Arts & Entertainment

'Les Miserables' Opens In Plant City For 9-Show Summer Run

The long-awaited staging of "Les Miserables" on a local community theater stage is now a reality, with 2013 show dates in July and August.

Enthusiasm is high for the summer 2013 production of "Les Miserables," brought locally for the first time to the community theater stage by Plant City Entertainment, under the direction of veteran director and Brandon High School graduate Domin Pazo.

"This has been my biggest challenge so far," Pazo said July 18, in a break from the final night of dress rehearsals at the Plant City Entertainment Theater at 101 North Thomas St. "It's three hours, it's opera and we have live musical accompaniment. The timing has to be perfect."

Pazo said it is not lost on him the draw of Les Miserables, both among his actors and audience members, who have waited a long time for the world's longest-running musical, seen by more than 65 million people in 42 countries, the winner of more than 100 international awards, to make it to the local stage.


"I put pressure on myself [as a director], but especially so for this, one of the most popular shows in the world," Pazo said. "People coming to see it expect certain things."

They come to see, he added, "the power and the passion of Les Mis."

But that passion is not reserved for theatergoers alone. Among cast members the passion is more than apparent, as evident in responses to a Facebook request for their thoughts on being in the show.

"I have always been drawn to the eccentric, over- the-top character roles and playing Madame Thenardier [is] a dream come true," said Lisa Sanches-Westcott. "It has been a privilege and honor to act alongside so many incredibly talented people. The fact that we all have day jobs and do this on a strictly volunteer basis is testament to our passion for the stage. I'm thrilled to make my friend, Domin Pazo's dream of directing Les Mis come to pass."

Kristen Sorensen Holloway has parts in the chorus — as a townsperson, a drunk and an innkeeper's wife — and in the orchestra pit, where she plays the flute and keyboard.

"This is one of my absolute favorite shows, having seen it both on Broadway and on tour five times," she said. "I saw it in Chicago, with my best friend, who I still am close with, on the first national tour, when I was 12, and fell in love with it. Ironically, of the five times I've seen the show, three of them have been with [my best friend]."

Her friend won't have the opportunity to see Holloway in the show, but Holloway's 10-year-old daughter will, with a part on stage herself.

"I'm excited I get to share [this experience] with her," Holloway said.

"It's a challenging show to stage and especially to do with a live 'pit' [but]  nothing is cooler than being in a show with live music," she added. Intricacies aside, "there are moments that just put goosebumps down your arms."

In the role of the elder Eponine is Mallory Quinn, who is charged with singing the iconic song, "On My Own."

"I enjoy the theme of the show, of the beauty of loving another person, and what I find so tragic about Eponine's character is that the love is not returned," Quinn said. "I hope to bring that sadness to my performance."

Like Holloway, Quinn's first experience with Les Miserables was as a youngster.

"I first saw Les Mis when I was six," she said. "I used to watch the 10th anniversary concert all the time growing up and I dreamed of playing Eponine. To get cast as Eponine is a dream come true as Les Mis is the reason I started singing and doing theater [in the first place]."

Now, Quinn joins the first cast and crew to perform the show on the community theater stage in Eastern Hillsborough County, with the rights to the show just recently released.

"It's amazing how much time, effort, and love everyone has put into this massive production," Quinn said. "I am grateful to be a part of it and to work with such a talented cast and crew."

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About Les Miserables

  • Synopsis — "Discover a nation in the grip of revolution, where convict Jean Valjean is on the run. Hunted relentlessly by the policeman Javert for breaking his parole, he must leave his past behind and keep his vow to raise the young orphaned Cosette. But with revolution in the air and Javert closing in, Jean Valjean has no choice but to fight for his life and sacrifice everything to protect the people he loves."  
  • Featuring the songs “I Dreamed A Dream”, “Bring Him Home”, “One Day More” and “On My Own."
  • Cameron Mackintosh’s legendary production of Boublil and Schönberg’s "Les Misérables" is a global stage sensation, seen by more than 65 million people in 42 countries and in 22 languages around the globe. It is still breaking box-office records everywhere in its 28th year.
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Plant City Entertainment's Staging Of Les Miserables

  • Show dates are July 19-20, 25-27 and Aug. 1-3 at 8 p.m.
  • The matinee show date is July 28 at 2 p.m.
  • The Plant City Entertainment Theater is in Plant City, at 101 North Thomas St.
  • For information, call: 813-752-0728.
  • Tickets cost $14 for general admission; $10 for members and group advance sales; and $12 for senior citizens and students (through high school).
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The Cast Of Les Miserables
 
  • Jean Valjean  — Rick Faurote/Brian Beach
  • Javert — Jason Mann
  • Bishop  — Allen Richardson
  • Fantine  — Maren Fernandez
  • Foreman  — Mitchell Spencer
  • Bamatbois  — Chris Duncan
  • Young Cosette  — Tiffany Vyalkova/Julia Stacy
  • Thenardier —  Vinny Natale
  • Madame Thenardier —  Lisa Westcott
  • Young Eponine —  Hanna Westcott
  • Gavroche —  Ethan Richardson/Kaden Olney
  • Eponine —  Mallory Quinn
  • Marius —  Alex Dyles
  • Enjolras —  Todd DuPriest
  • Cosette —  Ashley Allen
 Thenardier's Gang
  • Montparnasse —  Jeff Crum
  • Babet —  Tom Mitchell
  • Brujon —  Miguel Pinedo
  • Claquessous —  David Salinero
  • Beggar —  Paula Spangler Klein
  • Beggar — Jenise Freeland
ABC Students
  • Combeferre —  Joshua A. Wright
  • Feuilly —  Sam Reed
  • Courfeyrac — Logan Simmons
  • Joly — Joshua Moody
  • Grantaire — 
  • Lesgles — Dominic Botto
  • Jean Prouvaire —  Andrew Reading
  • Farmer —  Dan Provost
  • Factory Worker — Kat Coates
  • Factory Worker — Katie Rains
  • Factory Worker — Melody Brown
  • Girl Student - Mel Moranville
  • Girl Student — Amy Persaud
  • Girl Student — Charizma Dunphy
  • Girl Student — Rachel Rodriguez
  • Girl Student — Sydney Reading
  • Girl Student — Mikaela DuPriest
Townspeople
  • Kathryn Peters Brown
  • Feliciano Malary
  • Olivia Mitchell
  • Kelly Coultas
  • Taylyn Olney
  • Kaitlyn Holloway
  • Kassidy Gauagan
  • Lovely Ladies — Sharyn Beach
  • Lovely Ladies — Debbie Scourtes
  • Lovely Ladies — Chelsea Scourtes
  • Lovely Ladies — Nicole DuPriest
  • Innkeeper — Lionel Wood
  • Innkeeper's Wife — Kristen Holloway
  • Policeman 1 — Jonathan Hogsett
  • Policeman 2 — Vince Evangelista








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