AFTER six months of rehearsals, the Cairns Choral Society will bring its 100th year celebrations to a close with tonight’s much anticipated opening of Les Misérables at the Cairns Performing Arts Centre.
Already over 70 per cent of tickets for the 10-show season, ending on 27 January, are accounted for with several performances almost sold out.
With its larger-than-life set, the 63-strong cast are rehearsed and ready to transport audiences to 19th century Paris in what is destined to be an impressive showcase of Cairns’ hot bed of creative talent.
For the Cairns Choral Society, Les Misérables occupies a special place in its long list of musical productions.
In 1995 Cairns Choral Society delivered the southern hemisphere’s first ever amateur production of this epic, much-loved musical and it was such a hit that the production was reprised a further two times with this month’s being its fourth.
According to Cairns Choral Society’s director of Les Misérables Venera Walsh, each production has been incredibly successful and memorable in their own, unique way.
“This year’s production lifts the benchmark once again with another completely fresh iteration that takes full advantage of cutting-edge lighting and technology to really bring the ‘set’ to life while the musical tradition of a live orchestra has been reimagined by positioning it behind the performers,” she said.
“Everything about Les Miz is big – along with the talent of our cast, the production values of Les Misérables are incredibly high and are destined to blow audiences away.”
While the backstage crew has been busy behind the scenes for months, the show’s costume designer Sheree Barnes is no exception with her hands well and truly full curating 150 costumes.
The extensive wardrobe has either been made from scratch or garments upcycled from the original costuming used some 30 years ago when Cairns Choral Society presented Les Misérables for the first time.
Keep up with the latest news in Cairns and the Far North, and check out some of our top stories this week: Funding to reduce coastal erosion and Jeremy Neal appointed as Division 4 Councillor.
