Shasta High School Production of Les Miserables – Incredible!
May 9th, 2008 Categories: Miscellaneous
Redding may be considered a small-ish town, but I doubt that any High School in the country (heck, any College for that matter) could have accomplished what the hundreds of students, parents, faculty and friends of Shasta High School did in this amazing production.
Our family has been in professional theater for decades, and while we enjoy productions on all levels, we are still pretty tough critics. We had no plans to see this High School production (Les Mis? Performed by teenagers? Good luck!) when our daughter’s piano teacher, Carol Ann Davies (proud mother of Andrew Davies playing the role of antagonist Javert) firmly told us that we HAD to see this play. We figured it was just a proud mom talking, but we have high regard for Carol Ann’s musical judgment, and we weren’t doing anything else, so we got tickets and went to the Thursday evening performance.
From the moment the all-student orchestra struck the first chords of the prologue, to the tearful and powerful finale, we couldn’t have been more impressed and moved if we were at the Schubert Theater on Broadway!
Great attention was given to each detail of costume, set, choreography, blocking, dynamics, diction – every moment of the performance was rich with the focused energy of a clearly dedicated cast and crew.
And the talent on the stage – whew! The lead role of Jean Valjean was beautifully delivered by Senior Cameron Woolfstead – a young man with a voice I could listen to all day long. Wonderfully rich and filled with pathos, he was as compelling and strong at the end of the demanding night as he was at the beginning. His sincere and understated portrayal was the perfect center around which all of the other colorful characters could whirl.
Another voice I could listen to all day long is that of Michelle Miller who played the doomed Fantine with such innocence and commitment, I have no doubt that every single audience member needed two handkerchiefs after her last scene.
Senior Sarah Schmidt, Eponine, absolutely lit up the stage whenever she entered, and especially when she sang – as clear and pure a voice as you could ever hear.
Andrew Davies did a wonderful job of giving Javert great depth and humanity, making the tragic tale even more compelling.
In fact, every actor on the stage was incredibly real and believable in these fiercely dramatic roles. Is this the group that has stuck to light musical comedy in years past? Where did they get these spot-on acting chops? Standing ovation to all of the directors and teachers that have worked with them, because they nailed it in every way!
Sure, it wasn’t flawless, there were a few flubbed notes here and there, but even those seemed to add to the human-ness of the characters and make you love them and cry for them all the more as their story was told.
My only regret is that this show is ending so soon that there’s no time to get everyone I know to go see it – they will miss something important.
Bravo, brava, and thank you to everyone involved with this once-in-a-lifetime production – I hope the glow of its success stays with you for a very long time!
Lisa Collins
Is a Realtor in Northern California
Specializing in Riverfront Property
Lisa@ReddingRiverQueen.com
530-953-8542
www.ReddingRiverQueen.com
