When you think about it, it’s kind of baffling that Les Misérables is the world’s most popular musical. Not because it’s boring, or lacks catchy songs, or has a bad message, or anything of the sort.

Brutality and barricades fill the stage for Les Misérables at the Fox Theatre. Debuting in London’s West End in 1985, the musical, based on Victor Hugo’s novel, has since become a global smash.

The current touring incarnation of “Les Miserables” underscores the reasons why we go back to see it again — and for some fans, again ad nauseam. The goods are there, of course; the adaptation of ...