proud gonzo
8/8/2008, 08:23 PM
I think I mentioned that I've spent the summer working as a scenic painter for Music Theater of Wichita. Our final show of the season, Les Miserables, closes this Sunday. I've already been asked back for next season. I don't have any good photos of the set yet, but here's the show's review from the Wichita Eagle:
'Les Miserables' a stirring finale to MTW's season
Performers, orchestra contribute to making this musical one of Music Theatre's finest.
BY BOB CURTRIGHT
Wichita Eagle correspondent
Music Theatre of Wichita's summer finale, "Les Miserables," is a soul-stirring, goosebump-inducing spectacle that ranks with the best versions I've seen on Broadway or London and just may be the best production in MTW's 37-year history.
Boublil and Schoenberg's 1985 masterwork, based on the 1842 novel by Victor Hugo about an ill-fated student rebellion in 19th century Paris, has the grandeur and import of opera but the approachability of Broadway. You don't just see this show, you experience it.
MTW's version is one of only 12 authorized regional theater productions this year. Director Joe Locarro and set designer Bruce Brockman have reinvented the look with a dark, moody street set that proves versatile enough to go from dusty slum to rowdy tavern to elegant wedding to even the drippy Paris sewers -- all thanks to clever lighting design by David Neville, who makes good use of a blue back spotlight for individuals to define their various little spheres of influence.
Music director Thomas Wesley Douglas led his 23-piece orchestra (bigger than those used on Broadway these days) through three concentrated and hauntingly lovely hours of nonstop music.
But it is the voices that send this production to the top of the ranks. Nicholas F. Saverine, a Wichita State alum who has sung the lead, Jean Valjean, on Broadway, in Vienna and on national tour, has a powerful tenor that can rattle the back walls with his soul-searching "Who Am I?" but can also rise to impossible heights with the haunting "Bring Him Home."
He loses none of his power even when he slings another actor over his shoulder to carry around the stage. Saverine, who just left the Philadelphia production to perform Valjean in his adopted hometown, doesn't just sing the role, he acts it. His anguish, anger and ultimate redemption are palpable.
Matthew Shepard, a Broadway artist making his MTW debut, has a thundering baritone as Inspector Javert, a by-the-book officer who pursues Valjean throughout his life for breaking parole. Shepard gives sympathy to this ostensible villain, who is ultimately only doing his duty -- albeit obsessively. His soliloquy about his life unraveling when he is shown mercy he wouldn't show others is riveting.
Also impressive is Jessica Chesbro as the tragic Fantine, a fired factory worker who is forced into prostitution to support her young daughter. Her "I Dreamed a Dream" and "Come to Me" will leave you misty.
Chris Peluso is dashing as student revolutionary Marius, who laments his fallen comrades in "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables." Shaun-Michael Morse is fiery as revolutionary leader Enjolras, charging into battle with "Do You Hear the People Sing?"
Ashley Batten as Cosette and Desi Oakley as Eponine, two young women in love with the same man, Marius, are glorious as they pursue "A Heart Full of Love" in a trio with him. Even the children's voices are up to professional standard, notably Faith Northcutt as the young Cosette and Gavin Myers as street urchin Gavroche.
The real villains, although treated as the only comic relief in this grim story, are the thieving and social-climbing innkeepers, the Thenardiers, played by local couple Tim and Karen Robu. The rollicking roles are tailor-made for both their strong, throaty voices and broad comic timing. They are wickedly hilarious.
'Les Miserables' a stirring finale to MTW's season
Performers, orchestra contribute to making this musical one of Music Theatre's finest.
BY BOB CURTRIGHT
Wichita Eagle correspondent
Music Theatre of Wichita's summer finale, "Les Miserables," is a soul-stirring, goosebump-inducing spectacle that ranks with the best versions I've seen on Broadway or London and just may be the best production in MTW's 37-year history.
Boublil and Schoenberg's 1985 masterwork, based on the 1842 novel by Victor Hugo about an ill-fated student rebellion in 19th century Paris, has the grandeur and import of opera but the approachability of Broadway. You don't just see this show, you experience it.
MTW's version is one of only 12 authorized regional theater productions this year. Director Joe Locarro and set designer Bruce Brockman have reinvented the look with a dark, moody street set that proves versatile enough to go from dusty slum to rowdy tavern to elegant wedding to even the drippy Paris sewers -- all thanks to clever lighting design by David Neville, who makes good use of a blue back spotlight for individuals to define their various little spheres of influence.
Music director Thomas Wesley Douglas led his 23-piece orchestra (bigger than those used on Broadway these days) through three concentrated and hauntingly lovely hours of nonstop music.
But it is the voices that send this production to the top of the ranks. Nicholas F. Saverine, a Wichita State alum who has sung the lead, Jean Valjean, on Broadway, in Vienna and on national tour, has a powerful tenor that can rattle the back walls with his soul-searching "Who Am I?" but can also rise to impossible heights with the haunting "Bring Him Home."
He loses none of his power even when he slings another actor over his shoulder to carry around the stage. Saverine, who just left the Philadelphia production to perform Valjean in his adopted hometown, doesn't just sing the role, he acts it. His anguish, anger and ultimate redemption are palpable.
Matthew Shepard, a Broadway artist making his MTW debut, has a thundering baritone as Inspector Javert, a by-the-book officer who pursues Valjean throughout his life for breaking parole. Shepard gives sympathy to this ostensible villain, who is ultimately only doing his duty -- albeit obsessively. His soliloquy about his life unraveling when he is shown mercy he wouldn't show others is riveting.
Also impressive is Jessica Chesbro as the tragic Fantine, a fired factory worker who is forced into prostitution to support her young daughter. Her "I Dreamed a Dream" and "Come to Me" will leave you misty.
Chris Peluso is dashing as student revolutionary Marius, who laments his fallen comrades in "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables." Shaun-Michael Morse is fiery as revolutionary leader Enjolras, charging into battle with "Do You Hear the People Sing?"
Ashley Batten as Cosette and Desi Oakley as Eponine, two young women in love with the same man, Marius, are glorious as they pursue "A Heart Full of Love" in a trio with him. Even the children's voices are up to professional standard, notably Faith Northcutt as the young Cosette and Gavin Myers as street urchin Gavroche.
The real villains, although treated as the only comic relief in this grim story, are the thieving and social-climbing innkeepers, the Thenardiers, played by local couple Tim and Karen Robu. The rollicking roles are tailor-made for both their strong, throaty voices and broad comic timing. They are wickedly hilarious.