Playful Theater Productions presents “Les Miserables,” a musical based on the novel by Victor Hugo, for three weekends at Kelsey Theater this spring. Performances are Friday, March 28, to Sunday, April 13. A reception with the cast and crew follows the opening night performance on March 28.
The show begins in 1815 and takes us on the journey of Jean Valjean, an honest man driven to steal a loaf of bread for his starving family. After 19 years of hard labor he breaks parole determined to start a new life but Javert, a police inspector, continues to track him. The revolution in France becomes the focus of “Les Miz” as a group of students build a barricade.
Shawn Doremus of Plainsboro plays the role of Enjolras, the leader of the student revolutionaries. Raised in Forked River, he became interested in performing in theater as a freshman in high school. As a vocalist in the school’s choir, the choir director encouraged him to audition for the spring musical, and he was cast in “The Music Man.” He played the French horn in marching band in the fall and in the spring he was in the musicals. “I became a drama kid,” he says.
Doremus graduated from Liberty University in Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in secondary English education and theater performance. At school he worked in the office as well as set and prop building, and lighting design.
After college graduation, Doremus spent a summer as an actor at the Blue Ridge Summer Theater Festival, where he played Macduff in “Macbeth” and Solinus in “The Comedy of Errors. “It was my farewell to Virginia,” he says.
A student teacher in Lacey Township’s middle school, Doremus has been teaching English, public speaking, and screenwriting at South Brunswick High School for a year. He moved to Plainsboro from the shore. “It is a good change,” he says.
His parents, both from Langhorne, Pennsylvania, did theater together in high school. “Both sides of the family are very musical,” he says. “My grandfather led a big band.” His brother, who performed in “Grease” in high school, is now an academic advisor for veterans studying online. His mother works for the school system in Lacey Township, and his father is an operations manager with Williams-Sonoma.
The first Broadway show he saw was “Les Miserables.” He was only 12 and remembers openly crying. “It has a special place for me,” he says. “I’ve had the soundtrack memorized for 14 years.” He did not see “Les Miz” again until the film last year. “I’ll always love live theater over a movie version.”
Previous roles at Kelsey Theater include Houdini in “Ragtime” and Tom Sawyer in “Big River.” Although this is his third time at Kelsey and the third time working with Frank Ferrara of West Windsor as the director, he still had to audition for “Les Miserables.”
“As Enjolras I do a lot of singing, build a barricade, wave the big red flag, lead half the cast to their deaths, and die” says Doremus.
Les Miserables, Kelsey Theater, Mercer Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor. Musical based on Victor Hugo’s novel set in 1815 France. $20. 609-570-3333. www.kelseytheater.net.
