[NEohioPAL]PLAYERS GUILD'S "LES MIZ" OPENS TO RAVE REVIEWS

Thu Aug 29 06:27:12 PDT 2002

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The Players Guild Theatre's
production of LES
MISERABLES:SCHOOL EDITION has
opened to rave reviews:

  a.. "The Guild's highly
talented, 35-member youth cast
is remarkable in that it has
captured the intense emotional
depth and the huge epic sweep
of the musical." Kerry
Clawson, Akron Beacon Journal,
8/29/02
  b.. "Most remarkable are the
performers, whose talent
belies their youth, and whose
youth rarely distracts." Dan
Kane, Canton Repository,
8/25/02.
(Both reviews are posted in
their entirety at the bottom
of this e-mail).

The show runs through Sept. 7,
8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and
2:30 p.m. Sundays. Cost is
$12, and $10 for students.
Please call the Box Office at
330-453-7617, from 10 am- 2
pm, Mon.-Sat.

Be sure to visit our website
at
www.playersguildtheatre.com.

____________________________

Players Guild Theatre
1001 Market Avenue North
Canton, Ohio 44702
Box Office: 330-453-7617
Main Office: 330-453-7619
www.playersguildtheatre.com

______________________________
_______________

Student ‘Les Miz’ has
‘amazingly good’ results
Sunday, August 25, 2002

By DAN KANE Repository
entertainment writer
CANTON — Imagine presenting
“Les Miserables,”
unquestionably one of the most
challenging stage musicals of
all time, at a community
theater.

Imagine then taking it a big
step further and presenting
the epic “Les Miz” (as it’s
called) with a cast whose
oldest member is 18.

The Players Guild has done
just this with its
season-opening production, and
the results are amazingly
good. The show is a marvel.

The only way to secure
performing rights these days
to “Les Miz,” which is still
pulling crowds around the
world, is to do a special
“school edition” of the show.
The requirement is that no
actors older than 19 be cast.

The guild was awarded
permission for a student
production, the first theater
in Ohio to do so, and has
risen to the challenge
mightily. The show is
engrossing, fast-paced and
richly entertaining.

The cast, drawn from schools
around Northeast Ohio, is
skilled, fresh, hard-working
and obviously committed to
this enormous undertaking. The
many emotionally affecting
musical numbers, superbly sung
and with robust orchestral
accompaniment, earned
sustained and hearty applause
on opening night.

“Les Miserables,” based upon
Victor Hugo’s classic novel,
is set in 19th-century France.
The pivotal character is Jean
Valjean, a good man who has
been imprisoned five years for
stealing a loaf of bread.
After he breaks parole, he is
relentlessly pursued for
decades by the relentless
Inspector Javert.

There is also the story of
Valjean's struggling sister
Fantine, a waifish prostitute
whose little girl, Cosette, is
being raised by a pair of
conniving tavern keepers.
There is a young man, Marius,
who falls deeply in love with
an older Cosette, to the
disappointment of another
young woman, Eponine, who
adores him.

There are downtrodden
Parisians struggling with
poverty, and a group of
idealistic young students who
join the French Revolution,
with tragic results.

Nearly three hours long
including intermission, the
show is almost entirely sung,
with a score that is full of
hauntingly memorable songs
that explain the characters
and further the plot. The
staging is virtually seamless,
with one scene blending into
the next through shifts of
lighting, quick set changes
and the effective use of
translucent curtains.

Most remarkable are the
performers, whose talent
belies their youth, and whose
youth rarely distracts. Chris
Dewald, a recent Washington
High School graduate, is
emotionally persuasive as the
determined Valjean, and lends
a supple tenor voice to his
touching ballads. Jarid
Faubel, remarkably only a
junior at Canfield High
School, is both dashing and
imposing as Javert and shines
in several commanding solo
songs.

Laura Shupbach is
heartbreaking as the frail
Fantine and sings in a voice
both tragic and angelic. As
the romantically frustrated
Eponine, Renee Cohen expertly
delivers her stirring
show-stopper “On My Own” with
understated resignation. Mark
Christine and Elysia Shutrump
are appealing and convincing
as the star-crossed lovers
Marius and Cosette.

Providing welcome comedy are
Steve Newport and Aubrey
Bunnenberg as the cunning and
thieving saloonkeepers.
Consistent scene-stealers,
this comically gifted pair
cavort expertly in the show’s
rollicking and roof-raising
production number “Master of
the House.”

People who have seen “Les Miz”
in its Broadway, London or
frequent touring productions
will be pleased to see all the
familiar scenes and beloved
musical numbers staged as
remembered, including the
kaleidoscopic, flag-waving Act
1 finale, “One More Day.”

There is so much to praise,
including the vast collection
of detailed costumes created
by Josh Erichsen, the
well-designed (and
well-choreographed) settings
designed by Erichsen and Joe
Carmola, Carmola’s evocative
lighting design, and the
precise and vibrant orchestral
accompaniment conducted by
Steve Parsons.

Terry Burgler, a professor at
Kent State University,
deserves plenty of applause
for pulling this enormous
production together and for
pulling such inspired
performances from the youthful
cast.

Hopefully these talented faces
will return to the guild stage
in future productions.

Performances continue through
Sept. 7, at 8 p.m. Thursday
through Saturday, and 2:30
p.m. Sunday.

To order tickets, call (330)
453-7617.

______________________________

Student `Les Miserables' cause
for joy
Production by Canton Players
Guild is marvelous adaptation

Something marvelous is
happening on the Canton
Players Guild stage.

In a season opener of several
firsts, the theater has
launched the impressive Les
Miserables School Edition,
Ohio's first nonprofessional
production of the
world-renowned musical.

The Guild's highly talented,
35-member youth cast is
remarkable in that it has
captured the intense emotional
depth and the huge epic sweep
of the musical. On opening
night last Friday, it was
abundantly clear that these
kids really get this show.

Les Miserables, adapted from
Victor Hugo's novel, continues
to play on Broadway, and the
tour has visited Cleveland and
Akron numerous times in the
last 13 years. The show
premiered in 1987 on Broadway,
where it has run more than
6,000 performances.

In the fresh student
conception, the three-hour
musical has been tightened by
about 30 minutes, with only
incidental music and some
repetitive lyrics trimmed.
Some of the songs' keys also
have been changed for less
mature student voices.

This marks the first time Ohio
students have had the chance
to perform what has been
dubbed one of the greatest
musicals ever written. The
Players Guild talent pool
hails largely from Stark
County, with some actors also
coming from the Akron area,
Portage County, Cleveland and
the Youngstown area.

For many of the students,
performing in the show has
been the experience of a
lifetime.

The professionally staffed
Players Guild has more
resources than the average
high school would in mounting
this production -- a definite
plus for the young actors, who
range from ages 10 to 18. The
Guild's projected budget is
$50,000 for this show, about
double the average cost of the
theater's usual mainstage
musicals.

That financial commitment
shows in this top-notch
production. The young talent
is backed by an excellent,
professional adult orchestra
as well as professional
lighting, set, sound and
costume designers.

They also have had the
privilege of working with
esteemed director Terry
Burgler, Kent State University
professor and co-founder of
the Ohio Shakespeare Festival.
His goal was to help the
students go beyond singing
their songs well to discover
the emotions and motives
within their characters.

For example, he worked with
Jarid Faubel, playing the
villain Javert, in fleshing
out his character's
background. Javert doesn't
think he's a bad guy; he
believes he's doing his job in
hunting down fugitive Jean
Valjean. Acknowledging
Valjean's humanity would
destroy Javert's moral code.

It's an amazing feat in itself
that these youngsters are so
skilled in this completely
sung-through musical. Those
with the best voices were cast
from among 100 auditioners,
and their hard work with vocal
coach Charles Spencer shows.

In short, these youngsters
sing their hearts out.

As Fantine, tiny 14-year-old
Laura Schupbach sings with the
angst of a grown woman who has
been dealt life's crippling
blows. And Faubel, a junior at
Canfield High School, is an
amazingly powerful, manly
actor and singer.

Renee Cohen is thoroughly
convincing as the lovelorn
Eponine. The Cleveland teen
has a confidence and charisma
on stage that makes sense once
you read her bio: The actress
recently moved here from
California, where she did TV
work.

Aubrey Bunnenberg and Steve
Newport make a devilishly
funny duo as the conniving
Thenardiers, garnering some of
the heaviest applause. They
offer great comic relief in
this intensely emotional
story.

That leads us to the heart of
the whole story -- the hero
Jean Valjean, played by Chris
Dewald of Massillon Washington
High School. Dewald is a
gifted singer who was plagued
opening night by a long black
wig that was in his face too
much and a coat that he
couldn't get on.

His wig needs to be trimmed
back so we can see this hero's
face from the start, in a
chain gang scene. Dewald
handled these opening-night
problems as smoothly as
possible, warming up to his
role wonderfully by his
angelic ballad at the
barricade, Bring Him Home.

Players Guild has chosen not
to build a replica of Les
Miserables' famous turntable
for scene and set changes.
Scenic designers Joe Carmola
and Joshua Erichsen have built
attractive set pieces on
wheels, and the turntable
isn't missed at all.

Cast members, who move the set
pieces, had some problems in
the dark opening night,
banging pieces here and there
into stucco-style village
buildings framing the stage.
These kinks will surely be
worked out quickly.

The show has some great
special effects, dramatic
lighting, gunfire and an
echoing sewer scene. Cassandra
Capocci's slow-motion
choreography in a barricade
battle also is fascinating.

Whether you've seen Les Miz
before or not, this is one
show you won't want to miss.
The show runs through Sept. 7,
8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and
2:30 p.m. Sundays. Cost is
$12, $10 for students. For
tickets, call 330-453-7619.

------------------------------
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<BODY>
<DIV>The Players Guild Theatre's production of <STRONG>LES =
MISERABLES:SCHOOL=20
EDITION</STRONG> has opened to rave reviews:<BR></DIV>
<UL>
  <LI>"The Guild's highly talented, 35-member youth cast is remarkable =
in that=20
  it has captured the intense emotional depth and the huge epic sweep of =
the=20
  musical." Kerry Clawson, Akron Beacon Journal, 8/29/02</LI><FONT =
face=3DTahoma>
  <LI>"Most remarkable are the performers, whose talent belies their =
youth, and=20
  whose youth rarely distracts." Dan Kane, Canton Repository, =
8/25/02.</LI></UL>
<DIV>(Both reviews are posted in their entirety at the bottom of this=20
e-mail).</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></FONT>
<DIV><FONT face=3DTahoma>The show runs through Sept. 7, 8 p.m. =
Thursdays-Saturdays=20
and 2:30 p.m. Sundays. Cost is $12, and $10 for students. </FONT><FONT=20
face=3DTahoma></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DTahoma>Please call the Box Office at 330-453-7617, =
from 10 am- 2=20
pm, Mon.-Sat.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DTahoma></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DTahoma>Be sure to visit our website at <A=20
href=3D"http://www.playersguildtheatre.com">www.playersguildtheatre.com</=
A>. =20
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DTahoma></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>
<P align=3Dleft><FONT=20
face=3DTahoma><STRONG>____________________________</STRONG></FONT></P>
<P align=3Dleft><FONT size=3D2><FONT face=3DTahoma =
size=3D3><STRONG>Players Guild=20
Theatre<BR>1001 Market Avenue North</STRONG></FONT><BR><FONT =
face=3DTahoma=20
size=3D3><STRONG>Canton, Ohio 44702<BR>Box Office: 330-453-7617<BR>Main =
Office:=20
330-453-7619<BR><A=20
href=3D"http://www.playersguildtheatre.com">www.playersguildtheatre.com</=
A></STRONG></FONT></FONT></P>
<P align=3Dleft><FONT size=3D2><FONT face=3DTahoma=20
size=3D3>_____________________________________________</FONT></FONT></P><=
FONT=20
size=3D2>
<DIV class=3Dsecond>Student =91Les Miz=92 has =91amazingly good=92 =
results</DIV>
<P align=3Dleft><B>Sunday, August 25, 2002</B> </P>
<DIV class=3Dthird>By DAN KANE Repository entertainment writer</DIV>
<P class=3Dthird>CANTON =97 Imagine presenting =93Les Miserables,=94 =
unquestionably one=20
of the most challenging stage musicals of all time, at a community =
theater.=20
<P>Imagine then taking it a big step further and presenting the epic =
=93Les Miz=94=20
(as it=92s called) with a cast whose oldest member is 18.=20
<P>The Players Guild has done just this with its season-opening =
production, and=20
the results are amazingly good. The show is a marvel.=20
<P>The only way to secure performing rights these days to =93Les Miz,=94 =
which is=20
still pulling crowds around the world, is to do a special =93school =
edition=94 of=20
the show. The requirement is that no actors older than 19 be cast.=20
<P>The guild was awarded permission for a student production, the first =
theater=20
in Ohio to do so, and has risen to the challenge mightily. The show is=20
engrossing, fast-paced and richly entertaining.=20
<P>The cast, drawn from schools around Northeast Ohio, is skilled, =
fresh,=20
hard-working and obviously committed to this enormous undertaking. The =
many=20
emotionally affecting musical numbers, superbly sung and with robust =
orchestral=20
accompaniment, earned sustained and hearty applause on opening night.=20
<P>=93Les Miserables,=94 based upon Victor Hugo=92s classic novel, is =
set in=20
19th-century France. The pivotal character is Jean Valjean, a good man =
who has=20
been imprisoned five years for stealing a loaf of bread. After he breaks =
parole,=20
he is relentlessly pursued for decades by the relentless Inspector =
Javert.=20
<P>There is also the story of Valjean's struggling sister Fantine, a =
waifish=20
prostitute whose little girl, Cosette, is being raised by a pair of =
conniving=20
tavern keepers. There is a young man, Marius, who falls deeply in love =
with an=20
older Cosette, to the disappointment of another young woman, Eponine, =
who adores=20
him.=20
<P>There are downtrodden Parisians struggling with poverty, and a group =
of=20
idealistic young students who join the French Revolution, with tragic =
results.=20
<P>Nearly three hours long including intermission, the show is almost =
entirely=20
sung, with a score that is full of hauntingly memorable songs that =
explain the=20
characters and further the plot. The staging is virtually seamless, with =
one=20
scene blending into the next through shifts of lighting, quick set =
changes and=20
the effective use of translucent curtains.=20
<P>Most remarkable are the performers, whose talent belies their youth, =
and=20
whose youth rarely distracts. Chris Dewald, a recent Washington High =
School=20
graduate, is emotionally persuasive as the determined Valjean, and lends =
a=20
supple tenor voice to his touching ballads. Jarid Faubel, remarkably =
only a=20
junior at Canfield High School, is both dashing and imposing as Javert =
and=20
shines in several commanding solo songs.=20
<P>Laura Shupbach is heartbreaking as the frail Fantine and sings in a =
voice=20
both tragic and angelic. As the romantically frustrated Eponine, Renee =
Cohen=20
expertly delivers her stirring show-stopper =93On My Own=94 with =
understated=20
resignation. Mark Christine and Elysia Shutrump are appealing and =
convincing as=20
the star-crossed lovers Marius and Cosette.=20
<P>Providing welcome comedy are Steve Newport and Aubrey Bunnenberg as =
the=20
cunning and thieving saloonkeepers. Consistent scene-stealers, this =
comically=20
gifted pair cavort expertly in the show=92s rollicking and roof-raising =
production=20
number =93Master of the House.=94=20
<P>People who have seen =93Les Miz=94 in its Broadway, London or =
frequent touring=20
productions will be pleased to see all the familiar scenes and beloved =
musical=20
numbers staged as remembered, including the kaleidoscopic, flag-waving =
Act 1=20
finale, =93One More Day.=94=20
<P>There is so much to praise, including the vast collection of detailed =

costumes created by Josh Erichsen, the well-designed (and =
well-choreographed)=20
settings designed by Erichsen and Joe Carmola, Carmola=92s evocative =
lighting=20
design, and the precise and vibrant orchestral accompaniment conducted =
by Steve=20
Parsons.=20
<P>Terry Burgler, a professor at Kent State University, deserves plenty =
of=20
applause for pulling this enormous production together and for pulling =
such=20
inspired performances from the youthful cast.=20
<P>Hopefully these talented faces will return to the guild stage in =
future=20
productions.=20
<P>Performances continue through Sept. 7, at 8 p.m. Thursday through =
Saturday,=20
and 2:30 p.m. Sunday.=20
<P>To order tickets, call (330) 453-7617.</P>
<P align=3Dleft><FONT face=3DTahoma =
size=3D3>______________________________</FONT></P>
<DIV class=3Dbody-head><SPAN class=3Dheadline>Student `Les Miserables' =
cause for=20
joy</SPAN><BR><B><SPAN class=3Ddeck>Production by Canton Players Guild =
is=20
marvelous adaptation</SPAN></B><BR></DIV>
<P align=3Dleft>
<TABLE cellSpacing=3D5 cellPadding=3D0 width=3D100 align=3Dright =
border=3D0>
  <TBODY></TBODY></TABLE><SPAN class=3Dbody-content><SPAN=20
class=3Dbody-content></P>
<P>Something marvelous is happening on the Canton Players Guild =
stage.</P>
<P>In a season opener of several firsts, the theater has launched the =
impressive=20
<I>Les Miserables</I> School Edition, Ohio's first nonprofessional =
production of=20
the world-renowned musical.</P>
<P>The Guild's highly talented, 35-member youth cast is remarkable in =
that it=20
has captured the intense emotional depth and the huge epic sweep of the =
musical.=20
On opening night last Friday, it was abundantly clear that these kids =
really=20
<I>get</I> this show.</P>
<P><I>Les Miserables</I>, adapted from Victor Hugo's novel, continues to =
play on=20
Broadway, and the tour has visited Cleveland and Akron numerous times in =
the=20
last 13 years. The show premiered in 1987 on Broadway, where it has run =
more=20
than 6,000 performances.</P>
<P>In the fresh student conception, the three-hour musical has been =
tightened by=20
about 30 minutes, with only incidental music and some repetitive lyrics =
trimmed.=20
Some of the songs' keys also have been changed for less mature student=20
voices.</P>
<P>This marks the first time Ohio students have had the chance to =
perform what=20
has been dubbed one of the greatest musicals ever written. The Players =
Guild=20
talent pool hails largely from Stark County, with some actors also =
coming from=20
the Akron area, Portage County, Cleveland and the Youngstown area.</P>
<P>For many of the students, performing in the show has been the =
experience of a=20
lifetime.</P>
<P>The professionally staffed Players Guild has more resources than the =
average=20
high school would in mounting this production -- a definite plus for the =
young=20
actors, who range from ages 10 to 18. The Guild's projected budget is =
$50,000=20
for this show, about double the average cost of the theater's usual =
mainstage=20
musicals.</P>
<P>That financial commitment shows in this top-notch production. The =
young=20
talent is backed by an excellent, professional adult orchestra as well =
as=20
professional lighting, set, sound and costume designers.</P>
<P>They also have had the privilege of working with esteemed director =
Terry=20
Burgler, Kent State University professor and co-founder of the Ohio =
Shakespeare=20
Festival. His goal was to help the students go beyond singing their =
songs well=20
to discover the emotions and motives within their characters.</P>
<P>For example, he worked with Jarid Faubel, playing the villain Javert, =
in=20
fleshing out his character's background. Javert doesn't think he's a bad =
guy; he=20
believes he's doing his job in hunting down fugitive Jean Valjean. =
Acknowledging=20
Valjean's humanity would destroy Javert's moral code.</P>
<P>It's an amazing feat in itself that these youngsters are so skilled =
in this=20
completely sung-through musical. Those with the best voices were cast =
from among=20
100 auditioners, and their hard work with vocal coach Charles Spencer =
shows.</P>
<P>In short, these youngsters sing their hearts out.</P>
<P>As Fantine, tiny 14-year-old Laura Schupbach sings with the angst of =
a grown=20
woman who has been dealt life's crippling blows. And Faubel, a junior at =

Canfield High School, is an amazingly powerful, manly actor and =
singer.</P>
<P>Renee Cohen is thoroughly convincing as the lovelorn Eponine. The =
Cleveland=20
teen has a confidence and charisma on stage that makes sense once you =
read her=20
bio: The actress recently moved here from California, where she did TV =
work.</P>
<P>Aubrey Bunnenberg and Steve Newport make a devilishly funny duo as =
the=20
conniving Thenardiers, garnering some of the heaviest applause. They =
offer great=20
comic relief in this intensely emotional story.</P>
<P>That leads us to the heart of the whole story -- the hero Jean =
Valjean,=20
played by Chris Dewald of Massillon Washington High School. Dewald is a =
gifted=20
singer who was plagued opening night by a long black wig that was in his =
face=20
too much and a coat that he couldn't get on.</P>
<P>His wig needs to be trimmed back so we can see this hero's face from =
the=20
start, in a chain gang scene. Dewald handled these opening-night =
problems as=20
smoothly as possible, warming up to his role wonderfully by his angelic =
ballad=20
at the barricade, <I>Bring Him Home</I>.</P>
<P>Players Guild has chosen not to build a replica of Les =
Misera<I>bles</I>'=20
famous turntable for scene and set changes. Scenic designers Joe Carmola =
and=20
Joshua Erichsen have built attractive set pieces on wheels, and the =
turntable=20
isn't missed at all.</P>
<P>Cast members, who move the set pieces, had some problems in the dark =
opening=20
night, banging pieces here and there into stucco-style village buildings =
framing=20
the stage. These kinks will surely be worked out quickly.</P>
<P>The show has some great special effects, dramatic lighting, gunfire =
and an=20
echoing sewer scene. Cassandra Capocci's slow-motion choreography in a =
barricade=20
battle also is fascinating.</P>
<P>Whether you've seen <I>Les Miz</I> before or not, this is one show =
you won't=20
want to miss. The show runs through Sept. 7, 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays =
and 2:30=20
p.m. Sundays. Cost is $12, $10 for students. For tickets, call=20
330-453-7619.</P></SPAN>
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