Sooner Theatre’s “Les Misérables,” a musical displaying strong themes of hope and justice brought to life by a nearly 50-person cast, opens Friday evening.
The French musical turned global phenomenon is based on a novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. The storyline follows Jean Valjean, a former prisoner seeking redemption while being pursued by ruthless police inspector Javert. Along the way, Valjean takes in Cosette, the daughter of a struggling factory worker — played by “America’s Got Talent” winner Darci Lynne — and raises her as his own. With growing political unrest sweeping across France, Valjean and Cosette become involved in the fight for freedom and a better future.
The musical was adapted into a 2012 film featuring Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway, winning three Academy Awards.
For Jackson Ewing, who plays Valjean, this production is a full-circle moment. Ewing played Monsieur Thénardier, a villainous innkeeper, 17 years ago during a high school summer camp production of the musical at Sooner Theatre.
“(Sooner Theatre) asked me to be Valjean this time around, and as a theater nerd, it's certainly been the top of my dream role list for a while, so I was ecstatic,” Ewing said. “When they called and asked me, I checked with my wife because we're expecting our first child. I was like, ‘Hey, can I still do this thing? Like, can I do this?’ And she was like, ‘Yeah, go for it.’ So that's kind of how I ended up where I am right now.”
However, the show means more to Ewing than living out a dream.
“My dad passed away this past May, and so while it’s this great moment for me, it was the first show outside of (my) high school that my parents came to see, and it'll be the first show that I'll do since my dad has passed,” Ewing said. “So it means a lot to me that I get to do this show, but I wish he were here to get to see it.”
The cast also includes Brandon Adams, Sooner Theatre’s artistic director and Valjean’s antagonist, Javert.
Adams said Sooner Theatre had been waiting for an opportunity to stage the musical, which was unavailable for new stagings for 10 years until Music Theatre International re-released it in July.
“When it became available for theaters like us to do, people just came out of the woodwork,” Adams said. “I think we had like 100-plus people audition for this production. So it is an epic story, it's an epic production, and it requires a lot from the creative team, the cast and the theatre. When we got together for that first rehearsal, there was kind of just an understanding that this is a major undertaking. It's going to be a lot of work, but the payoff is absolutely going to be worth it.”
Because so many people auditioned, Adams said the team was forced to make difficult decisions on who to cast. The iconic roles and difficult vocal requirements meant the bar was set at a higher level.
According to Adams, rehearsals were six days a week for six weeks, starting with the music before moving on to more technical aspects of the show.
“It’s an operetta basically, where it is 98% sung. There's very few spoken lines, so it's a massive undertaking from the music standpoint of teaching all this material,” Adams said. “We dive into music first, and we want to just become real familiar with not just the text, but obviously the music and the harmonies and all of the vocal parts.”
Ewing agreed the lack of dialogue presented a challenge, but wasn’t the only obstacle the team faced.
“There are some real varying emotions in this show that you've got to convey only through song, even in those conversations of rage and grief and joy and redemption and death,” Ewing said. “Trying to honestly capture those emotions and convey them in a meaningful way to an audience, so that they leave with a better understanding of those things and of themselves, hopefully is, I think, the big challenge.”
Adams said the production’s ensemble is one of its defining features, especially when it comes to themes of hope and justice.
“When you hear 45 people singing about hope and fighting for what matters, and that every person matters, and these beautiful lines, ‘the darkest night will end and the sun will rise,’ that's a message that we can always take to heart,” Adams said. “It is so powerful to hear these insane voices, the beautiful music and just that messaging coming through.”
Ewing said the has provided him the opportunity to work with some of the people who were involved in the show with him 17 years ago, as well as performers who are working on “Les Misérables” for the first time.
“Everybody (is) working together to tell this magnificent story with this beautiful music, and we're all just kind of in awe that we get to do this together, that we get to tell this story together and put on this show,” Ewing said.
“Les Misérables” will perform 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. It will play again at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30-31 and 2 p.m. Oct. 31-Nov. 1 at Sooner Theatre. Remaining tickets are available for select shows online and at the ticket booth with discounts for seniors, veterans, kids and students.
This story was edited by Madisson Cameron. Lauren Brogdon and Larkin Bock copy edited this story.
