French Classic Comes to Historic Theatre

Love, drama and tragedy took stage at the California Theatre of Performing Arts (CTPA) in San Bernardino as The Victor Hugo novel Les Miserables came to life the weekend of March 14 through 16. This musical about Jean Valjean's road to absolution from prison, and then from his own guilt, during the French Revolution was produced by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg with the help of Plan-B Entertainment (not to be confused with the film company, Plan B Entertainment owned by Brad Pitt). The play deals with themes of unrequited love, the challenges of poverty, and the cruel reality of life. 14 year old Ryan Porchas says he took advantage of the season passes offered by the historic theatre, to come see Les Miserables, as well as Frankenstein and The Queen Experience with his family. Despite having to wake up early the next morning for Jazz practice, he enjoyed the play saying it was well coordinated. "The actors are really talented. This is my first time seeing Les Miserables." The play featured community actress Lydia Botello, making her debut performance with Plan-B as Little Cossette, a character whose mother's tragic death causes Jean Valjean to look after her. The older Cossette was played by Courtney Cheatha, who has traveled the world for her work, as she just returned from Southeast Asia. The obsessive villain police inspector Javert was Quentin Garzon, just a year after he had the pleasure of playing protagonist last summer at the Santa Clarita Arts Center. Cassandra Parker became downtrodden Fantine for her return to Plan-B entertainment. This year, the protagonist's role went to Kevin F. Story, who not only is a seasoned actor, but is also a doo-wop singer with The Flashbacks Group.