Even experienced actors pause over the prospect of tackling Les Miserables.

But for members of the H.D. Stafford Middle School and Langley Secondary Musical Theatre Company, the show was a challenge they readily accepted. And now they take to the stage for shows Feb. 23-25 and March 1-3.

"For almost 100 per cent of the cast this is their very first show, or the first show where they have been featured, so they have had a fairly steep learning curve and have risen to it very well," explained teacher Patti Thorpe. "Our technical crew are nearly all new as well, and about a third of the orchestra, which is drawn from four different high schools and four local universities as well as community members."

It's a big production even with two schools participating.

"Les Miserables has been a bit of a departure for us, as the entire show is sung, but what has not changed from our previous productions is our huge cast [more than 70 on stage, plus 25 in the pit orchestra] and our dedication to featuring as many talented singers and actors as we can," Thorpe said.

In 2001 a high school version of the popular production was released but this is the first time a Langley school has done Les Mis.

Backing up the students is the creative team of Chad Hendricks, LSS; Brian Leonard, HDS; Patti Thorpe, LSS; Renata Kirkwood, teacher on call who oversees costumes; and Eren McQuistin, a graduate of this program who is handling choreography.

The shows are at 7 p.m. on Feb. 23-25 and March 1-3 with 2 p.m. matinees Feb. 25 and March 3. Tickets are $12 for adults, and $10 for seniors and students. For tickets, call 604-534-4171, ext. 743.

Shows take place at Langley Secondary's theatre, 21405 56th Ave.

As the play is about a violent revolution, and is not recommended for anyone under 11 years of age.

Stage notes: from teacher Patti Thorpe

This show has been a favourite for every one of our creative team - we all consider Les Miserables to be one of the reasons we love musical theatre, and most of us have been singing and playing the songs for many years without ever really dreaming of being about to mount the show.

Several years ago we did parts of the show at our summer musical theatre camp, and several of our current pit orchestra members were singers in that two-week camp, so this has been kind of fun for them.

We had the right voices and personalities and this year just seemed to be the perfect time to produce the full show.

It is truly an ensemble show, with many students featured, and the cast has worked very hard on finding the character and the background of this marvellous show and bringing that work and preparation to the performance.

We think the audience will be moved and we know that the students have learned a lot about the characters they are bringing to life.

This kind of depends on how you count it_ officially this is our fourth done as an HDSMS/LSS collaboration: Steel Pier in 2009, Bye Bye Birdie in 2010, For Old Times Sake in 2011 and now Les Miserables.

But really this is just a continuation of a practice we started with Chicago in 2005, where we invited Grade 7's from HD Stafford Secondary's feeder elementary schools to join us for the production at HDS.

We continued that practice for every following show until the reconfiguration (Beauty and the Beast 2006, Fame 2007 and Once Upon a Mattress 2008).

What we get from the mix of kids ages is very much a family feeling to the cast - it is a wonderful opportunity for the younger singers to get to be part of this "larger" show (they do shows at HDSMS on their own as well) and they get to see how more experienced singers and actors work and to feel comfortable and welcome at LSS. We started this process as a way to make the younger kids feel welcomed to their high school and that is still a great thing to do.

For the older students the benefits are there, too, as they act as mentors for the younger students, and they remember being younger so it's kind of fun for them in that way. They seem to really enjoy working with the younger cast members and they are inspired by them, too. There are a whole lot of talented and hard working kids from both schools.

We organise a retreat in September for the cast each year, and this year we were blessed to work with Diana Kaarina who played the role of Eponine on Broadway and in touring productions of Les Miserables.

She spent the day with our kids teaching them about how to bring the characters to life and giving them really practical ideas about the show and how to perform well

The Les Miserables creative team: Chad Hendricks, LSS; Brian Leonard, HDS; Patti Thorpe, LSS; Renata Kirkwood, teacher on call who oversees costumes; and Eren McQuistin, a graduate of this program who is handling choreography). And many many parents and community members have worked on sets and costumes, including the amazing Rosemary and Keith Wallace, whose youngest child graduated from the program last year, and Ron Williams, who retired from teaching drama in 2006.