Every actor has a role he or she is dying to play: the career-defining character who would mark the pinnacle of dramatic success.
Likewise, every theater has one play it hopes to someday produce: the one that seems impossibly out of reach but worth dreaming about anyway. Ask around, and that play is almost universally Les Misérables.
PCPA recently pulled off a coup when it became one of six theaters in the country to get licensing to produce the Broadway giant. Yes, one of six. That fact alone should make the community jump up and buy tickets, like right now. The icing on the cake is that it’s Les Misérables, considered by many—from drama geek to English teacher to average citizen—to be one of the greatest stories ever told in the whole history of ever.
More than 50 million people in 38 countries have seen the musical version of historic French political unrest. The show has been translated into 21 languages since its opening in London in 1985. Its global popularity could stem from the fact it boasts universal stories of redemption, love, rebellion, and familial ties.
It can, however, be an intimidating play, because its plot covers 20 years in characters’ lives and includes details from French history. The name alone is challenging enough for some would-be theatergoers to shy away from asking for tickets. Pronounced “Lay mih zerobb”—with an almost inaudible “luh” at the end—it also goes by the shortened Les Mis.
While the Santa Maria community has been getting a short course in French pronunciation, the cast and crew at PCPA have busied themselves with preparing a world-famous and beloved stage show and paring it down into something spectacular that the Marian Theatre can still handle. To do all that—while still keeping the integrity of the play intact—Director Roger DeLaurier decided to focus less on the set and instead narrow in on the actors, the singing, and the storyline. The rehearsals alone, actors said, have been fantastic enough to bring the cast and crew to tears.
A quick history lesson
First, a summary. Les Misérables, based on the Victor Hugo novel of the same name, is set in 19th century France. The main character, Jean Valjean, is released after being imprisoned for 19 years for a legal technicality—he steals some bread. Once free, he finds nothing but mistrust and mistreatment, so he eventually breaks parole and attempts to start a new life, though he can never shake the relentless pursuit of Police Inspector Javert, who refuses to believe Valjean can change. Along the way, Valjean adopts a daughter, who falls in love with a young man caught up in the student uprising of 1832.
In the days before the production took the stage for audiences, the Sun got the chance to go behind the scenes to peek at what theatergoers can expect from the PCPA version of this popular play. The verdict? Get ready to be amazed. And don’t forget to bring plenty of tissue.
The director
Roger DeLaurier sat in his office and clutched a fat copy of Hugo’s Les Misérables in one hand. The work spans more than 1,200 pages. DeLaurier read it twice to prepare for the production. In his words, the story is simply a great one. He called it France’s version of Uncle Tom’s Cabin or Tom Sawyer.
“There are moments in this novel that rival anything I’ve read anywhere,” he said.
The book is rich in detail, took Hugo 17 years to complete, and made a huge impact on French society when it was published in 1862. It proved popular with the masses, but got poor reviews from the critical establishment.
About 120 years later, Les Misérables was released as a musical play in London. Since then, it has captured the hearts of theater lovers the world over. Like so many others in the business, DeLaurier saw it as an ultimate goal.
“I got here in 1988,” he said of his arrival at PCPA. “When I got here, we thought: Wouldn’t it be great when we get to do Les Mis?”
That wishful thinking eventually paid off for DeLaurier and crew, because, he said, it was simply luck of the draw that PCPA was one of six theaters that received rights to the show. It also helped that PCPA has the ability to produce the play, because not every theater has the necessary resources. And still, PCPA has had to adapt the show from the elaborately staged Broadway and London versions.
“I really wanted to get focused on these characters and their struggle,” DeLaurier said, though he admitted the show’s history puts a little more pressure on the theater to deliver something for audience members who love Les Mis and for those who are seeing it for the first time. The endeavor has reignited a passion in DeLaurier.
“What’s great about this is it’s challenged me in so many ways,” he said. “I’ve done about 100 plays since I’ve been here, so to find something that is a little more challenging is great. It is scary and challenging.”
The actors
The first thing you’ll notice about Erik Stein and Sam Zeller is they’re tall. Really, really tall. And broad. Their dimensions, however, are fitting for characters in a play of such proportions. The two actors—playing Javert and Valjean, respectively—sat in a couple of tiny desks in one of the conservatory classrooms and talked with the Sun about starring in the production of their lives. As they talked, they became giddy, like two oversized boys talking about the latest video game.
Both of them grew up fascinated with Les Mis. And both of them sought for years to land a part in it.
Zeller, last seen at PCPA in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, has since gained some star power. He’s appeared in the Tony-nominated Broadway show Peter Pan, and in the national tours of Peter Pan as Captain Hook and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast as Gaston. Film credits include The Dukes of Hazzard 2, Peter Pan, Never Say Macbeth, Mystery Monsters, and the upcoming feature, Chasing Tchaikovsky. His TV credits include roles on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Numb3rs, Hannah Montana, Lovespring International, and Phil of the Future.
Zeller said, in a world filled with bad news and media reports, Valjean is a character totally unlike the negativity. He’s someone with so much love for his daughter that he will do anything. Valjean made Zeller think of his own father’s love and how his father would do anything for him—all of which appealed to the actor and made him determined to play Valjean.
“I got the call when I was at the gym,” he said. “I started jumping up and down. Everybody in L.A. knows I’m an actor, so everyone asked me, ‘What part did you get?’”
That success came after several hopeful Valjean auditions with other productions throughout the years. Zeller squeezed his thumb and forefinger together to show how close he had come to getting the part in the past, but each time he was considered, the theater ultimately wanted someone who had played Jean Valjean before.
“I thought, ‘So how do I become part of this elite group who’ve played Jean Valjean?’” he said.
Stein, a founding member of the Alaska Shakespeare Festival and co-owner of Avila Beach’s California Cabaret Theatre, held a similar love for the play. He plays Inspector Javert, but he’s also appeared in PCPA productions of Urinetown, Rounding Third, Enter the Guardsman, and Sweeney Todd. His other credits include the Broadway show A Christmas Carol, the Off-Broadway Manhattan Theater Club show Captains Courageous, Johnny Johnson for the New York Theatre Company, and work at the Utah Shakespearean Festival.
When Stein was 17, Les Mis was the only cassette tape in his car. When he was 18, he drove to San Francisco by himself to see the show. While he was at PCPA as a student, he’d sing a Les Mis song every time he was asked to sing—until he was asked to sing something else, already.
To say that getting a part in this production was a triumph for both Stein and Zeller wouldn’t be an exaggeration. Stein said he looks forward to the show every night.
“When I hear the overture play in the beginning, it’s enough to get me excited,” he said. “I just sit in my seat just thrilled and waiting for the opportunity to go on.
“The peaks are extremely high, and the valleys are very low. It’s a fun roller coaster ride to be on,” he added.
The play isn’t just emotionally taxing—it’s physically challenging, too: “It’s nearly three hours of singing, and it’s big singing, anthem-type music,” Stein said.
Zeller said many of the Valjeans he’s talked to said the role is so challenging, they’ve never performed two shows in one day.
The guys emphasized that this production wouldn’t be a revival of the London or Broadway productions. They said the show will be more minimalist, focused on the actors and the storyline, rather than on spectacular scenery.
Stein compared various productions to several painters painting a bowl of fruit: “None of those paintings are going to be the same, and how boring would that be? I think we’re really lucky on the Central Coast to see a brand new painting.”
Rounding out the cast are resident artists Andrew Philpot as Thenardier, Elizabeth Stuart as Madame Thenardier, Michael Jenkinson as Marius, Vanessa Ballam as Cossette, Valerie Rachelle as Fantine, and Peter S. Hadres as the Bishop.
The technical support
While the actors are busy physically and emotionally preparing themselves, there’s plenty of work going on around them. The workers you don’t see are Callum Morris, who provides musical direction; Artistic Director Emeritus Jack Shouse, who provides scenic design; Jennifer “Z” Zornow, who deals with lighting design; Matt Carpenter, in charge of sound design; and Christine Collins, the equity production stage manager.
In the days before the show, the Marian Theatre echoed with the sound of drilling and hammering and hard-hatted men shouting instructions to each other over the noise. Freshly painted set pieces dried behind the theater. In the costume shop, a half dozen people hemmed, dyed, and altered costumes.
Fred Deeben, costume director and resident designer, said he worked with the director and discussed each of the Les Mis characters to help him develop a vision for the costumes. Those images became the basis for what his shop was pulling together. Deeben explained that, for each show, his team tries to pull a third of the costumes from storage. A third of the costumes are rented, and a third are made new. For this production, they’re able to use much of what they already had. The challenge lay in finding the time to get all of the actors in for fittings in between their already hectic schedules.
Nobody is complaining about all the extra work, however, since working on this production is a dream come true.
Deeben said he and the former costume director made a pact that they’d design Les Mis together—before it was even a possibility. Though Deeben is now costume director and will keep the pact on his own, he marvels that he finally has the opportunity.
“It’s one of those shows you always hope you someday get an opportunity to work on,” he said.
A little fall of rain can’t hurt Arts Editor Shelly Cone. Contact her at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 9-16, 2009.