I’ve been speaking in superlatives about the Racine Theater Guild’s production of Les Miserables almost from the get-go, and have gone as far as to say that this is the greatest thing I’ve ever been part of – and the greatest thing that’s ever been seen on a stage in Racine. It might seem reckless of me to be talking with such extravagance, especially doing so to a Racine Journal Times reporter, knowing full well that my comments might be reprinted and read by who-knows-how-many-people (as indeed they were.) The truth is that I simply cannot talk about this show in polite, cautious terms- not if I want to express what this show means to me and what I really believe it to be. And it reason starts with ….
FEAR
It’s fair to say that nothing has ever scared me more at the outset than the thought of the RTG attempting Les Miserables. It’s a gigantic show in every respect- sheer length, amount of music, size of cast, scenic shifts, etc. And it is, for all intents and purposes, an opera rather than a musical because it’s entirely sung. And much of its music is operatic/semi-classical in nature and both sophisticated and challenging. I was frightened when this was announced as the closing show of this season, and after I saw it in Greendale last summer and at the Skylight last fall, I went from ‘frightened’ to ‘terrified.’ The only way we were going to be able to do justice to this monumental show is if we had an unprecedented flood of talented folks come out to audition – and then, we had to hope that all of the gifted folks whom we couldn’t cast in lead roles would still be in the show as part of the all-important ensemble. And if we were fortunate enough to assemble the kind of cast we wanted, there was also the matter of creating a production which would be worthy of them and of this great work . . . and not kill ourselves or make ourselves miserable in doing so.
The fact that this adventure began where it did – with me in a corner, cowering with fear – and has culminated with this incredible triumph for everyone concerned, is why I cannot restrain my enthusiasm about this production or what it has meant to me. And I am especially grateful that the road from there to here has been so incredibly pleasant. Doug and I, as always, have been a great team; we respect and understand each other and know how to work together, but I don’t think we have ever worked together more closely or effortlessly than on this enormous project. This cast has been a dream to work with – not just because of their astounding level of talent and skill, but because they have been so good to me and to each other. And the amazing work of the technical staff and volunteers has created a visual production that is absolutely stunning, and a great deal of it was finished ahead of schedule, which in turn made that final week of rehearsals SO much easier than the norm. (Just the fact that Doug felt comfortable with canceling our last rehearsal, the day before preview – which he has never ever done before – gives you some idea of how uncommonly ready we were, musically and otherwise, to deliver this show to our audiences.) And our crowds have been on their feet, cheering, without fail, at every performance. And the fact that at the end of three hours we don’t have all kinds of people streaming for the exits to beat the rush – but instead are staying right where they are, joining in the ovation until the very last moment – is one of the sweetest compliments we could possibly be given.
And here’s what amounts to the crowning glory of this triumph: it’s US. We didn’t cast this show by importing some first-rate ringers from MIlwaukee or the northern suburbs of Chicago, although that would have been one way to go. This amazing cast comes from right here- Kenosha, Racine, Salem, Union Grove, Franklin. (The majority of the cast are veterans of past RTG shows.) It is your own friends and neighbors and colleagues and family members up on that stage, and that makes all the difference in the world. I’ve seen two national touring productions of Les Miserables – stunning in every way – but neither moved me the way that our own production moves me. And it’s obviously not because ours is better (although there’s a couple of things about our production that I would objectively match with any production anywhere) but rather because ours is US. It is otherwise ordinary men and women, who have jobs and school and children and elderly parents and mortgages ….. making time in busy and complicated lives to do this amazing thing, sometimes while weathering terrible setbacks like a job loss or while recovering from personal tragedy. And it’s people I know and like and admire – and yes, have come to love. And no matter what show we’re talking about at the RTG, I am always mindful of the fact that it is ordinary people (albeit with out-of-the-ordinary talent in many cases) from the community who are making the magic of Live Theater happen. And when those ordinary people are able to achieve extraordinary excellence, I can’t help but shout the news from the rooftops.
Thinking about this has helped me process one of the only bits of unpleasantness from the first weekend – when I caught wind of a couple of young people in attendance who were less than enamored with our production, preferring the one in which they had either appeared or had seen. Their disdain both wounded and angered me, to be perfectly frank- as did the adult involved in that same production who brushed past me after the performance with a smile but not one single word of praise or appreciation for what he or she had just experienced on our stage. I’m almost embarrassed to admit how much I allowed their reaction to affect me, especially because they were a tiny minority in face of three tumultuous standing ovations and the heartfelt compliments of dozens and dozens of people, including plenty of people who know excellence when they see and hear it. But only now, days later, am I coming to realize that they surely loved the production that they were part of in the same way that I love this one so much- and I can’t begrudge them that. Part of Live Theater’s unique magic happens when we know those guys in chains thundering “Look down!” or know the young woman breaking our hearts as Eponine as she dies in Marius’s arms or know the guy spinning the last delicate phrase of “Bring him home” with breathtaking perfection. Excellence is always exciting to experience, but especially when we experience it in someone we know.
Someone recently posted something on Facebook which praised this production, but also cautioned against getting caught up in the whole game of ranking any particular production as the best ever. I know where that person is coming from. Every theatrical production is its own unique adventure, with its own particular array of joys and frustrations – and the most satisfying successes are often those achieved against all odds, where we feel like we’ve skirted the cliff of catastrophe on our way to putting on a pretty darned good show. When I look back over the last 12 years of musicals at the RTG, my most vivid memories are of those shows where, one way or another, I sweated blood …. maybe rewriting someone’s music so they could sing it more comfortably, or coaxing confident singing out of someone in way over their head, or figuring out what to alter or eliminate in a needlessly complicated score so we could deliver a performance we could feel good about. I cherish those memories, even when the final result might not win any awards from a purely objective point of view. It’s also true that sometimes a sparkling success on the stage is achieved at a high cost, with a fair amount of unhappiness or frustration amongst some of the cast, or between cast and crew, or between cast and director. I remember those shows fondly as well, at least in the sense of appreciating the miracle of something good coming out of something difficulty or even painful. Every show is its own adventure, never to be precisely duplicated, and each one needs to be cherished.
But once in awhile, it is as though the planets align and everything feels charmed or blessed from the start. That is Les Miserables – and probably it’s true in part that this is one of those shows which most people hold in especially high regard …. one for which people are willing and ready and grateful to work on with exceptional devotion. That has been the story with this production, both on and off the stage, and if you come to one of our performances, you can see and hear the results for yourself. And whatever you end up thinking about it is -of course- entirely up to you. But I for one will not temper my enthusiasm about it. I think of it this way: if for my birthday, Kathy surprised me by preparing something truly spectacular from Julia Child’s first cookbook, decorated the dining room, and arranged for the Carthage Choir to surprise me halfway through the meal with a birthday serenade from in the backyard, I would be remiss if all I said was “this was lovely; thank you for another lovely meal” the same way I thanked her the previous week for making my favorite meatloaf. There are things that warrant special celebration. And in my book, the RTG’s production of Les Miserables warrants more than a polite “congrats on another great show.” And it’s not that I covet more extravagant praise for me. Not at all. For as hard as I’ve worked on this show and for all the time I’ve devoted to it, I honestly feel like the role I’ve played in its success has been relatively minor. It is these 40 amazing cast members plus everyone else involved in this production who have made this show the greatest thing I’ve ever been part of – and, in my opinion, the greatest thing ever seen on a stage in Racine. I do not say that lightly or carelessly. I say it with all my heart.
pictured above: I could have chosen any number of photos showing our production in its full glory – but I know that someday when I look back on the RTG’s Les Miserables, I will think of all of the excitement of the rehearsals more than the performances – the process more than the final product. Because it was in the process that my fear was transformed into grateful joy and excited anticipation.