Five years after the South Arkansas Arts Center put on the show Les Misérables, those who worked on the production or starred in it are gathering again for a reunion at the Arts Center at 8 p.m. tonight
Colleen Means, marketing and technical director at SAAC, said the idea came about because Broadway star Craig Schulman will be in town over the weekend. Schulman was a visiting artist for the show and along with directing the show, he played the lead role of Jean Valjean, a role he has played around the world.
“It’s the biggest thing that’s ever been done,” Means said. “I was going to say since I’ve been here, but I think that the Arts Center has ever done. I don’t think there was bigger things before me.”
Means said it’s unusual for SAAC to have a visiting artist, but Les Misérables was a special case because it was for SAAC’s 50-year anniversary and it was put on in collaboration with El Dorado High School and the South Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.
The idea for a reunion came up last week, Means said, when one of the other cast members, Emily Cole who played Fantine, said she was excited to see Schulman again since he was going to be in town for a show that the South Arkansas Symphony Orchestra has organized.
Schulman will be singing music from some of his most famous roles in “Heroes, Monsters, & Madmen” at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
“We started a real quick ‘hey, is there any time in Craig’s schedule that we could actually get together,” Means said. “And they came back and told us that Friday night.”
Means said as far as she’s aware, this is the first time SAAC has held this kind of reunion, but has hosted a couple reunion nights. She said SAAC has invited people from the cast of a show if it’s run before to come and be recognized at the end of a performance.
She said she’s not sure how many people will come to the reunion, but that there’s some who won’t be able to.
“A lot of the littler kids who were in the show have moved on now to other bigger and better things,” Means said. “It’s kind of sad that we aren’t going to be able to see some of them, but it’ll be nice to get the chance to visit with Craig and some of the cast that are able to make it.”
Michael Shine may be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter and like him on Facebook @MichaelAZShine for updates on Union County school news.
