Young thespians to present ‘Les Misérables’

Musical Sept. 5-14 at ECC will feature Elburn, Maple Park actors

by Martha Quetsch

            “Les Misérables,” a huge hit in France as a novel by Victor Hugo in 1862, was equally popular as a Broadway musical between 1987 and 2003.

            Young local actors performing the show with Children's Theater of Elgin (CTE) and Fox Valley Theatre Company during the next two weekends hope audiences will find their production appealing, too.

            “It's an amazing musical,” said cast member Alli Thrun, 17, of Elburn.

            Thrun plays a factory worker and is a chorus member. This is her third role with Children's Theatre of Elgin.

            Set in early 19th-century France, the classic tale follows the intertwining stories of a cast of characters as they struggle for redemption and revolution.

            Thrun said the story is sad, but not entirely.

            “It's also inspirational, because you can identify with the characters, and there is hope,” she said.

            The musical score of “Les Misérables” is “large and beautiful,” said Thrun, a member of the chorale and vocal jazz groups at St. Charles North High School. Among the most famous songs in the show are "I Dreamed a Dream," "One Day More,” "A Heart Full of Love," "Stars," "Bring Him Home," "Master of the House," "On My Own" and "Do You Hear the People Sing?"

            The cast of the musical being staged at Elgin Community College includes nearly 60 students ranging in age from 10 to 19 years. They have been rehearsing four times a week since July.

            Tracy Suppes, 10, of Elburn, plays Young Cosette. A Wasco Elementary School student, she has appeared in previous CTE productions. 

            Appearing for the first time with the theatre is Scott Stover, 15, of Maple Park, who is playing a revolutionary. Stover is a member of the chorale at Burlington Central High School, where he was in the cast of “Anything Goes” last spring.

            Stover admires his character in “Les Misérable,”—Feuilly, one of 10 revolutionaries.

            “They fought not for themselves but for their families, so that they could live better,” Stover said.

            The director is Terry Domschke, of Elgin, and the musical director is Karen Brhel, of Bartlett, Ill.

            The original production of the musical “Les Misérable” received rave reviews in London in 1985. The Broadway production, performed more than 6,000 times, won eight Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Original Score.

            For more information about the Fox Valley Theatre Company and Children's Theatre of Elgin show's roduction of “Les Misérable” at ECC, visit www.cteelgin.com.

'Les Misérables'—a musical presented by Children's Theatre of Elgin and Fox Valley Theatre Company at Elgin Community College's Blizzard Theater

Fridays & Saturdays, Sept. 5, 6, 12 & 13 at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays, Sept. 7 & 14 at 3 p.m

Tickets cost $10, $8 for students and seniors.

www.elgin.edu/community.aspx?id=2220 • (847) 622-0300

Rehearsing a scene for the musical production of 'Les Miserable' by Children's Theatre of Elgin and Fox Valley Theatre Company are, (above, left) Alli Thrun of Elburn,  Mark Michelson of Elburn, Anne Olson, and Chantel Gust. The musical, based on the 1862 novel by Victor Hugo, tells the story of Jean Valjean, who tries to start a new life in Revolution-torn France after being in prison for five years for stealing a loaf of bread. Also during pre-costume practices are Hanna Schutzkus, as Young Eponine and Esther Fiebig, as Madame Thenardier, and Brogan Gust as Thenardier and Esther Fiebig as Madame Thenardier. The cast has rehearsed since July for the production that opens this weekend at Elgin Community College Blizzard Theater. courtesy photos

09/05/2008