When mega-producer Cameron Mackintosh and the Royal Shakespeare Company first produced Les Misérables in 1985, it met with mixed reviews by the British press, but audiences flocked night after night to sold out performances. Since then, it has been performed 38,000 times with 56 productions in 38 countries and 21 languages, receiving 50 major theatre awards, including eight Tony awards. Thousands of actors have appeared on designer John Napier's now familiar turntable set, which still spins on London's west end but no longer on Broadway.
The Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Illinois, one of only five regional American theatres chosen by Mackintosh to mount a post-Broadway production of Les Misérables, proves that a blockbuster show can be recreated for the smaller stage – and in the round – without losing any of its impact. Marriott Theatre's production, under director Dominic Missimi, has assembled a Broadway-worthy cast (many of the Marriott cast have Broadway credits), top-notch designers and music direction to successfully recast the show in a space half the size of most Broadway houses. The result is impressive.
What we have come to expect from Les Misérables is spectacle, but the Marriott's relatively intimate setting allows the tale to unfold as if the audience were one of the characters, never more than a few yards from the action.
The story spans 17 years, taking protagonist Jean Valjean from prisoner to factory owner and town mayor. Actor John Cudia, as Jean Valjean, recently seen in Chicago in the title role of The Phantom of the Opera, inhabits the character with a commanding presence and voice.
Kathy Voytko and Richard Todd Adams are outstanding as Fantine and Inspector Javert. Chris Peluso shines as Marius and Catherine Smitko and Michael Accardo are hilarious as Monsieur and Madame Thènardier.
Mackintosh's instinct to mount Les Misérables at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire has proven to be a smashing success.
The show runs through May 11 at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire. Contact the box office for ticket information at (847) 634-0200.
Photo: Chris Peluso and Leah Horowitz
