‘Les Misérables’: A re-imagined retelling of Hugo’s revolution

"Les Miserables" is finally in Manila. Photos: Concertus Manila

The Manila premiere of “Les Misérables” was greeted with a well-deserved standing ovation, as expected.

The performance ended months of excited anticipation from the local theater community for the long-running musical to come to the Philippines.

It also marked the Asian premiere of the “re-imagined, retooled, and rewired retelling” of Victor Hugo's classic novel tackling charity, compassion, and love in the middle of the Revolution in late-18th century France.

Another reason for the anticipation for this musical is the participation of Rachelle Ann Go, who was temporarily plucked from playing Fantine in the West End production to perform the same role in Manila.

Rachelle Ann Go shines as Fantine.

After the musical's Manila run ends on on April 24, Go will return to London while Patrice Tipoki, who took over the West End role, joins the touring cast when "Les Miserables" opens in Singapore next.

Despite the short time she had to rehearse with and adjust to the touring cast, Go’s singing and acting were luminous, giving the Manila audience a grand time in appreciating her glowing artistic power.

Joining Go for the limited Manila run are Simon Gleeson, who was Jean Valjean in the Sydney production; and Earl Carpenter, who was Javert in the Broadway production. Other cast members who performed on opening night were Emily Langridge as Cosette, Kerrie Anne Greenland as Eponine, Kieran McGinlay as Gavroche, Cameron Blakely as Thénardier, Claudia Ballen as Young Eponine, Helen Walsh as Madam Thénardier, Chloe de los Santos as Little Cosette, Paul Wilkins as Marius, and Chris Durling as Enjolras, all of whom showcased the exquisite beauty and vigor of the music of “Les Misérables.”

Wilkins and Langridge as Marius and Cosette.

This will be remembered as one of the most piercing productions to be staged in the country, opening 15 days after the Philippines commemorated the 30th anniversary of the ousting of the dictator President Ferdinand Marcos on Feb. 25, 1986.

Members of the audience during opening night who lived through or were aware of the political oppression and injustice during the long dark years of the Marcos dictatorship may have found some of the scenes mirroring, painfully, the unbearable political and socio-economic hardships during the Martial Law  years.

The enchantment and dynamism of “Les Misérables,” as a musical and as a narrative about the complex human condition, are anchored on the friction between the good and wicked sides of a person, and society’s struggle and fight to attain common good and social justice for all.

The premiere was held a little more than two weeks after the 30th anniversary of the EDSA Revolution.

This production also presented a series of visually arresting and electrifying tableaux. Theater lovers who had seen previous productions are familiar with what is now labeled as the “classic” mounting of the musical. But from Manila onwards, the productions will use a new pattern highlighted by “fresh scenic and narrative elements as well as new orchestrations,” earlier reports said.

To the original orchestrations by John Cameron of the music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, new compositions and orchestrations by Christopher Jahnke, Stephen Metcalfe, and Stephen Brooker have been added.

These new orchestrations add an aura of intensity and verve, most especially to the familiar but still emotional pieces such as “I Dreamed a Dream,” “On My Own,”  “Bring Him Home,” “Do You Hear the People Sing?” “One Day More,” and “Empty Tables and Empty Chair.”

The number of orchestra members may have been reduced, but still they produced full-bodied music worthy of accompanying the cast.

Also remarkable is the appropriation of technological developments by the touring production, from the use of the latest audio-visual effects, to innovations in sound engineering and lighting design.

The resulting scenes have the effect of seeing a mobile collection of paintings by the Dutch painter Jan Vermeer, noted for his breathtaking use of the fine details of intense light and shadow.

Javert (Earl Carpenter) is on the hunt.

The clinical precision in the changing to the modern, leaner sets executed in clean lines must be noted, for it helped the audience forget the passage of three hours.

The video projections rendered by Fifty-Nine Productions, especially the journey inside the sewer system of Paris, were overwhelming. The projections gave the audience an illusion of motion and movement in the twisted bowels of Paris, with Gleeson appearing to be moving from one spot to the other, but in reality he was stationary while on stage.

The first 15 minutes of the show with Gleeson’s Valjean together with his fellow criminals locked up in a ship is already worth half the ticket price.

It is reported that set and image designer for the new production, Matt Kinley, adopted Hugo’s paintings and drawings of maritime images and his sketches of the Parisian urban landscapes and scenes for the production design’s audio-visual projections and backdrops.

Lighting designer Paule Constable and costume designer Andreane Neofitou and Christine Rowland also tweaked their designs to conform with the new production design and scenic composition.

As mentioned earlier, the striking complexion of the costumes, for one, is reminiscent of Vermeer's paintings of scenes of everyday life.

From Manila onwards, the productions of "Les Miserables" will use a new pattern highlighted by fresh scenic and narrative elements as well as new orchestrations.

Director Laurence Connor and his co-director James Powell and associate director Christopher Key, musical supervisor Stephen Brooker, music director-conductor Laura Tipoki, associate set designer David Harris, associated sound designers Paul Gatehouse and Shelly Lee, associate lighting designers Simon Sherriff and Richard Pacholski, and technical directors Christopher Boone and Cameron Flint presented the local theater-going community a treasure to be remembered tenderly.

After its Manila run, "Les Miserables" opens in Singapore’s Esplanade Theatre from May 29 and runs until June 26. — BM, GMA News

“Les Miserables” officially opens with a gala night on March 16 at The Theater at Solaire in Parañaque City and closes on April 24. Performances are from Tuesdays to Sundays at 8 p.m., but certain dates will have matinee performances starting at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are available at ticketworld.com.ph.