Do you hear these Black Knights sing? Theatre CHS just wrapped up their winter musical, Les Miserables, on February 16th. The show was a massive success, resulting in almost a full house every night, despite some obstacles for the cast and crew along the way. In the middle of tech week, the theater lost significant rehearsal time due to the snow, when the City Schools closed due to the weather conditions. However, after a quick turnaround and multiple Zoom calls, Theater CHS preservered.
David Becker, who runs the theater department here at Charlottesville High School directed the production. “The students did great work,” says Mr. Becker. “I don’t feel that I could ask for a different or ‘better’ outcome. Learning is not subjective, but the measurement of art and success is. For me, I think students know that they are brave, and for that alone, they feel stronger as a community that needs such bravery.”
Les Misérables is a musical based on the novel written by Victor Hugo. The story is set in 19th-century France, and stars a former prisoner named Jean Valjean. After being sentenced to nineteen years of prison for stealing a loaf of bread, he is finally released during the midst of the June Rebellion. Throughout the play, Jean is pursued by an inspector named Javert, while he also learns to take care of a young girl named Cosette. Overall, the plot encompasses themes of love, sacrifice, and morality, displaying how the low classes of France found their way in society during such a difficult time in history.
When asked about what the show means to him as a director, Mr. Becker writes, “I love the opportunities for so many voices, and the many different artistic levels that the piece touches on, from an actor standpoint based on story alone, and the known Victor Hugo novel, in addition to the relevancy of current world conversations on morals and ethics. Do criminals deserve a second chance? Define the Rule of Law – are people all flawed?”
The success of the show was not only rewarding for the audience, but also for the cast and crew. Rod Durrer worked with Becker to help organize extra rehearsal times and online meetings when school was closed. “Putting on Les Mis was a wonderful experience. Seeing the show come together from start to finish, and [watching] all the kids work towards one common goal,” says Durrer. “One thing I learned was that we can overcome any obstacle. And it proved even more with this show being that we missed so much rehearsal time. We should never second guess ourselves in life, and know that everything’s going to be okay if we just breathe.”
The determination of TheatreCHS stayed consistent throughout the missed rehearsal days. When given the option to potentially push back the show another week, Becker was dead set on putting the show on for its original date, and made it happen.
Dahlia Becker, a junior at CHS, played Cosette in Les Mis: “Everyone worked really hard individually. When we lost time, everyone was at home rehearsing their own stuff. I think the biggest challenge we faced was just putting the whole production together, because it’s a massive show with countless sets and a set change in every single scene. So I think the hardest part was getting in the flow of the show and timing out all the scene changes and the costume changes, while also still being able to maintain all the things you worked on individually. The technical side of putting it together was the most challenging.”
Despite how old the show is, Les Miserables is very technically advanced. Set changes occur consistently, requiring moving parts and heavy set design to represent the time period of the show. Amalia Hicks, a CHS senior, was responsible for the projected visuals that helped establish the scenery for the production. From castles to sewing factories, Amalia used digital drawing softwares to design and create unique backdrops.
Everyone knows some of the classics on the soundtrack of Les Miserables. The show is extremely music-oriented, with very little spoken dialogue. Many heavy topics are addressed throughout the musical, such as social injustice, poverty, and political change. This all must be displayed through the execution of the characters. Concentration on character types and human dynamic was crucial to the show’s success: “I think I most enjoyed it when the music rehearsals and blocking were all set,” says Becker. “Starting to run the show with other people and getting into the character work, because the show is really music-centered, but the dynamics between the characters are really important as well as music. I feel like that kind of gets put aside until the very end of the production process, when we get to run the show.”
So what’s next for TheatreCHS? Musical Theatre Ensemble Is currently putting together a production of Hadestown, with show dates soon to be released. This weekend, Cville Players is premiering their show, Peter and the Starcatcher, with shows on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Next week, just in time for spring break, the Musical Theatre Ensemble will be traveling to France to perform A Chorus Line, a show that first premiered back in the fall of 2024. To get more information about these events, you can visit their Instagram page, @theatre_chs.
