The familiar Whiting Auditorium in Flint, Michigan, was transported to Revolutionary France for the production of Les Misérables. The proscenium stage was dressed with pillars of gray brick around the frame. Fallen bricks laid around the bases of the pillars. Since the stage was too small for the set pieces to be hidden, the tech crew dressed the wings with soft scenery drops which looked like gray brick. The two pieces of the barricade were pushed to either side of the stage. The background and wing drops had false windows which were backlit during night scenes to give the illusion of life inside. The rotating stage, a trademark of this show, was made to look like cobblestones. I was impressed by how easily the actors moved as the floor spun beneath them.
The set pieces for the different places were very simple. A few tables and chairs served well for the Thenardiers’
inn. An ivy covered gate represented the entrance to Jean Valjean’s home. Most of the hand props were implied merely by actions. All these small set pieces were offset by the beautifully elaborate piece that served as both the slum and then metamorphosized into the barricade. A mass of wooden doors, chairs, wrought-iron gates, and other miscellaneous items which were mounted on hydraulics made up the massive piece. It’s transformation was emphasized by fog machines, causing the audience stare in wonder.
The costumes were very accurate for the time period and for the social classes that were represented. The poor were dressed in rags and scraps that looked as though they were found in the sewers. Their hair was dirty and snarled. Dirt was smeared on their arms and faces. They wore holy boots or went barefoot. In contrast, the rich wore luxurious fabrics like wool and satin. Their hair was neat and clean, fra
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