On November 20th, the French Club and the Drama Club went to see the musical Les Misérables at the Fabulous Fox Theater in St. Louis, Missouri. Les Misérables is a musical set in 19th-century France. It is a story of passion, sacrifice, broken dreams, and redemption.
Before getting to the theater, the students spent time at St. Claire’s Square to do some shopping. At the theater, people were able to buy a variety of souvenirs from the show.
Mr. Ampomah decided to take his students for the first time since he started teaching at HHS this past year. Ampomah felt, “It was always important that they see some parts of the things that we are teaching.” He stated that he felt both the architecture and the show are important things for French students to see, as they are both strong representatives of French culture. Mr. Ampomah is also currently teaching the novel that the musical is based on in his senior French class.
The students were left impressed by the show, loving both the music and storytelling of the timeless musical. Imogen Coop (11) shared her feelings after the show: “The story started slow, but the beautiful music helped move it along. The characters each had depth, and their narratives were depicted well in the musical.” Senior Preston Fletcher (12) shared that his favorite part of the show was the scene with the introduction of the Janitor.
Chris Banks (12) shared his reason for going was his interest in seeing the musical adaptation of the story he is currently reading in his French class. Chris said his favorite scene “was the battle scene because of all the moving parts and how epic the scene was.”
Mr. Ampomah shared that his favorite aspect of the musical as a whole was its impressive transitions and visuals, adding that he felt that “the first few scenes were so seamless that you wouldn’t know that they were even changing the scenes, but they were.” Everyone who went on the trip had high praise for the show for its music, scenery, and special effects.
On the way home from St. Louis, the group stopped at Hardy’s to grab a quick bite to eat before finishing the trip home. The students finally returned home around 6 pm and were all tired from their long and exciting trip. Mr. Ampomah shared that he hopes to continue doing trips like this with his French classes for years to come.
