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| L - Sophia Lilinoe Cesario, Lonni Silverman, Angel Castellanos, Eric Myles Geller, Ellyn Stern Epcar, & George Almond |
I started reading Les Misérables by Victor Hugo a few weeks ago. Yes, I
did. – Narrator
George Almond has taken on the monumental task of producing Victor
Hugo’s 2,783-page novel “Les Misérables”.
And with the help of Jonathan Holloway’s adaptation, Almond brings forth
this epic novel in a form of a three-hour play.
Somehow I didn’t think this was possible much in the same
way that I didn’t think it was possible to make a musical of this book. In retrospect, I was misguided. But the overwhelming immensity of turning the
novel into a play, well, I’m getting ahead of myself.
Planta Genista Productions presents Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables
adapted by Jonathan Holloway and directed by Jed Alexander at Studio/Stage, 520
N. Western Ave., Los Angeles, California through July 26th, 2015.
Hilletje Moller
Bashew, a violinist, provided the entertainment on this night. Two lovely
women dressed in 1930s wardrobe tangoed across the stage, bodies together, and barebacked. The heat rising from their bodies, a risqué
moment observing legs intertwined as two women danced within a smoke filled
tavern. And they danced without a care
in the world.
Slowly, the characters came out, fatuously jostling, one by
one, and interacted with the audience. Little Cosette (Sophia Lilinoe Cesario)
sang a little ditty while her poor mother Fantine (Savannah Crafton) looked on.
Thenardier (Eric Myles Geller), an obstreperous bum, was caught digging through
the trashcans and being annoying to onlookers who might have change to give
him. And one character (Lonni Silverman) juggled a ball, one ball. These
actions added an interesting flavor to the night and gave credence to the period
of 1936 Paris. But, one naturally loves to see character development on stage
after the lights go up.
Happily, this adaptation followed the book and was easy to
follow. The first act stayed true to the
novel and felt like a homecoming of sorts, reaffirming what I remembered.
In this version, M. Madeleine, also known as Jean Valjean
(George Almond), is a successful nightclub owner of the Le Caveau de la Jazz
nightclub. He is a suave, articulate,
sophisticated man about town. He is also
hiding from his terrible past, that of stealing a loaf of bread to feed his
sister and her seven hungry children, and then escaping from prison for his
petty crime. He is now, technically, a
fugitive.
That aside, the actions inside his nightclub, gives us a
feel of the time and the place. And shortly thereafter, a microphone is placed
center stage and we are entreated to a version of “Embraceable You” (a 1928 song
by George and Ira Gerswhin), sung beautifully by Fantine (Savannah Crafton).
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| Savannah Crafton |
But the song only carries Fantine slightly beyond her hardened heart. She is desperate to have someone care for her daughter, Little Cosette.
Fantine, at this moment, lacks judgment possibly because of
her hunger and alcohol abuse. She has little
skills in judging character and selects the first person in her line of vision—Mme.
Thenardier, the innkeeper.
Giving Cosette away to strangers is an act worst than throwing
her to a pack of the wolves, and yet Fantine, exhaling life, and in a miserable
act of desperation, releases Cosette’s tiny little fingers into the rapacious
claws of Mme. Thenardier.
M. Thenardier (Eric Miles Geller), drinking at the bar,
hears the conversation and jumps in on his wife’s moneymaking venture to squeeze
the last 57 sous out of Fantine. Fantine
reluctantly agrees and off the Thenardiers roll with little Cosette to abuse
her as they see fit.
So, as almost an afterthought to better her life, Fantine thinks
she will settle herself, work hard, earn some money, then gather Little
Cosette, and finally bring her home.
Only a short time later, M. Thenardier and Mme. Thenardier write
Fantine demanding more money.
Meanwhile a letter comes for M. Madeleine asking him to
become mayor of the town. He is ambivalent because of his past. He reflects on his past to reach behind the
bar to pull out the candlestick and his prison uniform. He has a solid
reputation now, is a perfect gentleman, a loved pillar of society, and he wants
his past to remain hidden, a secret forever.
But just as it seems that everyone has forgotten the
prisoner, a moment passes to bring his past back to life. A cart has fallen on Fauchelevent (Donald
Wayne). Frightened men gather around the cart but their physical
insufficiencies aren’t enough to save the poor man’s life much less his soul.
M. Madeleine is hesitant, not wanting to give away his secret, his strength,
but Fauchelevent is in such a terrible position that M. Madeleine cannot refuse
to help.
Inspector Javert (Joe Hulser) who knows that there is only
one man who has the strength to lift the cart waits nearby and observes M.
Madeleine lift.
Quink (Eric Myles Geller) approaches Fantine, as she cleans tables
in the bar, and indicates that he wants more from her than her work time. And Fantine now feels the pressure from all
sides as Mme. Thenardiers demands more money for Cosette. And as the pressure mounts she is suddenly fired
from the jazz club for her impudence and not giving in to his sexual advances.
Now on the streets, Fantine resorts to selling her hair to
support Cosette and then selling her two front teeth, for forty sous, yanked
out by the sleazy demon barber (Donald Wayne). All she has left is to sell her body.
And later, on the streets, Javert arrests a toothless
Fantine for prostitution, a misunderstanding, due to a miserable man, Bamatabois
(not seen), shoving snow down her back.
When the mayor, M. Madeleine, finds out, he orders Javert to
release the prisoner.
Fantine spits in M. Madeleine’s face for having her fired at
the jazz club. M. Madeleine sees beyond Fantine’s frustration and takes her to
his home to care for her and promises to bring Little Cosette home.
Later Inspector Javert visits M. Madeleine to say that he had
reported him to the French authorities - that M. Madeleine was in fact Jean
Valjean - but he says the he was mistaken, that the authorities have told him they
found Valjean, in another town parading around as a man name Champmatheiu (not
seen).
In reality M. Madeleine knows him to be an innocent man.
Javert then asks for M. Madeleine’s forgiveness and asks to
be dismissed from his position but M. Madeleine refuses.
Later M. Madeleine travels to get Cosette but sympathetic
matters divert him to Jean Valjean’s trial. Fed up with the injustice M.
Madeline confesses in the courtroom that he is the real Jean Valjean and flees to
Fantine, without Cosette, empty-handed. (This is not seen in the play but
intimated in the following scene.)
Now that M. Madeleine has revealed that he is the real Jean
Valjean, Inspector Javert shows up to arrest him. With the help of Sister Simplice (Lonni
Silverman), Jean Valjean flees and finds Little Cosette and both escape in the
cover of darkness to find sanctuary.
Opening night presented some challenges, mostly to the
actors settling down and feeling comfortable on stage. By the time you read this, the actors will
have taken a deep breath, advanced into the roles, become more comfortable with
the lines, and hit their marks.
Jed Alexander,
the director, places these events from 1936 through 1945 in Paris, France and
overall the play works nicely. If you
have read the book, or seen the musical, the characters and the events fall
into place. With intermission, the play, approximately 3 hours, needs trimming.
At times, actors were without lights, behind the bar, or downstage right (the
cart scene). Also, Alexander requires a
stronger hand to take tighter reigns with the various styles of acting if only to
smooth out the edges that were very prevalent on stage. Also, Jean Valjean’s getaway from Javert after
Fantine’s death was not clear. A stage knife was downstage left three scenes
after it originally appeared until someone noticed and took it away. Also, with
some creative staging, one could see this play without any set pieces or moving
walls with the actors on stage the entire time. Each character in this play is
fighting for a piece of the action, and a better life. When they don’t get it the conflict is
heightened, the tension is real, and they play will garner more emotional
support.
But, that said, I enjoyed the night and have more to say
about the terrific performances on stage.
George Almond
presents an impressive figure as Jean Valjean.
As M. Madeleine, the suit makes the character and gives him a level of
sophistication. Almond requires a little
more to give us Jean Valjean’s backstory, more of how he left that life to
become M. Madeleine, and how he will lose everything he has worked for if he is
ever found out. Also, he needs to make more of the moment when he discovers Cosette.
One would like to see the guitar work, or left behind, because now it serves as
a distraction and does not progress any of the scenes. Almond has a wonderful
voice, sweet and melodic, gentle and passive.
Still, there is more to be had here.
On interesting thing about Joe Hulser’s performance as Inspector Javert is his tenacity at getting
his man. With his leather jacket and Gestapo
look, he just keeps coming. Javert is
miserable in his own right trying to be right in a world shaded in various
tones of grey. There is a point in the play where he confesses to the fourth
wall about finding the real Jean Valjean that does not heighten the tension. That scene needs all the conflict one can
muster. (Perhaps nose-to-nose downstage with Valjean facing upstage. That
aside, Hulser is an impressive actor with a very commanding presence on stage
and each entrance is one to regard and to take note.
Savannah Crafton
plays Fantine and I loved her version of “Embraceable You” that puts us in her
corner right away. The song was performed
to the nightclub audience but could also include Cosette in the audience. Also desperation is important for this
character to work, each action a desperate attempt to save her daughter until
she is beaten down so bad that she can no longer fight. Crafton must find a way to develop that
desperation. And her costume must be more tattered each time she appears on
stage. She must also find a way to dress
her pulled teeth rather than hide them. Crafton also plays the older Cosette
and a storm trooper.
Eric Myles Geller
has a very strong voice and physical presence as M. Thenardier, Quink, Gribier,
Enjolras, and Baron Thenard. And while
there was some very good work going on here, the work was not varied, the
costumes were all slightly similar, and audacious gestures with wrists on the
hips, hands projected out, or arms flailing should find a way to progress his
scenes. Still Geller provides a very
physical presentation for each character but still must find a creative
objective for each of those characters, especially M. Thenardier.
Ellyn Stern Epcar,
as Mme. Thenardier, was as nasty as they come but also brought much needed
humor to the play. Epcar was delightful in many ways despite being the heavy. Epcar also played Abbess, Charwoman, and
Partisan.
Lonnie Silverman
gives an impressive performance as Eponine all in the name of love. She is stunning on stage and gives a lot of
heart to the character striving with every breath to get the man she cannot
have. Silverman also plays Sister
Simplice and a Partisan.
Angel Castellanos
is Marius and Paul. Castellanos has a
strong voice and a nice way about the stage.
As Paul, he seemed to be the presenter of the facts and there was a lot
of information to say and absorb. But, we are given this information with
little reason for why he is saying it. If the actor is unsure then he should
make up the reason that is creative and related to the progression of the story
and the characters. One believes it is
all in the name of telling us why the French are so French.
Sophia Lilinoe
Cesario plays Little Cosette and she is very cute and does well on stage.
Donald Wayne does
a nice job as M. Fauchelevent, the man who was almost crushed under the cart
and later to returns to provide sanctuary to Jean Valjean and Cosette. Wayne also plays the confoundedly gross Barber
who was slightly lost in his action and moments on stage on this night with
this character. Wayne also plays the
Beggar and Nazi Commander who kills, well, I can’t say.
Jonathan Holloway’s
adaptation stays true to the book except he moves it to 1936 Paris. The second act includes the Nazi influences. It works to a limited degree, the confusion
of the time after Waterloo vs. the confusion of war torn Europe. But whether it was confusion of the actors
saying the lines or some other thing that had one of the characters 123 years
of age. One suspects it was a mistake on this given night. And what was the
purpose of expressing the times and dates of the history of France unless it
leads us somewhere? There are a number of themes going on in Victor Hugo’s
novel. Number one is all of the characters are miserable in their lives but each
striving, no hungry, for a better life. And in the end only Cosette manages to escape
the horrors of poverty and in reality it took all of the characters, through
their actions, to get her there.
Other members of the crew and some serving as members of the
cast are as follows:
Sophie Gana –
Production Stage Manager/Associate Producer
Ian Hyde –
Assistant Stage Manager
Michael Kozachenko
– Lighting Designer – The flashing lights in the audience eyes was a bit
obtrusive during the gun firing scenes.
Brandon Molnar-
Projection Specialist – There were some very nice shots of Paris projected onto
the walls.
Matt Franta –
Fight Choreographer – Very nice job.
Danielle O’Neill
– Artistc Consultant
Melissa Shain –
Assistant to Danielle O’Neill
Philip Sokoloff –
Press Representative
Run! And take someone
downtrodden, who has lost his or her home, but is being helped and is on the
road to recovery.
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