By Leslie Alan Coates

Music Theatre Wichita closes its season with a robust production of the 1980s West End and Broadway musical “Les Misérables” by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg. The crowd streaming from the parking lot to our iconic Century II was a familiar summer season show-night sight, but once settled in the theater, the air of anticipation became palpable. This fully produced version of the show — a rare occasion these days given its financial demands — soared under director Brian J. Marcum and his cast and crew. “Les Mis” nearly sold out at MTW’s opening night.

“Les Misérables” is an adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel of the same name. Having been a part of a small production company adapting another Hugo novel, I can tell you his sprawling epic narrative does not compress easily. Though the music in “Les Mis” runs nearly three hours, it is a highly abridged version of the original story, which follows the life of Jean Valjean from his 19 years of imprisonment for stealing bread to his final crossing over in death to be reunited with lost loved ones. I will save you the plot synopsis. You know it already, and you aren’t going to the musical for the story. You come for the hits, and you stay for the spectacle. 

“Les Misérables,” not unlike opera, is a “sung-through” show. The songs, like opera’s arias, halt narrative time while the singer explores the emotional depth of a moment, as in “Empty Chairs and Empty Tables,” or gives a closer look at characters, as in “Master of the House.” The plot unfolds through a speak-sing style comparable to opera’s recitative. These portions of the show, while less recognized by the general audience, contribute to the gift of experiencing a full production rather than an in-concert “just the hits” gala or listening to a highlights cast recording. The show breathes through these scenes of sung dialogue. Music director Laura Berquist anchors them all together. Not once, to my observation, did singers, orchestra, and crew get out of sync — not a small feat — which serves the production in more ways than meet the eye.

The show’s songs are ubiquitous in the musical theater cannon. Famous interpretations of “I Dreamed a Dream,” “Stars,” and “On My Own” are outnumbered only by students across the nation singing them for auditions, competitions, and workshops. If you are an educator, it is a great relief to hear the songs sung by voices ready to do the work. And these singers are ready to do the work. 

The lead voices peeled the paint off the walls, and even most of the shorter sections sung by the ensemble held their ground. Marcum deftly exploited the strengths of the summer stock ensemble members, allowing them to grow into challenges within their reach.

The ensemble glues the show together, but the main attraction here is the visiting artists. The impressive voice of Wichita native Chris Mann as the principled, doomed Jean Valjean soared through grandiose lines with a vocal style falling squarely in the center of the show’s style. Andrew Marks Maughan, singing the role of the complicated, villainous Javert, offered a worthy vocal counterpart to Mann’s Valjean as the baritone antagonist. These two singers on a single stage are a gift to Wichita. 

Mary Kate Moore brings a delicate nature to her interpretation of the tragic Fantine. Predominately featured in the first part of the show, Moore depicts frailty without thinning too much of the vocal. Her surprising range is impressive, opening the low notes and letting them hover over the stage. Edin Kebedi’s vocal interpretation of Éponine is more modern; I was uncertain how I felt about it until she brought down the house with the popular “On My Own” at the top of Act 2. The number is a showstopper, and she served it well. Carly Cannon as Fantine’s daughter Cosette brought a female balance to the power singing of Mann and Maughan with a formidable range and crystal-clear soprano.

My personal favorites, who bring welcome comedic relief to the show’s serious, melodramatic tone, are Maggie Spicer Brown and Steve Hitchcock as Madame Thenardier and Thenardier, respectively. Their work in “Master of the House” is precise, specific, and a delightful treat. Later, when they return to spoil the wedding of Marius and Cosette, they thrill again with their clever performance of “Beggars at the Feast.”

The design team for this final season production is almost exclusively Wichita based, and it gives us reason to be proud.  Century II’s limited space is used to its fullest potential by scenic designer Jordan Slusher, who encloses it with beautiful painted flats extending through the upper frame of the proscenium arch, including two periactoids rotating three ways for multiple looks. Clara Rimes and Claudia Emig are notable as head scenic artists who painted a stunning reality into existence. Slusher used several moving pieces to offer specificity to multiple locations and then later smartly designed transparent scrims, flown-in scenery, and flight rigging on actors to create wonderful visuals to keep the story moving.

Costumes, designed by Debbie Roberts and coordinated by Abby Stroot, never betrayed time and place. Notably, they pushed the colors in Thénardier’s Inn into a brighter color palette to help support the comedy of the scene, then brought them back to more subdued tones as dictated by the plot. This subtle shift happened again at the wedding, but with textures shifting toward soft and elegant.  It is costume artistry at its finest.

Lighting designer Benjamin Juhnke, another Wichita local, continued the visual mood bath, holding the pop-opera style together visually with purples, greens, and — just at the right moments — brilliant whites. Mechanical spotlights, or movers, acutely focused into pin-light specials creating isolating effects setting each character on their own journey. Just enough haze in the air through the first two thirds of the production provided texture in the lighting and peaked at the barricade when gun smoke and fire filled the stage. The only moment to raise an eyebrow of suspicion was the twinkle light background during the musical number “Stars,” crudely executed and a bit too on the nose. 

Other than one or two late cues, a few missed microphones cues, and some quick transitions I expect will be smoothed out by the run’s second night, I only had one grievance with the production. The use of miming when a few simple props would have given the actors something to anchor their action seemed an oversight. Miming is tricky business, even for trained actors, and should be avoided unless it is a built-in conceit of the show. This is not devastating to the production, but a well-placed rag, piece of bread, water in a glass, or ram-rod for a musket would have helped unify the movement and kept from pulling viewers out of the musical’s world.

“Les Misérables” at Music Theatre Wichita is the perfect curtain call to a season of big musicals. Marcum and the masterful artistic staff are serving Wichita with their very best, and I am grateful to have them in the heart of our city. Tickets are selling fast, so make your reservation and help our city stand tall as we close one more season of musicals.

Leslie Coates is a theater faculty member at Butler Community College and has acting and directing credits from San Diego to New England. He is a former board member for Forum Theatre Company where he also appeared in "Christmas Letters," "Pump Boys and Dinettes," and various Words and Music performances.

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