The Owatonna drama club will put on the musical Les Miserables this winter; they will be performing it on Feb. 26, 27, 28 at 7 p.m. Mar. 1 at 1:30 p.m and Mar. 5, 6, 7 at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium. 

Theater Director Mr. Eitrheim who has been directing musicals at OHS since the 2000s and describes the musical’s plot as a man who, “Has 15 years of hard labor because of stealing a loaf of bread and then follows him on his journey and he decides to turn his life around to become someone different in terms of who he was and it’s about God and forgiveness.” 

There are many different ways people can perceive the way the Les Miserable story is being told and the meaning behind it. Les Miserable crew stage manager, senior Kaylee Ruhling said,“It’s telling a story of people who are miserable.”  

The musical of Les Miserables is about the French Revolution but it can be a lot more of a heart wrenching and detailed way to tell the French Revolution story. Senior Mia Armstrong states, “The french revolution is a huge deal and it’s the rich against the poor.” when talking about the musical. Armstrong will be playing one of the lead characters Madame Tenardier she shares, “My role is Madame Tenardier, she’s an innkeeper and she has a lot of attitude. She kind of steals and she’s snarky.” 

The musical will be around  two and a half hours and at the same time Owatonna High School is doing their theater production of Les Miserables at the Orpheum Broadway will be performing the show too. 

Mr. Eitrheim explains that, “One of the unique things about this musical is that it is entirely sung. This will be a different type of thing for us because I’ve never done a musical that is essentially an opera.” 

In late November the drama club did the casting for the production, now the cast is working on their roles. It takes at least eight weeks to put on a play. Senior Vitaly Bauer explains that they have started rehearsals and during rehearsals, “Mainly just learn songs, getting down to that kind of technical level so that way we can further push our sound and are acting as well when we’re singing.” 

There can be many challenges throughout the process of preparing for the musical and even during the show. Ruhling states, “The sets are really intricate and it’s a struggle spot for us because ever since I got here we don’t have as many people as what we used to have.” Some actors will drink tea or drink lots of water to really keep their voice healthy to portray enough sound and be ready to perform for the musical. 

While it’s not just the actors getting ready for the performance it’s also the crew members and the pit orchestra working late nights long hours. Ruhling shares, “Crew is a lot of the backbone to the cast. We were there for the support, to make sure safety , correct placement for backstage, costume changes and making a set they’re able to use plus be safe building.” During the musical there’s a lot that goes into it so the cast and crew have to go with the flow. 

The musical can’t operate without all the moving parts and that is why there’s so many different little things that have to be done during and before the performance that it makes it everyone’s job to make sure they work hard. Armstrong says this about the show, “It is so entertaining and everyone in the cast is so talented. Also a lot of work that we put in on our end, once it comes together.” There is a wide range of experienced actors and rookies working day and night hard to be able to perform for the musical.

When deciding what the musical should be there wasn’t really any other musical they were deciding between. Eitrheim says, “A musical that I saw when I was in high school for the first time and kind of blew my mind. — One of my dream shows to do was to do Les Miserables and Miss Asmus and kinda agreed that it would be a great show to do sometime.” After agreeing that they should do it sometime, they didn’t know when better to do it than this year. He has doubted many of his actors in the past but he’s strong and confident in the cast and is excited for the many different performances of the musical. 

Go and get your tickets on GoFan for the musical!