‘A show like no other’: Directors and students prepare for opening night of iconic musical ‘Les Misérables’

Feb. 8, 2025

By Farah Afifi
Staff Writer

As opening night for “Les Misérables” nears, the cast of 46 students is putting the finishing touches on LHS’ most ambitious musical yet. 

Tickets for the show, which will take place at Lyndhurst Middle School from Feb. 13 to 15 at 7 p.m., cost $12. They can be purchased at the door before the show or at the student entrance before school, during lunch and after school in the week leading up to the musical. Tickets are also on sale for $13.46, including fees, at CUR8.com.

“Les Misérables,” which features music by Claude-Michel Schönberg and lyrics by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, is based on Victor Hugo’s 1862 classic novel.

Set in the 19th century during the June Rebellion, the musical centers on Jean Valjean (senior Drew Bancroft), a former convict who broke his parole and is seeking redemption.

Senior Angelina Brennen is taking on one of the lead female roles as Fantine, a young, single mother with a heartbreaking backstory.

“I was so excited when I found out I would be playing Fantine,” Brennen said. “She goes on such an intense emotional journey in a short time, and I am so happy to be able to portray that for the audience.”

Brennen, who has been in the previous two LHS musicals, said even though it is bittersweet to think about “Les Misérables” being her last production as an LHS student, she looks forward to being back on stage.

“This is my favorite musical of all time, and we never thought we would be able to perform it.”

“I am ready to put on a great final performance and show the audience what the best and brightest of LHS look like,” Brennen said. 

She said that while “Les Misérables” is not a big flashy show like audiences may have seen in the past, it is a challenging production that requires significant effort from the show’s directors, Mrs. Ruiz and Ms. Wise.

“[They] put their entire being into ensuring that these productions are a success, and they are constantly coming up with new ideas that will make this show better,” Brennen said. “Their planning starts way before the musical season, and even when they have so many other things on their plate, they still manage to handle it with grace.”

Although Ruiz and Wise have been leading LHS’ musicals together for 15 years, Ruiz said directing “Les Misérables” has been a unique experience because the production requires a large cast and the show is sung through, meaning there are no spoken lines.

“It’s challenging for the actors, it’s challenging for the directors and it’s challenging for our crew,” Ruiz said. “Everyone who is involved is pushed more than we ever have been. It’s very different than anything we’ve done before.”

Ruiz said she and Wise selected “Les Misérables” for this year’s musical because they knew the cast would have the talent to do it justice.

“This is my favorite musical of all time, and we never thought we would be able to perform it,” Ruiz said. “Now we are in a great spot to be able to have the vocalists and actors pull this off…. It’s amazing that we are performing this show.”

Sophomore Joey Romeo, who joined the musical last year, is playing the role of Monsieur Thénardier, a selfish and cruel innkeeper who is one of the show’s antagonists. 

INFOGRAPHIC BY IOANNA HANTZARAS This infographic reflects the responses of all 75 members of the musical’s cast, crew, orchestra and tech.

He said a challenging aspect of his role has been singing in a raspy French accent.

“That’s just one of the biggest things that I’ve really been able to learn and teach myself to do,” Romeo said.

He said the musical has also taught him to adapt to stages of various sizes.

“We practice[d] on the high school stage until January because the middle school does their play in December, so [it is] hard [to go] from practicing on a small stage and then performing on the bigger stage,” Romeo said. 

He said he especially enjoyed the cast’s first rehearsals, which took place in late November.

“It was so new to everyone, and it was so good knowing that everyone knew the music, but no one knew how and what we were going to do and how the stage was going to be set up,” Romeo said.

He said he is proud of the cast for its diligence in preparing a challenging production.

“What I would like people to take away from this is the amount of effort that our cast put into this,” Romeo said.

Senior Simone Kaden will portray Fantine’s strong-willed daughter, Cosette, who is abused by the Thénardiers and later adopted by Jean Valjean. She said she has enjoyed her role in the production.

“My character doesn’t have her mom, and she didn’t really have any family or anything. I love her loving aspect and how she has such a big heart,” Kaden said. 

Kaden, who has participated in LHS’ musicals since her freshman year, said she is sad this will be her last musical with LHS’ cast. 

“It feels surreal [being a senior],” Kaden said. “Being in a musical is being in a family.”