Gary Beach and Jenny Galloway know where the laughs are as the avaricious Thenardiers, those parasites who feed off the misfortunes of others. Beach, in particular, is disturbingly creepy, also conveying the nastiness of a man who, in lesser hands, would just be comic relief.

And, yes, the show's famous swirling turntable still seems to be in perpetual motion. Set designer John Napier uses it to quickly move the action from prison to factory to bordello to the barricades and sewers of Paris.

One of the reasons for the overwhelming popularity of "Les Miserables" is that the majesty of Hugo's story, adapted here by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg, is matched by the majesty of their score. Its melodies are as grandiose as the story, stirring, tuneful and totally capturing the emotion of the moment.

That emotion is most obvious in the show's large choral numbers, those led by the young revolutionary Enjolras, portrayed here by a vocal powerhouse named Aaron Lazar. There may not be a more thrilling number than the show's flag-waving, first-act finale, "One Day More." The whole company — not only those students but Valjean and other principals — come together physically and melodically to recapitulate the hope that infuses Hugo's gargantuan tale.