Review, Photography, and Video
by Gary Olsen

o you enjoy school musicals as much as I do? I like them for perhaps different reasons than most people who endeavor to attend these extravaganzas. Since I've seen my share of professional theater productions (this particular one three times around the country), I was eager to see how a high school cast was going to pull off something this complex. Anyone who knows the show will tell you... it's a marathon.

Video Control Panel
For connections on anything but a high-speed network, like a phone modem.	This is for DSL or higher-speed networks. Larger video, better audio.	This is for cable modems and high-speed networks (like Mediacom).

I actually saw this show twice, once as the final dress rehearsal, and the second time on Sunday, January 19th, a matinee, and their last show in the brief run. The Sunday show before a full house was so much more than what I saw in the dress rehearsal. The sound was fantastic, voices could be heard distinctly, and after a while, I forgot I was watching a high school cast. I closed my eyes for a couple of numbers and I swore I was on Broadway. The only difference was some of these castmembers I noticed were wearing braces.

Young voices are put to the test in Les Miserables because the whole production is one continuous musical arrangement... no dialogue in the traditional sense (the "we talk, now we break out in song" productions like Oklahoma or Bye Bye Birdie). Les Miserables is in the tradition of the operetta, where all the parts and interplay among actors and chorus are sung. This also puts stress on the orchestra (here under the direction of cast parent Dr. Jack Luke). Other than the intermission, there's virtually no break for the musicians in the pit orchestra. The charts have the heft of our phone book.

"I closed my eyes during a couple of numbers, and I swore I was on Broadway. The only difference was some of these castmembers I noticed were wearing braces."

Hempstead High School's production, under the direction of vocal music teacher, Bill Fordice (son Ryan plays Jean Valjean), is one of nine schools in the nation staging this musical for the first time this year. The publishing company who distributes the rights has prepared a paired down version of this Tony Award-winning property, calling it a "School Edition." But, honestly, this was my fourth time seeing this, and I had a hard time figuring out what was actually left out. The story is of love, love lost, love found, dreams, dreams broken, and dreams come true. The underlying story is about the enduring spirit of good people in bad situations. It takes place in the early 19th Century in post-revolutionary France, and it's based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo.

But let's talk about the young performers. A couple of the roles, I understand, were double cast to widen the circle of participation and opportunity, but the final dress rehearsal version I saw was incredibly good. Some of my favorite songs from Les Mis gave me goosebumps in the capable and talented hands of these young students. Fantine (Melissa Biermann) whose photograph is at right was strong and dare I say gifted. And I really enjoyed the lead, Ryan Fordice. His earnest portrayal of the escaped convict turned adoptive father, mayor and prosperous businessman, was excellent. I also saw Andrew Slade for the first time (Javert). Like his character, he had a command of this difficult role and made it his own.

Eponine, played by Amy Fuller, has a wonderful, wonderful voice. Marius (Luke Viertel) has this boyish look that belies his incredibly mature voice.

But two standouts were the innkeeper and his wife, the Thenardier's, played by Jamie Sturdevant and Mollie Lange. These parts traditionally call for a somewhat over-the-top performance to get the laughs (Master of the House is their signature piece). Jamie played the part of the thieving innkeeper with a combination of comedy and menace. His accent was smashing. His counterpoint, Mollie, was equally talented and played off of Jamie perfectly.

Many of us know what a show like this is supposed to sound like on Broadway, with experienced adult voices, but that's one of the cool things about seeing a high school production. If a kid has any talent at all, it begins to show itself in high school. This is where careers get on the runway, preparing to take off. Virtually every professional show business legend discovered their talent and enthusiasm for their trade in high school. For the audience, you are on the ground floor. True, most students' venture into the arts only manifest themselves as an avocation rather than a vocation, but it's still great to discover wonderful and budding talent on the high school stage.

All the principal voices in this production were more than capable of the challenge of this musical and several were exceptional.

Staging was excellent as well as the costumes, spare but evocative set pieces, and the lighting. It was purposely high key, and it emphasized the reds in the costumes on stage.

This could be my most favorite musical in the world now. I always liked it, but now I love it. Hempstead's production made me love it even more.

I'm proud to have met and now know the director, Bill Fordice. I can hardly wait to attend his next production. He is such a pro, and he's so good with the kids. He's never terse (at least I didn't see terse when I was filming the backstage documentary). In fact, that's what you want in a high school director. He's not really a director in the showbusiness sense of the word, but he's a teacher. A teacher doesn't intimidate but inspires. "Have fun with it..." is an often used expression of Bill's. Doesn't learning come easier when you're having fun? Bill seems to have figured this out.

P.S. If you see this production at the always lovely and historic Five Flags Theater, check around the audience during Fantine's death scene. It will make you wish you had the Kleenex concession.