Mason Brown as Javert, left, and Gavin Clay as Jean Valjean star in West Branch High School’s presentation of Les Miserables this weekend. Tickets are available at wbmusic.org. (Submitted photo)

BELOIT — West Branch High School’s 2024-25 theatrical season will conclude with Les Miserables. It is a crowning achievement for WBHS, which is one of only a handful of high schools to produce this epic and powerful musical. “I am in awe of our students and am absolutely thrilled to bring this musical to our stage,” said WBHS Director Krista Clay. “The production of this show has brought together so many people in our community and school including parents, alumni, students, administration and more. Their dedication, achievement and expertise in all aspects of this theatrical production have come together to create a first class performance.”

The show will be presented in the West Branch Community Auditorium on Friday, April 11 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, April 13 at 2 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at wbmusic.org. Adult tickets are $14 and $12 for students/senior citizens. All seats are reserved.

Les Miserables is based on a novel by the same name written in 1862 by Victor Hugo. His enormously successful career covered most of the 19th century and spanned both the Romantic and Realistic movements. A great poet, novelist, playwright, essayist, pamphleteer, diarist, politician, and moralist, Hugo was a man of immense passion and endless contradictions. When Les Miserables was published in 1862, it generated more excitement than any book in the history of publishing. Many Americans identified with Hugo’s text simply because of the social unrest here in the United States caused by the Civil War.

Les Miserables is the world’s most popular musical with over 15,000 performances worldwide, it is the longest running musical in either Broadway or London history. It was voted The Best Musical Ever by a large British poll, and two of their forty-seven recordings have won Grammy Awards. In the 1980s the idea of making Hugo’s text into a stage musical became a reality. This high spirited drama is truly a contemporary opera that easily lends itself to all people. According to Clay, “This production is a contemporary opera and will be one of the only opportunities most students in our district have to perform an operatic work.” Composers Alain Boublil, Claude-Michael Schonberg, and Herbert Kretzmer have collaborated with many other talented theatrical luminaries to adapt the 1862 novel for the stage. Les Miserables contains some of the most glorious, poetic, and gorgeous music ever composed. Schonberg and his associates have painted a glorious word-and-song picture of Hugo’s wonderful narrative, condensing and morphing the story into a captivating and breathtaking musical, making it one of the classics.

Traditionally, Les Miserables is staged with a plain, one-unit set. The most unique feature of the Broadway set is the addition of a turning center stage. Most schools choose to do the musical without this option because it is costly and hard to construct. The West Branch High School community has worked diligently to prepare a rotating stage for the set of this classic musical drama. With the expertise of Joe Courtwright, Scott Close, Zach Bloss and Bryan Hobbins, a rotating stage similar to that of Broadway will be featured in the production. It will be controlled by a variable speed controller and features both clockwise and counterclockwise rotation. This is to ensure that the movement of the stage will fit with the emotional cadence of the show, moving quickly when the characters are moving, thinking, or expressing themselves with urgency, and moving slowly when the story requires it. This marvelous feat has taken much time and financial commitment to build and operate effectively, but it provides the audience with a constantly flowing, real-time story, combining the historical fiction of the show with 21st century technology to create a vibrant, living picture of poverty, love, indignant rebellion, and the ever present clash of good and evil. In addition to this mechanical feat, the set design and building have created a professional theatrical set designed by Courtwright, Close, Bloss and Hobbins. Artistic elements and painting have been added with the expertise of local artist/art teacher Kevin Hoopes. Hoopes was assisted in his painting design by his wife Michele Hoopes, Tiffany Hobbins and the student stage crew for the show. In addition to the above, Genna Case of Deer Path Designs, has created large scale stained glass windows for the production.

Set at the beginning of the famous French Revolution during the 1840s and 50s, this timeless lyrical retelling reveals much of the political unrest that thrived under the noses of wealthy, uncaring dignities across France, particularly in Paris. College students in the cities were aware of the plight of the poor, and many sacrificed their very lives at the hands of the French military in the hope that their efforts would set in motion the necessary processes to create a brighter future for the poor, a world in which all treat all others as equals, where the law gives every man and woman the intrinsic worth they have the right to possess, regardless of their political and demographic situation. Amidst this tremendous period of history, we find the baffling beautiful story of sin and redemption played out in the life of one Jean Valjean, whose love and selfless nature touch the lives of many others, most notably that of his adopted daughter, Cosette; however, Valjean, while a fantastic example of a Christian goodness, is actually a convict at large. Having spent nineteen years in prison, Valjean had no respect for the French law, which had condemned him to an unspeakable amount of torturous time behind bars simply because he had stolen a single loaf of bread to feed his starving nephew. Upon his release from jail, Valjean is taken into residence for a night by a kindly bishop, from whom Valjean promptly steals some valuable silver. As he is caught immediately the next morning, the bishop amazingly forgives Valjean and gives him two more pieces of silver, candlesticks, simultaneously releasing the ex-convict from countless more years in prison and funding the rest of his life.

Taken aback by this inexplicable compassion, Valjean dedicates his soul to God as he rips up his ticket of leave from prison, clearing his name. He takes on an alias and leaves the city. Because he is on the run, his parole officer, the mercilessly obsessive inspector Javert, now the chief of police chases Valjean until the very day of his death. Many other characters also interact with and are touched by Valjean, including his daughter’s mother, Fantine, who dies under Valjean’s care, Cosette’s lover and a revolutionary, Marius, and the leader of the student revolution, Marius’ best friend, Enjolras. And let us not forget the comic relief of the show, Monsieur and Madame Thenardier, the infamous gang leaders whose dark demeanor and curt jokes provide lighter, while evil, moments in this otherwise heavy and humorless production.

Junior actor and singer, Gavin Clay, will command the role of hero, Jean Valjean as he powerfully sings the incredible vocal range of this character. Gavin’s stage presence and acting can really be seen in many of the numbers, but mostly in the reflective monologue moments of the role. Gavin is the son of Corey and Krista Clay and has been in every production on the West Branch stage since he was in eighth grade. His previous roles include Gomez Addams in The Addams Family, Aladdin in Aladdin Jr., the Beast in Beauty and the Beast just to name a few.

Sophomore, Mason Brown, will bring to life the role of villain, Javert. Performing “Stars” will be a highlight of the show for Javert. Mason is the son of Chris and Christine Brown, and was most recently seen on the stage as Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast. He has also appeared in many other productions at West Branch since he was in elementary school. Junior, Mollie McDorman is the daughter of John and Nikki Gossett and is no stranger to the stage at WBHS. In this show, she will provide comic relief as the evil Madame Thenardier. She was recently featured as Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast. Freshman, Adrian Hairston, will play her hysterical con artist husband, Thenardier. Eponine will be played by 8th grade student, Cecilia Raga. Cecilia will shine in her first starring role. She is a member of the Young & Alive show choir and recently traveled to Florida with them. Jude Corallo, a junior at WBHS, willplay the role of Enjolras. Jude was recently seen in Beauty and the Beast as Gaston. He is a member of WBHS band, football and track teams and the Young & Alive show choir. Jude is the son of Dr. Marco and Dr. Janelle Corallo. Senior, Wyatt Meisenheimer, will portray the bishop as well as the army officer. Wyatt was last seen on our stage as Belle’s father, Maurice, in Beauty and the Beast. Freshman, Ashton Clay, will be performing the role of Marius. Ashton was last seen as LeFou in Beauty and the Beast. Noelle Shutler, sophomore, will brilliantly entertain audiences in the role of Cossette. Her gorgeous lyric soprano voice will touch the audience in her portrayal of “A Heart Full of Love.” Playing the role of Fantine is junior, Abigail Janosik. Her performance of “I Dreamed a Dream” is sure to pull at the heart strings of every audience member. She was most recently seen on stage as Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast. Sixth grader, Victoria Jones, will be playing the part of sad, young Cosette, who often dreams of her own little castle on a cloud. Scarlet Dawes will be seen onstage as the chosen daughter, young Eponine. Seventh grader, Sutton Clay, will be playing the loveable part of Gavroche. Sutton is no stranger to the stage at West Branch, playing her first chorus role at the age of three in The King & I. The cast and crew of Les Miserables includes over 80 students and volunteers. Audience members will love the large chorus numbers with the gorgeous melodies filling the 900 seat auditorium. Local voice teacher Bill Ambert has coached characters that perform solos in the musical. Music director and artistic director Krista Clay has worked hard on the musical numbers and choreographer/assistant director, Tessa Murphy, has transformed the stage into a whirlwind of stage movement. Junior student, Alli Kanagy, who has been seen in many leading roles including Belle in Beauty and the Beast, the Genie in Aladdin, Oliver in Oliver and Matilda in Matilda just to name a few, has used her knowledge and experience by serving as the student assistant for this production. She has helped some of our beginning actors find their voice and presence on the stage.

The costumes are lavish and reminiscent of 19th century France, and crews of parents have been working to complete some of them for the past two months. Stacey Aldridge has led the charge of fitting and putting together costumes, and Andrea Zippay has spent time finding specialty costumes and also serving as our seamstress for four of the main characters. A special thank you goes out to parents, Abbey Dawes and Miranda Simon for their help in fixing and fitting costumes to each individual performer.

The set, also designed and built by local parents, is exquisite and fits the needs of the production’s scenes and musical numbers. The audience is taken to various sections of France. Painting crews have been working on the set for several months while many fathers and community members are working late into the evenings to finish what might be called a theatrical “work of art.”

The technical crew for the show is composed of Corey Clay, junior WBHS student Adam Corallo and Eric Waggoner. This crew will be running 32 wireless microphones and making sure all the special effects and lighting are executed as planned.