One of the world’s longest-running and most beloved musicals is set to take the stage in Boise as the national tour of “Les Misérables” makes one of its final stops at the Morrison Center from April 21-26. The epic story about love, sacrifice and revolution in 19th-century France delivers iconic songs, stunning set design and brilliant performances that have inspired more than 150 million people around the world.
Christian Mark Gibbs plays Enjolras, the impassioned leader of the Friends of the ABC, the student revolutionary group fighting for democratic freedom. Gibbs has been a part of the tour since 2024.
I want to start at the beginning of your journey. Where did your love for performing first come from?
I started singing in church. That was my beginning. I didn’t grow up with musicals. I sang a lot in church, and I ended up getting introduced to musicals. I got introduced to “Aida” as my first musical in the third or second grade, and I still love that one today, but it was middle school when I got into my first actual performance of a musical called “Guys and Dolls,”and I loved it. I ended up going to an arts high school, where I got introduced to more musicals and operas, and I wanted to go to college for voice and ended up getting my vocal performance degree. I did opera, and then moved back to musical theater.
How did your upbringing shape who you are as a performer today?
My father plays guitar and sings. He was teaching us a song one day when I was five years old, and I broke out in harmony. He asked me to do it again — I did it again. That’s when he knew I would be a singer. As I got older, they let me choose whatever I wanted to do. I said I wanted to do this music thing, and they supported me with it and said, ‘If you’re gonna go for it, you need to go for it 100%.’ They always knew that I would be some type of performer.
What an amazing story. Since then, you’ve had a wide range of credits, having done TV, music for film and even opera. What has your background in these different types of work taught you?
They all have a significant way in influencing how I am on stage, especially with opera training. I’m doing eight shows a week now, and I’m doing eight shows a week on tour, which I never thought I would do. Getting that classical training has allowed me to be able to withstand the rigorousness of being on tour and having to do the show eight times and traveling. The foundation that I got through learning classical, that goes into how I do theater. Coming to theater, you learn about stamina, you learn about versatility, fluidness. When I did the Met Opera, the Met is a massive stage, and you have to reach 4000 or 5000 seats. The stage is huge, and getting to do that, and then coming to the theater, where the theaters are a bit smaller and more intimate, you have to learn how to be versatile. Depending on what theater you’re in, depending on what medium you’re playing, you have to either dial it back or push forward.
What drew you to “Les Mis” and the role of Enjolras?
Well, to be honest with you, I had never seen it on stage, and I didn’t even know what the musical was until 2016 — don’t judge me! I lived in Colorado, and someone was like, “Oh, you know ‘Les Mis’?” and I said “What’s that?” She said “You don’t know what ‘Les Mis’ is?” So she bought me the movie version for my birthday, and she said “Here, watch this. This is ‘Les Mis,’ it’s one of the greatest musicals ever.” I watched the movie, and I said “Oh man, that’s amazing.” That’s where it stopped, but then I actually got contacted by a casting director who said, “Hey, there’s an opening for the tour.” I had never seen it on stage. I didn’t really know what the role was. I knew the general gist of the show, but I didn’t know what I was getting myself into fully, and then I finally auditioned for it. I booked this show, and every person that comes for the first time, they make them watch the show for the first night. I watched the show, and I said, “Oh my God, I know now why it’s been going on for 40 years.” I got nervous, because it’s such a big, spectacular work.
Now, as I continue to play Enjolras, this passionate man who is fighting for those who don’t have what he has, because he’s part of the affluent community, he’s trying to fight for people who have been defeated, not only physically but mentally, and looking at what’s going on in our country today, and looking at what’s going and looking at how Valjean, Enjolras and Eponine have different effects on people and how it touches their heart to their core. Enjolras being so passionate and so focused and leading these people who don’t really know what they’re getting themselves into, but he’s has the power of words to influence these people, to fight for a better life, for those that are not associated with them. That is so powerful. I think he sings “Our little lives don’t count at all.” When he sings it to Marius, it’s like, “Look, we have a higher calling here to step forward and speak for the people who can’t speak for themselves.” That is so powerful, and it’s such a beautiful, poetic way to tell this story. I’ve grown to really love Enjolras and to really love what he stands for and what he means in the story.
That is so powerful. You and the other revolutionaries you share the stage with have to have strong on-stage chemistry to portray those big, powerful, emotional moments. What is the dynamic like off-stage for you guys?
The offstage connection is very strong, and we try to keep it light backstage, because the show is heavy, and it can have an effect on your mental [health]. If everybody’s serious both backstage and on stage, it’s like, “Guys, we need to release this somewhere.” It’s nice to have camaraderie. We come off stage, we leave it on the stage. We may have a few jokes, we may have a few things backstage that we do, and then when it’s time to go back on, we’re back in the moment. We see each other every single day, so you get to figure out who your people are. You get to figure out who understands your jokes and things like that. We are friends in the show — we’re friends off-stage too — but in the show, we’re friends. When we get backstage, we’ll joke around, and then we’ll carry that lightness onto the stage, which also makes the end of the barricade hit harder.
When you are constantly playing this character with an emotionally heavy story in an emotionally heavy show, how can that be challenging while on the road?
It’s very challenging, and it’s hard to get used to anything because you’re in a different room, different city every day, and so at first, it used to hit me a lot harder. I was going through a lot trying to figure out how to manage my emotions. I’m having to do this heavy thing. Everyone you speak to that’s a part of this show, they all say, “Hey, we’ve all gone through it. We’ve all gone through the dark moments, trying to figure out how to turn it off and leave it at the stage door.” It takes a couple of months for you to get used to that, but you have certain things, especially after the show, being able to maybe put on a comedy or do something to get yourself out of whatever we were just doing to say, “Hey, okay, you’re not at war right now,, like you’re back at home.” I’m getting into technicalities here, but the nervous system doesn’t know the difference between me playing on-stage and real life, they just say, “Oh, we’re fearful now,” or “We’re angry”. We’re having to access those emotions and then be able to calm them back down. It’s difficult, but you learn as time goes on.
“Les Mis” is one of the most beloved and respected musicals of all time. Why do you think this story still resonates with audiences decades later?
I think everyone can find something that they can attach to. You have Fantine, who has a child but can’t afford to take care of her. Valjean is given a second chance, and turns that into a life worth living, realizing “I have to turn myself around,” especially after the bishop says, “Change your life.” He does that. There’s something for everyone that comes to the show, and I think that’s why it’s been so successful. There are so many things you can take from it, and watching it once doesn’t do it justice. I can watch it once and say, “Okay, cool, that was the story.” Now I come back — “Let me really focus on Valjean,” and you watch his whole journey, and then you can come back and say, “Okay, let me focus on Javert and see what his journey is like.” What a lot of people think is that he’s just a villain, and it’s like, no, not necessarily. He’s a product of his environment and what he was brought up in, so I don’t think he’s just a villain. He is so strong in what he believes that it goes to the extreme and becomes wrong, but I don’t think he’s inherently a villain. You can come back and see that, and the best explanation for it is “One Day More” where everybody’s singing different parts at the same exact time. We had our music supervisor come in and he said, “It’s a cacophony of sound to where you can come back and say ‘This time I’m going to listen to Javert. This time I’m going to listen to Marius. This time I listen to Eponine,’” because they’re all singing at the same time. That’s what the show brings, and it touches and it pulls at the heartstrings as well.
It really is such a beautiful show, and there is so much for audiences to take away from it. Is there anything else you would like your Boise audiences to know?
It’s just a great show. You can say as much as you want about it, but it really is a good show. It’s a great production. The orchestra sounds fantastic. We have, I think, 14 to 15 musicians in the pit. You have all these singers coming out, and everyone has specific characters, and there’s so much being put into this show. There isn’t another show that’s traveling like this right now. So, especially as the tour is closing soon, I suggest people come and see the show before they won’t be able to see it for quite some time.
