The Westhampton Beach theater department performed the challenging musical, Les Miserables, for this year’s spring musical.
The setting of this musical is from 1815 to 1832 and shows Jean Valjean (Brady Schultz) as he goes through life as an ex-convict. This musical contains a lot of tragedy, but also shows the power of unity and togetherness. Students worked hard to portray both the unity and hardship that makes Les Mis so beloved.
The cast spent two months working in the choir room to learn the songs. The producer, social studies teacher Mr. Andrew said, “We started rehearsals in December and spent a lot of time working on learning the challenging vocals. Some of our early rehearsals were also dedicated to working on character building, helping our actors dig deeper into the emotional stories of their characters. By the time we came back from February break, we were ready to start putting all of the pieces together.”
Because Les Mis is vocally demanding it requires a lot of emotion that is not comedy related, making this a very different show from what the school usually performs. Director Kimet Speed said, “When you sing it is usually because you have heightened emotions that you are trying to express, so this production had those heightened emotions for the whole show.”
She also shared, “These students have proven that they can handle comedy, but this was a big departure. A lot was asked of them to deliver the desperation of this show and they succeeded.”
The talented cast proved that they enjoyed doing emotional shows as much as comedy shows. Senior Mia Pazera, who played Fantine, said, “Doing an emotional show as my final one made it so much more special. Every emotion on stage felt real and it was wonderful to put on such a true performance like that.”
Not only did this musical show unity and togetherness, but the cast did as well. Junior Brady Schultz, who played Jean Valjean, said, “My favorite part of being in this show was getting so close with everyone in the cast. All of the cast members were so supportive of one another, and it was amazing to see everyone bond throughout the few months we were rehearsing for the show.”
Overall the production was a huge success. The audience was bigger than ever before. Director Kimet Speed, said, “I think the production was a spectacular triumph. I knew it was going to be beautiful and moving, but the reception from the school and the community was rewarding for all of us.”
All of the actors were able to share with the audience the intense emotions of the show and give them a night to remember. Bravo to the cast and crew of Les Miserables!