Performance of Les Miserables brings BGSU alumni together in west-Texas city

The city of Midland, Texas, is well over a thousand miles away from Bowling Green, but it’s become an artistic collision-point for a group of music and theater graduates from BGSU.

In April, six former BGSU students will showcase their talents in a production of the classic musical drama Les Miserables at Midland’s new, state-of-the-art Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center. The show is a major community event for this west-Texas city of over 111,000 people, and the first locally produced musical to appear at the critically acclaimed arts center.

All six graduates play important roles in the musical, a passionate tale of love, destruction and deceit set in 19^th-century revolutionary France. Timothy Jebsen ’90 and Gregory Pysh ’82 lead the production as theater director and musical director respectively. Jebsen holds a Master’s in Dramatic Theory and Criticism, and Pysh a Master’s in Voice and Conducting from BGSU.  Chris Vaught ‘01, who earned his Master’s in Music and Vocal Performance, plays the main villain in the show, police inspector Javert. Joe Jung ’99, holds a Bachelors’ in Music Education from BGSU, and plays a leading student revolutionary Grantaire. Timothy Jebsen’s wife, Lisa Jebsen ’90, who majored in Theater, has one of the leading comedic roles, Madame Thenardier. And Gregory Pysh’s wife, Kathy Pysh ’82, another Music Education major, is in the chorus.

Despite the alumni’s ties to BGSU’s musical arts and theater programs, the graduates didn’t realize until recently that so many other former Bowling-Green students lived and worked in the same city. Now, drawn together by a common love for musical theater, they are marveling at how their lives and talents brought them all to Midland, Texas, and into a major community production.

“You might call it pure coincidence,” said Pysh, who works as the chorale director for the Midland-Odessa Symphony and Chorale and as Minister of Music at the First Presbyterian Church of Midland. “None of us knew each other when we were on campus, partly because of our ages – we were there at different times. But we’ve all sort of arrived at this production. I think it’s very, very unique.”

The show, which runs April 25 and 26, is a collaboration between Midland Community Theater and the Midland-Odessa Symphony and Chorale. Timothy Jebsen, Executive Director of Midland Community Theater, said it’s the third musical the two organizations have worked on together, so collaborating with Pysh is nothing new. The Jebsens and the Pyshs got to know each other shortly after moving to Midland in the late 1990’s, and were surprised enough to be two couples in the city with degrees from BGSU.

Pysh said he had heard through friends that Vaught and Jung were also Bowling Green graduates, and crossed paths with them before because of their connection to the local music scene. Vaught is director of music at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Midland, and Jung a choir director at two schools and music director at Northwestern Baptist Church. However, Jebsen said he hadn’t met Vaught and Jung until recently, and their connection to BGSU took him by surprise. He said he chose cast members based on talent alone, and was impressed by Vaught and Jung’s abilities.

“I still can’t believe it. As far away as we are from Ohio in Midland, Texas, to have three actors, the director and the musical director have a connection to the same college is pretty amazing,” he said. “I think it speaks volumes about Bowling Green State University.”

Jung said he was also shocked when he realized how many Bowling Green graduates were involved in the show. He only found out after he auditioned that he’d be sharing the stage with other BGSU alumni.

“It was kind of funny. I’d thought, I’m sure there’s no other Bowling Green graduates within a 100-mile radius of here,” he said. “We probably have every Bowling Green graduate in this area of the country participating (in Les Miserables).”

The show is expected to draw a large audience in Midland, said Gregory Pysh. Already over half the tickets have been sold, he noted. Jebsen said the biggest challenges will be getting used to performing in the new arts center, and merging the musicians and cast. Although out-of-town theater companies have performed at the arts center, Les Miserables is special because it will feature all-local talent, he emphasized.

Vaught, who worked as a professional singer in Michigan before taking his current job in Midland in 2011, said he was excited about performing on stage again and playing Javert.

“I really like the story, the music,” he said. “(Javert’s) just a really strong character and the antagonist trying to fork the happiness of the main character. It’s kind of challenging. It’s a big role.”

Lisa Jebsen, who worked in theater after graduating but is now a fitness professional, said she likes to keep up her acting skills by performing in community theater once a year. She said she particularly likes playing comedic roles like Madame Thenardier.

“I love that she’s an element of fun in a show that can be pretty heavy,” she said. “I like how she lightens up the mood for a while.”

Kathy Pysh, a long-time school music teacher, said she was involved in operas and musicals while studying at BGSU, but Les Miserables is the first musical she’s been in since graduating.

“It will be an amazing, artistic experience for everyone,” she said. “It feels very exciting.”

As rehearsals get underway, the alumni said they were looking forward to getting to know each other better. Gregory Pysh said the six had already had an informal BGSU reunion meeting at the most recent rehearsal. Among the topics of discussion: Myles Pizza Pub and voice teacher Andreas Poulimenos, who taught the Pyshs, Vaught and Jung during their time at BGSU.

Gregory Pysh said the BGSU connection brings with it a natural camaraderie that makes working together especially fun.

“They’re really good people and they’re very talented and they’re hard working,” he said. “It’s great to know that you’ve got something in common…It’s just really special that you have that unique connection with certain members of the cast.”