Broadway star J. Mark McVey dreamed a dream that led him around the world as a performer. Now, the Marshall alum is focused on giving back.
They may be separated by time, distance and fictionality, but the names Jean Valjean and J. Mark McVey are inextricably intertwined.
McVey, the 1981 Marshall grad and renowned performer who has portrayed the tormented hero of Les Misérables more than any other actor, considers it an honor.
“I feel so very grateful and fortunate to have been asked to come back again and again to portray Valjean,” said McVey, who has performed Valjean’s heartrending story on Broadway, London’s West End and the musical’s 25th anniversary tour, among other performances. “Each time I return to the character, I learn and gain so much. It’s the role I was made for and the message I was made to deliver. It’s who I am.”
McVey’s journey to Valjean began in Huntington, West Virginia, where his parents encouraged their four children to find and explore their God-given gifts. McVey participated in church choir programs and productions like Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar, as well as classic American musicals including The Music Man and Oklahoma!. He performed with the Musical Arts Guild, founded by a group of culturally conscious community members that included his mother, a talented singer herself.
“God gives each of us a unique set of gifts, and it’s our job to discover those gifts and use them to the best of our ability,” McVey said. “We are each uniquely created. I thought I was going to be a really good basketball player, and then I realized I wasn’t. I thought I was going to be a rock ’n’ roll star, and then I realized I wasn’t. But I could go toe to toe with anyone when it came to singing. And I knew that gift was one I could move forward with.”
Still, the path forward wasn’t always clear, from the high school music teacher who blocked McVey from participating in all-state chorus — “you fool around too much,” she told him — to his own questioning of his gifts to provide a living, which led him to pursue a business degree while attending Marshall. All in all, the decision to major in business has served him well, he noted, as he’s spent the past 35 years marketing himself as a performer.
After graduation, McVey took a sales job in Florida, where he made a life-changing realization.
“I realized that I was wasting my time and talents by not following my dreams and using my gifts to the best of my ability,” he said. “That’s a hard lesson to learn when you’re young, and it can be scary. However, that lesson can be a lot harder if you find yourself 10 to 20 years down the road stuck in a job that you don’t like, realizing that you conformed to what the world was telling you instead of what God’s still, small voice was telling you. It’s always good to seek wise counsel and learn patience. Then, however, we must step out in faith and create our own opportunities.”
Years later, McVey delivered the 2017 commencement address at Marshall, where he quoted motivational speaker Zig Ziglar: “When you catch a glimpse of your potential, that’s when passion is born.” It’s a truth McVey has known his entire life, but passion requires more than potential, he said. It also requires vision, patience and “a dogged determination to see your dreams come true.”
“That is where we will find true happiness and significance,” he said.
McVey left his desk job and moved into an apartment in New York City with his sister Beth McVey, an actress on Broadway and “a true inspiration” to McVey. Within three weeks he landed an understudy role in the musical Kismet. What followed was a whirlwind of performances in regional, off-Broadway and touring productions, including a production of Les Misérables for which McVey won the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actor. Soon after, he made his Broadway debut, landing the seminal role of Les Mis’s Valjean.
“I auditioned five times for Les Mis, and the first four times I didn’t even make it in the door to sing,” said McVey, who was “typed out” due to his height and hair color. “I was actually auditioning for Enjolras, the student leader, and when I finally got in I sang his song. 
They asked if I knew [Valjean’s famous prayer] ‘Bring Him Home.’ I said, ‘Yeah, sure.’ So I sang, and the first words out of the guy’s mouth were, ‘Where have you been?’ I said, ‘Dude, I’ve been standing outside the door for the last six months!’”
Within less than a week, McVey was on the journey of a lifetime, portraying the iconic protagonist of the world’s most famous musical. Over the next 25 years, he would play Valjean more than 3,200 times, including being the first American to perform the role in London’s West End. His passionate portrayal launched a successful singing and acting career that included stints on Broadway and television, performances with symphonies around the world, and a host of acclaimed recording projects. While performing in The Who’s Tommy on Broadway, he met and fell in love with his on-stage wife, actor Christy Tarr. The pair were married in 1999 and have two teenage daughters, Grace and Kylie.
McVey made his Carnegie Hall debut with the world-famous composer Marvin Hamlisch, who became a mentor and trusted friend. Inspired by Hamlisch’s wisdom, McVey’s life today is centered on giving back.
“I was so blessed to have that relationship with Marvin Hamlisch,” McVey reflected. “He believed I’d been given gifts to make a difference in the world. And that’s my goal, for the rest of my days.”
McVey performs and speaks at religious, corporate and educational institutions throughout the U.S. His current program is called Life Lessons from ‘Les Mis.’
“Playing Valjean taught me to really look at the message I’m delivering,” he said. “Valjean’s message was one of grace, redemption and compassion. What message are we delivering as a country? What values are we communicating?”
He said his goal is to revive the values of family and faith, as well as to inspire future leaders not only to find and explore their gifts but also to have patience and perseverance in discerning the path for their life.
“We’re made to be in relationship with one another, yet across our country relationships are breaking down,” he said. “We’re made to lead from a place of service, rather than a place of authority. We’re made not to figure it all out on our own but to trust God and those around us. I want to help bring back the beliefs and values our country was founded upon — things like forgiveness and kindness and integrity, honesty and patience and loyalty, and, most of all, love.”
Those values he first learned in Huntington and at Marshall are why those communities will always be home, he said. “Huntington and Marshall University are my roots, my community and the place I love to come back to.”
About the Author: Katherine Pyles is a freelance writer and editor living in Huntington.
Photos (from top):
McVey has portrayed Jean Valjean in theatrical performances of Les Misérables over 3,200 times, more than any other actor in history. (Photo by Paul Kolnik)
McVey returned to Huntington to address Marshall University graduating seniors at the May 2017 commencement.
McVey was the first American to perform the role of Jean Valjean in London’s West End.
McVey often returns to Huntington for musical performances, bringing a bit of Broadway to his hometown.
McVey has released three solo albums, including “If You Really Knew Me” featuring renditions of Marvin Hamlisch songs.
The McVeys pose for a family photo. From left: daughter Kylie, wife Christy Tarr-McVey, daughter Grace and Mark.