A couple of sailors encounter women of the red light district in 19th century France during the cast's first dress rehearsal for Les Miserables on Monday night. The Mendota High School production will be performed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 19, 20 and 21. Tickets may be purchased at Sports-n-Stuff in downtown Mendota. (Reporter photo by Bonnie Morris)

When Les Miserables takes the stage at Mendota High School this weekend, it will be the result of four years planning on the part of co-directors Lori Schrock and Amy Wilson. A modern opera performed in English, Schrock and Wilson acknowledged that the lead roles in Les Miserables require students who can perform huge singing parts. "We waited until we had the students to do it," Schrock explained. "We knew we were going to do this four years ago when we did Titanic."

Although Schrock and Wilson knew that performing Les Miserables would be a challenge for the students, they admitted that it has gone smoother than they expected. "It's easier to memorize songs than dialogue," Wilson explained.

Schrock agreed. "The kids learn speech rhythms and melodies and it's a whole lot easier to learn because it's musical," she noted. "However, the same melodies keep coming back so you have to be careful to remember which scene you're at."

This will be the first opera performed at MHS, according to Schrock who said that most high schools tend to stick with lighter musicals. Although students were initially concerned that the community might not be familiar with Les Miserables, the show includes the song I Dreamed a Dream, recently popularized by British singer Susan Boyle. "This is the 25th anniversary year of the show," Wilson noted, "but it's been off Broadway for awhile and the kids weren't really familiar with it. Then with the Susan Boyle hit, it assured them that the audience would know at least one song."

More importantly, Schrock and Wilson believe the show provides an invaluable lesson for students as well as audiences and is as relevant today as it was in France when Victor Hugo's novel of the same name was published in the 1800s. The story takes place during the French Revolution and depicts the destitution and despair of the people of France. "The whole human element is really tragic - they were oppressed people," Schrock explained of the show's message, which is based on Hugo's classic novel. "How do you fight against that? Overcome it? Who are the kind of people that take up your cause that don't have to?"

Schrock said students have been able to parallel the themes of the play with people who are oppressed in more recent history, as well as in society today. "They start to make connections," she said. "The themes are very universal."

Even though the show's subject matter is very dark, Schrock and Wilson said there is also a spirit of hope. "There's an element of hope and change and renewal all the way through," Schrock said. "The kids know the story but to watch it and hear the musical element - if you don't have a lump in your throat in the first 15 minutes, you don't have a pulse. That's what makes it hard for the kids. Emotionally, it takes a lot from them to act that kind of suffering, to portray that on stage."

Despite the serious nature of the show, Wilson pointed out that there are also some comedic elements.

Schrock agreed, "There is a range of emotions. You'll cry, you'll laugh, you'll cheer."

And as Wilson replied, "That's what good theater is all about."

Les Miserables will be performed Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 19, 20 and 21 at the MHS auditorium. The Friday and Saturday performances will be at 7:30 p.m. The Sunday matinee will be at 2:30 p.m. All seats are reserved. Tickets cost $10 each and may be purchased at Sports-n-Stuff, downtown Mendota.