THUNDER BAY - After three sold out shows, rave reviews from audiences and Auditorium staff, the youth production of the classic musical, Les Misérables, is coming back for one more show.
“It’s pretty overwhelming because you don’t hear about stuff like that happening often,” said Charlie Lockyer, who plays Mr. Thénardiers. “It feels really special,”
Les Misérables was produced by All the Daze Productions and held three shows in late November. But due to overwhelming audience demand, it will return to the Community Auditorium stage on June 18.
“I think most people, including the Auditorium staff, were very vocal of how shocked they were at the level of talent,” said Marcia Arpin, creative director of All the Daze Productions. “I think there was a perception of youth theatre and what they could expect and I greeted a lot of tearful audience members that were moved to tears or joyfully applauding and standing ovations.”
The production includes more than 40 actors, singers, dancers, and crew, all of whom are between the ages of seven and 18-years-old and Arpin said everyone involved in the first run will be returning for the encore.
“For every kid, they went home and were depressed it was all over, so to give them the phone call that we were asked to come back was probably the best Christmas present I could give,” she said.
According to Arpin, staff at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium requested the show return to the stage after an overwhelming response from audiences and the quality of the production.
“We are all in awe of the idea,” Arpin said. “We were very happy with what we did and overwhelmed with how successful it was. So for the Auditorium to call us back and challenge us now to participate in an encore has been awesome, especially for these kids who have dedicated so much time already to the production and now we will go back into it and bring it back better than ever.”
For those on stage during the first run, participating in one of the most well known musical productions on stage at the Auditorium was an experience they will never forget.
“I think it went very well,” said Katelyn Luona, who plays Madam Thénardiers. “It was kind of scary, but super exciting. Because it was so huge, a lot of people had expectations, whether it was too high or too low, we didn’t know, but I think we did really well. We got a very good response from both staff and audiences in the community.”
“It improved every night,” Lockyer added. “Every night it got one step better. Now that we are doing it again, I think it is going to be amazing.”
But now that they are returning for one more show, there is a new set of pre-show butterflies to overcome.
“I feel a little bit of added pressure because now people are going to go in who haven’t seen it and they are going to expect a lot more, but I think we are going to deliver because everyone here believes that we can,” Lockyer said.
“I haven’t experienced such a thing,” Arpin added. “And it is intimidating because now I know there are expectations and before we had no expectations.”
Unfortunately, audiences will have to wait several months before being able to see the production again. Due to scheduling, the earliest time available for the encore was June. But the cast is already rehearsing to make what was already an amazing performance of a classic show even better.
“Les Misérables is as classic as it comes, so we are not going to mess with a good thing,” Arpin said. “We know what we did and we know what we did well. So it’s just improving and tightening it up.”
Tickets are already available for Les Misérables at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium box office.
