“To love another person is to see the face of God”
– Victor Hugo, “Les Miserables”
We all love our grandchildren in that special way only grandparents can understand. I have two different sets; I call them the farmers and the entertainers. This story is about the entertainers who live in Muhlenberg Township.
Last Friday night, dinner at my house with the farmers from Morgantown then off to the theater. The entertainers, Landon and Julia Hevalow were playing to a packed house at the Muhlenberg High School’s theater in the cast of “Les Miserables.”
They have previously performed for Reading’s Rainbow Theater as well as school and church productions. Both are avid musicians – Julia on the French horn and Landon on trombone in both the marching and jazz bands.
Their excitement has been palpable. Practicing since January every night after school, Landon, 16, has landed the part of Thenardier, “Master of the House” who as the villain adds a hilarious and insightful tone to the play through his acting and singing.
He is partnered with Caroline Slater, who plays his wife, Madame Thenardier.
Her mother, Beth, said, “She has been dancing and singing since she came out of the womb. I love seeing her in her happy place. She graduates this year and will be moving on to study music theater probably at AMDA in California.”
MHS is known for its strong music program. Many of the students thrive and grow their talents there. Landon has even written lyrics and his friend Julia Mackey the music for a song they performed at school.
“Music was a way to let my emotions out. I’m very introverted and it allows me to show who I really am,” said Landon.
Since the age of 4, he has shown a proclivity for the stage, spinning his adventures with an imagination and creativity far beyond his years. Taking up the microphone, his words and songs flowed like a true gift.
“He gave it 110 percent. He challenged himself to get into character and excel with his singing,” said his dad, Craig Hevalow.
Julia ,who I call “Happy” – always smiling, dancing and singing – has also been gifted with that special gene.
“Dream big and sing large!” said Julia.
She studied dance for years and can often be found making music videos.
Only 12, her dream to participate in this famous high school production was realized when her audition for the ensemble was won and she played a beggar throughout the scenes.
My daughter, Lori, their tireless mamma, has been kept busy helping with costumes, applying stage makeup for the cast and running the ever-present errands with her sidekick, Gracie, the dog.
Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel “Les Miserables” is considered one of the greatest of the 19th century. Beginning in 1815 and culminating in the 1832 June Rebellion in Paris, the novel follows the lives and interactions of several characters, particularly the struggles of ex-convict Jean Valjean and his experience of redemption.
According to Alexander Welsh’s “Opening and Closing Les Miserables,” Hugo explained the work’s overarching structure as “a progress from evil to good, from injustice to justice, from falsehood to truth, from night to day, from appetite to conscience, from corruption to life, from bestiality to duty, from hell to heaven, from nothingness to God. The starting point: matter, destination: the soul. The hydra at the beginning, the angel at the end.”
Its adaptation to a stage and screen musical has become famous for its songs – Fantine’s “I Dreamed a Dream” hauntingly and beautifully performed by MHS star Julia Mackey; “Can You Hear the People Sing,” the ensemble’s French Revolution battle song; scene stealer “A pup is just a pup” by Gavroche played by seventh-grader Nick DiSabella; and audience favorite “Master of the House,” sung by Landon Hevalow as Thenadier .
It was truly a sensational experience – the cast acting out the human experience of misery, humiliation, drinking, romance and dying, and war with its dreams and losses.
Shirley Hevalow, their grandmother, said, “It is amazing. I can’t get over the mature situations they are acting out. Mr. Rutt is an amazing music director to get these children to perform like this.”
My oldest granddaughter, Nicole, a MHS graduate and teacher at Success Academy in Brooklyn, N.Y., added, “They have learned to separate the language of the play from their own existence like true professionals. It is wonderful; so delighted I could see my brother and sister perform.”
Mr. White, the director, had this to say: “You kids broke a record … a standing ovation after the first act!”,
“Amazing”; “As good as Broadway”; “Fantastic”; “So much talent”; “Their voices are wonderful” came the accolades on “Feedback,” a local Reading call-in radio show, the morning after senior citizens got a free showing of the production.
The direction and dedication of White and Rutt brought this play to life.
So powerfully emotional, my Julia cried when it was over. Big tears follow big dreams.
White wrote in the bulletin: “The incredible appeal ‘Les Mes’ has had among our students is nothing short of a phenomenon: not only have they welcomed the challenge of mounting such a huge production, but as rehearsals intensified they too grew more intense in making sure you, the audience, are caught in the moment. They have shown themselves to be sensitive, compassionate , and dedicated young adults who have truly come to understand Les Miserables’ greatest message ‘… to love another person is to see the face of God.'”
