Broiling with frustration and anger, he is given another chance, and through the selfless generosity of a priest, he begins to build his life anew. The story follows his trials as he seeks to regain his life, only to wear his history as a convict like a scarlet letter. His crime was stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister’s starving family. We meet the character as prisoner #24601, as he is paroled from prison labor after 19 years. There are over 5,000 unique articles of clothing used during the performance!īased on Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel, “Les Misérables” follows the life of Jean Valjean. Every aspect of the production, from the lighting - sometimes dim, sometimes shining from behind the actors to silhouette them - to the costumes, every aspect pulls you in and enriches every part of the show. From the opening moments until the curtain call, the audience is completely engrossed in the story. This is a musical performance on the absolute highest level and of the highest caliber. To say I was blown away is an understatement. Consequently, this review was one I was extremely excited for, because this would be my first time seeing the production live on stage. I absolutely fell in love with the story and production. That’s when I took a leap (once it was on DVD) to give it a watch.
#The priests aronoff center movie
but never “Le Miz.” In 2012, the movie premiered and generated a bit of buzz due to the casting. My mother was an avid fan of anything Andrew Lloyd Weber-related, so I had seen countless performances of “Phantom of the Opera,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” etc. I knew it was based on the book by Victor Hugo, which I had never read. Growing up an ’80s/’90s kid, I did not have much experience with “Les Misérables.” I remember seeing the logo, a haunting image of a child in front of a tattered French flag. The audience is drawn into the fiber of the characters’ struggles, passions and journeys toward redemption.
At its basest level, this is a story of hope amidst darkness and desperation. I had the good fortune to see the show this week at the Aronoff Center as part of Broadway in Cincinnati’s 2020 season. Over the years since it premiered, the show has been experienced by over 70 million people, translated into multiple languages, and even spawned a motion picture in 2012.
Premiering on Broadway in 1987, “Les Misérables” has become one of the longest running and most successful musicals of all time.