Les Miserables: Lea’s Miserables

6th March 2007.  “The heat is on” broadway.com bannered Lea Salonga’s return to the Great White Way.  Ironically, the weather wasn’t as enthusiastic.  The bone-chilling temperatures, however, didn’t dampen the theater-going public’s interest, and judging by the multitude that packed the waiting area of the Broadhurst Theater, and the sign saying “Tonight’s show and the next three weeks sold out.,” broadway.com was on the right musical track after all.

The Broadhurst is a much smaller theater compared to the Imperial where the original Broadway production of Les Miserables completed its run in 2003.  As such, minor changes had to be implemented, as evidenced by a smaller barricade, and a trimmed down cast, too.  If you had seen the original production, a smaller cast wasn’t such a bad decision after all, because, really, Les Miserables could be a very noisy musical.

The original production ended barely three years ago, and a revival at this time is premature.  This prematureness  was very much evident in the cast assembled for the show.  Alexander Gemignani, Norman Lewis and Adam Jacobs did justice to their respective roles as Jean Valjean, Javert and Marius. Gemignani, however, fell short of the vocal demands of Bring Him Home.  

Interestingly,  the women, well, except for one, didn’t measure up to the vocal prowess of the men.   Eli Ewoldt’s voice was tremulous you’d think you were watching Belle in Beauty and the Beast instead of Cosette.   She was fidgety and had a peculiar mannerism of standing on her toes when singing high notes which incidentally she could barely reach and sustain.  Celia Keenan-Bolger offered a fresh twist to the role of Eponine.   Her interpretation of On My Own, however, lacked the intense emotion that this critically-acclaimed actress infused into the song.  Of course, so much had been said how Daphne Rubin-Vega spelled the doom of Fantine, and there’s no sense in resurrecting the dead.

What Daphne killed, Lea Salonga revived.  When she took to the stage, the audience welcomed her enthusiastically; and when she segued into the first note of I Dreamed a Dream, they listened and were drawn into the life of a woman who was robbed of her dignity, of her child and of her life.  Lea’s heartbreaking interpretation showcased the myriad emotions in the song.   How she effortlessly transitions to a higher note and still mantains control of the nuances of the lyrics is nothing short of amazing.   

In an interview, Lea confided that a friend advised her to read Fantine section of the book before tackling the role.  For having raised the musical bar, other actresses, and actors for that matter, would do well to watch Lea tackle the role.  

~ by rodtrip on March 18, 2007.