Though not quite as overt a tie-in to this year’s Olympic Games in Paris as the Hollywood Bowl’s presentation of Sergio Mendes’ Brasil 2016 extravaganza in the midst of the Rio Olympics that year, the celebration of legendary French songwriting and stage musical collaborators Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg made for an equally dynamic and inspiring, multi-faceted presentation.
Though their most popular and enduring work Les Mis was an obvious choice for the evening’s centerpiece production – running most of the second half of the show - the orchestra (led by Kevin Stite), boisterous and charmingly harmonious choir and the many special guest vocalists also paid extensive homage to the duo’s second most famous musical Miss Saigon, their first show La Révolution Française and lesser known but still memorable works Martin Guerre and The Pirate Queen.
For those in the audience who were more familiar with Les Mis than Miss Saigon and the other shows – that seemed to be more attendees than not – their patience for the more popular material was duly rewarded right off the bat, with Patrick Wilson’s stunning version of “Bui Doi” followed by the rousing choir bringing the spirited fire to “The Heat Is On In Saigon.” From there, the show rolled like a constant introduction to the grand and diverse talent at hand, with each singer offering narrative anecdotes explaining a nutshell version of the part in the story their song emerged from.
While “I’d Give My Life For You” was a lovely intro to Emily Bautista (who played Kim on the show’s recent U.S. tour), even more impressive were Skylar Astin (on the soaring prayer “Why God, Why?”) and Rachel Tucker, whose Irish accent charmed throughout the night and who created a lovely and powerful initial splash duetting with Bautista on “I Still Believe”; Tucker later showcased her softer, though no less emotional side on “Maybe.”
For musical theatre obsessives who can’t get enough knowledge about the creative process, one of the most unique pieces was “The Ellen Evolution,” sung by Nikki Renee Daniels, which presented snippets of two quite lovely pieces that were works in progress on the way to the song that finally stuck for the character. A veteran of the show for many years. Jon Jon Briones added sly wit and loads of humor to “The American Dream” – characteristics he would later bring to the humorous, pointed poetry of Les Mis’ classic “Master of the House.”
After a French language tune from La Revolucion Francaise introduced us to the inviting vocals of Marie Zamora (who originated the role of Cosette in the Paris production of Les Mis), the cast rolled out three compelling numbers from the 1996 operatic Martin Guerre, sung by Astin (“I’m Martin Guerre”), Astin, Daniels and choir (“In the Land of the Fathers”) and Daniels and Wilson (“Live with Somebody You Love”).
Considering all the great song choices, breezy flow and solid pacing throughout, the one programming decision that perhaps made the least sense was inserting Les Mis’ ever-enduring showstopper hit “I Dreamed a Dream” before the final Miss Saigon song of the evening (the first half closer “This is the Hour.” Though sung beautifully and hauntingly (and partially in French) by the quartet of Bautista, Daniels, Tucker and Zamora, its placement made it only a familiar standalone delight, rather than a peak story point as it would have been amidst the narrative the cast created in the show’s second half.
Les Mis fans restless for the part of the show they came for had to be a bit more patient, as the second half of the night began with several selections from Schonberg and Boublil’s more obscure work The Pirate Queen, which premiered in Chicago in 2006. It’s a pity the show didn’t match the popularity of their previous works, if only so that major pop voices could have covered the brilliantly haunting (and way too obscure) ballad “If I Said I Loved You,” delivered with heartbreaking passion by Daniels and Wilson.
All the waiting time was forgiven the instant the orchestra perked up with the Les Mis overture, which they followed with eight songs and two medleys that many in the crowd seemed to know by heart.
While it’s likely that most also know the classic story, most of the songs were fronted with context narrative, which heightened the excitement of hearing them performed so brilliantly by these performers. After the lovely blend of “Mon Histoire”/”On My Own” (Bautiste and Zamora), the choir, orchestra and entire case rocked “At The End of the Day,” segueing perfectly into “Master of the House.”
The money songs (barring “I Dreamed a Dream,” of course) came fast and furious, with the wild, rage filled dialogue of “The Confrontation” (Wilson and Astin) followed by Wilson’s gorgeous “Stars,” Astin and Wilson rising to the heavens on the musical’s eternally sacred “Bring Him Home” and the whole cast romping through the counterpoint filled “One Day More” and the anthem like closing version of “Do You Hear the People Sing?”
