So, I joined the cast of Les Mis... It happened very suddenly. A girl in the cast got injured and they needed a replacement. Two of my friends are in the leading roles and recommended me, since they knew I could learn all her parts quickly enough, since I have experience in musical theater from before. I had three weeks before the show to squeeze in three months of preparation. Kind of crazy, right?
I honestly had such a blast working with such talented actors and vocalists. They made me grow. They made me truly appreciate the power of teamwork in a performance. Here are some of those people:
One of the people I was really grateful to work with was Max Hozić (starred as the lead Valjean, pictured above). He's the kind of guy who's been in the music industry for years, developed incredible vocal and acting skills, and is openly willing to share everything he picked up on the way. Same with Irena Matas (unfortunately, I didn't get a photo with her). She's also become a dear friend. She was everybody's go-to acting coach and really helped me understand my characters better to deepen my performance. She played the role of Madame Thenardier absolutely spectacularly. She even impressed my sister who cannot stand musicals.
Ena-Sanan Hdagha was also a huge impact on my performance. Being the assistant director, she took me under her wing to make sure I effortlessly pick up on everything I need to do. This was essential to me as I was joining a cast that had been preparing for months, when all I had was mere weeks.
Pictured above is also Sementa Rajhard who starred as Cosette. Sementa is a wonderfully warm person, charming and fun to be around. She's also been in the industry for a while and fun fact: She voiced Anna in the Croatian translation of Disney's animated feature film Frozen.
Henrik Šimunković excelled as Javert, Igor Baksa broke us with his humorous rendition as M. Thenardier and Filip Hozjak was the most earnest lovable golden-retriever-puppy-level Marius you've ever seen.
Pictured below are those two friends of mine I was telling you about: Alida Fištrek and Petra Buterin. They were amazing in their roles of Eponine and Fantine! Petra is a complete actress and vocalist with years of professional training. For Alida this was her first acting experience and she emerged as a true artist. The three of us (as well as Irena) go to the same vocal professor: Mirela Brnetić at Bacchabundus. The little guy Drago Horg playing Gavroche was absolutely epic as well.
Below am I squished between Petra Buterin and Alen Đuras. What an unexpected talent he was! He joined the cast after I did, with even less time to prepare, but he handled it like a pro. He blasted through The Voice last year. He's young, but truly special. I can't wait to see where he takes his music career.
And here, below, is the entire cast of the Croatian version of Les Mis with the director Richard Montez and producer Vladimir Hoblaj of CornerstoneArts Hrvatska in the very front, without whom none of this would have been possible:
It might be hard to spot me because I was turned to face little Ema who played the child version od Eponine. Both her and Vjera Dučić (playing little Cosette) were amazing! But the pressure of the performance did get to both of them and tears were shed. Vjera used that onstage with Irena's guidance to perform an absolutely breathtaking emotional rendition of Castle on the Cloud. Ema puffed her chest and held back her tears to perform every scene she needed to like a pro.
The theater is not an easy place for little ones so it is our job to be there for them and give them the emotional support they need to get through it and ultimately enjoy themselves. Both girls adore performing so it is important for us to make it the best experience possible for them.
Well, that's it, folks! There is talk about more show dates which I am rooting for. And to end this blog post, here's a pic of me backstage getting dressed as my role as a prostitute:
Have a great day!
ALL PHOTOS BY TIN TOMANIĆ.