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Les Miserables
by The Theatre School @ NCRT
The cast was seated upon the stage and characters would come up to the mics to perform their song, so I appreciated it whenever an actor remained in character while seated. Although, it was distracting when some of the seated actors fidgeted too much or tried to make eye contact with other cast members during the performance. Siobhan Sullivan Crews' cast of Les Miserables had some standout talent. It takes an actor who reads mature onstage, is an incredible actor, and brings a certain wisdom to the character. Oftentimes, youth directors have to focus on voice when casting Jean Valjean rather than the maturity level of the actor. Unfortunately, this places acting in a secondary position, which inevitably leads to a disconnect between the character and audience. I felt that Ben Read did well in this role both vocally and dramatically; he possesses some natural acting qualities and a suitable voice for Valjean. His renditions of "What Have I done?" and "Who Am I" were memorable, and "Bring Him Home" had some powerful moments. Mr. Read is not alone. Alexa Querin delivered a beautiful performance as the ill-fated Fantine. She conveyed her character's story honestly and flawlessly in, "I Dreamed A Dream." Other standout performers were Jessica Morilak,
Tyler Faison, Abby DeSpain, and Kaitlyn O'Leary. Morilak and Faison's
performance as the Thenardiers was extremely comical and "Master of the
House" was very entertaining. I could not find one moment where these two
actors dropped character. Even when they were Jonathan Edzant played our Marius, Marisa Acosta was Cosette, and David Coffey played Enjolras. Carly Lynch and Sean Boyd (who played Thenardier on another evening) were part of the ensemble. It is important to mention them because of their obvious passion for performing. Both were always in character and were enjoyable to watch. Each had some solo singing and performed from within and gave 100%. They seemed to grasp the meaning of "acting." Eponine was played by Kaitlyn O'Leary, and while young for this role she is very capable as her vocals defy her age. Her vocalization of "On My Own" was near perfection and moving. The ensemble was great and "One Day More" and "Do You Hear the People Sing" were remarkable and robust.
Performed April 18 - 19, 2014 ~ Cast ~
![]() Jean Valjean: Ben Read
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