I saw “Les Miserables,” the last Muny show of the season, tonight and felt it was an appropriate occasion to write a few sentences. The show was great. I was able to bear the HOT weather (today’s high was supposed to be over 100 and as I write this at midnight, it’s 84 degrees with a heat index of 89) to sit through this almost-three-hour show.
The whole show was great, so it’s hard to pick out favorites. I continue to like Eponine and her song “On My Own.” Jean Valjean’s “Bring Him Home” was great, as usual. The St. Louis boy who played Gavroche was outstanding with a great voice and command of the role. And the group numbers were rousing.
What I’ve heard about the show that makes it extra special:
- The cast was inflated from 80-some to more than 100 to allow for bigger crowd scenes (and sound) on the Muny’s huge stage.
- Since leaving Broadway and then ending its tour last year, the show has been licensed to only a handful of theaters. The Muny is one of them.
- The cast performed in that 100-degree heat for the past week with stage lights on them.
- At least five of the main characters were played by actors/actresses who had already performed those roles on Broadway.
- The cast included big stars and St. Louis natives Ken Page and Simone.