“Les Incredible!”: Sobbing in the Parkland High School Auditorium

Alice Frank | Writer

Living at home for college means grudgingly trying to figure out what to do on a Friday night. A few months ago, my best friend, Caroline, and I went to a small Christmas production at Theater 514 (an extension of the Allentown Civic Theater). My uncontrollable laughter and simultaneous appreciation for the live performance inspired me to seek out events in the area just like that one. 

Caroline and I chatted for some time about what other events we could attend to fuel our desire for musical theater. What we came to realize is that there are countless incredible high school theater productions in the Lehigh Valley. I grew up looking forward to watching the Freddy awards every year, and now that I am old enough to go see these performances by myself, live, I have taken a hold of that opportunity.

Friday, Apr. 4, Parkland High School performed their production of Les Misérables School Edition. My birthday being the very next day, Caroline and I thought, what better way to celebrate than by seeing a live show? And, what a celebration it was!

Les Misérables is a tale of loss, resistance, and war, but it is also a tale of love, community, and new beginnings. The performance itself exceeded all of my expectations with each actor and actress giving the production everything they had (ages ranging from 15-18, mind you). I was enamored with the talent of every lead and supporting role.

Every voice was so powerful, yet so unique. The sheer passion with dedicated hard work, radiated the stage. I held myself together for the majority of the show, but as the performance concluded with a reprise of “Do You Hear The People Sing?”, I just about lost it. There, I was sobbing abundantly around the standing ovation as the cast took to the stage to bow. To Parkland High School Theater: Bravo!