Call him Le Wiz of "Les Miz."

A Broadway stage actor, Peter Lockyer is taking on the central role of Jean Valjean in "Les Miserables," the Tony Award-winning epic opening tonight at Diamond Head Theatre — and is co-director and co-choreographer with his actress wife, Melanie Tojio Lockyer.

With a previous six-year run in "Les Miz" on Broadway, in the supporting role of Marius, Lockyer knows the show from the inside out and he said it's tough to be objective.

"It's not just a show to me; it's part of my bones, part of my blood," he said. "I believe in the message (personal struggle, redemption, good vs. evil) and all of this has become part of me. It's really easy to slip into the show and take it seriously. I told the cast, with some shows, it's just great entertainment pieces, and there's value in having fun. This show is more than entertainment — it's a feeling of connecting to something greater than itself, something truly special.

"As an actor, I think I've picked up a few elements from past Valjeans as I make him my own. As a director, there are some things you may want to throw out and many things that you want to change, as much as you want, but can't. If it works, why change?"

"Les Miz," he said, is all about the barricade — that centerpiece fortress of debris — that characterizes the musical's look and identifies the somber environment. And then there's that iconic turntable staging.

"But in our contract, we discovered that we couldn't use a turntable in the same manner as the original show," said Willie Sabel, the show's creative set designer collaborating with the director to re-imagine the barricade. "So we had to reinvent the show, and still make it fit our space."

For Lockyer and his performing ensemble of 39, "Les Miz" is a monumental change and a massive challenge.

"We are having so much fun — this is something Melanie and I have always wanted to do — and there is no better place than Hawai'i to do this show," he said.

"I played Marius for six years, so this all is quite new to me," he said of his backstage and on-stage roles. "I never thought I'd play Valjean; I'm not quite his physical type and I'm growing a beard for the first time of my life, to look more mature. So maybe it's my time, finally."

Craig Schulman, who portrayed Valjean in two "Les Miz" productions at the Blaisdell Concert Hall in the 1990s, purportedly has done the part and sung "Bring Him Home" more times (1,000-plus) than any other performer. Visiting here earlier this month as part of his "Return of The Three Phantoms" tour, he said — after chatting with Lockyer — that Valjean is in good hands. "Peter's beard helps; makes him look older. He'll do very well," Schulman said.

The five-week-old beard has to be whitened a bit to "age" the character, but no matter, Lockyer said. "In New York, this (beard) might work; in warm climate, it takes getting used to."

For added insurance, Lockyer also conversed with Colm Wilkinson, the British actor who originated the role in the Cameron Mackintosh megahit, and got insider tips on molding the character who lands in jail after stealing a loaf of bread, yet turns his life around to become a town mayor and saves the life of a man mistakenly accused of being Valjean.

The themes of struggle, survival, orderliness and obsession abound, with characters such as Javert, a policeman intent on capturing Valjean; Fantine, a single mother forced into prostitution to support her daughter Cosette; Marius, a student of the revolution who falls in love in Cosette; the Thenardiers, a devious couple who run an inn and initially "adopt" Cosette but favor their daughter Eponine, who is in love with Marius; and Enjolras, an activist in a student revolt to help free the oppressed citizens.

Lockyer knows all about the dominance of the barricade, the barrage of intertwining characters, and the tempo of the turntable.

" 'Les Miz' is a show built on a certain speed and fluidity because of the turntable," he said. "Scenes move quickly — and actually, I loved it all. But I knew Cameron Mackintosh didn't want a turntable (in the DHT show) and it's hard to get away from John Caird's and Trevor Nunn's original direction. We're not trying to duplicate their show; we're finding new ways to bring out something stronger, without taking away from the feel of the show."

Lockyer and Sabel have had a yin-and-yang experience in mounting "Les Miz" with its dominant dark and brooding veneer.

"I'd give him one idea, and he comes up 10 — it's been a wonderful experience," Lockyer said of the give-and-take.

Sabel concocted a four-piece barricade that is assembled and used in a variety of ways.

"At one point, the barricade covers the entire stage," Sabel said. "Our challenge here is to put on really big shows - in practically no space."

At close look, the barricade hosts bits and pieces of artifacts and cast-offs from earlier DHT productions. Paint shields and neutralizes the items somewhat.

"We've been saving parts and have repainted and reconfigured them," he said. "We also had enough termite-eaten old furniture that was added, and everything was painted dark brown and black — our base colors. We must've used 20 gallons of the base colors, and with accent colors, perhaps we've used 30 to 35 gallons of paint."

It took about 10 weeks to complete the rubble puzzle, a key backdrop for the tale set in France in the early 19th century (the show is based on the Victor Hugo novel). Normally, a DHT set is built in five to eight weeks. The theater assembled a network of seven volunteers - for about 150 hours of work — to augment three paid staffers, Sabel said.

John Rampage, DHT artistic director, said the theater spent two years pursuing rights to what is truly an audience favorite. "With the scope of the show, we were willing to put in a little more (resources) to get this one," he said. "I think the show is popular because it's so human; enormously big, yet so personal. That's why we spent two years just trying to get the rights."

Melanie Lockyer said she and Peter have been together 15 years, the last 12 as wife and husband.

"We were a little worried about doing something together because we don't always agree," she said. "But what's reassuring is that we're always on the same page. It helps the marriage."

During a rehearsal, she took on his role - amid other actors - so he could see the progress as a director sitting in the audience. "He sings over the God mike (a cordless microphone) and I walk through his paces (blocking)," said Melanie Lockyer. In some instances, she mouthed the lyrics he performed as Valjean.

"I wouldn't have done the role — and direct — if I didn't have Melanie with me," he said. "I get production notes from her because I can't see the scenes when I'm in," he said. "It's a show she's always wanted to be in, too, but that was not possible. But working together is great: We don't divvie up responsibilities; we we do stuff with equal sharing. But Melanie is a dancer, so she took care of the wedding scene, and she's had a long tradition of working with kids, double-casting Gavroche, young Cosette and young Eponine."

The most tedious element of this project was painting bricks — "a lot of bricks, which is mundane," Sabel sighed.

He gets some relief by volunteering, in what little spare time he has, to help with the sets at Paliku Theatre's "Miss Saigon" production, opening Oct. 3 at Windward Community College, and he also will do sets for Manoa Valley Theatre's "Frost/Nixon" opening Nov. 12.