First-Look Photos: Les Misérables Goes Open-Air in New York's Hudson Valley
First-look production photos have been released for Hudson Valley Shakespeare's open-air staging of Les Misérables, now playing in Garrison, New York. The images, published by WhatsOnStage on 28 August 2026, offer the first public glimpse of a production that has been quietly selling out since it began performances on 12 August.
The show runs through 27 September 2026 at Hudson Valley Shakespeare's outdoor theatre, a venue more commonly associated with Shakespeare than with Boublil and Schönberg's epic of revolutionary France. Every upcoming performance is sold out, according to the company's website.
Jenn Thompson directs. Josh Young leads the company as Jean Valjean, with Denis Lambert as his relentless pursuer, Javert. Haley Dortch plays Fantine, Haley Rose Ciaramella is Éponine, Alex Ross takes on Marius, and Ana Paola Garcia plays Cosette. Nance Williamson and David Beach share the Thénardier household — Beach also plays the Bishop — while Madelynn Sue Merced and Khloe Saclolo alternate as Young Cosette and Young Éponine respectively. Riley Thompson rounds out the principal young cast as Gavroche.
The production uses the original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, with additional material by James Fenton and the adaptation and original direction credited to Trevor Nunn and John Caird — the same creative lineage that shaped the long-running English-language version of the musical. Amanda Morton serves as music supervisor, with Alex Gutierrez as music director and conductor. Orchestrations are by Stephen Metcalfe, Christopher Jahnke and Stephen Brooker, based on John Cameron's original work.
For audiences who know Les Misérables from the West End or Broadway, the draw here is the setting. Hudson Valley Shakespeare performs outdoors overlooking the Hudson River, and the company's decision to stage the musical in that environment — rather than a traditional proscenium house — gives the barricades and the streets of Paris a literal open sky. The company previously held an open call for child performers aged 9 to 18, with audition tapes due last December, suggesting the young roles have been cast from the surrounding community.
The full cast also includes Kelly Berman, according to the company's social media.
With a month left in the run and no tickets available through standard channels, anyone hoping to catch this staging will need to watch for returns.
