Originally published in 1862, Victor Hugo's “Les Misérables” has been reproduced through many adaptations, including the musical. More than 160 years have passed since the novel's publication, and more than 40 years since the original musical was premiered (1980). Yet, the message of justice and love in “Les Misérables” still shines through top-notch acting, songs, and music which enables 21st-century people to resonate with the 19th-century characters, explaining why the production remains highly popular today. To watch this acclaimed performance, approximately 50 students and friends of the Honors program headed towards the Chicago Cadillac Palace Theatre last Saturday evening.
Before the musical started, the group took a photo together and scattered around the city to eat. Izzy Koh (senior, English) facilitated this process by creating a list of restaurants near the venue a week before the event. Many students, including Richard Powell (senior, business administration) and Samuel Condori (senior, business administration), enjoyed their time, saying, “It was nice to hang out with friends and eat in Chicago,” and that they tried out new food such as "fettuccine with Al pesto sauce.”
After dinner, students gathered back and toured the theater to observe the rich design and architecture before the prompt beginning of the show at 8 pm. Initially, the stage looked pretty compact to fit in all the equipment and actors, but the students were soon amazed at the clever use of computer generated backdrops that added so much space and reality to complete the music and the performers' immersive acting. The “Les Misérables” production also surprised the audience, who are mostly musical fans with a high standard of music, with the clean and crisp harmony and sound produced by the singers and the orchestra. In fact, some students even thought the orchestra was pre-recorded.
When asked about her experience, Charisse Lapuebla (sophomore, speech pathology & audiology) said that she “fell in love with the way Haley Dortch, the actress for the character Fantine, sang the soliloquy ‘I Dreamed A Dream.’ Usually, the song is portrayed with melancholy to mourn the loss of childhood optimism. The song portrays Fantine as a tragic character. However, Dortch embodied bitterness, a sort of rage at fate, as she sang. It showed the actress's talent in adding dimension to a character not originally given depth, being a basic woman-in-distress character that male authors of past centuries were in the habit of writing. Just by changing the way she showed emotions in her voice allowed for more sympathy and her desperation. Honestly, I could go on and on about the set design and how smoothly they transitioned too! I have always loved Les Miserables, so being able to enjoy it with friends while being shown an enlightening rendition made me so happy I came!”
Richard Powell (senior, business administration) agreed by saying he “really liked the experience of being at a professional theater with the top-class moving props and stage pieces. I also loved the story of ‘Les Misérables.’ I especially found the theme of the poor trying to get ahead even though they were being oppressed by the rich and powerful.”
Samuel Condori (senior, business administration) added that “the staging was amazing,” and that he was very moved by the scene when “Cosette came to be with her father in his last moment. I also loved that the main melodies reappear throughout the musical to keep the audience engaged.”
Another thing that caught my attention during the musical was the performers' profiles. Although my bad eyesight and distance from the stage made detecting every detail of the performers' facial expressions difficult, my Korean radar remained highly active. As soon as Éponine appeared on the scene, I asked myself, ‘Could it be?’ But I maintained my doubts since I rarely remembered any Asian figures on musical stages. On top of that, this was “Les Misérables,” a play that rarely involved people of color. It was already surprising to see Haley Dortch, a Black woman, playing Fantine. I felt like I would be going too far to expect an Asian, and also a Korean at this stage, but I still flipped the program pages with excitement and doubts intermingling in my mind. And when I finally found the cast list, I did not have to spend more than a second to find a Korean name—Heesun. The playbill informed me that “Christine Heesun Hwang (Éponine) is a queer, Korean-American playwright-actor from the Midwest.”
One of the core messages of “Les Misérables” is the unity and love humans share to overcome life's adversities. The epilogue (finale) makes that message very clear through Valjean, Fantine, and Eponine, where they sing together: “To love another person is to see the face of God!”
I don't think I would have been as thrilled as I was when hearing that song if it was not for Christine and Haley. The combination of their identities with their excellent performance skills and exceptional acting delivered the message of “Les Misérables” more clearly than any other show or writing could. For a long time, I felt like I was a mere audience member to the characters of “Les Misérables,” but the performers changed my mind. The story of “Les Miserables,” this story of hardship, this story of overcoming, and this story of love, is for every person, including me.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.