MADISON, Wis. — Kelsey Denae can’t remember a time when “Les Misérables” wasn’t in her life.
It’s the first musical Denae’s mom took her dad to see after they got married.
“I grew up with it being my dad’s favorite musical of all time,” Denae said.
When she was about 9 years old, Denae got her first chance to see “Les Misérables” at the Weidner Center in Green Bay, Wis.
It popped up again when she performed for the Wisconsin School Music Association’s Solo and Ensemble event. One of the musical’s most popular songs, “On My Own,” happened to be on the organization’s approved list of songs that year.
“And I was like, 'I’m gonna sing that song because I love this show,'” Denae said.
“Les Mis” was there even as Denae attended the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. It was the first time she ever read the original novel by Victor Hugo, which the musical is based on.
So when Denae graduated and moved to New York in 2012, it was only natural that her first callback was for a factory girl and Fantine understudy in “Les Mis.” That particular production would also bring her back to her home state of Wisconsin at Fireside Theatre in Fort Atkinson, Wis.
Now, she’s performing in the ensemble in the show's Broadway U.S. revival tour.
“It’s just such a blessing to get to do this story,” Denae said. “Every iteration I’ve done, it’s taught me something new; it’s shown me something new, whether it’s in my artistic career or in my personal life or… a view on the world in some way. It’s never left my side.
”The musical tells the story of war, unrequited love, sacrifice and broken dreams against the backdrop of 19th century France. It mainly follows the character of Jean Valijean, a French peasant who was serving time for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his family. When he’s released, he decides to break his parole and is relentlessly pursued by a police inspector named Javert.
“It’s a timeless story. It’s epic, it’s uplifting. And… the biggest theme about it is it’s about grace and redemption and survival of the human spirit. There is something for everybody in it,” Denae said.
She said she can resonate with every character, from the innkeepers’ daughter Eponine, to the single mother working in Valijean’s factory, know as Fantine.
Denae plays the wigmaker, a featured ensemble role, in the touring production. Occasionally, she’ll take the stage as Fantine, as one of two understudies for that role. She’ll be doing that in Appleton in front of many friends and family later this year.
Denae admitted that “Les Mis” isn’t the easiest show to do. It’s a show that relies heavily on ensemble members and can be very physically demanding.
That’s why before she goes on, Denae does an involved vocal and physical warm-up, which includes yoga and mat pilates.
“Because it [the show] is three hours long, it is sung through completely, meaning there’s no speaking portions… and then it is an incredibly heavy physical show,” she said. “We’re on our feet for three hours. We are climbing on a barricade; we are being in different positions."
That three hours is filled with plenty of visuals and a variety of costumes, too. Throughout the show, Denae goes through about 10 costumes.
But her favorite is for the song, “Master of the House.” She said it’s by far one of the most colorful scenes in the entire show, which is why it stands out. The costume includes a coral skirt layered over a blue one, a salmon pink blouse and a mustard-colored corset.
As Denae prepares to walk out on the Overture stage in all her costumes, it’s a reunion of sorts. She once performed on that very stage as a part of the Wisconsin Honors Choir.
“It’s really special to get to come back and perform on this stage in a different way,” she said.
One of Denae’s favorite moments in the show happens at the very beginning, when audiences hear the first downbeat of the overture from the orchestra.
“We have a pre-show announcement that plays and then it ends and then you hear the ‘bum bum’ and the audience goes crazy and we can hear it backstage, we can hear it over the speakers,” she said. “There a magic that you feel with that of like we’re here because we love this story and we can’t wait to share it and then hearing that, the audience is in these seats because they also cannot wait to hear this story and see this story.”
The show, she said, is filled with so many powerful moments just like this one.
Denae hopes that as audiences come to see the show, they can see the parallels between the modern world and the world of the show.
“I hope that they can take away the feeling that our world can be a really dark and ugly place and it has been in a lot of ways, especially recently,” she said.
Denae said just as the characters come together in the show to help make it better, she hopes people ask themselves how they can do that for our world, too.
“The more we can stand together for a common cause, for good, the more our world can change and be a beautiful place and a place of peace and harmony,” she said.
“Les Misérables” is coming to the Overture Center in Madison, Wis., from Feb. 14-18. Limited tickets are still available here. The show will then head to the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in Appleton, Wis., from Feb. 20-25. Tickets are available, here.