Classic's Revamp a Redundant Spectacle

Les Miserables is back on Broadway, and producers are banking on the fact that you've been missing it since it closed three years ago.

There is a great debate among theater folk about the mega-musical, that breed of sweeping, epic, grandiose, and spectacular musical that started to fill Broadway theaters in the late 1970s and early '80s. They're tourist traps, but they're good for Broadway business. They're underwritten; they're overwritten. They're not artistically challenging, but they're appealing. Les Miserables was at the center of this debate when it was on Broadway from 1987 through 2003, but the discussion has diminished as fewer mega-musicals are produced in favor of "jukebox" musicals, movie adaptations, and (sometimes) new material. Now that Les Mis is back, the question is whether there's a need or place for revivals of these mega-musicals, especially so soon after their disappearance. In other words, is Cats going to be back next?

I think we can all breathe a sigh of relief-unless, heaven forbid, you happen to be a Cats fan. The current revival of Les Mis, produced by Cameron Macintosh and boasting only a few miniscule directorial changes, is completely superfluous. This is not to say there is nothing good about it, but there is certainly nothing necessary about it. And there's nothing to attract anyone who saw it in its original incarnation.

The performances are generally strong, though not coursing with much energy or urgency. Norm Lewis (Inspector Javert) is a good example. The veteran musical theater actor (Side Show, Amour) has never been in better shape vocally, but his inspector is too likable and much too amenable to the ways of Valjean (Alexander Gemignani). When he is discovered spying in the barricade, it seems the other actors-presumably his enemies-kind of wish he could stay. The audience does, at least.

Gemignani boasts similar vocal talents not showcased in his previous gig as the Beadle in Sweeney Todd. Unfortunately, based on his stiff movements and rather awkward interactions with other characters on stage, Gemignani seems to have missed out on anything by way of direction. This is not too surprising when one looks in the Playbill to find three different people credited as directors, two from the original production (John Caird and Trevor Nunn, who could only have had little to do with this one) and one new associate director, Shaun Kerrison (this is his first Broadway credit). That said, the 27-year-old does a convincing job with the quick aging process required to play Valjean.

As the Thenardiers, Gary Beach (The Producers) and Jenny Galloway chew the scenery whenever they get the chance. Though it is sometimes funny, they seem to do it mostly just because they can and never to imbue their characters with their due sinister intentions. Where this couple is memorable, the young lovers-whom I think we're supposed to care for even more-is decidedly forgettable. Ali Ewoldt's Cosette barely registers; Adam Jacobs' Marius has slightly more staying power if only because of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg's rousing, funereal anthem, "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables."

As the typically insufferable Eponine, Celia Keenan-Bolger (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) rises above the rest. She avoids the easy trap of whining her way through the part, especially in her well-sung rendition of "On My Own"-no easy feat. However, the best singing in the show comes from Aaron Lazar (The Light in the Piazza) as student protest leader Enjolras. With only a few solo lines, his rich tenor is woefully underused.

But even a few good performances cannot save the limp theatricality of Les Mis. The show feels more like an amusement park ride than a Broadway show; it would not be surprising if in its next revival there were seat belts to hold in the audience as the chairs moved along with the action. The huge, projected titles ("Paris!") and the rotating stage approximate this already. Even worse is the slow-motion tumbling of the actors on stage. This isn't a film-everyone knows live action cannot be slowed down-so why pretend? It feels hokey, like the rest of the show.