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George Mason High School performed the popular musical Les Miserables. It takes place during the 19th century and depicts the deprived citizen of France desire to revolt against the unjust lives they are living there. The story revolves mainly around Jean Valjean, who had been in prison for a miniscule crime he committed 19 years ago. He tries to turn his life around. Jean becomes mayor and a father figure to Cosette. The men of the town want a revolution. Jean Valjean joins them and is one of the few who survived. Jean passes away peacefully in the end with the satisfaction he had redeemed himself from his criminal title.

The male voices were particularly strong. Jean Valjean (Sam Waters) had such a wonderful tone to his voice and had a very nice range which he displayed especially in “Bring Him Home.” Javert (Misha Terman) had a delightfully powerful voice and sang with such intensity. He was a thrill to watch especially with his solo songs such as “Stars.” Although the men were great, there were some outstanding women too. Eponine (Julia Estrada) had such a unique, sweet tone and sang with such ease. Her pain and desire for Marius was depicted skillfully in “On My Own.” Madame Thenardier (Aleeya Ensign) and Thenardier (Bryan Ward) were hysterical and surprisingly lovable for such rotten characters.

With such a large cast and so many characters on stage it can be very distracting to audiences. However, each chorus member had developed their own character that helped keep the audience focused. The chorus numbers were strong with vocals too. The harmonies were stunning and the blending of voices was also extremely impressive.

The lighting in this production was incredible. The war scene, especially, combined with the smoke, made it extremely believable that they were actually in combat. The set was well utilized. There were not many pieces to be moved. One of the most creative pieces was the bridge that lowered down from the ceiling. It was extremely effective in Javert’s suicide scene.

The show is practically and opera and extremely difficult to execute well in high school theatre. However, with George Mason’s strong cast, the lighting, and set, Les Miserables was anything but miserable.

by Jenna Kraynak of Mount Vernon High School

Photo Gallery

Ryan Short, Jake King, and Jason Kutchma	Veronica O’Rourke (Fantine)
Misha Terman (Javert) and Samuel Waters (Jean Valjean)	Ose Djan (Ensemble), Vijay Menon (Gavroche), Ryan Fields (Ensemble)
Anne Briggs (Cosette) and Samuel Waters (Jean Valjean)

Photos by Lauren Zampella and Jeremy Shumpert.