Some of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s young thespians and stagehands are doing their part to make Victor Hugo’s classic tale of justice, revolution and love come alive this winter.

Laura Secord Secondary School in St. Catharines is marking its 60th anniversary this year with a musical production of “Les Misérables,” set to open in late February.

Student performers and staff have been rehearsing 12 hours a week, four days a week since September.

The show also features sets built by the school’s woodworking class, which devotes part of its curriculum to supporting the arts program.

Principal Tracy Sacco said the production reflects the school’s commitment to arts education.

“We’re able to find the gifted talented people to be able to do that in a musical,” she said. “That is one of the most challenging musicals to do from a musical staging, everything perspective … It was really important to take one of the best musicals you can find.”

The cast ran through a dress rehearsal Tuesday in the school’s movie-theatre-style auditorium. Ensemble member Maximum Fretz, 17, of Niagara-on-the-Lake, said he feels ready to put on a show.

“I think we are all ready, aside from some fine tuning,” he said.

Sixteen-year-old NOTL resident Aoibhin Davidson was among the cast members working to refine “Master of the House,” a number featuring her character, Thenardier. Davidson described the innkeeper as “the complete down-below of evil.”

She said she is familiar with playing comedic villains, partly because as drama teacher and director Chris Baker said, she has strong comedic timing. She added that the role is especially interesting because the character is unlike her real-life personality.

Davidson said the character reflects one side of Hugo’s message.

“That’s actually the point of Les Mis,” she said. “If you don’t believe in God, you’re kind of like, going to become really down-below on yourself. At least that’s what he’s (Hugo) kind of saying.”

Several other Niagara-on-the-Lake students are involved in the production, including Diego Rey and his sister Sienna, who play Marius and ensemble roles, respectively, as well as ensemble member Elina Moussi.

NOTL students are also working behind the scenes, including sound operator Ella Edgecombe and technician Bella Gilchrist.

Rey, 16, said he enjoys playing Marius because the role suits him as a tenor and aligns with his stage presence. He said Marius’s internal conflict between joining a revolutionary cause and choosing his love interest, Cosette, feels natural for someone his age.

“This is one of the easier roles for a teenager to play,” he said. “Because he’s like roughly my age.”

Rey added that he appreciates the musical’s complex storyline.

Moussi, 15, said she enjoys playing a sailor and is drawn to the music’s complexity. Sienna Rey, also 15, said her favourite role is a prostitute, describing it as fun because she can “experiment with how she wants to play that role” and make the character as “vibrant as possible.”

Many cast members have performed together previously in Laura Secord productions and with Yellow Door Theatre Project productions, which they said has helped strengthen the ensemble.

“There are a lot of friends that I’ve known my entire high school career, and there are friends that I’ve known from other theatre productions,” Diego said. “On stage, I feel like everyone can adapt and work together pretty well.”

Gilchrist, 14, is part of the school’s drama and arts program, specializing in dance, and is working on lighting for the production. She is training to take over as technical director next year and said the experience has been valuable.

“There’s so much done behind that scenes that they (the audience) don’t see that makes everything run smoothly,” she said.

Baker said he is proud of the students’ efforts and hopes the community will support the ambitious production.

“These kids are working their butts off to bring this show together,” he said. “Their energy, their enthusiasm, their passion for music theatre is apparent every single rehearsal that we have.”

Performances begin Feb. 27 at 7 p.m., with additional evening shows Feb. 28, March 5 and March 6. Matinee performances at 2 p.m. are scheduled for March 1, March 7 and March 8.

Tickets cost $20 for adults and $15 for students and are available at laurasecord.dsbn.org.