The curtain rose on one of Flin Flon’s all-time most anticipated theatrical productions this past weekend.
The Flin Flon Community Choir and Flin Flon Arts Council brought Les Misérables to the RH Channing Auditoriumfor three consecutive sell-outs.
Both new and familiar faces graced the stage as a talented cast of 70-plus performers brought to life the famous tale of love, passion, crime and heartbreak in the 19th century.
“It’s been such an amazing journey working with everyone on Les Mis,” said Katrina Windjack, who portrayed Fantine, a devoted mother trying to raise her child under harsh circumstances. “Working with so many talented people really pushed me to a higher level as a performer, which wasn’t too difficult given we all fed off of each other’s energy.”
Commanding
With a commanding starring performance as Jean Valjean, it was hard to believe that Les Misérables marked John Bettger’s first acting gig. He portrayed the prisoner-turned-mayor-turned-father-figure with undeniable passion.
An iconic scene between Valjean and a young Cosette left audiences spellbound. In it, Valjean takes Cosette under his wing.
“You could see the love in Valjean’s eyes for Cosette,” said audience member Channa Senyk.
That’s just what Bettger was going for.
“I took on that role the same way that if I were looking into my own daughter’s eyes,” said Bettger.
But the interaction wasn’t always so natural.
“It was really awkward at the start,” Bettger laughed.
Halle Moore and Nicole Beaulieu alternated the roles of young Cosette and young Eponine, giving Bettger even more of a challenge to connect with the child actors.
“It’s strange when you meet a kid for the first time and you’re working very close with them because they don’t know you and you don’t know them,” he said. “But we [all] got to know each other and we [became] very comfortable with each other.”
As a first-time actor, Bettger became comfortable not only with the actors, but with the spotlight as well.
“On opening night we were standing backstage and I said, ‘Am I supposed to be nervous, because I’m not,’” said Bettger. “We had done it so many times [in rehearsal] it was second nature. Everyone was really comfortable on stage.”
The auditorium was filled with rave reviews following each of the three performances, including a Saturday performance that experienced technical difficulties.
During one scene, the lights malfunctioned, leaving Windjack to sing in the dark, unsure of what was happening, but continuing as if nothing had gone wrong.
“On the outside I kept my composure, but on the inside I was freaking out,” she said afterwards.
Where light should have followed Windjack downstage, she was left in the dark.
“I just thought a cue had been missed and that they would come up eventually, so I just kept going,” she said.
Technicians took a short break to remedy the situation and work manually for the remainder of Saturday’s performance.
Though Windjack says she wasn’t prepared for such technical difficulties, her composure throughout the situation left many in awe.
“The [lighting] technician said it would have sunk professional teams, not to mention an amateur cast,” said orchestra conductor Crystal Kolt.
“I was so proud of everyone.”
Encouragement
About an hour before the curtain rose on Friday, opening night, the cast and crew received an encouraging video message from a few members of Broadway’s Les Misérables cast in New York.
“Wasn’t that amazing?” Kolt said, in pure delight.
Bettger recalled how another actor backstage likened the video to an NHL player wishing someone good luck before a hockey tournament.
“No pressure,” he added with a laugh. “It’s just people on Broadway wishing us luck. It was pretty amazing and super neat.”
Ann Hodges, the professional director who travelled from Winnipeg to direct the show, had sent a request to a friend in hopes of receiving some words of encouragement for the cast.
“Even [Hodges] was totally surprised and blown away that they decided to do [this video] before they went on stage,” said Kolt. “She didn’t even know, she just looked at her email…and showed it to the cast right before they went on stage.”
Hodges worked closely with the cast, offering detailed suggestions for improvement as well as ways the actors could further develop their characters.
“Ann’s ability to help you find the soul of your character is amazing,” said Windjack.
New characters
The characters of Les Misérables were like no others portrayed in past productions by local actors.
Kevin Imrie said his character of Javert was much more intense than anyone he had played before, but it didn’t take him long to become the strict police inspector.
All dialogue in Les Misérables is sung, which suited Imrie as his vocal range suited the role.
Imrie’s apt range allowed him to focus on the delivery of the words.
“I performed his music aggressively, enunciating clearly, and adding a bit of yelling here and there,” Imrie said.
Though some said Imrie was born to play Javert, the local actor says he’s nothing like the character.
“Once I leave the stage, I’m as far from being Javert as you can get,” he said.
Kolt is no stranger to the orchestra pit as a conductor, but Les Misérables had her wearing two hats rather than the three she wore for the choir’s 2013 production of Chicago.
Kolt has directed past choir productions but was happy to turn the reins over to Hodges. That left Kolt as the conductor and producer.
“We asked [Hodges to direct] and she delivered [by] raising the bar to a professional level for us,” said Kolt.
The addition of Hodges and her timed-to-the-minute rehearsals, knowledge of staging and overall vision of Les Misérables captivated Kolt and the cast.
“It was amazing,” said Kolt, adding that she is now unsure whether future choir productions could proceed without a professional director.
Kolt worked on getting the rights to Les Misérables for over 15 years. Persistence paid off for Kolt, who hasn’t yet selected the choir’s next production.
“I’ve been talking to [someone] in London, England, about Mamma Mia! for about six years, so we’ll see,” Kolt said. “You never know.”
