Review: Les Misérables by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione

 A debatable but fun subject: what makes a musical different from an opera?

 

New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini has pointed out that the most common argument of what separates the twain is that opera is highbrow with complex music while musicals are not, a contention that's completely unsubstantiated. In his opinion, the difference lies in the fact that in operas the music comes first while in musicals the words come first.

 

Broadway’s recent deluge of productions that are at best thinly veiled cash grabs based on popular IP doesn’t help his point. Unless anyone wants to helm the laborious argument that hip-hop is not music, it's clear that a large part of Hamilton’s success wasn't the words so much as Miranda’s embrace of the fastest growing musical genres in recent decades. 

 

Tommasini continues his argument by pointing out that many operas are performed in their original language, so it's the music, not the words, for which viewers attend. Supertitles may or may not belie his point. Personally, I think Hadestown makes an even better case. Like an opera, it uses a well-known myth as the basis for a music-driven masterpiece.

 

 

A more basic suggestion is that musicals have dialogue between the songs. That's a thin argument; many an opera employs recitative. Both operas and musicals use dancing, librettos, choral and solo singing, drama, action, and live music accompaniment of varying levels of complexity. Some claim that operas do not have amplification, but that's simply just not the case anymore. Just as foreign languages are no longer a barrier. Some scholars argue that the first opus that can be considered a musical was The Black Crook, a five-and-a-half hour theatrical piece with original music, dialogue, story, and dancing. After debuting in New York City on September 12, 1866 it ran for 474 performances. And indeed, its only distinction from the operas that preceded it was the inclusion of dialogue between the songs.

 

All that being said, Les Misérables has always been, in my mind, the most opera-like musical I have ever seen.

 

 

 

What grander background than the French Revolution and the days of strife that led up to it? What is more an aria than Éponine’s solo masterpiece “On My Own?” The production’s scale—the set design, the costumes, the special effects, the lighting—is epic, and it makes legends of its characters. Like opera, it reveals pockets of intense moments of intimacy that break the movement and provide cathartic relief throughout the grandiose setting. But most of all, it's the musical style of Les Misérables that feels so operatic. Soaring solos, thundering choruses, and symphonic swells and crashes of oceanic proportions raise audience’s hearts and arm hairs. And it lasts nearly three hours. Even Tommasini would have to admit that Les Mis puts the music first.

 

This is true Broadway in all its glory, and this current touring production does not rest on its laurels. Quite the opposite, in fact. It plays like a rock star in their glory days. Every moment felt thrilling and fresh, even though this is the third time I’ve witnessed the production. As in Shakespeare, the story is timeless. In many ways it feels timelier than ever, given the extremes of the current political climate and the similarly extravagant language employed across the entire spectrum of ideologies.

 

 

Speaking of rock stars, pitting Nick Cartell (Jean Valjean) against Nick Rehberger (Javert) is like witnessing Mick Jaggar and Keith Richard in their heyday. The two are at the top of their game, a pair of the most well-known rivals in theatrical history, and they show no signs of burnout, even though Cartell has performed Valjean in more than 1200 performances. His obviously powerful voice has a delicate tremble that gives visceral reality to his character's ongoing anguish. Cartell is a master performer in his prime. Nick Rehberger’s resume spans from Broadway to off Broadway to film and television. While he joined the national tour only in October, 2024, he has called it his dream role, the greatest honor of his life. He fills the bass-baritone role of Javert with a resilient depth of color and emotion that humanizes a character that could easily be played as overtly villainous.

 

While Les Misérables is worth seeing for the cast alone and the electricity they infuse into this forty-five-year-old property, it's all the more refreshing that no short cuts were made with the phenomenal set pieces, special effects, and designs of sound and lighting. Taking inspiration from the masterful but little known paintings of author Victor Hugo, Matt Kinley has boldly dabbled in a dark palate replete with earth tones, greys, and blacks, punctuated by sparse use of blood red. The lighting is dim at some points, which allows the audience to focus on the emotional story and epic musical score.

 

For those who pine for the older days or start many a sentence with ‘"It was better back when . . .’" the current national tour is a complete counterstrike. Les Misérables is as enjoyable and resonant as it ever was.

 

 

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Les Miserables
touring company

February 4 - 9, 2025

Bass Concert Hall, Austin