[112] Some seats still available in MTSU's Tucker Theatre for 'Les Misérables'

MURFREESBORO — Some tickets are still available for this week's MTSU Arts production of the Oscar- and Tony-winning musical “Les Misérables” in Tucker Theatre.

Performances are scheduled Thursday-Saturday, Sept. 19-21, at 7:30 each evening, and one matinee is planned at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22. You can buy tickets online at www.mtsuarts.com or at the Tucker Theatre box office.

General admission tickets for “Les Misérables” are $10 each. MTSU students, faculty and staff with valid IDs will be admitted free.

“Les Misérables” is the largest musical theater production staged to date at MTSU and one of the first university-licensed complete Broadway versions presented in the country.

“It dwarfs anything we’ve ever done before,” musical director Raphael Bundage, a professor of vocal performance in MTSU’s School of Music, said of the two-act operetta.

“We’ve had large casts before, but the ensembles and principals in this production bring the total to 52.”

The cast includes MTSU students and alumni as well as members of the surrounding community. A crew of 25-plus and an 18-piece orchestra complete the team recreating the Paris Uprising of 1832 on a minimalist set with characters who’ve become household names from Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel: Jean Valjean, Inspector Javert, Fantine, Cosette.

You can watch a video from rehearsals at http://youtu.be/REY1c95DKgY.

Some cast members are playing dual roles, while others are sharing their roles with colleagues over the four-night run. The full cast returned to MTSU two weeks before the fall 2013 semester started for a daily eight hours of “musical boot camp” to prepare for the physically and vocally strenuous production.

“Eight hours a day gave them a real summer-stock, professional experience. They worked, and are working, so hard,” said director Kristi Shamburger, a Department of Speech and Theatre professor who also directed MTSU’s productions of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” “Guys and Dolls” and “Into the Woods.”

“We’re just thrilled to be able to offer this production to the community,” Bundage added. “There are so many partnerships that brought it together through MTSU Arts, but we’re most proud of the preprofessional experience we’re offering these students. They are professionals in every sense of the word.”

For more information about the show, visit www.mtsuarts.com and click on the “Les Misérables” banner. You also can call 615-494-8810.