If you haven’t guessed yet, the title is a quick and simple response to how I felt after this year’s spring musical, “Les Mis.” Simply put, incroyable in French or for the English version, incredible. Throughout the performance I kept saying to myself, incredible. The actors, the stage, the set, the costumes, the lighting, the atmosphere, everything was absolutely incredible. Every new scene, every line, the emotion, everything about this production was simply incredible.
Each year our drama department really does a great job, but I have to admit, I was a little worried about “Les Mis.” This is a classic, after all, and I admittedly worry about the tik tok generation getting it. I mean how can a novel written in 1862 (Victor Hugo) about historical facts from another country draw in a modern teen crowd? But if you look at the production photo above, you see the amazing students who poured their heart and soul into an amazing production to make the story hit home for anyone. The whole production team brought to life the story, the difficulty and all of the universal themes that we all live with—poverty, power, love, oppression and redemption. Each scene was done with passion and depth to make the audience feel what was going on.
Thank you to all of the parents who supported the kids through this production. The hours of hard work and rehearsal more than paid off, and I know the students will long remember the feeling of coming to the post production receiving line and hearing all of the positive comments, and how many other people shared how incredible the show was. There were many people in this show and too many to name them all, but a few of the seniors, your performance was beyond belief. To Alec, Joseph, Reese and Maddie, your talents abound. Your performances were outstanding as the main characters and Maddie, literally, had me in tears as she shared her pain. The show would not have been visually amazing though without all of the supporting cast members. To our other seniors—Adam, Clay, Kelsey, Emily, Hannah, Riley, Audrey and Lily—you all were so amazing, and knowing all of the choreography astounds me. Seniors in the crew— Rocco, Cayla, Haley, Natalie, Tristan and Antonio—your work is often behind the scenes but makes the show special.
My hat is off to Mrs. Scherger, Mrs. Corser and the entire production company of “Les Mis.” I am forever impressed and this is one of the best in SHS history. The title translates to the miserable ones, but not a single person who came to this show left disappointed.
