#3 September 9 2002     Les Mis Home       LM News #1  #2

Les Miserables at Open House September 16

Students will perform selections from the musical before the open house program at Hood River Valley HS on Monday, September 16.  The pre-open house program begins at 6:45 in the Bowe Theatre.  Following the open house schedule there will be a Les Mis parent meeting. The meeting (for those with students not at HRV) will begin at approximately 8:30. 

Rehearsal Schedule for the Week (9-9 through 9-14)

Monday and Tuesday: songs 2-3;  Wednesday: song 4; Thursday: song 5-6; Saturday (10 am-noon) Songs 1-7.  Please do your best to schedule appointments, lessons, etc. outside of rehearsal time.  We have sometimes as few as 1 day to block and rehearse a song.

Les Mis Resources

There are many versions of Les Miserables on CD, DVD, and video.  There are also books and interactive CD-ROMS.  Here are some of the most useful and readily available.

CAST RECORDINGS: There are recordings of the original French stadium show, the English cast (1985), the NY cast (1987) and the Complete Symphonic version which has all the bits and pieces left out of the other recordings.  It features an international cast.  My recommendation is for the NY Cast album. All of these are readily available in record stores and online.

VIDEO: There is an out-of-print video called "Les Miserables--Stage by Stage" which traces the evolution of the show and shows clips of different productions around the world.  It is very interesting.  It might be available on eBay now and then...and let me know if you find one, as mine disappeared about 12 years ago!  There is also the "10th Anniversary Concert Version" which is often shown on PBS.  It is excellent.  Although not staged, there are bits and pieces spliced in from the stage version, and all the actors are in costume.  This video is available at Encore video to rent, and widely available in stores and online to buy. On DVD, it is sold as a package with the "Riverdance" DVD. 

CD ROM INTERACTIVE: This curiosity was produced in 1997 in England.  It features a lot of background history and many short Quick-Time video clips (mostly from the concert version).  It does have a behind-the-scenes of the set feature.  Unfortunately, I can't get the thing to work on my computer.  Maybe someone else will have better luck.

BOOKS: The original novel by Hugo is definitely worth reading.  There is a book, out of print but easily found on Amazon, called "The Complete Book of Les Miserables." It has lots of great historical background information and many photos.  There is a copy at the public library in HR.

ONLINE: There are dozens of fan sites but the best place to start is the "official" web site: http://www.LesMis.com