Roving Pittsburgher Report:
Les Misérables Transports Audiences from a Dark Time in History to Enlightened Theatre
by Good News Reporter, Joanne Quinn-Smith
When
I arrived at the theatre on opening night I had not read Les Misérables in
forty years and scarcely remembered the plot but that did not stop me from
getting swept away in the songs, the music, the acting and the multi-media
scenery. The scenery alone will become
legendary. Cameron Mackintosh presents a
brand new 25th anniversary production of Boublil & Schönberg’s legendary
musical, LES MISÉRABLES, with glorious new staging and dazzlingly reimagined
scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo.
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| One Day More (Photo by Deen Van Meer) |
Set in the early 1800’s Les Miserables is a sweeping masterpiece that has been a record-breaking success worldwide since its London opening in 1985. Les Miserables has been translated into 21 different languages and been performed in front of more than 60 million people in 43 countries ... Here in Pittsburgh opening night was sold out. At dinner before the theatre and on the way out the recurrent theme was how many times patrons had seen Les Miserables. At dinner before the theatre I heard two people who were unrelated, one alone and one with her date talk about seeing the musical, 19 and 11 times respectively.
For those of you who are not familiar with the story it is set in 19thcentury
France, during a time when the effects of the French Revolution are being felt
on society. Social instability and poverty created the environment that shaped
the lives of the characters. Jean Valjean is released from prison and breaks
parole to start a new life. He embarks on a lifelong mission to avoid
recapture and redeem himself. This is a
story of higher values, of love and self sacrifice and of character like
Eponine(Brian Carolson-Goodman) rising above her upbringing to become heroic
and to serve love.
The video screen background transported us to another world. The
audience was drawn through a sewer tunnel and battle scenes. This performance was truly a triumph of multimedia
so realistic that the audience could hardly contain their amazement. The
costuming was horribly realistic in places and absolutely elegant in others.
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| Master of the House (Photo by Deen Van Meer) |
One Day More done by the Chorale! Well the Mendelssohn and Morman Tabernacle
choir can barely compete. Any ensembles
done on stage were epic. The scenery was
majestic and the story line compelling.
There is still time with eight performances left to see Les Miserables or to SEE IT
AGAIN.
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| Fall of Rain/Death of Eponine (Photo by Deen Van Meer) |
- Tuesday, January 22, 7:30pm
- Wednesday, January 23, 7:30pm
- Thursday, January 24, 7:30pm
- Friday, January 25, 8pm
- Saturday, January 26, 2pm & 8pm
- Sunday, January 27, 1pm & 6:30pm
Ticket information
at: http://trustarts.culturaldistrict.org/production/32852/les-miserables
Radio Host and Serial Blogger, Joanne Quinn-Smith is the host of
PositivelyPittsburghLive™ Internet Talkcast and TechnoGrannyShow™ On
her shows, Joanne has interviewed over 1800 guests. As an advocate for
small Business, she was awarded the National Small Business
Administration Journalist of the Year Award. She is also the publisher
of PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com which is a 2010 National Stevie
Award finalist for best Media Website or Blog. PPL Mag features the GOOD
NEWS, about Pittsburgh and is Pittsburgh’s First internet radio and
TV network. PPL Mag attracted 2.25 million visitors last year. Her
radio network has accumulated over one million listeners. The Creative
Energy Officer of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates, Joanne also teaches
her online media platform building to small businesses in a client
personalized, “Web2.0 Gorilla Branding Training™”. Connect with Joanne
at: http://joannequinnsmith.com
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