Blockbuster musical Les Misérables to debut at Park

This February, Park students will be able to come and “hear the people sing” in the Choir’s upcoming production of Les Misérables.

The upcoming production was selected by director of choirs John Myszkowski before he knew the musical was to become a movie.

“It was a coincidence that the movie of Les Misérables came out in December,” Myszkowski said. “When I picked it we were trying to move away from fully staged and costumed musicals.”

The choir’s production will be a concert-style performance, with minimal movement. Junior choir member Isabel Gonzalez said this kind of show is different, and she is not sure how audiences will react.

“Having a concert-style show is good for Mr. Myszkowski because he doesn’t have to direct us as much, but I don’t know how concert style will go because we’ve never done it before.” Gonzalez said.

Myszkowski said he is sure audiences will still find the show entertaining, even if there is not a lot of movement on stage.

“All the performers are right on stage,” Myszkowski said. “Their vocals and facial expressions will increase the immediacy of the experience with their emotional intensity. It will be pretty exciting.”

Myszkowski said he hopes the popularity of the movie adaptation of Les Misérables will spur student interest in the choir’s performance.

“The tunes are accessible, and people can identify with the concepts of struggle, repentance, forgiveness and love,” Myszkowski said. “It’s a show about people finding ways to work through grief with love.”

Gonzalez said she thinks attendance will be be high this year because of the movie.

“People will be encouraged to see the play if they saw and liked the movie,” Gonzalez said. “I think having a show well-known to the school is good because if more people have heard of it, more people will want to see it.”

Sophomore Brita Hunegs, an avid Les Misérables fan, said the show is sure to appeal to anyone who saw the movie.

“I think there’s a enough hype around the movie that even if someone is not a huge fan of the musical, they’ll still want to see it,” Hunegs said. “People will want to see it after just seeing the movie.”

Myszkowski said many high schoolers have expressed a lot of interest in the show.

“Middle-schoolers and high-schoolers are excited, and people are adding choir to their second semester schedule to get involved,” Myszkowski said.

Hunegs said she is very eager to see the show.

“I love Les Misérables and I think it was a good choice to do it as the choir play,” Hunegs said. “I think our choir is good enough to pull it off. I’m sure it will be a great production and will draw a large crowd.”