Maricopa High School Theater Company debuted its spring musical “Les Miserables” on Thursday night with some powerful performances.
If you didn’t already know MHS had some gifted singers, this production lets the best really shine. Despite some opening night jitters (and squeaks), the principal performers nailed it, and the company put on a show beyond their years.
The musical is filled with well-known tunes that are as challenging as they are beautiful. The biggest demands were put on Carlos Venegas, who delivered vocally with brilliance and a lot of presence in the starring role of Jean Valjean.
Nikolas Mase, also possessing a refined voice, brought out the complexity of Javert. Because he appears sporadically throughout the story, Mase has to reestablish the sense of antagonism every time he returns, and he does so very well.
Shelby Hanks elevates every scene she is in with a pure voice and the pure pathos of the tragic Eponine. Josie Sherwood, besides working as one of the student musical director, also played the even more tragic Fantine with a lot of vulnerability.
Jeron Hlebasko makes a vocally solid and heroic Marius, and Sarah Ledbetter is just terrific as little Gavroche.
Both versions of Cosette (Hannah Panter as the child and Kjirsten Lemon as the young woman) are exactly what they need to be.
And then there are the vile Thenardiers. Seth Hendrickson and Tyler Curtis are perfectly over the top, stealing every scene they are in with these disgusting and entertaining characters.
The staging of this intense musical was professional level thanks to the MHS construction and technical theater students of Kevin Piquette. And big kudos and much respect to director Cynthia Calhoun, who took on this beast of a musical and had the confidence in her young cast and crew to make this an extraordinary high school production.
“Les Miserables” does have adult content (themes and language, for those unfamiliar with the story), raising some eyebrows for the unprepared in the audience and those with small children.
The production continues Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. There is also a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m.
