Miserable
I give, already! Is anyone else miserable?
And I hate to say it, but so far we've gotten off easy this year. But this week, with the 100-plus degree heat, the smoky skies and was that an actual percent or two of humidity in the air? Oh, boy, I'd throw in the towel, but I need it to mop my brow.
Is there any escape to the heat?
We don't have a pool, and I'm too lumpy in a swimsuit to take any but the very best, or blindest, of friends up on invitations to come swimming at theirs.
I was thrilled when my youngest became independent enough to accept an invitation to swim that no longer involved my sitting on the side of the pool sweating and salivating over the sparkling water.
Vanity can be painful. Absolutely miserable sometimes.
All I can say is thank goodness for air conditioning. If you get tired of paying high utility bills, just head to the mall where you can get cool on someone else's dime—although my husband claims that can turn out to be dangerously more expensive than just staying home and cranking our own A/C.
The weather is agonizing, but there are much worse forms of misery, like being hungry, at war, oppressed by a tyrannical government or having to learn to speak French. (To my French friends, pardonnez-moi, but you know I'm hopeless.)
Mais oui (but yes), there are worse forms of misery, just ask Jean Valjean, the main character of Victor Hugo's “Les Misérables.”
Jean is most recently portrayed by Anthony Vander Schaaf in the Tulare County Office of Education (TCOE) production of “Les Mis.”
His relentless pursuer, the villainous policeman, Javert, will be played by, Ethan De Jongh. And Valjean's tragic friend, Fantine, will be portrayed by Abby Sherrill. Her daughter, Cosette, whom Valjean adopts, will be played by Makenda Bickmore.
Rounding out other larger rolls in the cast of 60 are the corrupt, but entertaining, innkeepers, the Thénardiers, played by Catherine Coppola and Courtland Trull. Their daughter, Éponine, is played by Genevieve Becker. David Chavez portrays the revolutionary student, Marius Pontmercy, who is loved by Éponine but who loves Cosette, (It is a French story; it has to have romance!). Enjolras, the leader of the revolutionary students, is played by Angelo Soriano.
Now that I've had the pleasure of attending
several of TCOE's summer musical productions, I can personally attest to
their high caliber of performance standards. Tulare County can be proud
of these students. They are incredibly talented. And they put many, many
hours of hard work into their shows, which is why they shine. And of course
they have the leading example and driving force of TCOE director, Brian
Roberts and his supporting staff.
It's just simply amazing that they are all high school age or younger. Most
colleges would be proud to put on a production of such high quality.
Come see for yourself. Performances run from Friday, July 18 through Saturday, July 19. And from Thursday, July 24 through Saturday, July 26. There will be 7:30 p.m. showings each evening and a 2 p.m. matinee on each of the Saturdays.
All performances will be at the L.J. Williams Theatre at 1001 West Main Street in Visalia.
Here's a bit of “Les Misérables” trivia for you: “Cosette” is the poor waif immortalized on the modern musical poster, but the drawing is actually from the original 1862 edition of the novel.
I had a chance to talk to Makenda who is playing Cosette. Of her character, Makenda said, “Cosette's oblivious to the world. All these bad things going on around her. She's kind of like a Disney princess character – prim and proper. It's a fun role to play.”
Hmmm, oblivious? Misses out on all the misery? Wonder if that would work with the heat? Come to think of it, I never saw Cinderella or Snow White break a sweat, even when they were cleaning house. And Princess Jasmine didn't even “glow,” and I've heard it can get pretty warm in Arabia.
I'm still not convinced that this “being oblivious” thing would work with Valley heat. Maybe if I were hypnotized. But even then I'd probably sweat or pass out and blow the illusion.
Oh, well. At least when I go see “Les Mis” I'll be distracted by the amazing talent. And the LJ Williams has great A/C. Misery escaped, one performance at a time. Mais oui!
Send comments to RoniSMiller@yahoo.com