be expec
~'world that | is any more believable

. than Oz?

‘theatre to celebrate or fight

Les Miz good

but not

"Martin Millerchip .
‘THEATRE REVIEW

Les Miserables, by Alain
Boublil and Claude-Michel

Schonberg. Directed by Richard
.fay-Alexander and Keith Batten,

musical direction by Paul
rtelli. Queen Elizabeth

: $ eatre, Hamilton at Georgia

in Vancouver, to Sept. 26.

: 280-2200.

~ ERE WAS a mega-
musical back fora
_second bite at the

small ‘apple of Vancouver,
. and all! knew.about it was

Victor Hugo's novel and the

“urchin on the advertising.

- Both turned out to be handi-
caps.
The sheer wealth of material

 Somtained in both the-novel and
~ the pre-show. publicity create ex-

pectations that are impossible to
meet.
Certainly there is little

"psychological justification left for
* the policeman javert's relentless

‘and lifelong pursuit of Jean Val-
jean, who has already served his

19 years hard labor for. stealing a

foat of bread:
“However, why should Les Miz
ted to create a musical

* Because it wants us to care.

“ “@nough about its characters to be

moved by love, death, rebellion,

. martyrdom and the possibility of
-. change.

‘The fast of these purports to be

"the most important.

- Javert,-the unyielding force of

” Jaw or.“‘right,” refuses to con-

sider that a convicted thief is

‘capable of change and commits
“suicide when confronted with the
_ truer “right”? of Valjean’s pur-

: pose.

The finale of the show then
“reunites the voices of the com-

> “pany, living and dead, to invite us,
~ the audience, to join the quest for

: change and a new tomorrow.
‘It does not quite-work.
The voices are powerful, the
music stirring, but if the anthem

: does not sweep all before it and

potentially drive us out of the

for

661-7713

Edward Page

, |} Interest
|EARN on a wide
UP TO variety

of

Contact me

information
661-7729

magic

. Mulroney's new version of

Canada, the connection between
the general and the particular has
been missed.

Having said that, the show is still

a lot of tun.

Les Miz is conceived and pres-
ented in melodramatic fashion
and, for the most part, works
perfectly as pure spectacle.

The musical style falls some-
where between classical opera
and broadway musical with the
entire three-hour story being sung.

The music is thematic with four
major refrains becoming recog--
nizable as the show progresses.
This provides a relentless energy
but a certain sameness.

The men stand out in this pro-
duction, Canada’s third national
tour.

Craig Schulman: s Valjean an-
chors the show. Like his charac-
ter’s lifting of the cart, Schulman’s
voice and intensity are capable of
carrying entire sections of the
musical, with Bring Him Home

. providing the musica! and emo-

tional high point of the opening
night.

Merwin Foard’s javert is up to
the challenge. Foard’s booming
baritone. personifies the im-
placable force of those who
believe right is on their side.

But there are many other strong
performances.

. Pete Herber’s Enjolras, jay
Turvey’s Marius and. Matthew
Manuel's Gavreche all stand out.

. Manuel’s 10-year-old enthusiasm

is so engaging that it would suc-
ceed in making us care about his
death if it were not so predictable.

The women fare less well, with
the exception of Arlene Meadows’
blowsy and brassy Madame Ther-
nadier.

This js partly because the writing

gives them even less justification

than the men, (Valjean’ s daughter,

Cosette, is a virtual cipher) and
partly because of a directorial
choice to play into the melodra-
matic excesses of the show.

One other disappointment was

RACK & ROLL
AT BLUE SHARK
BILLIARDS
OPENING EARLY

A.

MY PLACE CAFE.

CULINARY. SECRET
FULL COURSE DINNER SPECIAL

e Smoked Chicken Rissotto

© Smoked Salmon Cannelloni

@ Lamb Couscous

includes appetizers, dessert, coffee

Of The House.

It was solid. Nothing i in this pro-
duction is poor. But, like several
crowd scenes, it lacked the spark
that is the difference between
good and magic.

The show looks stunning.

David Hersey’s lighting design

gets a tremendous amount out of a

limited touring plot and blends
superbly with the color palette of
Andreane Neofitou’s costumes.

The stage machinery of the bar-
ricade is fascinating to watch as it
unfolds and manoeuvres in jug-
gernautian slow motion, and it
would be worth paying the .
premium to sit close to the centre
of the house.

lf some of the emotional
climaxes in this production had
not been as big as the stage ma-
chinery, or even played a little
slower, there would perhaps be
less reason to analyze the content
of Les Miserables.

However, it is refreshing to see
such unabashed spectacle in Van-
couver, so if you can check your
objectivity with your coat there‘is
much to enjoy in this production.

SEPTEMBER

UPSTAIRS FROM T-BIRD 10 PIN
ACTION CENTRE

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-Your choice of:

or tea

33

Wednesday, August 26, 1992 - North Shore News -

CHARLOTTE MOORE as
Fantine dreams her dream
in the Canadian National
Tour (1992 version) of Les

Miserables.
GREATER vancou =
Singsts! as: _
(Non-Equity preferred)
At RYERSON CHURCH HALL
45th Ave. & Yew Sr.
photo Joan Marcus

i

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Maximum value $12.00 TT
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North Shore News

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