Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Epic! Knock-out!

Intimacy and spectacle combine to make Les Miserables at Lamb’s something very special

Les Miserables

Charlene Koepf & Jesse Abeel

I think it was my second or third week on the job. I went to a small theater in National City — Lamb’s Players — in a former church, I found out, after I got lost and arrived late. The company did a colorful, minimalist adaptation of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress. I made a note to see their next show, and get there on time.

Flash forward 34 years.

I’m watching Lamb’s Players’ Les Miserables and am knocked out! Director Robert Smyth, musical director G. Scott Lacy, and a splendid cast have made the epic — with epic demands — glow.

Sponsored
Sponsored

And all the while a part of me is thinking: remember when, and look how far this company — and San Diego theater — has grown!

And yet the original elements in Pilgrim’s Progress apply here. Lamb’s’ designers have always known their space to its inches, be it in National City or Coronado. Director Robert Smyth knows how to tell a story clearly and to create vivid effects with minimalist means. And Lamb’s adores music.

But come on, shouldn’t Les Miz bowl people over, even bully them, with sheer size? Didn’t Cameron Mackintosh and directors Trevor Nunn and John Caird stage it for sweep-you-off-your-feet grandeur? And isn’t the story so pressurized and convoluted that first-time viewers must research Enjolras or Eponine or Victor Hugo’s other mysterious French names - after the show?

Among its many excellences, Lamb’s’ intimate approach tells the story clearly. The human scale trumps the spectacle. In fact, it’s surprisingly easy to follow. Haunted Jean Valjean (an amazing Brandon Joel Maier) and the rigid Javert (Randall Dodge, equally amazing) are people first. Their voices build the legend.

Their conflict’s also clear. They pray to different gods — Valjean’s benevolent, Javert’s letter-of-the-law — which makes each true to his calling (and Javert less of a beady-eyed villain).

The intimacy also highlights the sing-on-the-ride-home numbers: Fantine’s (Kelsey Venter) “I Dreamed a Dream”; Eponine’s (Allie Trimm) “On My Own”; and Valjean’s “Bring Him Home,” almost an octave above where you thought he’d sing it so unforgettably.

Les Miz (“the downtrodden”) tells the story of a failed revolution in 1832 France. When “slumming” students demanded change, the people didn’t hear them - wait: that’s Paris in 1968! And Berkeley!

For the famous barricade, designer Mike Buckley piles shutters, tables, trunks, and upside-down chairs on top of each other. The wall doubles as a prop shop. Bring on a chair and a table, next scene, in seconds. The brisk changes mask the sophistication behind them.

Lit by Nathan Peirson’s now-blazing, now-shadowy lighting, the battle at the barricade’s all popping rifles and snapping fireworks (slight problem: until the smoke rises, they’re shooting at the band). But recognizable individuals, led by Jordan Miller’s fiery Enjolras, fight and die, not actors flopping like rag dolls 30 rows away.

Lamb’s show doesn’t skimp on spectacle. For those familiar with the musical, the approach also poses questions. The biggie: how, since there’s no bridge in sight, will Javert fall into the River Seine?

Oh, he will; never you worry.

Another marker: Lamb’s Pilgrim’s Progress had a small cast in a tiny space. Three-and-a-half decades later Les Miz has around 20 performers, brilliantly costumed by Jeanne Barnes Reith, and a 10-piece band. This is a “go big or go home” production. Everyone involved delivers.

And they’re all local.

Note: Due to popular demand, Lamb’s has extended the run to September 28. But don’t wait to see it. You might want to see it twice.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

World Naan Festival, Central Valley Reptile Expo

Events November 16-November 20, 2024
Next Article

Hill Street Donuts makes life sweet

A little bit of local love for a longtime confectionary

Les Miserables

Charlene Koepf & Jesse Abeel

I think it was my second or third week on the job. I went to a small theater in National City — Lamb’s Players — in a former church, I found out, after I got lost and arrived late. The company did a colorful, minimalist adaptation of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress. I made a note to see their next show, and get there on time.

Flash forward 34 years.

I’m watching Lamb’s Players’ Les Miserables and am knocked out! Director Robert Smyth, musical director G. Scott Lacy, and a splendid cast have made the epic — with epic demands — glow.

Sponsored
Sponsored

And all the while a part of me is thinking: remember when, and look how far this company — and San Diego theater — has grown!

And yet the original elements in Pilgrim’s Progress apply here. Lamb’s’ designers have always known their space to its inches, be it in National City or Coronado. Director Robert Smyth knows how to tell a story clearly and to create vivid effects with minimalist means. And Lamb’s adores music.

But come on, shouldn’t Les Miz bowl people over, even bully them, with sheer size? Didn’t Cameron Mackintosh and directors Trevor Nunn and John Caird stage it for sweep-you-off-your-feet grandeur? And isn’t the story so pressurized and convoluted that first-time viewers must research Enjolras or Eponine or Victor Hugo’s other mysterious French names - after the show?

Among its many excellences, Lamb’s’ intimate approach tells the story clearly. The human scale trumps the spectacle. In fact, it’s surprisingly easy to follow. Haunted Jean Valjean (an amazing Brandon Joel Maier) and the rigid Javert (Randall Dodge, equally amazing) are people first. Their voices build the legend.

Their conflict’s also clear. They pray to different gods — Valjean’s benevolent, Javert’s letter-of-the-law — which makes each true to his calling (and Javert less of a beady-eyed villain).

The intimacy also highlights the sing-on-the-ride-home numbers: Fantine’s (Kelsey Venter) “I Dreamed a Dream”; Eponine’s (Allie Trimm) “On My Own”; and Valjean’s “Bring Him Home,” almost an octave above where you thought he’d sing it so unforgettably.

Les Miz (“the downtrodden”) tells the story of a failed revolution in 1832 France. When “slumming” students demanded change, the people didn’t hear them - wait: that’s Paris in 1968! And Berkeley!

For the famous barricade, designer Mike Buckley piles shutters, tables, trunks, and upside-down chairs on top of each other. The wall doubles as a prop shop. Bring on a chair and a table, next scene, in seconds. The brisk changes mask the sophistication behind them.

Lit by Nathan Peirson’s now-blazing, now-shadowy lighting, the battle at the barricade’s all popping rifles and snapping fireworks (slight problem: until the smoke rises, they’re shooting at the band). But recognizable individuals, led by Jordan Miller’s fiery Enjolras, fight and die, not actors flopping like rag dolls 30 rows away.

Lamb’s show doesn’t skimp on spectacle. For those familiar with the musical, the approach also poses questions. The biggie: how, since there’s no bridge in sight, will Javert fall into the River Seine?

Oh, he will; never you worry.

Another marker: Lamb’s Pilgrim’s Progress had a small cast in a tiny space. Three-and-a-half decades later Les Miz has around 20 performers, brilliantly costumed by Jeanne Barnes Reith, and a 10-piece band. This is a “go big or go home” production. Everyone involved delivers.

And they’re all local.

Note: Due to popular demand, Lamb’s has extended the run to September 28. But don’t wait to see it. You might want to see it twice.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Black Lips, Guided Bird Walk of Oak Grove Loop, Valley Arts Festival

Events November 14-November 16, 2024
Next Article

Hill Street Donuts makes life sweet

A little bit of local love for a longtime confectionary
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader