Review: 2016 Re-imagined LES MISERABLES Production at The Esplanade

THE ESPLANADE THEATER, Singapore - If you have booked your tickets weeks or even months in advance to see LES MISERABLES' triumphant return to the Singaporean stage 25 years after an original Cameron Mackintosh international touring production of the musical was first staged at the Kallang Theater, then thank your lucky stars that your early bird instinct is right on the nose. Tickets are getting scarcer as the limited run is almost about to end with roughly around 2 weeks left of performances.

LES MIS AND THE "P" WORD

Attaching the publicity tag proclaiming LES MISERABLES as a PHENOMENON is one decisively bold move that is proven by the whole LES MIS experience at The Esplanade to be beyond reproach. This entire touring production has ensured that all expectations attached to using that big P word translates to a satisfyingly larger than life, faithful physical incarnation of that word onstage - you will recognize the PHENOMENON once you feel something in the air turning a degree or two somber as the curtain opens. For a group of seasoned theater professionals specially put together to revitalize the key elements of this3-decade old blockbuster however, the task would seem a naturally easy one, a presumption however that is easily arrived at just because the end product of their labors as seen onstage is intelligently flawless.

On a separate note, kudos to the marketing and publicity team on using just that simple word PHENOMENON, for it may perhaps be the only word big enough to encapsulate everything there is that will leave you in awe upon seeing this LES MIS 2016 re-imagined production currently filling the premier theaters of Southeast Asia to the rafters.

This Triumphant Return to the Singaporean Stage is a Key indicator: LES MISERABLES is set to March on for yet Another Record-Breaking Decade

For any show at all to open its curtains on an impressive high-note (the prologue featuring the steeled portrait of Helpmann Award-winning Actor Simon Gleeson as Jean Valjean with the spartan, strong-timbered male ensemble) is a considerably risky undertaking. This feat is not for one moment misguided however, considering the results of the combined talents of the creative and production teams pouring in lavish heaps of brilliance onto the production (add in to the mix the consistency of the the entire cast's performance) and the surefooted, victorious march of LES MISERABLES into the beginning of a 4th decade is one trek that may even guarantee to have its name on the biggest theater marquees worldwide for an easily predictable record-setting 5th decade.

Helmed by a magnificent directorial collaboration between Laurence Connor and James Powell, LES MIS 2016 still full-forcedly is more than capable of bringing Victor Hugo's timeless plot of lost love, lost causes, and blessed redemption to life. In this production, Hugo's simple, universal message is presented to be as a powerful theatrical theme today as it was three decades ago when the whole world unknowingly immortalized Alain Boublil and Claude Michel Schonberg's then lukewarmly received by critics musical, specially adapted from the French original and produced for English-speaking audiences by Cameron Mackintosh.

Throughout the performance of this international touring production, it is important to note that there is a refreshing and completely unanticipated relief once you realize that the entire theatrical experience does not at all bombard the theatergoer with any of the show-offy boldness most commonly attached to the run-of-the-mill megamusical. The 2016 International Touring Production of LES MISERABLES at The Esplanade brings to the stage a company that is by leaps and bounds more solid, diverse, and organically more resilient than the historic French Revolution barricades.

This production makes it clear through each performance that whatever changes that may have been incorporated in it's "re-imaginatgion" have been vetted with love and graceful sensitivity, all of which executed with respect for its timeless material. LES MISERABLES 2016 has brought to the Singaporean stage its towering name but with a commendable layer of humility so unexpected of a show with such a magnanimous clout. Here we see a production that proves the brand more than worthy of its reputation for breaking world records. As for such changes, anyone who has never seen original productions of LES MIS may not recognize how and where these changes have been incorporated. Simple tweaks such as the brilliant (yet very sensible) idea of drawing inspiration from Hugo's original paintings for the set design (the influences of which perhaps even spilling onto the gorgeous lighting direction) not to mention the execution of key scenes such as Valjean's death) have taken the musical a step further into becoming an even more organic theatrical powerhouse.

This new production is adept at making a laborious task seem easy, most specifically that of taking every imaginable measure needed so it can immerse theatergoers deeper into what LES MIS is truly about and it accomplishes so without laborious effort as it deftly avoids being too preachy and non-divisive as it draws the music and story from its central theme of the oneness of humanity (the god within all of us) - a concept so divine and mystical in its roots that it is often passed on as nothing more than a cliched line from sappy inspirational music.

At certain moments, if you allow yourself to be open enough, you realize that the show is an actual spiritual experience that can allow you to recognize yourself in each and every LES MIS character (yes even the Thenardiers). This is the musical's gift to the theatergoer, it lulls them into hearing and recognizing that "still, small voice," one so often at the heart of conversations about prayer, passed on as just another religious platitude heard from inside a confessional.

After 30 year, LES MISERABLES 2016 should be considered as more than just a religious right of passage for all theatergoers. One good friend most recently confided "LES MISERABLES is great, not life-changing though." From a generic perspective ruled by common sense, I am inclined to politely agree, but only specifically on very minor aspects that define what "life-changing" theater is. I respect my friend's personal reflections on the show primarily and only because most of the theme(s) and elements of LES MIS as a literary classic are already too familiar and have been told and re-told in a myriad of variations via other artistic platforms in many different world cultures. However, the "changing of a person's life" may not concisely describe whichever guiding philosophy the entire LES MIS is aligned with to have turned the musical into a theatrical juggernaut. My friend's sensible POV does not alter the fact that this production was still magnificently executed from start to finish.

The typical theatergoer (I am speaking from a reliving of what my first time in the theater was like to gain perspective) does not expect his life changed forever when he sits down for a performance. If a musical can, on a very personal level, allow any theatergoer to reflect on his humanity and make him appreciate how fully it is being brought to life on the stage - and that is what precisely what LES MISERABLES does - it would even be better than a life-changing experience, there is a divinity to able to fully contemplate on how spiritually liberating being able to see yourself in others is.

This thread of humanity's divine interconnectedness palpably draws lines from one performance to the next one. It is present from the start with Valjean's prologue, to the performance of one of youngest actors in the ensemble, golden-voiced Esang De Toress' (Young Cossette) song of hope "Castle in the Clouds," Gleeson's self-affirming "Who Am I," to the giddy, sneaky, power couple performance of CameRon Blakely's (Thenardier) and Helen Walsh's (Madame Thenardier) in the mother of all Last Song Syndromes - "Master of the House."

The LES MISERABLES production now playing at the Esplanade is performed to glorious theatrical splendor in celebration of the human spirit's acknowledgment of its primal need for freedom (from whatever prison he may be living his life in), and the undeniable importance of having steadfast faith in the pursuit of destiny and self-fulfillment, and most poignantly, the need for the assurance that there is indeed salvation - no matter which form it may take. Take your pick of how you wish to be redeemed - either through the kind of freedom achieved only through told through total self-abandonment in Valjean's "Bring Him Home," or the catharsis achieved by merely acknowledging the existence and consequences of lost, forlorn love that heralded the end of innocent glory days, dellivered in the captivating genius of Patrice Tipoki's transformative performance of "I Dreamed a Dream," or would you rather atone yourself with the painfully but richly performed "Stars" in the transcendent interpretation of Earl Carpenter in the role of Javert?

This new re-imagined production proves that it is LES MISERABLES' birth right to continue to innovate and inspire through the hard work of the people onstage and behind the performance platform, as they bring one of France's most significant contributions of music and literature to a younger generation and an older - and hopefully wiser, more compassionate - world.

LES MISERABLES is based on the eponymous literary classic by Victor Hugo and is written by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg with music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer and original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel.

Adapted for the stage by Trevor Nunn and John Caird, LES MISERABLES features additional content by James Fenton. The 25th Anniversary Production is directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell and designed by Matt Kinley.

LES MISERABLES is brought to Singapore by Michael Cassel Group.

Tickets are now available through all SISTIC channels.

For further information visit www.lesmis.sg or www.facebook.com/LesMisSG

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