Some like the costumes, others the singing and it’s a way for them to come in and be someone else for a while. “We have a really talented cast, great singers and beautiful costumes and there’s a great mixture in the cast, from long-time Little Theatre members to ones we haven’t seen in a while to those that are new to us,” said Sadler. When the idea of staging “Les Miserables” came around a few years ago, Sadler said it didn’t take much convincing for her, who’s loved the show since first seeing in on Broadway more than two decades ago and wanted to share the story with those who hadn’t. “That’s a huge challenge because everyone works a job and you have to deal with vacations and work schedules and it’s a challenge to get everyone there on time,” said Sadler, though it’s all come together to create a masterful performance that she promises will captivate. Sadler said one of the early challenges was with auditions beginning in June and rehearsals in July - making rehearsals more than two months long - and in dealing with an unpaid cast, the actors and stagehands having other jobs and schedules that prove difficult to coordinate. That’s got to be a good thing for a production such as this, considering the struggle of keeping such a massive theatrical undertaking under budget, she said. “Good enough is just not good enough.”Ĭo-director Deborah Sadler said despite the massive cast and crew - about 45 actors (out of 141 auditions) and another 15 stage hands - none of them are paid aside from the music director. “It has an incredible cast and is visually amazing and when I put on a play, I’m determined to put on the best play we possibly can,” said Soares. While it is a massive production, Soares said he enjoyed the challenge. “We wanted people to come in and experience the ‘Les Miserables’ that they have grown to know and love.” “This is the telling of ‘Les Miserables’ in its present form that’s paying tribute to the shows past it is such a cultural icon, we didn’t want to mess with it,” said Soares. “That certainly adds to the stress,” said Soares.īut Little Theatre has stayed very true to the original musical, Soares noted, not getting creative in any way with its telling, letting it be known that those that fell in love with the original “Les Miserables” will be in for quite the treat in Fall River. With auditions in June and rehearsals beginning in July, Soares said the massive cast has been hit with the bug that poses various difficulties in trying to mount concise rehearsals with only days leading up to its Oct. For rehearsal purposes, they’ve used a simple table as the barricade in the interim. With the BCC stage only being so big, Soares said there were difficulties in mounting such a huge set, including a second act barricade that will have to be built a few days before the production begins so as to not take up the college’s auditorium. “It’s a challenge a big production and in all my years of directing, this is the hardest I’ve ever worked,” said Soares, which is saying something since this was the man that help orchestrate the landing of a helicopter on stage for “Miss Saigon.” “It’s another step for us, and we’ve taken many of them over the years, and this is one more positive step, but it was a big one.”Ĭo-Director Soares, whose recent productions included “Spamalot” at the Little Theatre and another massive undertaking in Marquee Theatre Productions “Miss Saigon” in 2012, said nothing was spared in producing a show of this caliber. Everyone felt it was a great story and a great play and felt good to do it for our 80th year,” said Castro. “When it first became available two years ago, that’s when we inquired about it. Little Theatre publicity manager Kathy Castro said the idea for “Les Mis” came about two years ago and the theater company had been working on securing the rights since that time. The show’s latest Broadway version for 2014 recently won Best Musical Revival.

The show eventually made it to Broadway in March of 1987, winning eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, running all the way to May 2003, the fifth longest run in Broadway history. Written by French novelist Victor Hugo in 1862, “Les Miserables” first reached the stage as a musical in Paris, France in 1980. When it comes to celebrating its 80th season, Little Theatre of Fall River decided to hold nothing back in staging its biggest production ever, the Broadway classic, “Les Miserables.”

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