Review: LES MISERABLES at The Esplanade

THE ESPLANADE THEATER, Singapore - There is no doubt that LES MISERABLES has taken the form of the mammoth blockbuster musical it is now thirty years after its first production and it is clear that this 2016 re-imagined production - currently taking over Southeast Asian theaters and filling them up to the rafters - is a decisive indication that this Cameron Mackintosh ticket is all set to march on for another 30 years, or perhaps even longer.

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. But such an undertaking is not for once misguided as the combined talents pouring in lavish heaps of brilliance from the creative and production teams, add to that a brilliant cast, the new direction appeals to the audience as just what the doctor ordered for the victorious march of LES MISERABLES into the beginning of its 4th decade.

Helmed by a magnificent directorial collaboration between Laurence Connor and James Powell, LES MIS 2016 continues to bring to life Victor Hugo's tragic, timeless plot of the painfully human tendencies to live life by misguided convictions going head to head with the pursuit of the crowning glory of moral and spiritual redemption achieved through total self-abandonment. Hugo's message is as potent today as it was three decades ago when it was first searingly brought to the musical theater stage through Alain Boublil and Claude Michel Schonberg's most renowned and respected contribution to the canon of the most treasured musical theater phenomenons of all time.

In this international touring production, it is a refreshing, unanticipated relief to find that the theatrical experience will not bombard any theatergoer with the boldness attached to the run-of-the-mill megamusical, there was not even a smidgeon of aggression in its taking on of a new direction and incorporation of modern elements to tell a story that has been staged thousands of times over all around the world.

This production makes it clear in each performance that such changes have been vetted with love and graceful sensitivity, all executed with respect for its timeless material and ultimately bringing to the Singaporean stage - with an overwhelming humility so unexpected of a show with such a magnanimous clout - a musical more than worthy of its reputation for breaking world records. It is probably impossible for anyone who's never seen older productions of LES MIS to recognize just how these changes have been incorporated by the creative and technical production sides - i.e. the brilliant idea of drawing inspiration from Hugo's original paintings into the set design, whose influences perhaps even spilled into the gorgeous lighting, not to mention the execution of key plot points such as Valjean's death scene) has further showcased all aspects of the towering musical into an even mopre organic experience.

This new production effortlessly takes every measure it possibly cam (immerses the theatergoer deeper into the show's element of humanity's sometimes overlooked oneness, a universality of mortal existence that is weaved intricately into the fiber of all beings by suffering or prosperity the hands of fate, and salvation. The message here is so powerful that it surrounds each actor like an over-sized halo mirroring teir very human plight to the onlooker that at most moments of the show, you do recognize bits and pieces of yourself in all of the characters and that this tugging awareness of how you are LES MIS and LES MIS is you has the effortless power to bring a tear to your eye within the first five minutes after the curtains open for its first act.

After performing for countless audiences worldwide, the spirit and musicality of LES MISERABLES', through the breathtaking performance of the cast and technical genius of the production, allows audiences to recognize themselves as present in each and every LES MIS character, eventually lulling them into listening to that still, silent voice, so often the central to conversations about prayer and other clichéd spiritual platitudes that one may hear from from inside a church's confessional.

Then again, LES MISERABLES in SG is more than just a religious birth of passage for any theatergoer. One friend most recently confided "LES MISERABLES is not life-changing," at a very minor, level, I am inclined to politely nod along, only specifically because some themes and plot elements are all too familiar and have been told in a myriad of variations through many artistic channels in many different world cultures. However, even if changing a person's life is not the primary mission of LES MIS, such a contrary statement still does not even for one iota alter the fact that this production was magnificently executed from start to finish. My counter is such - sometimes, one doesn't go to the theater thinking "hey, i want ,y life changed,"ALTHOUgh that would be a bonus. his life changed, if that were the case, pyschiatric clinics would be packed to the brim with theater fanatics dealing with multiple personality disorders. Most of the time, what we need is to merely reflect on our lives and realize how sacred it is - and that is what LES MISERABLES does, it reflects your humanness, your frailty, and your divine power as the god of your own universe directly into your face, and somewhere within that life-contemplation, it is but a human impulse to somehow change, even at an almost imperceptible rate.

This thread of soul-interconnectedness is even more divinely apparent and palpably throbs in each and every performance from each of the cast members. From the youngest of 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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