Their last year’s musical production of the biblical story Joseph and His Technicolor Coat is still fresh in my mind. So grand it was. And this year almost the same team from The Musical Theatre Club of Keswick Public School in Madurai took up one of the most celebrated musicals, Les Miserables , Victor Hugo’s epic and poignant story about survival.
The challenge lay in abridging the 1500 pages of the novel to a running time of 90 minutes while maintaining the integrity of the story -- the story of broken dreams and passion, struggles of adversity and redemption, social upheavals and personal courage in 19th Century France inter-twined with multi-layered emotions and relationships and the depth of thoughts.
As I sat watching I was transported to a nation in the throes of a revolution. There was violence and love, poverty and treachery, pathos and anger as the cast of 80 exceptional actors and singers sailed through on stage packing emotional wallops. I was moved not only by the remarkable performance but also the much evident hard work of all those involved in the ambitious production.
Every actor who graced the stage made the character he or she played more memorable. The sung-through piece was as though ideally meant for the young cast that lived the story’s redemptive message with flair.
The costumes were done well and professionally. The set, especially the barricade put up for the rebels, was awesome. The lighting worked well to separate areas of the stage.
Even though there was a minor glitch with the acoustics during the battle scene, the young actors had the presence of mind to ignore and minimise the distraction. The orchestra was well played but there were some moments when the output was a tad overwhelming making it hard to hear every word clearly. But it is to the credit of the ensemble cast that manoeuvred around the stage in unison whether it was the battle or the waltz scene while delightfully singing “One day more…”
In a play that is about more than one man’s journey and reflects the hard life he led, it is crucial to have lead characters with strong voices to sing the solos and also be part of an ensemble cast. There were definitely stand outs among the lead. Freddy Divakaran, a parent of the school and a lecturer at The American College was the only adult in the cast and he did an amazing job as Jean Valjean, the lead character. Jeshil as Inspector Javert was splendid and Alicia’s ever so sweet singing Fantine was a critical act and again memorable when she came back as the wicked innkeeper Madame Thenardier. She made an entertaining pair with Nehemian as Mr.Thenardier while Franklin as Marius and Lydene as Cosette made a fine duet.
The show’s triumph was also in part due to the school principal Maureen Jayaraj’s leadership along with Susan and Rabina as directors, the outstanding music on the keyboard by Timothy Samuel, the lights and sound effect by Chennai-based Audio Sciences.
“It was a huge task, says Maureen but I am happy that the students found their niche and a sense of belonging. Building a team with over 100 students, parents and faculty and impacting them to perform to the expectation of the novel’s celebratory status of a great musical thriller is in itself like reliving the multiple emotions the story tells us about,” she adds.
Set in 1815 France when Napoleon is defeated and France is ruled by a king again, the story is about a convict, Jean Valjean, released on parole after 19 years of unjust imprisonment for stealing a loaf of bread for his sister’s dying child.
He dreams of starting a new life but finds only mistrust and mistreatment all around. He steals a second time and is arrested but when he is saved and forgiven by the kind Bishop of Digne, Valjean is deeply repentant. Changing his name to M. Madeleine to start a new life, he goes on to become the mayor of a prosperous town and a loving adoptive father even thought a relentless Inspector Javert pursues him convinced that Valjean is a dangerous man who can never change his ways and lead a decent life.
Finally, during the Paris student uprising of 1832, when Valjean saves a student revolutionary who is in love with his adopted daughter Cosette and also spares Javert’s life, the inspector is forced to confront his ideals.
The show captured the minds, dazzled the eyes, was a treat to the ears and touched the hearts because Victor Hugo’s powerful story was told just the way it had to be. I forgot I was sitting in a school auditorium. Putting up a ticketed show is one thing and the fact that it came out well together goes to the credit of the entire staff behind it. But what needs to be acknowledged and recognised here is the unending rehearsals and hard work of the enthusiastic amateurs – all in their teens.
The article has been corrected for factual errors.
