Review: LES MISÉRABLES at Fox Theatre, St. Louis

Brutality and barricades fill the stage for Les Misérables at the Fox Theatre. Debuting in London’s West End in 1985, the musical, based on Victor Hugo’s novel, has since become a global smash.

Modernized for contemporary audiences, the musical, created by Alain Boubil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, is a theatrical juggernaut. Now touring North America, this updated adaptation, recrafted by producer Cameron MacIntosh, replaces the rotating stage of the original production with background projections, and features tightened up dialogue and orchestration. The spruced-up set also includes many of Hugo’s paintings.

The show also features an updated set design along with more historically precise costumes and new choreography. However, despite the tweaks and technological updates, the heart of Les Misérables remains its gripping plot, unforgettable characters, and emotional songs.

While this production is more filmic than its predecessor, Les Misérables remains an epic event. Set over the course of seventeen years, the musical begins at the end of the Napoleonic era and transitions through to the June Revolution of 1832. It opens with an emotionally broken Jean Valjean, a prisoner convicted of stealing bread to feed his sister’s starving children. Breaking parole following a nineteen-year incarceration, Valjean is on the run with the ruthless Inspector Javert hot on his heels.

Unable to find refuge he wanders the streets of Paris. After being beaten and refused shelter, he is shown mercy by a bishop. After another run-in with the law, he takes the counsel of the clergyman and vows to put his past behind him.

Dedicated to redeeming himself for his past mistakes, Valjean finds success as a factory owner and, eventually, the mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer.

However, his best intentions are foiled by Inspector Javert, an officer who just can’t let things go. A believer in absolute law above all else, he spends years doggedly tracking down the former prisoner 24601.

One evening, Valjean encounters Fantine, a desperate young woman who, due to her circumstances, has been forced into a seedy existence. She toils and labors desperately to save the money she needs to regain custody of Cosette, her daughter, from some nefarious innkeepers and their rambunctious daughter, Éponine.

The first act reaches its climax when Fantine, suffering from tuberculosis, asks Vajean to care for Cosette. Devoted to looking after the young child, he uses his stature as a prosperous member of society to buy her freedom from the Thénardiers, the cruel and duplicitous owners of the inn.

From here, the plot flashes forward. Valjean and Cosette live in seclusion to avoid calling attention to themselves. Despite his efforts to protect her from the worst of Parisian life, she falls madly in love with Marius, an idealistic revolutionary itching for a rumble against the oppressive government.

From here, the emotional ramps up as Marius and a band of young rebels build a barricade to protect themselves from soldiers looking to quell their rebellion. Meanwhile, a grown-up Éponine joins the insurgency. Her revolutionary spirit masks a deep love for Marius, who is unaware of her affections.

After discovering that Marius is in love with Cosette, Valjean joins the resistance in order to size up the young man. The outbreak of fighting has not stopped Javert, who has infiltrated the rebel camp.

After being unmasked as a traitor, Javert is taken into custody. Charged with getting rid of him, Valjean escorts him away from the barricade but lets him live. This act of kindness confuses and haunts the inspector, who is nonetheless undaunted in his quest to bring his former prisoner to justice.  

As for the rebellion, it is not going very well as the insurrectionists  are brutally killed in battle. A wounded Marius is saved by Valjean, who flees with him into the sewers with Javert in pursuit.

The rivalry between the two escalates further, building to a crescendo where Javert, profoundly affected by having his life spared, takes drastic action.

Another time shift happens, this time, with the fervor of revolution subsided, Marius and Cosette wed. Valjean, worn down by age and the trials of living as a fugitive, reveals his past before dying peacefully.

Directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell, this epic presentation of Les Misérables is everything that big theatricals are about. It is bold, loud, emotional, passionate, incendiary, and visually stunning.

The production underscores the drama with powerful rousing musical numbers, including the catchy Master of the House and Do You Hear the People Sing?. Also fantastic are Who Am I?,  A Heart Full of Love, Dog Eat Dog, and Beggars at the Feast.

With thousands of performances as Jean Valjean under his belt, Nick Cartell doesn't miss a beat. A talented singer and prolific actor, he does most of the heavy lifting for Les Misérables in a dynamic performance.

Chasing him down is Preston Truman Boyd as Inspector Javert. His detective is complex and layered as he mixes moral terpitude and inhumane cruelty, giving audiences a vile villain they can begrudgingly appreciate.

While Matt Crowle hams it up as Monsieur Thénardier, he also serves up a bottom-feeding shell of a man whose greed, lust, and selfishness know no bounds. Although playing a shameful character is seldom easy, Crowle makes it a lot of fun with his cheeky performance here.

As for the rest of the ensemble, everyone is sensational. Especially noteworthy are Peter Nereuther as Marius and Christian Mark Gibbs as Enjolras.

Also worth watching are Jaedynn Latter as the tragic Éponine and Alexa Lopez as Cosette. Both actresses accompany their emotionally heavy performances with powerful singing. Lopez, in particular, has a great duet with Nereuther’s Marius on A Little Fall of Rain. All three performers dazzle with A Heart Full of Love in act one.

Les Misérables is a spectacle of sight and sound. Its themes of compassion, love, treachery, rebellion, liberty, and hope inspire audiences of a new generation.