Storming the barricades at Buchanan High
I love a big, ambitious, over-the-top entertainment spectacle. So how could I stay away from Buchanan High School's concert version of "Les Miserables"? The school's Fine Arts Academy on Saturday night trotted out a nearly 100-voice chorus, symphony orchestra and full complement of singer-actors to tackle this challenging, audacious piece.
I like to get out and try different things in the Fresno area, and while I don't get many chances to sample high-school offerings on a regular basis, I'm always glad when I do.
Held in the sumptuous new Paul Shaghoian Concert Hall at Clovis North, the evening seemed every bit as elegant as a benefit performance at, say, Avery Fisher Hall in New York City. (Well, almost. No tuxes or glittery dresses in the audience, but, then again, this IS Clovis.) Just from the look and vibe of the event, I had to keep reminding myself that this was "merely" a high-school endeavor.
I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. I'm not sure which member of the creative team (musical director Heidi Franklin, vocal director Roger Bergman and acting coach Julie L. Andrews) was responsible for the overall tone of the show, but the different elements of the production -- cast, chorus and orchestra -- came together in a rousing fashion.
The singer/actors included many recent alumni of Buchanan, which offered a chance to use voices that were a little more vocally mature. (This is tough, tough music.) Every single one of them who got up there to sing excelled in one way or another -- and it was delightful to listen to them put their hearts into it. The numbers featuring the full chorus were powerful, taking advantage of the spectacular acoustics of the hall.
I was impressed by Janet Reynders as Fantine, who belted out "I Dreamed a Dream" with a voice that barrelled off the walls of the Shaghoian. Others with some fine vocal moments: Cade Wright as the Bishop, Brian Carlson as Jean Valejan, Bryce Moser as Marius, Ben McNamara as Javert, Jessica Stewart as Cosette and Nick Stewart as the young Gavorche.
To me, "Les Miserables" is as much about the acting as it is the singing, and I sensed a lot of potential in Thuy Duong's Eponine and Anthony Tadeo's Enjolras. The woman's ensemble was also quite strong in such numbers as "Lovely Ladies." (Great costumes, by the way.)
And in terms of total stage package -- riveting to the back row -- were Melissa Booey as Madame Thernadier and Brad Harris as Thernardier, the musical's comic relief. A measure of this is because they were the biggest and broadest characters in the show, and the most fun to play. But there was something special going on here beyond the built-in appeal of the characters. I watched Booey as she strode up the microphones for her first song, and she was in character from the start: arrogantly brushing against her fellow cast members, toying flamboyantly with her hair, stomping sloppily toward her solo. Together with Harris, she truly inhabited her character. I expect to be seeing more of both of them, somewhere, in the future.
All in all, it was a thoroughly enchanting evening, and even with the occasional baubles -- Franklin several times had to valiantly keep her orchestra in sync with the singers, who were in front of her baton -- the sheer scale of the event gave it a gravitas that seemed far beyond the age of the musicians. It's gratifying to think of all those young performers being exposed to the glories of musical theater.
Do you hear the students sing, singing the song of angry men? I sure did. And what a pleasure it was.
Comments:
Very nice review, Donald!
Posted by: Debi at January 26, 2009 1:09 PM
Nice... Remember when Clovis West did this first, last year for their alumni show and got no mention of it?
WAIT!! West did it first? With Darren Tharp and Peter Allwine as Valjean and Javert, respectively? Michael Willet as Marius and Caitlyn Stevenson as Eponine? Danielle Jorn as Madame Thernadier? Some of the best performers in town went to Clovis West, come back for the alumni show, and it get's missed by a fair majority of people...
And their version got no coverage...
Hopefully their version of RENT will not go unnoticed in June...Heads up, Donald - I hear it's got an equally amazing cast...
Posted by: Annonymous at January 26, 2009 1:21 PM
gosh, i wish i had heard about this earlier.
does anyone know if there is an online resource for people interested in high school theater offerings?
(this is more of an outreach to readers of this post than donald himself)
Posted by: will at January 26, 2009 2:05 PM
Lemme just say, Will - I have a dvd of the performance (since I was apart of it) - it was amazing! Lemme know if ya wanna see it.
As for finding out who is doing what - here's the link for Clovis Unified - don't know about FUSD...
http://www.cusd.com/tickets/default.htm
Posted by: Annonymous at January 26, 2009 2:21 PM
@Annonymous: first off, love the spelling of your name. second, i'm game. i'll even return it. the bee is at 1626 e street, and i can be reached at walbritton@fresnobee.com.
i'd like to see more discussion and attention paid to the local high school drama productions and overall scene.
Posted by: will at January 26, 2009 3:24 PM
re the cusd site ... i bookmarked it. is that a complete listing?
does anyone know about fresno?
maybe there's a void here. if anyone is interested in helping to fill it, please let me know.
Posted by: will at January 26, 2009 3:48 PM
Will, as far as I know, there's no comprehensive Web site that lists all the high-school theater offerings in the area. A couple of years ago there was a wonderful Fresno State theater professor named Roxanne Schroeder-Arce who laboriously compiled such a site, but she got a new job at the prestigious Emerson College in Boston, and no one filled the void. I can put you in touch with her.
Posted by: Donald Munro at January 26, 2009 4:12 PM
Clovis Unified and Fresno Unified have someone on staff who is in charge of all the vocal/performance/visual arts for the district {(Brent Mosier, CUSD & Kate McKnight, FUSD) I hope I spelled their names right} they might be the best people to talk about re: a completel list of all the shows going on with the high schools/jr. highs (and if we even want to go that far, elementary schools)...
Posted by: Renee N at January 26, 2009 4:19 PM
@renee: well, we have to have a cutoff somewhere. at least for the beehive. not sure i want parents of elementary-school actors reading "eff it" in every other comment string.
Posted by: will at January 26, 2009 4:50 PM
Buchanan's performance was impressive. All involved deserved the kudos for getting so many moving parts working together. A special shout out to the staff at Paul Shaghoian Hall for the technical aspects of the show. Outstanding.
It just so happens that we will be unvieling a new Visual and Performing Arts addition to the current Clovis Unified website next month. When we have the exact URL I will try to post it here. Otherwise, you can visit www.cusd.com and look for the link to VAPA (remember, this won't be available until mid-February). The site will include a calendar of events (CUSD only to start with) and dedicated section to our district's Dance, Music, Drama and Art departments.
As stated above, the link to buy CUSD theater tickets on-line is: www.cusd.com/tickets
And Renee... you were REALLY close on my name! ; )
Posted by: Brent Moser at January 27, 2009 1:34 PM
First off, to answer your question, none of this show could have been done without Roger Bergman and Heidi Franklin. They're the ones responsible for the quality of the show. Second, as an alum of BHS and the drama/choir departments I was excited to be involved with this show. But I wasn't as blindly impressed as you. The quality of this show wasn't any better than anything else put out by Buchanan in recent years, in fact it might not have been as good. And with a 20 dollar admission, was it really worth it to listen to Carlson yelling all night?
Posted by: ChocolateThunder at January 27, 2009 10:25 PM
Don't forget -- we have an online calendar anyone can add events to. Do we need a "high school" category or something new to highlight these events?
If you want to add an event, go to calendar.fresnobee.com
Posted by: Jennifer at January 28, 2009 1:03 PM
Wow! Thank you so much, Donald, for this fantastic review. When one other student found this article and printed it out for the rest of us, we were simply astounded. It's great of you to come out and see our show, and then to give such a positive review was incredible to all of us.
(Special thanks for the comment on Lovely Ladies, and our costuming!)
-Whore #3
Posted by: Buchanan Student at January 29, 2009 8:37 PM
Donald, I hope you keep covering high school drama and voice events...my family sure appreciates it! I have two grade school girls who LOVE Le Mis (we have the DVD of the concert at London's Royal Albert Hall, which they love). I heard a quick mention of this concert on talk radio the week before, but I missed the name of the high school and could not track it down on-line or in the paper. So thanks to everyone who gave idea for finding high school events in the future. Is ther any way to get a DVD of Buchanan's Le Mis concert, or the Clovis West performance? Will either school perform it again? We love to show our kids what incredible theater work local high school students are doing. By the way, we saw "Little Women" at Roosevelt School of the Arts yesterday, and it was wonderful.
Posted by: Cheryl at February 1, 2009 8:54 AM
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