For all the times that I’ve seen and have become absorbed in the mythic narrative and provocative themes  of “Les Misérables,” I’ve always felt that the symbolic barricade –where lives of actors intersect and intervene – was a key character and force that helped define the Victor Hugo story.

In Diamond Head Theatre’s mostly brilliant staging of “Les Miz,” the world’s most popular love story unfolds  — with words and music by Alain Boublil and  Claude Michel Schonberg — and retains the power and potency of a wartime  epic that combines the compelling story of political idealism, redemption, sacrifice, social injustice, romance and death.

The centrifugal force is that blessed barricade, a hallmark of all “Les Miz” productions, because a lot happens on, in, and around the life-changing epicenter of the battles.

But DHT’s barricade is somewhat underwhelming in this production; set designer Willie Sabel’s creation comprises sectors of stairs and portals seen throughout the set movements, with a few add-on household “debris,” but the structure lacks evidence of throw-away junk and scars of a battle. Shouldn’t  the barricade reflect pockmarks from wayward war bullets, broken or burnt pieces of lumber, and other elements of a structure that has earned its battle stripes?

The barricade is where  Gavroche (Maliona Na’aauoa, a she, did the role at the performance I attended, but she alternates with Philex Kepa), risks limbs and life, climbing down the enemy side of the barricade, to gather unfired ammo to toss to the soldiers – and where Gavroche is shot.

Further, Eponine (Ainsley Shearer) takes a bullet at the barricade too, the first victim of the battle.

Of course, Valjean delivers his show-stopping “Bring Him Home” in  the shadows of the barricade when the students rest amid the comfort of the barricade, and that moment is a key demonstration of the magnetism running through the corridors.

The unexpected fall of the revolutionary soldier Enjolras (Mike Broud) and the sacrificial demise of Eponine  (Ainsley Shearer) suggest that the barricade also is an unintended showcase of political martyrdom.

Director-choreographer Doug Kreeger has gathered a splendid circle of actors including the likes of Fedorov, making his DHT debut in the pinnacle role that requires strength and passion, and the sweet voice demonstrated in “Bring Him Home” is the “pièce de resistance’’ in the soundtrack.

Ver, the second lead character who, as, Javert also projects a remarkably compelling voice; he shares a gentle side, too, demonstrated by his luminous strength in that  vocally glowing “Stars.”

Kreeger, as director and choreographer, is a honcho not only for vocal/acting but dance/movement. He also embraces the politics of the era with the prevailing climate of today, where conflict and compassion may exist in a nook or a huddle.

The key “dance” element of “Les Miz” is the contagious “Do You Hear the People Sing” midway in the show, when all props and scenery are removed for the  unifying dance of humanity. Emotionally, you just don’t hear the people sing, but feel ‘em, too.

Along the way, “Les Miz” is a jewel showcase of precious musical gems. As Fantine, Mehana Stone’s “I Dreamed a Dream” is fueled by a mood of painful desperation and expiration.

In a show that boasts so many signature tunes, add “On My Own,” Eponine’s moment of glory to the list, and she virtually is on her own in her sweet stage solo.

As the adult Cosette, Lainey Hicks is blessed with a pair of evocative  and delicate love tunes, “In My Life” and  “A Heart Full of Love.”

Little Cosette (Mazzy Meers, in the show I saw, alternating with Madison Abe-Rivera), performs “Castle on a Cloud” with aplomb.

Then there are the Thenardiers; Lelea‘e “Buffy” Kahalepuna–Wong as Madame is an astounding burst of hilarity and energy, and when coupled with Presley A. Wheeler as Thenardier, he completes a two-member circus of wild and whimsical non-stop laughs and lunacy. Don’t know if you caught it, but he tossed in a naughty spiel in the show I saw, but there’s nothing offensive about the bond and nonsense the Thenardiers share and deliver. They sing, they prance, they steal the show.  

The technical crew delivers the goods, and happily, DHT’s turntable stage gets steady usage throughout the show. It’s an effective decision, too, to stationing the 14 piece orchestra  conducted by Jenny Shiroma, on stage; its tiny lights often add a sense of starry night twinkles in nocturnal moments.

Kudos, too, to  Chris Gouveia (lighting design), Jericho Sombrio (sound design), Emily Lane (costume design), Aiko Shick (hair and makeup design), Kyle Conner (props  design), and Jasmine Haley Anderson (fight choreography and intimacy coordinator).

One final niggling point: The red flag utilized in the student/soldier marches and rallies is bit tiny, lacking impact. Methinks the flag should be double or triple its size, to elevate the esprit of the rallies…

And that’s Show Biz…

“Les Misérables”

What: a musical by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg, based on the wartime novel by Victor Hugo

Where: Diamond Head Theatre

When: Remaining performances on these dates: Aug. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14 15, 16. 20,, 21, 22 and 23.

Tickets: The run is sold out, but for possible cancellations and availability, go to www.diamondheadtheatre.com  or call (808) 733-0274

Let’s talk pain, and how best to treat it.

On my 11-hour return from New York earlier this month, I didn’t quite find the proper leg position in my first class seat. So several days after getting home, I had an excruciating bout with my problematic right leg afflicted with sciatica.

The lack of sleep, triggered by a family in coach right behind me, added to the horror. Two howling, screeching, screaming and noisy  daughters, around 3 to 4 and perhaps 5 to 6, were highly temperamental  and  agitated,  with parents unable to quell the noise to show respect to the rest of the flight. I asked a flight attendant if there was a possible solution, and she rolled her eyes. Interfering to the chaos could put the airliner in jeopardy.

 So yes, I tried to find refuge after the flight, but wound up visiting Queen’s ER department, desperate for some kind of relief to halt or at least diminish the worst leg and feet pain I had, even more sore than my chronic lower back pain.

New pain, new treatment, new experience.

I discovered I had severe vascular calcification in my right leg – with soreness that my usual go-to pain relief pills, Tylenol extra-strength, didn’t have the power of healing.

I could not stand on my right leg – I regularly rely on a walker for strength and support – I named the device Mr. Walker, some years ago – but this time, Mr. Walker could not do its trick. When I placed my foot down for the doctor monitoring my discomfort, it was so painful, like stepping on cracked glass.

The only way I could stand up on the painful leg was when the doctor prescribed a lesser-strength (2.5 mg) dose of oxycodone. Within a quick moment, I was able stand up straight, without experiencing the earlier pain.

It’s a pain killer that rarely is prescribed, for obvious reasons. The reality, however, is that it works. I have not taken the remaining minimal prescription Queen’s ordered for me at Longs.

I since have ordered a mail-order magnesium gel that supposedly targets sciatic pain, but it’s hit and miss. I also utilize another rub-on treatment, with on-and-off satisfaction.

Meanwhile, I’ve had blood tests to address the severe vascular calcification, which was not in my vocabulary before, and I have regular physical therapy sessions at Ortho Sport to strengthen the sciatic leg. The PT  has been beneficial, perhaps more emotionally that actually, but I don’t expect a quick-fix of the sore leg.

I realize any kind of ailment and treatment have mixed results, just as surgery can be a plus or a minus.

I’m still looking for that magic – and legal – pain killer that would ease the hurt and reduce the aches, perhaps a day at a time. I have a friend in Mr. Walker – who, by the way, has flown first class three times since he entered my life – and no matter what, I treasure his support and confidence.

I’m also at the crossroads to possibly resume acupuncture treatment. Something’s got to work.

NEW YORK — Broadway’s end-of-the-season fare – the fall arrivals are a month away– offered rocking vampires in “Lost Boys,” and cats who sang and danced and competed in a fashion runway, in “Cats: the Jellicle Ball.” ‘Twas a fun trip!

 The best  parody-heavy musical entitled “Schmigadoon,” celebrating all that’s great about the musical theater tradition, was clever, hilarious and inventive, worthy of the 2026 Best Musical laurel.  A Hawaii native was among the superb cast, a bonus if you take in the hit show.

A Celine Dion spoof  —  “Titanique’ – brought out  the laughs, too, with  the big musical turn in “My Heart Will Go On.”

“Harry Potter” is holding up, thanks to the  wizardry of quick scene changes in darkness. But it’s not quite the hybrid of several seasons ago.

“Oh! Mary” introduced Maya Rudolph as Lincoln’s First Lady, and she sizzled – oodles of  musical pokes to Honest Abe.

 “Moulin Rouge,” the prevailing juke box musical champ, offers so many familiar tunes you’ve been singing for decades – numbers close to your heart.

Not so likeable: “Stranger Things, the First Shadow,” a sci-fi play with concerning identity issues. It’s not a musical, but it’s loaded with songs, it has two choreographers, in charge of movement, but apparently not dances.

Here are capsule reviews of the eight shows I saw:

“Lost Boys,” at the Palace Theatre. A musical spectacle with vampires and more, and notable for new angles in staging a show. Ongoing.

Winner of four Tonys in 2026:

• Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical: Ali Louis Bourzgui, as vampire leader David.
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical: Shoshan Bean, as mother Lucy.
• Best Scenic Design of a Musical: Dane Laffrey.
• Best Lighting Design of a Musical: Jen Schriever and Michael Arden.

The show is based on a 1987 film about a family unknowingly moving to a California inhabited by vampires. Thus, Santa Clara gains fame and notoriety. More than fang bites, the show’s eye-filling set with improbable angles steals the attention.

A rock band/score appeals to the young, but for a musical of this dimension, there’s no lingering song to hum as you exit.

“Oh! Mary,” at the Lyceum Theatre. Secrets and music a-plenty, with Mary Todd Lincoln. Closes Jan. 3 2026 but Maya Rudolph’s run is over.

Honestly Abe: This Mary sings! Considering her popularity on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” Maya Rudolph’s Broadway debut as Mary Todd Lincoln in the closing weeks of Cole Escola’s outrageous tour-de-force camp comedy, there was star power when Rudolph brought her signature to this project, and wound up owning it, sort of. She was the eighth actor to portray the illustrious First Lady  to Abraham Lincoln’s presidency, beginning with a somewhat timid mood, but unloaded the rockets and power of her artistry in a carnival of charades and the performance evolves into one of Rudolph’s signatures, even if she didn’t invent the show. Costumes are masterful, and the frantic physical comedy speeds through red light with everything from Shakespearean accents to suave vocalizing. I laughed like crazy.

“Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” at the Broadhurst Theatre. The cat’s out of the bag, competing in drag-show, fashion-plate pace, and emphatically proves a cat has more than nine livelihoods, for which we thank Andrew Lloyd Webber, who recycles with whimsy. Closes Aug. 8.

Winner of three 2026 Tonys:  Best Direction of a Musical (Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rouch), Choreography (Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons) and Costume design (Qween Jean; first openly transgender woman to win a competitive Tony Award).

“Cats” remains virtually with no plot or at least a lean plot, but “Jellicle” transposes the cat energy into the world of Harmen’s Black and Latin Queer Ballroom Culture, where Old Deuteronomy (Andre DeShields, known for “Hadestown”) rules, with a bunch of felines (Magical Mister Mistoffelees, Gus the Theater Cat, Skimbleshanks, the Railway Cat, Grizabella, Macavity the Mystery Cat, etc.) still hang out, with digs and jigs notably in Act 2, when the cats, thin, short, or huge are reborn to compete in drag shows and soar with new vibrance in the whirl of voguing and undressing, with male cats – surprise!—show more skin than lady cats.

It’s a beaut of an idea, to have the litter prance, dance, and compete for ballroom glamor and fame. All the dancing, the costuming, the vocalizing and the prancing yield one big heck of a “Memory” finale. So what’s a Jellicle Ball? Ask a cat.

“Schmigadoon,” at the Nederlander Theatre.” A parody of “Brigadoon” with homages to “Oklahoma” and more. The year’s Best Musical Tony winner, and the most fun. Doesn’t get dizzier of giddier  than this. Closes Jan. 3 2027.

Winner of four 2026 Tonys: Best Musical,  Best Book of a Musical  (Cinco Paul), Best Original Score (Cinco Paul), Best Orchestrations (Doug Besterman and Mike Morris). (As the producer of “Schmigadoon,” Cinco Paul is the recipient of win includes the Best Musical trophy).

“Schmigadoon” has roots in the original Apple TV series and it oozes with laughter and is bright and colorful as the cast’s costumes.  It pokes gentle fun to the Golden Age of Broadway classics, notably the homage to “Oklahoma” and “Carousel” in its merry-go-round of mirthful magic and memories.

The cast includes Sara Chase as Melissa Gimble,  Alex Brightman as Josh cSkinner (he despises musicals), McKenzie Kurtz as the flirty Betsy, Ana Gasteyer as severe Mildred Layton.

Ann Harada, left, invited Wayne Harada (no relation) and grandnephew John Rhoades and wife Vi Harada for a post-show chat at the Nederlander Theatre, where “Schmigadoon:” is playing through Jan. 3 2027.

Of special note, Ann Harada (no relation), appears as Florence Menlove, the spouse of Mayor Menlove, played by Brad Oscar. Harada is a Broadway notable, with a string of stage credits ranging from “Avenue Q to “Les Misérables,” from “M. Butterfly” to “Into the Woods,” from “Cinderella” to “Seussical.”

She was kind enough to invite me, wife Vi and grandnephew John Roades, to share a theater “moment,” taking photos after a performance of “Shmigadoon.” She also said the show’s cast album will be released in August, and the closing date for the successful run will be Jan. 3, 2027.

“Shmigadoon” succeeds because it has a style, sound and look of its own, but borrows conventional musical signature and stamps on its own indelible identity in moments like the “Oklahoma” parody, the dream ballet, and a vigorous tap dance number. The costumes immediate ID the country kingdom that is “Shmigadoon” through and through, like that signature rural flavor of warm hues and simple architecture.

“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” at the Lyric Theatre. The magic is not magnified in this drama about Albus Severus Potter, son of Harry and Ginny, who strives to maintain and live up to the fame of his father’s legacy. Ongoing.

OK, I did see the original two-part “Harry Potter” dramas, when the legacy of the genius magician and his pals were in the height with the wonders of wizardry. The best thing element of this abridged exploration is the fascinating appearances and disappearances of the wizards, in a swift gust of wind or twirl of an overcoat. The fanship is keeping the show floating. The lighting and quick scene changes are still intriguing.

John Skelley is Harry Potter, Rachel Christopher is Hermione Granger, Daniel Frederick is Ron Weasley, and Tom Feldon is Draco Malfoy.  The play, by Jack Thorne, retains ties with Potter creator J.K. Rowling, but perhaps the production is cursed with somewhat detached interest largely because much of the action unwinds in mood-setting darkness.

“Moulin Rouge,” at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. A jukebox musical, loaded with 70 disco and boogie music, embraces a tragic star-crossed romance between songwriter Christian and chanteuse Satine, set at the Montmartre Quarter of Paris.

Let’s start with good news/bad news: Aaron Tveit, who “owned” the  Christian lead role  (saw him, back in the day), has returned to the production for a limited 15-performance gig Aug. 18 to  29, to join Kelsie Watts as the courtesan Satine. Tveit, with his typo-prone surname, dusts off  his charismatic soaring voice prior to the final curtain Aug. 30, but the symbolic finale performance of Christian will be tendered by Christian Douglas, who toured with a company in “Moulin Rouge,” prior to making his Broadway debut and stamping his ownership of sort. Saw him, and he’s a handsome charmer, and likely will become a Broadway first-stringer in the months to come.

Oh, “Moulin Rouge” remains a solid disco-tempoed jukebox musical that showcases medleys of hot numbers by the likes of Madonna, Beyonce, Tina Turner and Dolly Parton, and the playlist has changed over time. Thus, a rundown of the tracks never appear in the Playbill. The one everlasting title is “Lady Marmalade,” which receives multiple publicity so you can practice your French: “Voulez-vous couche avec moi,” remember?  

“Titanique,” at the St. James Theatre. A parody of “Titanic” and vocalist Celine Dion. And of course, The Song goes on and on.

Here’s a project with absurd laughs, defined as a jukebox musical because its score is dotted with known tunes. Clearly, this was a little engine that could – and did. Originally a scaled down cabaret show, it emerged and sailed the waters of off-Broadway, but finally sailed to the Great White Way.

It was skedded for a 16-week run, but attracted meaningful followers, so instead of ending July 12, it’s been extended to Sept. 20, 2026. If there’s more demand, it has to set sail at another venue, since the St. James Theatre has a new tenant.

     The absurdity here is that Celine Dion would hijack a Titanic tour about the ill-fated liner in 1912 and start singing some of her hits, including, natch, “My  Heart Will Go On,” with Marla Mindelle,  one of the show’s writers, thumping her heart in assuming the Celine style. It’s tongue-in-cheek frivolity complete with patter-chatter about romance between Jack and Rose (played by Constantine Rousouli and Melissa Barrerra, respectively), the duo immortalized in the mammoth blockbuster film.

And don’t ask why Tina Turner is on the ship tour prancing through “River High, Mountain Deep.”

“Stranger Things: The First Shadow:” Talk about strange things; this is a strange play that features songs and dances but is not a musical.  It was the worst show among eight that I saw earlier this summer, and longest-running play, clocking in at 2:45. Closes Jan. 3 2027.

It boasts a choreographer, and acknowledges the dancing, but while the actors sing, they are not credited for their vocal work as in a conventional musical. This is a sci-fi play, and not ashamed of the variants among the performance art.

 It’s a prequel to the Netflix streamer, whose audiences admire the tale of how a boy becomes a villain.  The Duffer Brothers, Jack Thorne and Kate Trefry are collaborators of this outing, and they at best know their audience; the show I took in attracted throngs of very young people, viewing a play that clearly has R-rated elements, including brutalities that could explain its peculiar appeal.

I daresay, Victor De Paula Rocha, as the intense but villainous Henry Creel,  turns in a mind-blowing performance in his Broadway debut. It’s not your usual entrée, but clearly one jammed with passion and power, like a loaded pistol or keg of dynamite. Boom!