This week, the cast list for Oakton’s production of Les Mis went up. The first round of auditions were back in November, and callbacks were last week. Now, after months of thought and preparation, the many actors and singers that auditioned have been narrowed down to a talented final cast that will portray citizens of 19th century France.

 Lindsey Jacobson is no stranger to musicals; the chorus student appeared as Christine in last year’s “The Phantom of the Opera” and Jane in “Mary Poppins” the year before. Now, she has been cast as Fantine in Les Misérables. “I’ve loved Les Mis ever since I was little. I like to play characters that sing ballads, so naturally I auditioned for Fantine and Eponine because of their iconic songs,” she said, referencing the famous number “I Dreamed a Dream.” “If I could have, I would have auditioned for Marius, even though he is a guy role,” she added. “He is my absolute favorite role in the show.” Jacobson’s passion for musical theatre is adjective, and she’d been hoping to be in Les Misérables someday long before the musical’s announcement.

 Les Mis is the first Oakton musical for sophomore drama student Carolyn Best, who will play the young street urchin, Gavroche. “Since Gavroche is younger, I worked on singing with a little bit of nasality.” said Best. “Now that I’ve been cast, I’ve started researching the time period to figure out historically what happened with the June Rebellion, and also figure out how much knowledge Gavroche would have had of the previous rebellions.”

 Now that the cast has been decided, the show will go into its next stage of production. While the actors memorize their lines and songs, the tech team will be getting to work soon, too — it’s their job to build the sets and pick the costumes that will bring the show to life. Rehearsals will begin shortly, and then the show will open in May. Don’t miss your chance to see it!