February 26, 2003

Revolutionary school musical

Herald photos by Garret Leiva
Marius, played by Tyler Harkert, holds hands with Cosette, portrayed by Chelsea Kramer, as the lovers sing about “One Day More.”

West Senior High tackles task of staging legendary 'Les Miserables'

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer

Next month, the West High School Music Department is staging the production of "Les Miserables, School Edition," pulling together 100 students as actors, musicians and stagehands.
The pinnacle of musical theater, "Les Miserables" includes ten showings beginning on Thursday, March 13. With challenging vocals, complex staging and intricate costumes and props, the show will be an order of magnitude more difficult than anything the department has taken on before.
"It is overwhelming, when we found out we were going to do it we were overwhelmed and excited," said Chelsea Kramer, a senior who is playing the older Cosette. "All of us coming together and putting together a production of this caliber, it is amazing because we get so close and grow in so many ways musically and theatrically."

Herald photo by Garret Leiva
French revolutionaries cling to a barricade of furniture from a scene from "Les Miserables" performed by the Traverse City West Senior High Music Department. West Senior High will present the legendary musical March 13 through March 23 and April 12 and 13 in the school auditorium.

"Forty years from now, when I look back at high school or attend a reunion, this is what I will think of," she noted.
Some cast members were able to see a production of "Les Miserables" while in London last summer as part of the Michigan Ambassadors program. This experience has been beneficial to them as they master the music and staging during intense rehearsals.
"It helped to see it and it was nice to see how much this has turned out like it," said Leigh Scheffler, a junior playing Eponine.
Presenting "Les Miserables" at the school has long been a dream of choral director Russ Larimer. A high school version of the show was finally released last spring. The day Larimer received the announcement, he faxed the application back within hours. West High School was one of the first schools in Michigan given performance rights, one of 900 high schools nationwide granted permission.
"This is no doubt the toughest, the depth and breadth of the parts is huge - there are literally dozens of lead parts," said choral director Russ Larimer.
Director Pat Gallagher said the timeless themes of the Victor Hugo's story, set during the French Revolution, resonate today.
"It is a story of redemption, passion and conversion," Gallagher noted. "It is a story that many young people may not read so to add that to their classic repertoire is wonderful."
Gallagher is a fifth-grade teacher at Eastern Elementary School who assists both high schools with their musical theater productions. "Les Miserables" will be the 16th show she has staged in the district - one that will be a knock out, she said.
"I think the community is going to be stunned, absolutely stunned by the level of performance of these kids," Gallagher said. "I think that many people in northern Michigan have never seen anything like this and to see it performed by high school students is amazing."
Larimer said that the adaptation is not a watered down version of the adult production that took Broadway and the nation by storm. It does have some built in safety valves in the music to accommodate high school vocalists and musicians, such as provisions for recorded music instead of a live orchestra. However, he noted that the school is not using these options.
He did instigate a few small changes, however.
"We have gotten permission from Music Theatre International [the licensing company] to change several words," Larimer noted. "We're working very hard to maintain the integrity and artistic aspects of the show and make it so that we feel comfortable to have high school students perform this and have it be something we present to the community."
When his application was accepted, Larimer realized the scope of the task ahead of him and moved his usual production timetable up by months. He cast his leads last September instead of January and instructed them to memorize their music by the end of Christmas break. Scores and compact discs of the music circulated among the students all fall to help with their learning.
Larimer did make a casting exception for Mick Hodgetts, an exchange student from Australia spending this semester at West High School. Hodgetts won the role of Jean Valjean, a major lead, not long after he stepped off the plane.
An experienced singer and actor, Hodgetts said his role has been a musical stretch for him but has relished the challenge.
"I thought this part was two octaves out of my range," said Hodgetts, whose previous role in a 'Jesus Christ Superstar' production back home required deep bass singing. "But I am doing it."
With just weeks of rehearsals under his belt, Hodgetts has nearly mastered his lines and stage directions. Despite the frantic pace of catching up, the Les Miserables production has been a great way to make friends.
"It's been a good way to get to know people, otherwise I'd still be sitting by myself in class saying, 'Hi, I'm the guy from Australia,'" he noted.
Les Miserables will be double cast, which means each actor learns two parts. Leads with major roles will perform them five nights and perform a variety of supporting roles for alternating performances.
The students are also learning to sing and present themselves in high-energy Broadway style, which means projection, projection, projection.
"Projecting the voice is a big thing in this musical," said Forrest Nelson, a tenth-grade student playing Enjolras and Jolly. "This is a big musical worldwide so everybody is asking if we have the voice to do it, the maturity. And we do."
"Les Miserables, School Edition," will be shown at 7:30 p.m. on the evenings of March 13-16 and 20-23 as well as on April 12 and 13. Tickets are $15. For more information, call the West High School box office at 933-7509.

Herald photos by Garret Leiva
Val Jean, portrayed by Michael Hodgdetts, comforts a dying Fantine, played by Sarah Liebenguth in a scene from “Les Miserables.”

Marius, played by Kent Wood, sings to Cosette, played by Jennifer Smith, as Eponine, portrayed by Khaki Pixley, looks on in longing.

Thenardier, played by Brenton Sell, and Mme. Thenardier, played by Erin Socia, sing about who is exactly “Master of the House” as bar patrons join in the high spirit high jinks.

Enjolras, played by Forrest Nelson, reaches for the outstretched hand of Gauroche, played by Lyndzi Grant, who holds a bag of bullets he gave his life for after climbing over the barricade.