The DC Traveler

As one of the most popular and loved Broadway musicals of all time, spending over 20 years on Broadway time, and Victor Hugo’s best known story, Les Misérables, tells a passionate story of crime and redemption, love and betrayal, all set during the period of the French revolution.

The main character, prison parolee Jean Valjean, who is unable to find work after years in a labor camp, must steal in order to survive.  But his victim gives him a second chance when Valjean is caught by the police.  He takes the gift and changes his identify and his life.  Spending most of his life attempting to avoid being identified as to who he really is, he leads a life of the straight and narrow.

While Valjean is able to find redemption and becomes a productive and respected man, he must continue to hide his true identity. Especially when a new police inspector, his old prison guard, comes to the town where Valjean has risen to become mayor and a wealthy business owner.  Yet the ruthless and single-minded police inspector is determined to discover Valjean’s true identity and return him to prison.

Valjean also must shield his adopted daughter Cosette, from the world of crime and French revolution, while she falls in love with a young revolutionary.

The production of Les Mis at Signature Theatre in suburban Arlington, Virginia, is led by Greg Stone, from the national touring company in the lead role of Jean Valjean.  Tom Zemon, is a believably wicked and powerful Police Inspector Javert.  And Felicia Curry (who has incidentally performed with DC’s Capitol Steps) delivers the most powerful singing of the performance, as the unnoticed and hopelessly in love Eponine. Although not all the voices of some of the lead characters were consistently strong, the ensemble delivered a powerful singular voice.

The production boasts a cast of 30 actors and incorporate over 100 stylishly dramatic costumes.  Some of the most elaborate and stunning lighting and effectively unique barricades as part of the environmental staging , made up of scrap metal, makes for a production that thrusts the action into the audience’s seats. 

The seating is three-quarter in the round with the actors also entering and exiting the stage between rows of seats, making the production significantly more intimate.

The 14-piece live orchestra playing the Broadway score is a strong addition, but at times so loud, it was hard to hear the words of some of the songs.

Les Misérables
Signature Theatre
MAX Theatre
4200 Campbell Avenue, in Shirlington Village, just off I-395
Arlington, Virginia  22206 (map it)

Dates and Times – Tuesdays – Sundays, December 2, 2008 – February 22, 2009. Matinees on weekends. And make sure you arrive on time, as late-comers wait until the first production break to be seated (a GREAT policy).

Tickets – $65.00 to $87.00, and are available online or by phone at 703-573-7328. Try for seats in the middle section, if available.

Nearest Metro Subway Station – Pentagon City – Blue and Yellow lines, then a $7.00 – $8.00 taxi ride.  Look for a cab in front of the Ritz Carlton Hotel.

Parking – Two free parking garages are located across the street and behind the theatre.

Images – courtesy of Signature Theatre – Photos by Scott Suchman _________________________________________________

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