Michael Brindisi admits he wasn’t all that impressed the first time he saw “Les Miserables.”

“I saw it on one of the tours and it was a real paint-by-numbers production. It lacked any kind of passion,” the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres’ resident artistic director said last week during a break in rehearsals.

“I found it lackluster and I wondered what all the hoopla was about,” he said.

Brindisi’s attitude changed after the theater picked up the show to produce.

The revelation came while listening to one of the cast albums under headphones while reading the score.

“By the end I was wiped out,” he said. “I thought, ‘this material is unbelievably moving.’ I instantly became a ‘Les Miz’ freak. The show spoke to me instantly.”

Chanhassen is one of the first theaters in the country to mount an independent production of the Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg (by way of novelist Victor Hugo) musical.

Not only is the three-hour show a musical test for Chanhassen, it’s also a physical one. Like many musicals of recent vintage, “Les Miserables” works as a visual spectacle, with the action dominated by a giant turntable that constantly shifts the scenery, actors and setting of the show.

That concept wasn’t going to fly at Chanhassen, so Brindisi – along with designer Nayna Ramey – came up with a different approach.

It’s one that evokes the immersive theatrical techniques of Bertolt Brecht.

“We decided to have a gallery that surrounds the main playing area, and the actors will fill that from the beginning. They come out at the beginning of the show, sit in the gallery and then go and perform when they are needed.”

The unique staging, in turn, has helped to mend one of the main issues Brindisi had with the first production he saw – the show’s clarity.

“I found it hard to follow,” he said, blaming that on a mix of factors, including the lackluster performances and the lines of lyrics lost as the actors were moving to and fro on the turntable.

“I think this really helps to clarify the story for the audience and it helps to enhance the storytelling,” he said.

That’s important for Brindisi, who finds a universal tale in the decades-long conflict between Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert.

“What spoke to me was the way [Hugo] presented the two leading men. One sees things in black and white. The other is one who learns to see the gray in life. What a great way to address to every issue there is. Everything we deal with in life can be seen through the eyes of these two men,” said Brindisi.

Casting was vital for the show and for this production. “We looked for singers first and actors second,” Brindisi said. “I wanted to make sure it was sung well and that the lyrics are heard. We don’t want to lose the story.”

The cast, made up entirely of performers from the Twin Cities, includes a mixture of newcomers and Chanhassen favorites.

Brindisi has been impressed with the more than 30 performers, including many of the younger ones, who came in already knowing the show backwards and forwards.

And while the production will be a bit shorter than the one on Broadway, fans of the show probably won’t notice the difference.

“Most of what I cut was ‘turntable’ music,” Brindisi said.