For this year’s spring musical, the Yorktown Theatre Department will be putting on a production of Les Misérables, directed by Alani Kravitz with Jocelyn Mullins as the music director. The show will run on April 4, 5 and 6. Audiences are in for a masterfully detailed performance as the company takes on this fan favorite!
The show follows an ex-convict named Jean Valjean (junior Matthew Aslaksen), who is released after 19 years in prison. The show opens with Valjean allowed on parole, which he eventually breaks to start a new life. As a result, he is pursued by Inspector Javert (junior Colin Riley) who is hell bent on catching Valjean.
After breaking parole, Valjean becomes the mayor of a town and owner of a factory. Working on the floor of Valjean’s factory is Fantine (senior Cordelia Clayton). After the discovery of her child out of wedlock, Fantine is fired. Her daughter is named Cosette (junior Caitlin Webster). Fantine is forced into prostitution and eventually dies, but Valjean is able to rescue her daughter from seedy innkeepers the Thenardiers (junior Carson Knowles and junior Ryan Schimenti). The Thenardiers have crueley raised Cosette for years along with their own daughter Eponine.
Forward about ten years in Paris, where the Thenardiers have moved, with their children Eponine (junior Bella Houston) and Gavroche (freshman Quinn Jones) in tow. There is unrest in the poor areas of Paris, which students like Enjolras (junior Liam Kalchbrenner) and Marius (junior Drew Wright) have dedicated their lives to help. Valjean and an older Cosette, (senior Alannah Hjelm) appear, and she and Marius fall in love at first sight. Marius pleads with Eponine to help him find Cosette, but Eponine is is hopelessly in love with Marius. The turmoil in Paris is coming to a head, and the students and Marius organize an uprising and build a barricade in the street. Valjean finds out about Marius and Cosette and decides to go to the barricade to ensure Marius survives.
After the students, Marius and Enjolras build the barricade a battle with officers ensues. Inspector Javert pretends to be allied with the students, but is caught and to be dealt with later. While this occurs, Eponine is caught in the crossfire and dies in Marius’ arms. She is the first student casualty. Valjean arrives to help the students and lets Javert go. By the end of the fight only Marius and Valjean are alive. Marius is gravely injured, but Valjean is able to get him to safety. Inspector Javert ends up committing suicide after realizing he has spent his entire life chasing a innocent man.
After Marius is healed, he and Cosette are married. The Thenardiers arrive at the wedding unannounced and tell Marius they saw Valjean carrying a dead body, trying to imply he was killing students. Marius instead realizes that Valjean is the one who saved him. Marius and Cosette go to talk to Valjean, who is dying, after their wedding. At this point, the entire cast, dead or alive, joins them on stage to close the show.
We are so excited to see how the show unfolds and audiences are sure to be swept off their feet by this amazing cast. Tickets are on sale now at yhstheatre.org so make sure to grab one before they are gone!
