor Nunn and John Caird) is based on the novel by Victor Hugo. It was a long-running smash hit on Broadway and was adapted to film in 2012.  The musical tells the epic tale of Jean Valjean, who spends his life running from the law because he stole a loaf of bread to save his family, and those he comes in contact with, including the students involved in the Paris Uprising of 1832. It is a powerful, classic tale of love, strength, and redemption told through beautiful music that is now iconic in its own right.

Nick Cartell is an absolutely phenomenal Jean Valjean, heading up the strong cast with a gorgeous clear tenor voice and heartrending character performance.  Devin Archer as Enjolras brings a similar powerful singing voice and acting chops, as does Christine Heesun Hwang as Eponine.

Also outstanding are Preston Truman Boyd as Javert, Haley Dortch as Fantine, understudy Ciaran Bowling as Thenardier (normally played by Matt Crowle), Christina Rose Hall as Madame Thenardier, Gregory Lee Rodriguez as Marius, Addie Morales as Cosette, Henry Kirk as Gavroche (double cast with Milo Maharlika), and Cora Jane Messer as Little Cosette (double cast with Vivian Atencio).

Directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell with musical staging by Geoffrey Garratt, this revival production, which opened on Broadway in 2014, is almost cinematic in its imagery and transitions, keeping up a sleek pace without sacrificing the emotion.

The painterly costume design by Andreane Neofitou (additional by Christine Rowland and Paul Wills) is somehow at once too lovely to be real and yet completely at home in the gutters of 19th-century Paris.  In these dichotomous respects, it matches both the musical score and the rest of the production design perfectly. 

The magnificent scenic and image design by Matt Kinley are inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo with projections realized by Finn Ross and Fifty-Nine Productions.  The set is comprised of multiple large, weathered pieces that move brilliantly to create murky alleyways, gloomy harbors, candlelit churches, and other innumerable iterations.

The lighting by Paule Constable is painted masterfully as with an artist’s brush.  The overall effect is stunning with rich colors, shifting shadowed shapes, and a dark mood befitting the period, impactfully contrasting the pure white light that marks each death in an evocative acknowledgement of the spiritual themes of the piece.

LES MISERABLES plays the Eccles Theater for a limited engagement through Sunday, July 2, 2023.  For tickets, call ArtTix at 801-355-ARTS (2787) or visit www.artsaltlake.org. 

Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

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