The year was early 1986. The trip to Europe had been planned for a year. We arrived in London a day late due to weather. I took a cab downtown and my husband headed up north for a meeting. As soon as I checked in to the hotel, I headed straight for my favorite London haunt, the ticket booth for the best and latest shows. And, as luck would have it, I was able to get a ticket for that new musical, Les Misérables.
That night I sat spellbound in row 8, center section of the orchestra. As the final curtain closed, I was in tears, unable to leave my seat. I felt I had witnessed surely the most amazing musical I had ever seen in my life. I finally left the theatre in silence as did most of the patrons. I walked back to the hotel and replayed the story, the music, the acting, in my mind. I have since seen this show 7 times and have had the same experience each time I see it. Since that time in London over 25 years have passed. Les Mis is still playing. It is one of the longest running shows in history. It has won more awards in that 25 years than most other shows, including 7 Tony’s. It has played and been translated in almost every language in the world… A truly amazing feat.
I was and am in awe of what had been done with Victor Hugo’s timeless classic of French history. I had read the story in high school, but that night it came alive for me. Each character was vividly etched in my mind, with each telling of the misery of the human condition… the human condition that we, as humans live every day, It is a story of the 50 year history of a turbulent time, not only in France but throughout the world but it is filled with the hope and joy that makes life so desirable.
Les Misérables is history, literature, opera, music, and character study, as well as pure entertainment. It is a timeless recounting of living. I am so honored for this “once in a lifetime” opportunity to direct this outstanding work. I feel to participate in any way...to act or to see this incredible story of Les Misérables, is a compelling, moving, and captivating experience that will not be forgotten.
I sincerely hope you our audience enjoy the amazing work of literature and theatre, and the endeavors of Mid-Columbia Musical Theatre pleases you as much as it has me while bringing it to life. Not only is this undoubtedly my favorite theatre production, it is without a doubt the best cast and technical group experience I have ever had.
Jo Brodzinski, Director
Last year, I thought Titanic was a big undertaking, it was grand in all scales and I thought, how can we top this? Then we started Les Misérables. 170 auditioned for this show and we cast 60; another 40 people working behind the scenes. Les Misérables has surpassed many expectations for me. I do hope you enjoy the hard work of hundreds of people. Thank you to everyone for supporting our production of Les Misérables!
This production has been an absolute pleasure to work on as we have had the best in the are to assist with all aspects of the show. Having a great team behind you makes the Producer's job that much easier and to that end, I do have to say thank you to the team. Also, a special thank you to the director, Jo. We've had many an hour working together on this production and many emails, texts, and phone calls, but all the time is worth the effort when we step back and look at this production. Bravo everyone!
Robbie Heegel, Producer
