With the producers and director all excited about getting the rights to this show, and especially given that it was their 25th Season, yours truly had quite the design challenge. It started with a stage 40 feet wide, 28 deep, and 12 high to the bottom of the borders, with red curtains and black legs which could not go away. Add to that a huge cast which needs lots of stage space, a small budget, and limited resources, and it was time to go back and pull out every trick I ever learned.

The first task was to create some height and, especially, some depth, on that wide but shallow stage. That's where the buildings and the arches came in. That cyc is just over four feet from the backs of the "bridge" platforms. To get the most mileage out of the "bridge," the center span slides towards SL to create an entrance. And, because there are no trap doors in the theatre, I borrowed an idea from the 2012 movie and put the entrance to the sewers, as an arched opening with a grille, under a platform SR.

Stage 1 Theatre, Newark, CA

The main unit set. That plaque on top is where the place names and dates will be projected.
SketchUp model

The scene in Valjean's garden, with a "climbable" gate that also opens.
SketchUp model

The barricade scene, with a 20' wide barricade that turns a complete 360.
SketchUp model

Close-up on the main unit set. The buildings in the distance are flat and painted in forced perspective to create some depth. The arches are also flat, and the cyc shows a projected sky.
SketchUp model

The gate, complete with ivy. The side wings fold for storage offstage, and the gates open.
SketchUp model