By Karen Parr-Moody
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Roxy Regional Theatre executive director Tom Thayer, along with artistic director John McDonald, has longed to bring “Les Misérables” to Clarksville since the original hit Broadway in 1987. It shows. No matter how small the Roxy stage, this musical, which is currently running through May 8, sweeps in with a grandeur that can barely be contained.
Perhaps due to its small physical size, people often get the wrong idea about the Roxy Regional Theatre’s description: It is a professional theatre. In other words, it is not a community theatre powered by – as talented as they may be – locals who moonlight as actors, but rather by professional actors.
Casting gifted professionals is key to pulling off such a daunting production as “Les Misérables.” Thayer flew to New York City to find most of this amazing cast, but found the actor at the center of this musical, Will Sevier, closer to home. The Nashvillian plays the unfortunate Jean Valjean, whose life is cursed for decades after he steals a loaf of bread under the repressive regime of 19th-century France.
Sevier’s voice, integral to the musical’s success, ranges from a delicate flutter to a full-throated roar. As he comes up against the dogged police inspector Javert, played by Donald Groves, this is key, for Groves also possesses some powerful pipes.
Based on the novel by Victor Hugo, this epic musical adaptation includes an array of characters and vocal styles. Even the short-lived role of Fantine, played with exquisite fragility by Roxy veteran Ashley Harris, carries great weight with the much-remembered song, “I Dreamed a Dream.”
As for Cossette, played by the fair-haired beauty Lisa Carter, her high soprano notes hit the ceiling like those of songbirds piercing clouds.
“Les Misérables” runs at 7 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays through May 8 and at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through May 10, with the exception of April 26. There is a 2 p.m. matinee on April 19.
Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for those 13 and younger. They may be purchased at the Roxy box office at 100 Franklin Street or ordered online at www.roxyregionaltheatre.org. For more information call (931) 645-7699.
Marius, played by Collin O’Connor, falls in love with the dainty and beautiful Cossette, played by Lisa Carter. (Karen Parr-Moody)
See more photos (courtesy of Alan Goldstein) from the show here.
Karen Parr-Moody began a career as a New York journalist, working as a fashion reporter for Women’s Wear Daily, a beauty editor for Young Miss and a beauty and fashion writer for both In Style and People magazines. Regionally, she has been a writer at The Leaf-Chronicle newspaper and currently writes about arts and culture for Nashville Arts magazine each month.