{"id":208819,"date":"2018-05-16T23:28:07","date_gmt":"2018-05-16T13:28:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=208819"},"modified":"2020-08-04T10:36:51","modified_gmt":"2020-08-04T00:36:51","slug":"les-mis-a-show-not-to-be-missed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2018\/05\/16\/les-mis-a-show-not-to-be-missed\/","title":{"rendered":"Les Mis … Not To Be Missed!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Director Susan Dowideit-Reiger runs the cast of Les Miserables through their paces during a four-hour rehearsal at Kingaroy Town Hall last Sunday afternoon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

May 16, 2018<\/strong><\/p>\n

by Dafyd Martindale<\/strong><\/p>\n

The South Burnett is in for a rare treat this week when the curtain goes up on the South Burnett Musical Comedy Society’s latest production, a choral adaptation of Les Miserables.<\/p>\n

For the past three months, a record-breaking cast of 75 singers have been rehearsing the musical based on Victor Hugo’s classic novel at Kingaroy State High School’s auditorium.<\/p>\n

And this Friday night, May 18, they’ll be taking to Kingaroy Town Hall’s stage to deliver one of the most breath-taking productions ever attempted in our region.<\/p>\n

How good will it be?<\/p>\n

Well, the full cast performed at the recent Kingaroy Eisteddfod in front of a Brisbane judge and were awarded a staggering 98.6 out of 100 for their efforts.<\/p>\n

I caught up with the group on Sunday during rehearsals at Kingaroy Town Hall.<\/p>\n

After hearing the final 15 minutes of Act 1, I can vouch that their win was very well-deserved.<\/p>\n

For those unfamiliar with the story, Les Miserables (‘Les Mis’) is set in early 19th century France.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It tells the story of Jean Valjean, a French peasant, and his quest for redemption after serving 19 years in jail for stealing a loaf of bread to aid his sister’s starving child.<\/p>\n

Valjean decides to break his parole and start his life anew after a kindly bishop inspires him with a tremendous act of mercy, but he is relentlessly tracked down by police inspector Javert.<\/p>\n

Along the way, Valjean and a host of characters are swept up into a revolutionary period in France, where a group of young idealists make their last stand at a street barricade.<\/p>\n

Yes, Les Mis is a tearjerker, no doubt about it.<\/p>\n

Only the most stony-hearted among us will be unable to shed a tear before the final curtain comes down.<\/p>\n

But it is also a tremendously uplifting story of struggle and hope, the triumph of good over evil, the dignity of the human spirit and the promise of better days to come.<\/p>\n

Director Susan Dowideit-Reiger has assembled a cast for the production that ranges in ages from 4 to 84.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many have never performed in a SBMC production before, although they would be familiar faces to anyone who’s attended performances by several of our region’s leading singing groups.<\/p>\n

The cast also includes students from St Mary’s Catholic College; St John’s Lutheran School; and Kingaroy, Taabinga and Kumbia State Schools, as well as Kingaroy State High.<\/p>\n

Veteran performer Kendall Siddans is outstanding in the lead role of Jean Valjean, and fellow SMBC veteran Warren Wintour is equally outstanding as the villainous Javert.<\/p>\n

So, too, is Cosette, another pivotal role whose teenage persona is played by Madison Wintour (a different performer plays “little Cosette”).<\/p>\n

Several other roles are played by multiple actors in the three-hour production, which will include an interval so audiences can stretch their legs and find a fresh box of tissues.<\/p>\n

The debut performance of Les Miserables will occur at 7:00pm this Friday, May 18, and it will be followed by a 2:00pm matinee on Saturday, May 19.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The following week it will be performed at 7:00pm on Friday, and 2:00pm on Saturday and Sunday, May 25-27.<\/p>\n

Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for concessions and students, but children under 5 are free.<\/p>\n

Tickets can be booked online<\/b><\/a>, but some will also be available at the door unless the performance is already booked out.<\/p>\n

Personally, I’d recommend booking.<\/p>\n

This is a breath-taking show that deserves to play to capacity houses, and will likely get them.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Madison Wintour (Cosette) and Kendall Siddans (Jean Valjean) play two of the leading roles in the production, which scored an amazing 98.6 out of 100 at this year’s Kingaroy Eisteddfod<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Lilly Reiger, 4, Giaan Zammataro, 6, and Erin Schloss, 5, are the youngest faces in the 75-strong cast<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Because of logistics, the SBMC’s production will not run at Maryborough’s Brolga Theatre this time, so it will only be seen by South Burnett audiences<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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