Les Miserables: MHS troupe to perform renowned musical

“Les Miserables” is a heavy tome of societal rebuke, French history and spiritual salvation. It’s also a heck of musical.

Maricopa High School Theater Company is taking on the renowned work for its spring musical April 21-23.

In the story, based on the novel by Victor Hugo, young Jean Valjean is imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister’s family. His stay is prolonged many years by his persistent attempts to escape. When he is finally paroled, it is under the watchful eye of distrusting officer Javert.

After abuse from every community for being a parolee, Valjean is heavily tempted to turn to a life of crime but is saved by a surprisingly forgiving act by a local bishop. Over the next several years, Valjean changes his name and becomes a successful business owner and respected member of society.

One of his factory workers, Fantine, is unjustly fired by a manager and falls into abject poverty. When she dies, guilt-ridden Valjean adopts her daughter Cosette. But Javert has found him out, and Valjean and Cosette flee to Paris, where he tries to build a new life again.

Many years later, Cosette falls for a freedom fighter among a band of revolutionaries being investigated by none other than Javert. It isn’t long before he connects the dots to Valjean, and the stage is set for a showdown between the longtime adversaries.

“It’s a fascinating and interesting story of redemption and everything you can possibly do to find redemption and atonement,” said MHS Theatre Company Director Cynthia Calhoun. “For me, the story is really told by the bishop. He’s the first one who actually gives forgiveness to Jean Valjean.”

The Tony Award-winning score is by Claude-Michel Schonberg and Herbert Kretzmer. It was one of the longest-running musicals on Broadway and was made into a film in 2012 starring Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe.

“I’d heard about it and I’d listened to the music, but I never thought it would be a possibility to actually do the show,” said Carlos Venegas, who plays Valjean in the MHS production. “It was just one of those things like, ‘Oh, that would be nice.’ I didn’t think it would happen in high school.”
[quote_box_right]“It’s a fascinating and interesting story of redemption and everything you can possibly do to find redemption and atonement.” — MHS Theater Company Director Cynthia Calhoun.[/quote_box_right]
Nikolas Mase plays Javert.

“I watched the movie when it came out and I really wanted to be Javert, but I knew we weren’t going to do it anytime soon,” Mase said. “Maybe later on in life. I really loved the character and the depth, and I loved the songs.”

Venegas said he appreciated Valjean’s character development throughout the show.

“At the beginning he’s a convict, then he accepts that he’s a convict almost and even attempts to steal, but then flip-flops back to that righteous man who was a good man and consistently stays that way,” he said. “Yet, I also like how he ages throughout the show.”

“We’ve talked a lot about the characters in terms of how they have a moral compass,” Calhoun said. “There are moments where Valjean has one that he rediscovers. Javert has a very strict moral compass. Whether we agree with it or not doesn’t matter so much as when he loses it. And that leads him to question everything that he has known in his life.”

“A lot of their relationship relies on how Javert perceives as right in the moment,” Venegas said.

Even beyond the complexities of the story, “Les Miserables” is a massive musical with 70 cast members. Almost all of the dialogue is sung.

“It’s been very challenging,” Venegas said. He said sometimes it can be easier to memorize lines in a musically-heavy work instead of straight play because music is easier to remember than dialogue.
[pull_quote_left]IF YOU GO
What: “Les Miserables”
When: April 21-23, 7 p.m. (2 p.m. Saturday matinee)
Where: Performing Arts Center, Maricopa High School, 45012 W. Honeycutt Ave.
Who: Cast includes Carlos Venegas, Nikolas Mase, Josie Sherwood, Kjirsten Lemon, Shelby Hanks, Jeron Hlebasko, Seth Hendrickson, Tyler Curtis, Aaron Harrison and many more
How much: $5 for students, $7 for adults.
Info: 520-568-8100 [/pull_quote_left]
Principle actors have worked with their own vocal coaches and one-on-one with Calhoun. She credits Carrie and David Vargas for their “amazing help” and other resources.

Mase was student director of last year’s “Jekyll & Hyde” and played the major general in the fall production of “The Pirates of Penzance,” an operetta with few spoken lines. He was also in Maricopa Community Theatre’s production of “The Snow Queen.”

The student musical director for “Les Miserables” is Josie Sherwood, who also plays Fantine. She has also musically directed for MCT.

“I like how controversial it is. There’s a lot of deep meaning behind it,” Sherwood said. “I like that it’s historical and not a lot of fluff and nonsense, and it shows a lot of the genuine emotion of the time period.”

Calhoun said some content has been edited for time.

“It’s important to keep it as true to the original as possible, especially as we’re dealing with a book. Victor Hugo based his book on what he was actually seeing in Paris at the time. He saw essentially Fantine and how she was being treated, and that’s where the book came from.”

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This story appeared in the April edition of InMaricopa.

Teacher Cynthia Calhoun directs the huge cast in the musical version of “Les Miserables.” Photo by Jake Johnson