Les Misérables showing through Sunday at Lied Center in Lincoln

Les Misérables opens on Tuesday at the Lied Center for Performing Arts in Lincoln.

The show follows Jean Valjean, an ex-thief who breaks his parole to start a new life. It’s based in 19th century France, with the majority of the show surrounding a revolution.

The musical was initially supposed to come to Lincoln in 2021, but was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nick Cartell, who plays Jean Valjean, said he came to the city in 2019 to announce the show’s first planned run. Now, he gets to perform it.

“This story truly is about a survival of the human spirit,” Cartell said. “I think that John Valjean kind of embodies that, especially with this show, and I hope that the audience walks away feeling inspired and ready to go out and make change in their own world.”

Cartell has performed in over 1,000 shows as Jean Valjean. He was a part of the cast from 2017-2019 and revived the role when the tour re-opened in 2022.

Victoria Huston-Elem plays Madame Thénardier, an innkeeper who she said is seen as a villain. But she hopes audiences see that behind the character’s awful traits, she is just trying to survive.

“I would hope that somebody watching would see someone scrappy, who is really fighting to survive,” Huston-Elem said. “If you can take anything away from it, it's that everyone in this show has a different way of surviving the circumstances. And I'm one of the few characters who lives.”

The show is about three-hours long, and mostly sung. Huston-Elem said she relies on her vocal warm-ups and training to help her prepare for each performance.

“What I sing in the show is mostly a lot of yelling, a lot of screaming at children, very growly, very gritty and dark,” she said. “But I’m going to do my full vocal warm-up all the way up to my high C’s and D’s and make sure that everything is functioning properly in order to not risk any damage.”

Cartell, who plays the leading role, said it takes stamina to get through the show.

“It’s really making sure that I eat right, get enough sleep, workout, drink a lot of tea, a lot of water, but also just making sure that I warm up properly for each and every show so I can give 100% every single time,” Cartell said.

Les Misérables has eight performances scheduled through Sunday. Tickets are available online.