Now here’s an encore. Two young friends from Northbrook and Glenview are starring together for a second time in a local theater production.
Brielle Horwitch, 10, a rising fifth-grader of Northbrook and Lanah Vurnakes, 11, a rising sixth-grader of Glenview’s The Glen, unexpectedly ran into each other while auditioning for “Les Misérables,” presented by the Uptown Music Theater of Highland Park.
“They saw each other at the callbacks for ‘Les Misérables’ and were so excited to see one another,” said Laura Pekay Horwitch, Brielle’s mother, of the Glenbrook South High School (GBS) Class of 1990.
“When the girls found out they were double cast, the excitement was beyond.
“For Brielle, theatre is her happy place,” Brielle’s mother said, adding, “‘Les Misérables’ has been the most incredible experience. The entire cast, director and producers are so talented and unreal.
“Having the girls performing together again is the icing on the cake,” Brielle’s mother said.
Lanah and Brielle share the “Les Misérables” parts of Young Cosette and Young Epinone. The girls met, “and became instant friends,” Brielle’s mother said, during the autumn of 2022 musical “The Sound of Music” when they were cast as von Trapp sisters in a Wilmette Big Noise Theatre production. Brielle played Gretl and Lanah played Marta.
“One friendship that will indeed last a lifetime is Lanah’s and Brielle’s,” said Lanah’s mother Jill Geimer-Vurnakes. “They find genuine joy in supporting each other, rooting for each other, and embracing each other.
“They are learning at a very young age that the journey is so much more rewarding when walking alongside a true friend,” Lanah’s mother said.
“It’s very, very special.”
The 2024 interpretation of the Boublil and Schönberg “Les Misérables” musical is directed by Scott Shallenbarger. The assistant director is Zak Jacobs of the Highland Park High School Class of 2008.
Aaron Kaplan, orchestra director at GBS and Glenbrook North High School (GBN), directs the 21 musicians of the orchestra.
“The music to ‘Les Misérables’ has some of the most recognizable melodies in the musical theatre canon,” Kaplan said.
Shallenbarger said, “My favorite lyric in ‘Les Misérables’ is ‘To love another person is to see the face of God.’”
“Les Misérables” with 44 cast members runs Friday, July 26 to Sunday, Aug. 11 at the Deerfield Performing Arts Center (1959 Waukegan Road) in Deerfield. Get tickets at https://uptown.ludus.com/index.php?show_id=200453092
Brielle’s father is David Horwitch of the Deerfield High School Class of 1990 and her siblings are Maya, 23, of the GBN Class of 2018, Jenna, 18, of the GBN Class of 2023, and Lacey, who was 10 when she passed in 2013.
Lanah’s father is Mike Vurnakes and her sister is Coco, 7, a rising second-grader. Lanah has been performing since she was 4. Lanah’s talent agency is DDO Chicago/LA and her talent manager is Randi Rosen from Ivy Artists Management.
Brielle and Lanah spoke to Pioneer Press after a July 7 “Les Misérables” rehearsal at West Ridge Center (636 W. Ridge Road) in Highland Park.
“Theatre is important to me because it is just so fun and I make so many new friends and everybody is so nice and it’s so fun to sing, dance, and act,” Brielle said.
For Lanah, “It’s kind of similar. I just feel like it’s always been something that I love to do and I also make new friends and get to know new people.”
The characters Cosette and Epinone are, “both children, and Cosette is the least favorite child,” Lanah said. “She (Cosette) was sent to live with them (host family) because her mom couldn’t basically afford to raise her.”
Brielle agreed, indicating, “Epinone is their favorite child, their biological one and they spoil her, they love her so much.
“They love her way more than Cosette, they don’t love Cosette at all.
“It’s similar to Cinderella,” Brielle added about Cosette, a fictional character who experiences child abuse by an exploitative host family.
Both friends agree kindness is key to having a better world.
“Just be kind,” Brielle said. “Being mean doesn’t help anything. It doesn’t do you any good.”
Lanah said, “It’s a really upsetting story (“Les Misérables”), good thing that it’s not true but it’s based off of real things.
“I feel like the lesson would be that people can change for the better,” Lanah said.
Of the takeaway message, Zak Jacobs said, “‘Les Misérables’ reminds us to never give up hope and to fight for what you believe in.
“In a world full of uncertainty, we could all use this reminder right now,” Jacobs said.
The “Les Misérables” production is assisting people impacted by the Highland Park shooting at the July 4, 2022 parade.
Jamie Davidson, president and founder of Uptown Music Theater of Highland Park, a not-for-profit, non-equity theater company, said Uptown, “is working closely with its largest benefactor for this exceptional production, the Highland Park Community Foundation (HPCF), to ensure that the HPCF’s Highland Park Shooting Recovery Fund is able to receive a significant amount of the proceeds from a successful production.
“Serving the needs of the community and supporting the victims impacted by the senseless July 4, 2022 tragedy is a paramount goal of the production,” Davidson said.
Shallenbarger said, “I am inspired to create this story for the Highland Park community as it offers a counterpoint to what we experienced on July 4, 2022.
“The tragic pain and sorrow of that day can never be erased, of course,” Shallenbarger added, “but my hope is ‘Les Misérables’ provides healing energy in its reminder that the human capacity for love cannot be diminished, even against the backdrop of unspeakable darkness.”
Learn more about the Highland Park Shooting Recovery Fund at https://www.hpcfil.org/july-4th-highland-park-parade-shooting.
Karie Angell Luc is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.
