Local Youths Close Out Season With Longest Running Musical

Almost 11 months in the making, a local youth theatre company is ending their year by performing a classic musical.

Opening on Friday May 16, Riverfront Theatre Company (RYC) will stage their two week run of Les Miserables: School Edition at the Capitol Theatre (located at 121 University Avenue West.) Aside from a separate joint production of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, the play has been RYC’s focus throughout their current season.

While questioning themselves at one point, all involved felt it was the right time for the musical.

“We chose the show because we felt like this was our best year to have a good shot at it,” said Executive-Director Kristina Garswood. “We finally had the cast that we believed were up to the job, and a good number of boys in the company. We knew we were on the verge of losing three of those cast members to graduation and that this was the time to do the show. We wavered only very briefly over whether we could do it justice, and quickly acknowledged that it needed to be the focus of the entire season.”

Set in 19th century France, Les Miserables: School Edition follows ex-prisoner Jean Valjean through the years as he’s pursued by Inspector Javert. As the fugitive seeks a path to redemption, the chase finally culminates during the 1832 Paris student uprising. Considered a modern classic by many, the world’s longest-running musical is also known for its award winning score.

Despite containing mature themes though, RYC has strived to keep the original story intact.

“The School Edition of this production has been shortened in length from the original, but has not been edited for content,” said Garswood. “There is still mature content in this production with some songs shortened and one involving a complicated counter-point that’s been cut. Other than that, audiences won’t really see any difference. The integrity of this timeless classic has been faithfully maintained.”

With a main goal of allowing youth to be part of a collaborative theatre experience, the charitable organization accepts children and teens from grades one to 12. Forgoing registration fees, those who take part participate in fundraising and sponsor outreach instead. This allows staff and volunteers to focus on removing barriers that may prevent young actors from pursuing the art form.

As the company worked exclusively on Les Miserables during their season of rehearsals however, it also impacted their 2024 waiting list. Aware they’d be approaching such a mature show, new registrations were restricted to those in grade seven and up. Although some kids as young as eight are featured, they aren’t new to RYC and starting with this play. Because of this, the company hopes to compensate for the restriction with their intake for next season.

Allowing only returning students to audition for leads, casting began last July. From there, one or two small summer rehearsals were held with those selected for the musical. After the full group came back together in September, things then began in earnest.

Going from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays during the school year, it didn’t take long for different elements of the show to get folded in.

“We began with an intense focus on the music itself,” said Garswood. “Once they had a good handle on that, we started blocking and shaping the choreography with ever-greater detail. The final component will be locking in the actions on the barricade, which we haven’t been able to fully set up in our rehearsal space.”

Although it’s been a lot of work, those cast have been up for the challenge from the start.

“At the end of audition callbacks, our small group of students asked if they could try Do You Hear the People Sing together,” said the Executive-Director. “We hadn’t taught it, it wasn’t one of the audition pieces and they had never sung it together but we let them. Even that first unrehearsed small performance of it with our rehearsal tracks sent our directorial team scrambling for the tissue boxes. Every rehearsal, they bring us to tears. Picking apart the themes and harmony and getting the timing right – the mechanics – that’s painstaking work and They’ve done it.”

Viewed as the biggest thing RYC has asked of its actors, some help was brought in for the intense material and complex vocal work. Two graduates from the University of Windsor’s concurrent Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Education program are serving as Music Directors. In addition, two Vocal coaches have also done individual and small group work with some students.

Beyond this, youth have engaged with the story in many ways. Watching the movie with them, RYC has also purchased abridged, graphic and unabridged versions of the book to loan the group.

In the end, it’s all been in service of digging deeper for a powerful performance.

“we taught the story thoroughly and constantly asked them to think about what would be going through their heads,” said Garswood. “We see our actors delivering their songs thoughtfully, intentionally, with great expression and it’s incredibly moving. For myself, I’ve always been powerfully moved by Javert’s suicide and by Fantine’s I Dreamed a Dream. But there’s a special thrill of excitement and pride I feel in our company when hearing them sing their ensemble numbers together.”

Behind the scenes, the theatre company has also given the play everything it has. With almost 200 costumes for 42 students and all leads being double cast, the directorial team has been busy. As a period piece with iconic looks, costumers have had to ensure everything remains accurate as well.

Paired with costuming, another aspect of immersion has been the production’s stage design. Getting underway in January, set construction received some preparatory work in the fall so that flats would be ready. After this, the team got together two or three times a week to continue in the company’s basement rehearsal space at Paulin Memorial Presbyterian Church. Creating projections all season, RYC’s scenic designer has also spent hours at the theatre painting set pieces between work, rehearsals, university classes and student placements. Other volunteers have chipped in by bringing smaller pieces home to paint and return, rotating through everything that needed to get finished.

It’s the type of group effort Garswood thinks theatre-goers will notice immediately.

“When the curtain goes up, the audiences will see everything that has gone into this process on a scale that we have never before been able to present,” she said. “I think they’ll be floored. There’s a huge barricade, flying set pieces, a rolling cart, several two storey houses and 13 projections.”

Spending so much time on these aspects, it’s also helped with performances along the way.

“We have an incredible array of period costumes for our cast and they’ve been having fittings for months, so they all know how good they’re going to look,” said the Executive-Director. “I think it definitely does help them play into their characters. Our Mme. Thénardier has a particular stage fall that she does and every time she does it, I can see her thinking about how it will look in her enormous hoop skirt — she plays that up to full advantage. They know how much authenticity the costuming will lend to the production. They’re very excited by and proud of the beautiful costumes that the team has been creating and locating for them.”

Beyond preparing for the musical itself, RYC also went outside the box to incorporate an educational component for everyone on Saturdays. Linking it to the story, the company devoted a couple of hours every week in their first semester to teaching plot, themes, characters, history and more to kids with interactive lessons. This included keeping scrapbook-style portfolios of the story called lapbooks letting everyone personalize them by showcasing parts of the story they connected with.

Adding to their understanding, an overnight “electronics famine” was instated through and immediately after one rehearsal: This meant youth couldn’t touch their devices for 24 hours. A can drive for Feed the Need Windsor was also included to help everyone understand how social issues in Les Miserables are still relevant today.

On top of these activities, another unique opportunity took place in RYC’s rehearsal space.

“Probably the most unique approach we took was dedicating three weeks of those lessons to holding a dramatised parole board hearing for Jean Valjean,” said Garswood. “The kids took turns testifying as witnesses, using their own words to say how their characters interacted with Valjean and what his impact was on them throughout the plot. Afterwards, they voted as a group on which position they held: Was Valjean or was he not a changed man deserving of the court’s mercy and grace?”

RYC members also saw Les Miserables at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit last December. It’s an experience that allowed them to envision their own performances in the company’s upcoming production.

Enriching young actors and presenting such a high calibre show to audiences, some hard work was done outside the theatre as well.

“In addition to our incredible sponsorship, fundraising for this show has included car washes, Bowlathons, a huge pasta dinner and trivia night fundraiser,” said Garswood. “We have worked diligently to try to raise money to cover the production costs for this season.  Nothing means more to us than ticket sales though because in the end, what we really want is the chance to show off the incredible results of all the time and effort that has gone into our beautiful show. ”

After living with Les Miserables for close to a year, the Executive-Director thinks everyone will have a hard time letting it go. Immersing themselves in this world for so long, RYC has never made a production its singular focus for an entire season. Predicting the experience will be emotional, Garswood also believes those graduating from the company are finishing up with a pinnacle show they’ll carry for a long time.

For those returning next year however, the challenge is finding them something just as rewarding.

“we are doing that in a couple of ways,” said the Executive-Director. “First of all, we’re going to give them something lighter and more humorous in our January production to give them a chance to be more playful. This will also give our younger kids more of an opportunity to shine. Secondly, we’ve selected a Windsor-Essex premiere with the incredible stage spectacular The Prince of Egypt for our full-company musical next year. We know that this will challenge our kids in new ways. We’ll be stretching them as they learn new dance skills while learning to tell the truly epic tale of Moses, the Pharaoh and parting of the Red Sea. They’ll be bringing that to our community for the very first time and that’s exciting stuff.”

Staged by Riverfront Theatre Company, performances of Les Miserables: School Edition will take place at the Capitol Theatre on May 16, 17, 18, 23, 24 and 25. Showtimes are 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $27 each and can be purchased online. The show is recommended for those ages 12+ due to mature themes while those who are younger may enjoy the play with parental guidance. Outside food and drink are not permitted.

After months of work and preparation, Garswood thinks it’s an experience people won’t want to miss.

“I really believe that everyone needs to see Les Mis at some point in their lives,” she said. “It’s an incredible story and one of the most beloved musicals of all time …We were out at Devonshire Mall promoting the show on May 3rd and people were stopping in their tracks to listen. That’s what this music does, it just reaches out and grabs you.”