By Helen Musa

A burst of energy is what always greets me when I rock up to a Queanbeyan Players rehearsal, and a recent visit to a local church hall as they prepared for their coming production of Les Misérables, proved no exception.

Adapted from Victor Hugo’s famous novel, Les Misérables by Boublil and Schönberg follows Jean Valjean, an ex-convict who, after serving 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread, breaks parole to start a new life, pursued by the relentless, morally driven but blinkered Javert.

On hand is the charismatic Max Gambale performing an athletic range of notes as the main antagonist, Inspector Javert, who jokes with me that he’s always typecast as the villain. When I observe that he’s singing in a very high register, he responds: “I can sing tenor or bass as required,” adding, “I can even sing soprano.”

Gambale tells how the cast had enjoyed an early workshop with famed musical theatre exponent Philip Quast, who played Javert in the original 1987 Australian production.

Elsewhere, another vocal virtuoso, William (Wally) Allington, is seen stirring up the revolutionary students as the fiery Enjolras, leading the chorus in a bolshie version of The ABC Café/Red and Black, followed by the revolutionary anthem, Do You Hear the People Sing?

Small matter that Helen McIntyre and her battalion of costumiers were still hard at work, I could already imagine the life, the colour, the debris and those flags at the barricades.

Another scene already coming fully to life was the unusual love duet, A Heart Full of Love, between young hero Marius, played by Alex Unikowski, and the innocent Cosette, played by Sophie Hope-White, interestingly overseen by Éponine, who realises she doesn’t stand a chance of winning Marius’ affections.

Though a relatively small but significant part, Éponine, who is here played by a member of Canberra music royalty, India Cornwell, is one of great complexity, she tells me, adding an extra layer to the more conventional romance between Marius and Cosette.

On hand, in a moon boot and bravely hobbling among the large cast, is director Dale Rheynolds, who reports that they’ve been rehearsing since January, apart from the sheer logistical challenge of having to assemble a cast from 300 eager auditionees. 

The overall musical director is Brigid Cummins, while Queanbeyan Players vice-president Jen Hinton will conduct.

According to Hinton, everything about the show is big – it is a big sing with a big band of 15, and the demands are huge. Being a sung-through musical, there is no let-up. With no pun intended, she adds: “There are a lot of moving pieces.”

The choreography by movement director Belinda Hassall is obviously well underway and, as the director said, the whole thing, which has been in rehearsal since January, has required an almost military effort to pull off.

With this in mind and taking no chances, Rheynolds and associate director Sarah Powell have been careful to arrange for every part to be understudied, with no fewer than three Gavroches – Ricky Best, Harlan Blazeski and Dude Gambale as the little boy at the barricades who gives rise to the popular media images of Les Misérables in the room, alternating.

The tremendous hard work in learning the roles of Valjean and Javert has been recognised and, whatever else may happen, the two understudies will get a turn: Christopher Bennie will sing Javert on May 30, and Nathanael Patterson will play Valjean on June 6.

Meantime, the stirring strains of Victor Hugo’s hero insinuate themselves throughout. Jean Valjean is played by Dave Smith, the grin on his face as he nodded to me showing just how pleased he is to take on this mammoth part.

You can be sure there won’t be a dry eye in the house at the affecting scene in the forest where Valjean rescues the innocent young Cosette from her hypocritical captors, the Thénardiers – Hugo’s ultimate cockroach-like survivors – played by Greg Sollis and Tina Robinson.

This is a huge undertaking for the increasingly ambitious Queanbeyan Players, who have been bringing us mostly very new musicals in the last couple of years but have now decided to indulge in a bit of stirring heroism.

You’d better rush to get a ticket to this one.

Les Misérables, Queanbeyan Players, at The Q, Queanbeyan, May 22-June 6.