SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, March 7, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) — Expectations are always high for “Les Misérables,” the longtime Broadway hit still thrilling audiences with its latest production, which plays through March 15 in Salt Lake City.
And this production delivers, with top quality acting, singing, music, sets, costumes and direction.
The musical, brought in by Broadway at the Eccles, plays at the Eccles Theater. For ticket information and availability, click here.
Actor Nick Cartell has played tragic hero Jean Valjean for more than 1,300 performances, and his interpretation is spot on. He starts the drama as a good man, a prisoner about to be released after a long term for stealing a loaf of bread for someone in need.
Within the next few scenes, Cartell’s role requires him to play Valjean as hopeful, dejected, hitting a new moral low, then finds himself blinded by unexpected kindness. With a new name and resources, Valjean becomes a business owner and leader in this community.
So that’s how many emotions and circumstances to portray in the first few scenes? Cartell does it all without missing a cue or a note.
Actor Nick Rehberger plays Valjean’s nemesis, Inspector Javert, committed to bringing Valjean to justice for breaking his parole. Rehberger captures Javert’s relentless drive and complete inability to change, no matter how many times Valjean shows empathy.
Javert’s final scene is one of the most dramatic of the musical, and is well executed by the actor and stage crew members.
Lindsay Heather Pearce is stellar as Fantine, who works under one of Valjean’s factory managers, and whose life takes a series of tragic turns. Her rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” is beautiful, poignant and heartbreaking.
Also wonderful were cast members who appeared after a time jump, including Cosette, the innocent, sheltered ward of Javert. Delaney Guyer captures Cosette’s romantic, impulsive nature as she falls for law student and French revolutionary activist Marius (actor Jake David Smith).
Eponine (Mya Rena Hunter) has several strong songs about Marius, the man she wishes would return her affection. Hunter has a strong and amazing voice.
And Matt Crowle and Victoria Huston-Elem add a lot of comedy and texture as Madame and Monsieur Thenardier, the petty thieves and conniving opportunists who enter Valjean’s life more than once.
The music and sound are everything an audience could hope for to support such strong voices. The lighting adds to the atmosphere and mood, and one fast series of spotlights cut through the space like bullets. Sets and costumes are earthy and seem authentic, but still display enough hues to make the whole space seem like a masterful historical painting.
It’s a great production, and it has been through Utah a few times, but is not among next season’s Broadway at the Eccles’ lineup. So if you want it off your bucket list this year, you have until Saturday, March 15.
And if you are interested in seeing what is scheduled for the next season, that information is now out, too. Click this link to see the lineup.
