Drayton Entertainment has positioned itself in the theatrical big leagues with its production of Boublil and Schonberg’s Les Misérables finally coming to fruition at the Dunfield Theatre this summer.
Divided into five parts, Les Misérables begins as Jean Valjean is released after completing 19 years of imprisoned slavery for stealing a loaf of bread. Freedom however, exerts its own shackles, as he desperately tries to find work and food in the hostile streets of revolutionary France.
After a chance encounter with a generous bishop, he is given the means to change his identity and become a successful businessman.
Despite his success, Valjean is constantly forced to look over his shoulder, as a vengeful police officer named Javert obsessively hunts him for a parole violation, desperate to put him back in chains.
This is the main vein of the production, with a number of secondary stories weaving in and out of a nine-year timespan that culminates on the eve of the French Revolution.
Translating Victor Hugo’s 1,300-page tome for the stage was no easy feat, and one longstanding criticism highlights the loss of plot, historical fact and character development in the process. However, when Hugo initially penned the pages in the mid-1800s, the characters as individuals were of minimal concern – instead the focus was meant to be on the over-arching themes and symbols, dubbed “imaginative realism,” a style that combines realistic elements with exaggerated symbolism.
Hugo believed, not unlike most journalists, that the job of a writer was to defend the less fortunate members of society; to give a voice to the issues normally silenced. Therefore, each character in his fictional framework is specifically designed to represent a pertinent social issue plaguing his time. For example, Valjean suffering the injustice of the law, stands for the degradation of the working class and Fantine becomes representative of the oppression of women.
In this sense, the novel’s impact only becomes heightened in a theatre setting, as sets, music and actors swirl together in a fury of emotion. This strength of feeling ultimately washes over the audience, dragging them backward in time until the characters’ tears gradually become their own.
Though the majority of the production is set in the slums of 19th century France, the plight of the working class is not far removed from the reality of modern viewers, particularly as the show’s opening night came on the heels of a controversial provincial election.
While the recession of today pales in comparison to the hardships of the French Revolution, Les Misérables highlights the very human consequences that follow times of economic desperation and the lengths to which we will go to protect the ones we love.
The character of Jean Valjean is the pivotal point from which the rest of the story orbits and David Rogers brings immense power to the role – not a particularly easy feat as Valjean is equal parts sinner and saviour. Yet Rogers gains the audience’s sympathy from his first soliloquy and holds it with his powerful voice and tender affection for the child Cosette.
Yet, while Rogers’ performance is decidedly strong, the overall impact of the production is achieved by the talent of its female cast: Eponine played by Ma-Anne Dioniso in her unrequited love, and most notably Jayme Armstrong, a Drayton Entertainment regular.
Armstrong brings the tragic circumstance of Fantine to unimaginable heights through the despairing power of her voice and a gut-wrenching display of physical torment; an agony that does not lose its effect based on the audiences’ proximity to the stage.
In the throws of illness and desperation, having sold her jewelry, hair and body to keep her daughter alive, the famous ballad I Dreamed a Dream manifests like a scream in a dark alley.
Comic relief is provided by Cosette’s caretakers, Madame Thenardier and her husband, played by Kristen Peace and Eddie Glen, who seem almost innocent in their unfailing attempts to pinch a penny from anyone and everyone. Particularly enjoyable is their light-hearted duet Master of the House, a bawdy pub house tune filled with puns and slapstick comedy.
However, even in its light moments, the shadow of social and moral poverty looms over Les Misérables, constantly guiding the choices and fate of all its characters. Guests will still feel the reverberation of Hugo’s humanity and Boubil and Schonberg’s score long after the curtain has fallen.
Les Misérables is on stage at the Dunfield Theatre in Cambridge through Aug. 2. Tickets are available online at www.dunfieldtheatrecambridge.com, in person at the box office or by calling 519-621-8000.
