Escape to France via High Street

Imagine sitting in a darkened theater where quiet is a must, except for the on-stage action. As a parent, it can make for a nice break away from the children!

Last week's Great Escape suggestion involved turning the pages of a book to get away for awhile and perhaps escape into the lives of fictional characters. This week's suggestion is seeing fictional characters come to life at the .

Currently on stage at the theater is the school edition of the popular musical Les Miserables. It is an almost three-hour production, which includes intermission.

The High Street production of Les Mis’ may be called the “school edition,” but it's not what you think, if you haven't already heard. The only real difference is the age of the cast members—which cannot be older than 19, because the national touring companies of the musical still have the performance rights. Other than that, it’s still the same “Les Mis” that audiences have seen for the past 25 years.

My husband and I are blessed to have both sets of our daughter's grandparents living in Ventura County, so when we planned to go see Les Miserables with a friend, we were able to have my folks baby-sit our toddler while we watched the musical and enjoyed dinner afterward.

My husband, friend and I especially appreciated Lilli Babb’s performance as Eponine, especially when she performed her solo, “On My Own;” however, the overall cast did a great job, and we enjoyed the production as a whole.

Admittedly, as a mother, there were certain scenes that were difficult to watch. If you are familiar with the musical, you can probably guess which. If you haven’t seen the musical yet, all I’ll say is it involves the little boy character, Gavroche. Despite those moments, I was glad to get to see Les Miserables.

We did miss having our little girl with us, but it is important to be able to spend time apart from her on occasion. Of course, seeing her little face beam when she saw our return was priceless!

Performances run only through March 6. They are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Tickets for adults are $18.

 If you need more time to plan for a baby-sitter, here are the upcoming events at the theater: Macbeth runs from March 18 through April 10; the High Street Broadcast, takes the stage March 27; and Jekyll & Hyde runs May 20 through June 26.

High Street Arts Center is at 45 E. High St. For more information, call 805-529-8700.