"Les Miserables' at the Walnut (2nd review)

Time to stop bashing the Walnut

STEVE COHEN

Les Miserables at the Walnut Street Theater is noteworthy for at least two things. First is the break with the traditional way of staging the venerable musical. Second is the casting, which demolishes some long-held beliefs about the Walnut.

An odd thing about Les Miz is that, while it is setting longevity records, it never has received the critical acclaim of previous record-setters like My Fair Lady and A Chorus Line, which were praised as near-perfect creations. Few critics feel that Les Miz meets the New York Times critic Ben Brantley’s standard for memorable musicals: "self-knowledge, catharsis, great narrative art, complex and constantly evolving characters."

But audiences love this show, and Dan Rottenberg’s review shows how impressive the piece can be to a first-time customer. Still, many theater insiders derided Les Miz’s score and its gimmicky staging with that omnipresent turntable. The score does, in fact, have scant musical development of its tunes, and the libretto’s rhyming couplets are relentless.

Using the full stage

The new production at the Walnut Street Theater eschews gimmicks and is more realistic. It makes greater use of the full stage, even spreading to the apron beyond the proscenium and using the aisles for some entrances. This benefits the big-canvas story.

Director Mark Clements retains two iconic moments: the Act I finale, in which militant citizens still form a triangular formation and step in place as if they’re marching toward the audience, and one scene with a turntable that lets us see front and back of the barricade where the students make their stand. Many theatergoers would be bereft if they were deprived of those highlights.

Frank Wildhorn turned his somewhat-similar The Scarlet Pimpernel into tongue-in-cheek camp, but the Walnut production takes Les Miz seriously. Clements relishes its emotional scenes, and his actors dig into them with commitment. Sometimes this style reminds me of World War II black-and-white films where the outnumbered Americans were killed by the Japanese on Wake Island or at Bataan, but the acting never quite goes over the top.

Philadelphia actors galore

The cast includes many Philadelphia singer/actors. For years, the Walnut was perceived as favoring New York talent over Philadelphia’s resident theater community. That perception no longer is valid. The Walnut’s artistic director, Bernard Havard, has developed a group of Philadelphians whom he uses repeatedly, and this production shows them off impressively.

Hugh Panaro, the Jean Valjean, grew up in Oak Lane and went to Temple. Jeff Coon and Scott Greer have key roles, while Mary Martello, Denise Whelan, Ben Dibble, Nicholas Saverine, Steve Pacek, Michael Philip O’Brien and Josh Young are featured. (So are several Philadelphia youngsters who alternate in children’s roles.) All have developed their talents to Broadway standards and Panaro, in fact, has appeared there.

Panaro projects the ethereal soft high notes for which his part is known, while singing solidly throughout the entire range. Coon brings energy and passion to Enjolras, inspiring his stouthearted men like a modern Nelson Eddy (another Philadelphian.) Greer performs with such panache and humor that one might overlook how exceptionally well he sings the notes.

It’s time to stop bashing the Walnut over this issue.



To read a response, click here.
To read another review by Dan Rottenberg, click here.