'Les Miz' goes lite for Marriott space

'Les Mierables' getting smaller for Marriott space

From the moment "Les Miserables "was announced as part of the Marriott Theater season, theater aficionados have been wondering how it will play in the more intimate space.

After all, the original production, which ran on Broadway from 1987 to 2003, was known for its gigantic sets, spectacular special effects, and awe-inspiring stage pictures.

The Marriott has no room, for example, for a gigantic turntable, or for an incredible tall barricade to swing into place.

The Marriott Theatre also has an in-the-round stage, meaning the audience surrounds the performing area on all four sides. The original "Les Miserables" was staged for a traditional proscenium-style stage.

More Coverage Video 'Les Miserables'

Whatever the challenge the show's director, longtime Marriott stalwart Dominic Missimi, is not worried.

"I have staged a lot of shows at the Marriott," he said. "I directed the first musical at the Marriott, 'I Do, I Do,' in the middle '70s. And I have directed almost every season here. I just have to close my eyes and I can see the stage and those four aisles leading up to it."

"Besides," says, "I think the show works in the round. The show has a strong story. And when I read the material I had this sense that one can tell the story very simply on a fairly blank stage. If you are willing to suspend your disbelief."

Anyone who saw Marriott's wonderful, simplified version of "Miss Saigon" several seasons ago will know that some big bombastic Broadway shows actually improve when they are simplified.

That is what John Cudia is hoping. He plays the lead, Jean Valjean, the thief who redeems himself over the course of the epic show. Cudia covered for Valjean on Broadway in 2002 and got to perform the role "30 or 40 times."

He knows how the role plays in a Broadway house. Now he wonders how it will play at Marriott.

"I am hoping that the show is more intimate," he says. "There is so much in the show, and it asks so many moral questions. I think in this space the performers bring those questions right up to the audience."

But because Cudia has played the role in a large theater he is not sure yet how it will work in a smaller house.

"Most of what I have been working on in rehearsals," he says, "is translating my work into that space."

Cudia is accustomed to a space where everyone at one time can see his face. That's not true of the Marriott space where an actor's back is always facing someone.

"I have been trying to discover ways of including everyone," Cudia says, "when I communicate what is in the character's mind."

Interestingly Kathy Voytko, who plays the waif Fantine, is not having the same problems as Cudia.

"Some of the show is heavenly in the round," she says. "It feels more naturalistic. Because you don't have to face the front all the time. And," she continues, "You aren't distracted by an enormous set."

Voytko, it should be noted, has never appeared in "Les Miserables." She has no preconcept of how the show should work on a large stage.

"I feel it is one of the best written shows," she says. "I think it's a masterpiece. It can hold up to many versions. What is the point of just reproducing the Broadway version?"