Les Misérables 2013

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Les Misérables, in Cameron Mackintosh's new 25th anniversary production, opened at Broadway Sacramento on Wednesday night, and runs until Sunday, June 9th at the Community Center Theater, closing the 2012-13 season.

Les Misérables has appeared in many guises, beginning of course with the epic 1862 French novel by Victor Hugo, followed by at least five film versions, and the 1985 English language musical (itself based on a 1980 short-lived French musical). Each interpretation has its own emphases of the original story, which is itself a great novel, but a long and challenging read. Like Herman Melville's Moby Dick, Hugo immerses the reader not only in the tale of the characters, but all the historical details of the period and events, many only tangential to the story itself. When Mackintosh adapted the French production, with music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, to produce the original London production, it was met with negative reviews, but went on to become a box office smash, moving to Broadway in 1987 to become one of the longest-running productions in history, and winning eight Tony awards, and thus, Les Misérables became “Le Miz”.

The story is familiar to most - Jean Valjean is in hard labor for stealing a loaf of bread and is finally released on parole. But he finds life even harder on the outside, making his heart bitter until he is redeemed by a Bishop, and devotes his life to God. He becomes successful and strives to help others all he can, but is dogged by his past in the form of Javert, the officer who makes it his duty to serve justice. Valjean inadvertently helps destroy the life of a young mother, Fantine, and vows to rescue her daughter Cosette. They make a life in Paris, but a youth revolt, and the persistent Javert, interrupt.

It is natural to compare this production to the 2012 musical film, which was released while this production had already begun its national tour. The first major difference is in the entire first half of the story. The film version spent a lot of time showing Jean Valjean in his hard labor, subsequent release, and redemption with the Bishop. This is all done in the first ten minutes of the stage musical, a positive difference in my view. However, Fantine's story, which is so evocative in the film with Anne Hathaway, as you feel every pain she experiences until her death, is also dealt with fairly quickly in this production. But the beautiful Genevieve Leclerc in the role delivers a powerful "I Dreamed A Dream" - Fantine's signature song, which sets the tone and theme for the entire story.

Every character in this tale is dreaming a dream of what life should be. Fantine dreams of being a loving and doting mother to Cosette and Valjean dreams of freedom and living honestly. Meanwhile, Javert dreams of a righteous society of order, where evil doers pay the price of their crimes. And the Thénardiers (the innkeepers who “care for” Cosette) dream of wealth and position, and will do anything to get it. Their daughter Eponine dreams of the love of young student idealist Marius, who, along with his friends, dreams of a France of equality and opportunity for the struggling poor. And Cosette just seems to go along with whatever her adopted father Valjean, and later Marius, dream for her.

After Fantine, the story continues with the Thénardiers and their big number, "Master Of The House," which provides the comedy break. Timothy Gulan and Shawna M. Hamic do a good job with the roles, although a little Thénardier goes a long way, and I welcomed the shift to Paris. Andrew Varela, as Javert, delivers a knock out punch with "Stars," his renewed vow to capture Valjean now that he knows he is in Paris. Varela's amazing voice stunned the crowd with its power, especially that big last note. We also meet the student revolutionaries with the other key song of the show, "Do You Hear The People Sing?," the rousing anthem that inspires and stays with you long afterward. "Heart Full Of Love" is a beautiful three-part song featuring Marius (Devin Ilaw), Cosette (Julie Benko) and Eponine (Briana Carlson-Goodman) in a love triangle, and "One Day More" allows all the characters to express their hopes and worries about what tomorrow will bring, and leads to the intermission.

With all that story packed into the first act, the rest mainly concerns the student uprising and Marius and Cosette's budding romance, but not until after Eponine's beautiful song "On My Own." Her role in the middle is just as important a part as Fantine's and Cosette's, and Carlson-Goodman does it great justice. The remainder of the show is filled with moving and dramatic music as the story heads to its climax.

Peter Lockyer as Jean Valjean, who is excellent throughout, gets his brightest moment in the song "Bring Him Home," a moving wish as he accepts that his Cosette is in love with a good young man. Valjean is really a Christ-like figure, forever sacrificing himself for the good of others. His original crime was to save not himself, but his sister's family. After his redemption to God, he repeatedly puts himself in peril to save Fantine, the workman Fauchelevent, Champmathieu - the prisoner accused of being Jean Valjean, Cosette, Marius, and even Javert. He never puts himself first, and there is no hint that he has ever experienced, or even desired, romantic love. He is ultimately welcomed to Heaven by two angels, and ascends with arms out in a cross.

No review of this show would be complete without a mention of the sets, designed by Matt Kinley and inspired by Hugo's own paintings, which serve as projected backdrops to the stage. The moving set pieces recreating the Paris slums, barricades and other locations are impressive and dramatic. One scene, during "A Little Fall Of Rain," perfectly evoked Rembrandt's painting The Night Watch in mood and lighting. The 16-piece orchestra is top rate, and delivered the music with force and power.

The singing by the entire cast is great, with even the smaller parts getting a chance to occasionally show off their voices in a solo line. The story can be a bit challenging to follow, so it helps if you are at least familiar with the plot through one of the many films. The reception by the Sacramento crowd was very appreciative, and there was no hesitation to give a standing ovation to the whole cast, with the loudest cheers for Varela (Javert) and Lockyer (Valjean.) Les Misérables plays at the Sacramento Community Theater through June 9th. For tickets and information see www.CaliforniaMusicalTheatre.com.

Ken Kiunke  5/31/2013

Originally published in the Gold Country Times. Reprintable with attribution to the Gold Country Times and Ken Kiunke

Billy Elliot The Musical, the 2009 winner for Best Musical and nine other Tony Awards, opened at Broadway Sacramento on Tuesday night, and runs until Sunday, April 14th.

The show is based on the 2000 film Billy Elliot, and is about a boy raised in a hard working British coal mining family in the Northern England in 1984. Billy, whose mother has died, is expected by his father to learn boxing, but happens into a ballet class full of girls, and he reluctantly joins in when prodded by the teacher, Mrs. Wilkinson. He gradually begins to enjoy it, and unknown to his tough father and brother, spends his boxing money on ballet lessons. Meanwhile, the community is overtaken by a major coal miners strike, pitting the workers against the government of Margaret Thatcher, who wants to break the union and close down many of the country's mine pits, putting thousands of miners out of the work they've spent their lives doing.

Elton John was brought in to make Billy Elliot a musical, and he worked with Bill Hall, the original screenwriter, to create the music and lyrics for the show. It opened in 2005 in London to great reviews and multiple awards, before becoming a Broadway smash in 2008.

The show is really two overlapping and integrated stories; that of Billy and his desire to be a dancer, and the conflict between the miners and the forces against them. It is perhaps ironic, or maybe just coincidental that the show opened in Sacramento the day after the death of the unseen, but much mentioned villain of the story, Margaret Thatcher. Act 2 opens with the song Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher as the miners and their families try to enjoy a poverty stricken Christmas by wishing her an ironic “God's love be with you” while celebrating because it's “one day closer to your death” as they bring out a mock Thatcher gravestone. While that song is the most overtly political about the strike, the others are rousing hymns to Solidarity, as the conflict between the workers and the riot police is creatively integrated with the children learning ballet.

For a musical drama, not a whole lot actually happens in Billy Elliot. Unlike most musicals, there is not a grand sweeping narrative or romance to follow from beginning, conflict, and resolution to conclusion. Billy's desire to dance just kind of happens, and though his family objects, they are so busy with the issues of the strike, they don't notice that he has been studying ballet (or “bally” as they call it) all the while. Meanwhile, the story of the strike doesn't change much – it starts, they conflict with the police, they face poverty, and in the end it gets resolved, as they lose their struggle against Thatcher's Tory government. The music is great throughout, but sounds like nothing you might expect from Elton John. (Perhaps that's just because there's no piano...) There also aren't any really memorable songs that stay with you after the show, though the two between Billy and his late mother (Dear Billy) are the emotional center of the story. And the sentimental “Deep Into The Ground”, sung by Billy's Dad, and Once We Were Kings, sung by the company, were also stirring and beautiful.

But to a great extent, the show relies on the performances, especially that of Billy. There are four boys who rotate the part, as it is too demanding for one to carry it for consecutive performances. (In fact, in both Britain's Lawrence Olivier Awards and America's Tony Awards, it was the first time three actors shared an award for best actor in a musical.) On opening night, it was 12-year-old Mitchell Tobin as Billy, and he did a great job carrying the show, singing, speaking with a northerner British accent, and of course the demanding dancing, from early on when he was learning, to the rousing Company Celebration that follows the show. Rich Hebert, playing Billy's Dad, does a great job as a tough and stoic miner who finally comes around to accept his son's dancing, and even finds redemption in it. Janet Dickenson has the strong force of personality to be the teacher who spurs Billy on. Sam Poon, one of two young actors playing Billy's cross-dressing friend Michael, shines in his number with Billy, Expressing Yourself. And Patrick Wetzel does a few surprising turns as Mr. Brathwaite in Born To Boogie. All these performances happened in a creative setting that allowed striking miners and jack booted riot police to interact with tiny girls dancing in tutus, colorful glittering fantasy backdrops, and the cold snowy northern night.

The politically minded may have a difficult time with the show. The conservative tough minded miners have a hard time accepting a boy who wants to dance. But these are union guys, battling with Margaret Thatcher – Ronald Reagan's political soul mate. (While she broke the miner's union, he fired the air traffic controllers for striking.) Of course the union is fighting to keep all the coal mines open, an environmental issue England has faced many times. (But then, of course, they already had government supplied health care...) The events surrounding the 1984-85 miners strike were hardly noticed in America, but were one of the signature accomplishments, along with the Falklands war, that marked Thatcher's two terms as Prime Minister. So it is probably best to just look at Billy Elliot as the story of a boy struggling to find himself after the loss of his mother, and with the backdrop of tumultuous and sinister forces surrounding his young life.

The reception by the Sacramento crowd was very appreciative, especially of Tobin, who brought a standing ovation. The show is long – nearly three hours including intermission, and some of the language is not suitable for children. But it is a wonderful night of creative theater for teens and adults. Billy Elliot the Musical plays at the Sacramento Community Theater through April 14th. For tickets and information see www.CaliforniaMusicalTheatre.com.

Ken Kiunke  4/11/2013

Originally published in the Gold Country Times. Reprintable with attribution to the Gold Country Times and Ken Kiunke

Memphis, the 2010 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, opened the new season for Broadway Sacramento on Tuesday night, and runs until Sunday November 4th.

Memphis is the story of an illiterate white man, Huey Calhoun, who has a feel for the black music played in the underground clubs of Memphis in 1951. He enters their world, and through sheer guts and tenacity, brings the music he loves to the white audience of his town, battling racism and the establishment the whole way. The story is loosely based on real Memphis, Tennessee disc jockey Dewey Phillips, who played a mix of white and black music on his radio and TV shows, and who was the first to broadcast Elvis Presley's debut record.

Memphis The Musical was the creation of Broadway producer George W. George, and written by Bon Jovi keyboardist David Bryan (music and lyrics) and Joe DiPietro (lyrics and book.) All the music is original, and tries to recreate the early sound of rhythm and blues melding into early rock & roll within a Broadway musical sound. The story begins three years before Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Elvis would burst on the scene, so it makes sense and feels right that the story doesn't use, or simulate their style of music. (Berry's own song Memphis, Tennessee came out in 1959.)

The production uses some clever devices to help convey the story. When a record is played, the singers will suddenly appear somewhere on the stage, but not in the scene with the characters. And when Huey hosts a TV show, you see both the live presentation and a camera view projected above, so you can tell what the home viewers are seeing on their black & white sets. And transitions between scenes are smooth and seamless using lighting techniques and sliding stage elements.

Bryan Fenkart plays the part of Huey Calhoun as a fast talking slick country boy with a good heart. He brings humor and expression to the part, and does a good job singing with his reedy tenor voice, especially when mixed with the other singers. Felicia Boswell plays the part of Felicia Farrell, the young black woman whose music takes Huey's soul, and steals his heart as well. Their interracial relationship creates the conflict that drives the story and sets the obstacles that the characters need to overcome. Boswell's voice is the star of the show, as she soars with heart and soul in song after song, but never overdoes it. So many of today's female “diva” singers feel they have to warble and change notes as much as possible to show their talent, but Boswell never goes there, and treats the songs with respect and authenticity. She first shines bright in Colored Woman and Someday in the first act, and Love Will Stand When All Else Falls in the second.

In the supporting cast, Horace Rogers as Delray, Felicia's brother and protector, has a strong presence and excellent baritone voice. He is the one, during group songs, who pushes the melody over the top. Gator, as played by Rhett George, is silent in most of the first act, but gets to show off his powerful tenor voice in Say a Prayer and again later in the second act. Will Mann as Bobby is great as the shy big man who comes out of his shell when he has a chance on Huey's TV show. And Julie Johnson as Mama shocks everyone with her breakout song Change Don't Come Easy. After hiding behind her frumpy mom role in the beginning, she slowly emerges until she brings the house down in the second act. And the entire cast puts on a rousing finale with Steal Your Rock 'n' Roll.

The story itself is somewhat cliché and filled with “we know better now” elements about racism in the mid 20th century south, and elsewhere in America. It would have been more socially relevant back in the 1960's, and probably much more controversial with the interracial romance and kisses, and especially the morning-after scene when Huey and Felicia get together. But the story also has some surprises, and ably carries the theme and the music along. And it avoids the predictable happy ending, leaving you with some hope of romance and for the future of these people.

The reception by the Sacramento crowd was very appreciative, and brought a standing ovation for the cast, spurred on, no doubt, by Julie Johnson and Felicia Boswell's outstanding performances. The band, who remains mostly hidden during the show behind the set pieces, got to come out during the final number, and were also greeted warmly by the crowd for their great “behind the scenes” performance. Memphis the Musical plays at the Sacramento Community Theater through November 4th. For tickets and information see www.CaliforniaMusicalTheatre.com.

Ken Kiunke 10/31/12

Originally published in the Gold Country Times. Reprintable with attribution to the Gold Country Times and Ken Kiunke

It has been said that rock & roll was born in Memphis Tennessee, at Sam Phillips' Sun Records. That is where Elvis Presley made his very first recordings, including his first hit song That's Alright Mama, and many others that merged country and hillbilly music with rhythm and blues, creating a new new sound known as rock & roll. Sun Records not only gave Elvis his start, but Sam Phillips recorded many of the pre-rock pioneers, such as Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King, Bobby Blue Bland, and Junior Parker. Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats, featuring Ike Turner, recorded Rocket 88, claimed by many rock musicologists to be the very first authentic Rock & Roll song.

In December 1956, after Elvis had already hit it big and left Sun Records for RCA, he dropped by the Sun Studios to visit a recording session of Carl Perkins, which also featured a young Jerry Lee Lewis on piano. Johnny Cash, then also a rising star, showed up that day as well. Whether it was a coincidence or a plan by Sam Phillips is unclear, but they did jam on several songs, which Phillips recorded (but were not released until 1981.) It was the only time those four legends of rock and country music ever played together, and they were dubbed the “Million Dollar Quartet”.

The stage show “Million Dollar Quartet” was created in 2007 by Floyd Mutrux and Colin Escott, and opened in Broadway in 2010.  It has received many awards including a Tony Award, and began a National tour in 2011, making its Sacramento Premier this Tuesday April 17th for the California Musical Theater at the Community Center Theater. It runs until Sunday April 22nd.

The show is part history, filled with facts and stories from Sam Phillips' point of view, a dramatic presentation of his dreams, struggles and ambitions, mixed with the great music and personalities of the four stars. The show's creators took as many of the known facts that were available about that day, and mixed them in with a lot of dramatic speculation. They did not try to present a recreation of the actual day, but instead combined a narrative sequence of the event with some other short vignettes, such as Elvis' recording of That's Alright Mama. They also made sure that the four rocked together on some of their biggest hits of the era, and gave each a chance to show off.

 The show opens with the four onstage doing Blue Suede Shoes (a Carl Perkins song both he and Elvis had a hit with.) Then it gets into the narrative with Jerry Lee Lewis onstage, as Perkins arrives for his session. The show plays up the idea of Perkins' disdain for the new kid Lewis's showy playing and his trying to take over Carl's songs, which may be pure fiction, but makes for some great musical duels and funny interactions. It isn't long before Elvis shows up with a date, Dyanne (a fictional character based on Marilyn Evans, who may have been present at the actual event. There is an unidentified female voice on the actual recordings.) Soon after, Johnny Cash completes the quartet.

Martin Kaye, with a great shock of curly hair on top, played Jerry Lee Lewis as a young impertinent musician, who may have appreciated the talents of the older stars, but, convinced he would be bigger than all of them, does not show much respect or deference. He skillfully matches Lewis's wild but always spot-on piano playing, making it look effortless. He also reminded me of Harpo Marx, who could be charming to your face and then mock you when you turned your back. (The curly blonde hair helped too.)

Lee Ferris, playing Carl Perkins, does a great job showing a man confident and skilled as a singer and songwriter, as well as a killer electric guitarist, but who is bitter and frustrated by the turns his career has taken. Cody Slaughter played Elvis about as good as any of the great impersonators out there. He has Elvis's moves down perfectly, probably better than the King himself, and his voice both singing and talking has all the right mannerisms and accents.

Derek Keeling never made me think “Hey, there's Johnny Cash!” For one thing, he is a lot better looking than Cash. He sang all the songs well, and had Johnny's moves down, but he just didn't have that certain quaver in his voice that marks a Johnny Cash song. But that didn't take away anything from the performance, it was great to hear the songs, and Keeling had no trouble getting down to the deep bass, even lower at times than Cash.

Kelly Lamont played Dyanne, which you may think is no big part, but she is given a lot to do in this production. She sings lead on two songs, including Fever, and joins in on several with the boys as well. She also plays a dramatic foil, getting a chance to flirt with (or be flirted at by) the other guys, as well as lending a sympathetic ear when needed. It seems the show's creators took the small factoid that a woman was there that day, and used it to broaden the variety of the show from just a boys club, and to help the story move along when needed. Lamont does have a great voice and made the most of it for her numbers.

The other two musicians on the stage are the bass player Jay Perkins (Carl's brother) played by Chuck Zayas, and the drummer Fluke, played by Billy Shaffer. They are the only performers on the stage the entire show, and they do a great job playing that particular style of early rock rhythm sections, while adding just enough color and personality without getting in the way of the stars.

Of course, the dramatic part of the show is all about Sam Phillips. Christopher Ryan Grant plays him as a dreamer and a schemer, a man with big dreams and ambitions, but who is consistently let down just when he is about to achieve something big. He wants it all, but he wants to play by his own rules. He knows he is a pioneer and how to find just the right sound, but is always trumped by the big money and big labels.

The show follows ups and downs of Phillips and the four performers, all with their own frustrations and disappointments – Elvis misses his rocking days at Sun (they all tease him about Love Me Tender and his new movie career.) Carl Perkins is bitter about not getting a new hit after Elvis “stole” his Blue Suede Shoes hit. Jerry Lee Lewis wants to be a star, but is treated like a kid by the others. And Johnny Cash is ready to move on to another label, but is reluctant to tell Sam. And in the mix are all those great songs, like Folsom Prison Blues, Matchbox, Great Balls of Fire, Long Tall Sally, and Chuck Berry's Brown Eyed Handsome Man, which they all take a turn at singing.

At the end, the audience is treated to a mini concert, leaving the narrative and the only set (Sun Studio) behind, while they all put on flashy jackets and just rock out on four songs featuring each one of them. It struck me that this is probably the only time you can see what it would be like if Elvis Presley were just the rhythm guitar player and backing vocalist (at least for a few songs.)

Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins steal the thunder of the show with their great piano and guitar playing, and their early bickering that eventually turns into mutual respect, but the whole show is terrific, especially if you are a fan of roots rock and roll. Million Dollar Quartet plays at the Sacramento Community Theater through April 22nd. For tickets and information see www.CaliforniaMusicalTheatre.com. For more information about the Million Dollar Quartet, see www.milliondollarquartetlive.com.

Ken Kiunke 4/19/2012

Originally published in the Gold Country Times. Reprintable with attribution to the Gold Country Times and Ken Kiunke