'Les Miserables' still casts magical spell

While many might not realize it, the musical sensation "Les Miserables" is more than 20 years old. But the musical version by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Shonberg, as timeless as Victor Hugo's novel, does not seem to be losing any luster. \nI have had the great fortune of viewing this musical three times. It's no great record -- my best friend has seen it almost 15 times. Each time has brought a new aesthetic to my mind.\nI have studied theater at IU for the past three years, but I've never really known a lot about Broadway and big-budget musicals.\nMy first live musical was in 1986 when my parents took me to the Civic Theater in Indianapolis to see "The Music Man," which I adored on video. Later, I saw "West Side Story" at the same venue, again with my parents. Never in my life did I venture with my parents to New York, nor did I know much about what kinds of musicals were being done on Broadway.\nIn high school, I was about as naive as one could get. When I was a sophomore, my best friend told me that her mother did not want to see "Les Miserables" at the Murat Theatre because she had seen it so many times that it wasn't worth it to her. So the ticket was offered to me.\nI turned it down, at first. She wanted me to pay $50 for it. I'd never paid that much for a theater ticket in my life, nor had I ever heard of "Les Miserables," except for the T-shirts I saw some people wear. I had never heard a note of the music, nor did I know the story. But, because I trusted my friend's taste, I bought the ticket and saw the show in the fifth row.\nI did not know what to expect -- my friend would tell me nothing. She wouldn't even let me read the program because it told the story of the musical. I remember my friend and her father joking that their favorite characters were Brujon and Grantaire -- two minimal characters at best.\nWhen the music began and I heard the haunting opening melody of "Look Down," I was sent into a new world. Never before had I seen anything as remotely spectacular as that in a live theater production -- nor had I ever seen a Broadway-caliber show before.\nI sat in awe of the entire thing. I cried when Marius sang "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" about his friends lost at the barricade and I marveled at Valjean's rendition of "Bring Him Home."\nBut the tune of "Look Down" remained engrained in my head. For four years, I relied solely on the original London cast recording with Colm Wilkinson as Valjean, Patti LuPone as Fantine, Roger Allam as Javert and Frances Rufelle as Eponine. Those voices have put their mark on my idea of the production.\nLast spring break I went to London and left the United States for the first time in my life. The first thing I did, (as far as theater is concerned), was to go see the London production of "Les Miserables" at the regal Palace Theatre. I sat in the third to last row of the top balcony.\nThe magic was not the same. I knew all the words to every song, I knew what was going to happen before it did, and I knew how I wanted it to sound. The London production did not satisfy my deep need for a repetition of the original magic.\nThis is why people like my best friend continue to see this musical over and over again -- in hopes of recapturing a magic they once felt when viewing this musical.\nWhen I saw "Les Miserables" at the IU Auditorium Wednesday night, I sat next to professor emeritus of the Department of Theatre and Drama, R. Keith Michael, and his wife, Marion. They told me about how they saw the original cast of "Les Miserables" in London when it was just a fledgling project that the Royal Shakespeare Company tried to save. Now, the royalties the company gets from "Les Miserables" pays for itself.\nWithout becoming a reviewer, I must say that there were many things I did not enjoy about this most recent viewing. Many performances were not up to par, some new interpretations did not read to me and the Gavroche was just not likeable enough to care about. But I was happy to see that the Thenardiers could steal the show and that Fantine wasn't a bleached blonde this time -- but she wasn't that good, either.\nAfter being carbon copied so many times with different people and different directors recreating what John Caird and Trevor Nunn ingeniously bore, the musical has become much less alive than when it started.\nI only can wish that Mr. Nunn would look at the three major casts currently doing "Les Miserables" (New York, London and American tour) for a couple of weeks to do a few things. First, make sure the casting is proper -- some people just don't have the look or energy the characters need. Second, make sure the staging is motivated and inspired -- that the acting is still there, not singing heads. Last, that the production does not become a sounding board for upcoming stars to use as an avenue to say, "Look at me, I'm in 'Les Miz'!"\nI would like to commend Diana Kaarina who plays Eponine in this touring cast, for actually performing the role in a way that I not only enjoyed but also felt for. To me, she won the show. I've had problems with actresses being whiny girls who would over sing "On My Own" as if they'd waited to sing it their whole lives and leave nothing to the character.\nI wanted to go to the stage door, wait outside for her and tell her I think she's the best Eponine I've ever seen and heard (except for the aforementioned Rufelle, who was the original).\nEssentially, I found some magic in "Les Miserables," even after three viewings. One character I'd never seen done well was done magnificently and I actually cried when Eponine died this time -- something I'd never done before.\nIt's a wonder how something so miserable could be so breathtakingly awe-inspiring.