Stage Write

  Hamilton’s “You’ll Be Back” might as well have been written about me and Les Misérables. There will never be a time I’m not drawn to this show. I think we often forget that musicals and plays that have become commonplace to us are still new to the next generation. Bringing my nine-year-old daughter to see the show for the first time was a beautiful experience. I remember seeing it in London for the first time at 21 and being blown away. The depth of the story, the beauty of the songs, the range of the vocals, it was a revelation. Seeing the same response from her made this production particularly special for me. Broadway Across America included this show in its season two years ago, and many of the lead actors, including Javert (Preston Truman Boyd), Valjean (Nick Cartell), the Bishop of Digne (Randy Jeter), and others, all remain the same. Their powerful performances could carry the show alone, but the large supporting cast is full of standouts. Alexa Lopez does a beautiful job ...

  The greatest musicals, the ones with a lasting impact, combine two important things. The first is a powerful story and the second is a great score. Few musicals do that as brilliantly as Les Misérables. It’s a story of mercy, grief, redemption, and the ripple effect that love has on everyone it touches. Every time I see the show, something new stands out to me. In this Broadway Across America’s production, I was struck by Javert’s story. This is the first time I’ve seen the show since the wild polarization of our nation built to its current fervor. Javert’s worldview is painfully legalistic, leaving no room for mercy or the acceptance of growth in others. That story hit differently this time as I recognized how common it has become to refuse to see your “enemy” as a real person. Empathy is in short supply and the cautionary tale of Javert’s obsession with justice is more harrowing than ever. Preston Truman Boyd did a beautiful job with the character and is a towering presence o...