[NEohioPAL] A letter from Fred Sternfeld as it will appear in the playbill for LES MIZ

[Fred Sternfeld]

Hi Everybody,

You have the opportunity to see the extraordinary work of almost 50 of
FPAC's students in our upcoming production of *Les Miserables: School
Edition*, running July 7 - 17, Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays
at 2:00pm.

Biographies of the Company and ticket ordering information:
http://www.fredsternfeld.com/lesmizbrodiebig.htm

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PLAYBILL for LES MIZ, JEAN BRODIE & BIG

A LETTER FROM ARTISTIC DIRECTOR FRED STERNFELD

On October 8, 2011, *Les Miserables* will have been running for 26 years,
making it the longest-running musical in the world.  Globally, it has played
in almost 300 cities and has reached a total audience of 55 million people.
The *Les Miserables School Edition*, launched in 2001, has already played in
2500 schools.  These impressive stats beg a simple question...why?

Certainly a lot of it has to due with the music.  Claude-Michel Schönberg
has provided us with some of the most inspiring and moving music ever
created in musical theatre.  It’s impossible to even count the number of
times artists have recorded songs like “On My Own.”  But it’s the timeless
themes and compelling characters, adapted from the original Victor Hugo
novel by Alain Boublil, that make this show so special.  *Les Miserables *is
all about the human struggle—about adversity, poverty, betrayal, loss and
despair, sacrifice and redemption, obsession and tyranny—it is a story that
is both heartbreaking and uplifting.

Against the backdrop of the French Revolution, we follow Jean Valjean’s
journey to redemption, his relentless pursuit by the obsessed policeman
Javert, the story of his adopted daughter Cosette’s love of the student
revolutionary, Marius, and the struggles of an oppressed people.  Bringing
to life a story this epic is no small task for student actors.  But the few
last years, with our student productions of *Joseph … Dreamcoat, Romeo &
Juliet, Rent: Student Edition, Into the Woods, The Laramie Project,
Thirteen, Children of Eden*, *Honk! Junior,* *Pride and Prejudice *and*Pippin
*, have reinforced my belief of how capable young people are to create
fully-realized and dynamic characters.  It's not only been exhilarating to
watch them grow, it's been an honor.

The Fairmount Performing Arts Conservatory was created to provide
high-caliber training to Cleveland's finest aspiring artists.  We've
produced theater professionals who have continued their training at
prestigious programs and theatres throughout the country, and become
successful professionals—even appearing on Broadway.  This year we can boast
almost 200 students, and a new West Side program as well.  We've also
expanded our adult professional efforts with the recent hit, *Company*, and
the upcoming *A Little Night Music*.

Our students are very lucky to be working with such experienced and
respected instructors and directors, such as Bernadette Clemens, who will
direct *The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie*, and Carol Pribble, who is directing
*Big The Musical,* as well as our entire roster of theatre
specialists*.  *Supported
by* *their efforts, we are dedicated to continue bringing both you, our
audience, and these bright young talents, an experience to be savored and
remembered.  We hope you enjoy the fruits of this process as much as we
have.

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MORE info about FPAC's Summer Training:
http://www.fairmountcenter.org/fpac_summer.html


-- 
Fred Sternfeld
Artistic Director, Fairmount Performing Arts Conservatory (FPAC)
Fairmount Center for the Arts
8400 Fairmount Road, PO Box 80
Novelty, Ohio 44072
440-338-3171
216-496-6087 - cell

http://www.fairmountcenter.org/popups/fredsternfeld.html
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