When alumnus James Moore was a freshman at Indiana University Bloomington, he volunteered at the IU Auditorium so he could watch the shows. Moore, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Jacobs School of Music and has worked extensively on Broadway and beyond, will have what he calls a “full-circle moment” when he returns to the auditorium as musical supervisor of “Les Misérables.” The national tour of the Tony Award-winning musical will be in Bloomington from Sept. 24 to 29.

James Moore. Photo provided by BOND Theatrical

IU Bloomington Today talked to Moore about the show’s staying power, his plans to visit campus and how the Jacobs School helped his career path.

Question: “Les Misérables” is a highly anticipated show on the IU Auditorium schedule this season. What makes the musical special?

Answer: The show has endured globally in a way that I’ve never experienced on any other show I’ve ever done. This current tour, which was originally supposed to be two years, is now a four-year tour due to the massive success across the country. That’s been really thrilling.

This specific staging has been updated technically and with new orchestrations, just to bring it a little more into today. Musically, it’s the same score that we all know and love, but just sort of brought into 2024 as opposed to 1986. The show still takes place in the same time period, it’s still the Les Mis everyone loves, but it feels a little more relatable to today’s audiences.

This is one of the strongest casts we’ve ever had of the show, which has been validated by the audience response and by the reviews. Even if people have seen the show before, this current version and these current performers that will be in Bloomington are incredibly special.

Q: You have a lot of experience touring around the country. Will this be your first tour that stops in Bloomington?

A: It is, and I’m so excited! I spent six years in Bloomington. I went undergraduate and graduate straight through. It still feels like yesterday. I can’t wait to be back.

Q: Do you plan on visiting any familiar spots while you’re in town?

A: I’m very excited to see how the Jacobs School has grown. When I was a student, it was just called the School of Music. I’ve seen photos, and I’ve read that it has easily doubled in size physically since I’ve been there, with several new buildings, recital halls and a new music library.

I’ve been telling the company how excited they should be. It’s going to be a great time of year to be there, right when things are really starting to buzz.

Q: Do you have a message for students who may be considering attending the Jacobs School of Music?

A: I’m the biggest champion of the Jacobs School. It’s very large, and that set me up for success because I had exposure to so many different kinds of music: large and small operas, musicals, choral music, symphonic music, the list goes on. The opportunities the school provided put me in a great place for success. Just the exposure I had in my six years in Bloomington, I can’t imagine getting anywhere else as a student.

Working in the arts is a tough career path. The structure of the Jacobs School gives you a great sense of what it actually is like in the real world of a career in the arts. I preach that all the time to students who are applying to different schools.

Q: Is there anything you’d like to add that I didn’t ask?

A: I’d like to give a shoutout to professor Roger Havranek, who was chair of the voice department and a great mentor to me during my time as a student at IU.