Viva la Revolution

Watching High Street Art Center’s new production of Les Misérables Student Edition is like deciding to open up a good French wine. If you waited a few years, it might be more excellent—perhaps a little more mature and complex—but the wine as it stands is quite enjoyable.

That’s my impression of this version of Les Mis. It’s young, exuberant, sometimes a little rough vocally, yet a fun foretaste of what’s to come for many of these student revolutionaries who sing so passionately about love, dreams, guilt and forgiveness, and who can still rail with conviction against cruelty and human greed.

This is, after all, the right of youth—to look at life and see possibilities. With this in mind, it seemed appropriate to turn this musical version of Victor Hugo’s classic over to students. It is their time.

But what was most surprising about this production was that the strongest singers in this cast were not necessarily the lead characters, for example, Ryan Brodsky and Francesca Gemma Barletta, who played the uproarious Thénardiers, owners (and thieves) of the local inn in Montfermeil, the village where Jean Valjean discovered little Cosette. They both displayed a keen knack for comedy and handled their songs with great flair. They looked older, meaner than their age. You could feel the nastiness and satire drip off their tongues.

And then there was Lilli Babb, who gave a heartbreaking performance as hopelessly love-struck Éponine. Babb appeared to have the most accomplished voice quality of the female cast members, consistently holding her tones throughout and shining brightly on her solo “On My Own.”

Among the men, there’s no doubt in my mind the best singer was Tyler Matthew Burk as Enjolras, who provided rousing performances in songs like “ABC Cafe/Red and Black” and “One Day More.” You might actually believe he came straight from the streets of Cairo to launch his own revolution in Paris.

This is not to take away from some other fine solos by the young cast, such as Mallory Martin as Fantine singing “I Dreamed a Dream,” Ryan Driscoll’s high tenor solo during Valjean’s tender “Bring Him Home,” and Levi Gotsman as Marius mournfully singing “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables.” And who could overlook young Stanley Miller as he popped in and out as little Gavroche? The kid has chops.

The strength of this musical, however, was the acting. While some vocals were a bit pitchy, the cast generally provided a solid dramatic performance. Especially notable were Driscoll as Valjean, Brodsky as (Monsieur) Thénardier and Adam Rayzor as Javert, Martin as Fantine, Babb as Éponine, and Barletta as (Madame) Thénardier.

The leads were impressive and the overall strength of the supporting cast, along with all those good choruses, made for some high moments of drama. And when they all joined on stage for songs like “At the End of the Day, “One Day More” and the “Finale,” you could feel the energy radiate throughout the room.

Les Mis is a challenging piece of musical theater with lots of dramatic highs and lows and complex ideas, plus it requires high levels of talents and skills to handle all those vocal ranges. Considering those demands in light of the fact that no one in this cast is older than 19, I couldn’t help but be impressed by this production. It’s not perfect, but it’s great fun and worth watching, as some talented student performers grab their moment to shine under the spotlights.

So pop the cork, enjoy the wine. The party has started. The Revolution is fermenting. Viva la vie for Les Misérables.

*Note: A large number of student performers will be rotating in and out of various roles throughout the show's run. Names of cast members may vary, depending on the performance night. This review is based on the Feb. 4 performance.