Review: Stellar cast brings new life to ‘Les Miz’ in S.F.

At its heart, “Les Misérables” is a story of yearning.

Every character who trudges along the brutal streets of 19th-century France desires desperately for a change in fortune, with varying degrees of success. That unalloyed emotion has given the musical its staying power for nearly 40 years, with its iconic numbers radiating mightily through the hearts of aria lovers the world over.

In the latest iteration to hit the Bay Area via BroadwaySF, there is a freshness to the iconic production that pushes firmly away from the succulent, original turntable staging by director Trevor Nunn that has been gone for years. The newer version, sharply directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell, lurches the audience into perpetual darkness alongside infinite amounts of stage fog.

Based on the epic 1862 historical novel by Victor Hugo, the musical originally premiered on London’s West End in 1985, while a 16-year Broadway run kicked off two years later. Claude-Michel Schönberg’s wildly recognizable score has not lost any of its original sheen or emotional power; if anything, this new collection of diverse, young singers have planted their flag firmly onto the barricade for a new generation of hopeless dreamers.

The main arc of the piece comes from Jean Valjean (Nick Cartell), a man finishing up a 19-year prison sentence for stealing bread to feed his sister’s child. After constant societal dismissals due to his ex-convict status, he moves toward a life of deception for the purpose of redemption. Hot on his tail is revenge-fueled Javert (Preston Truman Boyd), whose life-work is to put Valjean back behind bars.

A large part of Valjean’s redemption is to raise the child of dying Fantine (Haley Dortch), a woman he dismissed when she was under his employ at a factory. As that child, named Cosette, matures into a beautiful young woman (Addie Morales), it is Valjean’s purposeful isolation that confounds her. That’s especially so when the young revolutionary student Marius (Gregory Lee Rodriguez) begins to fall in love with her. His love devastates the street girl Eponine (Christine Heesun Hwang), who knows she has no chance with the refined Marius, a man now facing a crossroads. Should he stay alongside Cosette and continue exploring their budding love, or must he move along with the fiery students led by Enjolras (Devin Archer), who are planning a major attack on the French government in an attempt to reverse their impoverished fortunes?

The production, entirely sung-through, is a scintillating combination of fantastic vocals, executed with velvety smooth texture and exquisite clarity. The diction pairs beautifully with the stratosphere-level choral work. Of course, and none of that would matter if the emotional grind of the bereft characters was absent. Fortunately, those emotions are extremely present.

The lamentable tragedy of Fantine’s “I Dreamed a Dream” smolders within the pipes of Dortch, evolving from a song that has always been a veritable trill fest.

As Javert, Boyd takes his character into some discomfiting levels which pay off with his ultimate fate.

While “On My Own” might have a home in the Broadway played-out hall of fame, Hwang’s performance brings freshness to each vulnerable moment, interpreting every one of Eponine’s discoveries with wistful rue. Hwang’s version of the ubiquitous aria is loaded with assured purpose. When she is joined by the hauntingly gorgeous vocal harmonies of Rodriguez and Morales in “A Heart Full of Love,” or even paired with Rodriguez in “A Little Fall of Rain” — shivers are sent through the most hardened of hearts.