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<\/a>Richard Bermudez as Jean Valjean and Peyton Crim as Javert.
Photo by Veronica Slavin, as is the one above.<\/p><\/div>\n
No matter how glowing my review is about to be, I really don\u2019t feel it will do this show justice. The supreme shame is that you have only this coming weekend left to see it, so I strongly suggest that you do.<\/p>\n
Les Miserables<\/em> is perhaps 5-Star Theatricals\u2019 most massive undertaking, and it\u2019s 100% successful. I’m always still amazed by the absolute excellence of everything they do. And this one is their most stunning presentation ever.<\/p>\n Every one of the thirty-seven cast members, (and yes, I did<\/em> read every single one of their bios in the program, as every<\/em> audience member should,) is very talented. I can say that with certainty because even though most of them are members of the ensemble, (as opposed to having a named role,) the director, Doug Kreeger, gives each of them a little bit to sing on their own. They all possess Broadway-quality voices, especially Richard Bermudez, who stars here as Jean Valjean; he\u2019s incredible. To break-down just how wonderful Richard is, I\u2019m declaring that he has the best voice I\u2019ve heard since the singular one of my long-time way-before-he-was-famous favorite, (and 5-Star alum,) Adam Lambert, so you know how serious I am about this praise.<\/p>\n Richard Bermudez singing Bring Him Home about Jefflorenz Garrido on the floor. Photo by Veronica Slavin.<\/p><\/div>\n 5-Star Theatricals, (along with the audience,) is sooooo lucky to have found Richard. I was bowled-over by his captivating voice. When his riveting rendition of the gorgeous Bring Him Home<\/em> was over in the middle of the second act, I wanted to jump up and give him a standing ovation right then! And I got chills from his Who Am I?<\/em>. And he’s handsome, too! As a matter of fact, as I was exiting the theatre shortly after I had written that very note, (I rarely use the word \u201chandsome,\u201d but that\u2019s what he is,) I bumped into a casting person I know, and when discussing Richard\u2019s immense talent, the man also mentioned that he\u2019s handsome! So that confirmed my opinion.<\/p>\n And, shockingly, Richard is just about as strong as Jean Valjean, the lead character he\u2019s playing! At one point in Act II, he throws a similar-sized guy over his shoulder and carries him off stage. And down steps, to boot! Doug, a strong man himself, couldn’t help but exclaim, \u201cImpressive,\u201d out loud. I honestly couldn\u2019t believe my eyes. If this had been on-line, I would have been sure that that feat of strength was AI.<\/p>\n As to the rest of this amazing musical, even though I had seen it a time or two in the past, I had actually forgotten that there’s no dialogue\u2014it’s entirely songs! And in this case, I could make out just about every word of the three hours of singing! That\u2019s quite the achievement on the part of the entire cast. And of the Sound Designer Jonathan A. Burke. Kudos to everyone involved.<\/p>\n As for the visuals, because Les Miserables<\/em> is mostly a bleak (but beautiful) tale, the basically brown-and-gray-toned minimal sets are spot-on. They make the perfect background for tableaus in a few of the scenes, especially the one that takes place in an inn, (where the comic relief proprietor couple sing the very witty Master of the House<\/em>,) which reminded me of Pageant of the Masters.<\/p>\n Francesca Bartletta and Joey Richter in the center of the Master of The House number. Photo by Veronica Slavin.<\/p><\/div>\n Victor Hugo\u2019s Les Miserables<\/em> is one of the longest novels ever written; it contains 655,478 words! (So, it\u2019s akin to my<\/em> reviews in this e-zine!) Because of that extreme length of the source material, there are many<\/em> parts to the story in the musical version. Yes, that does<\/em> make the show a tad long, (it\u2019s a full three hours,) but you\u2019ll find that you really never want the brilliance of this<\/em> production to end. The narrative is helped along with the various years and locations being projected above the stage at the beginning of the scenes.<\/p>\n Doug adds to my thoughts with a few of his own. He observed, \u201cThe staging is remarkable! And the direction is good. The singers all have strong voices, and are well-matched together. The sound mixing is very good; the voices and music don\u2019t overpower each other, and they all blend well.\u201d<\/p>\n Julian Comeau in the center. Photo by Veronica Slavin.<\/p><\/div>\n In addition to every aspect of this<\/em> production\u2019s magnificence, seeing it again has me marveling at the gargantuan efforts of all involved with Les Miserables<\/em>. First with Victor Hugo for writing such a complicated and powerful novel to begin with, which took him from 1845 to1862 to do, and then to the person who came up with the idea to turn it into a musical, and then to the artists who did just that in the 1980s in France. And then Cameron Macintosh and his team for furthering it into the English language spectacular that it is today. Every aspect of these dazzling accomplishments boggles my mind. Truly. And seeing the show on Friday night had me doing massive research on the topic all weekend long. It\u2019s all so fascinating.<\/p>\n I have to give one more very special shout-out before I go: I believe that Executive Director of 5-Star Theatricals, Cindy Murray, fought very hard to get permission to produce this classic musical, so I give her extra credit for that eventually-successful effort. It was sooo worth the wait. To paraphrase my friend Doug, I feel we\u2019re all<\/em> better for having seen this show!<\/p>\n The Opening Night curtain call. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n You may have opportunities to see other productions of Les Miserables<\/em> over the years, but I guarantee you that absolutely none will be better than this one! Hands down. Nor will it ever be in as comfortable and easy a place as the Bank of America Performing Arts Center. So if you can be anywhere near SoCal this coming weekend, do yourselves a favor and see this show. It\u2019s the best one I\u2019ve<\/em> seen in a very<\/em> long time!<\/p>\n Les Miserables<\/em> running through October18, 2026<\/strong> LES MISERABLES AT 5-STAR THEATRICALS This is how phenomenal this latest production from 5-Star Theatricals is: When Les Miserables was over on Opening Night, my friend Doug, who has seen many versions of this legendary musical all over the world, told me, \u201cMy life is better for having seen this production!\u201d He even teared-up from<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\nBank of America Performing Arts Center\u2019s Fred Kavli Theatre<\/strong>
\n2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd. Thousand Oaks<\/strong>
\n805-449-2787 www.5startheatricals.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"