Actor Alexa Lopez plays Cosette in the touring production of Les Misérables. Photo Credit: Broadway San Jose
Arturo Hilario
El Observador
Even if you’ve never seen Les Misérables it is easiest described as one of the most celebrated and popular musicals in history.
The story of the often referred to “Les Mis” is one that celebrates the human spirit and is filled with broken dreams, unrequited love, sacrifice and redemption. Taking place in 19th century France amongst revolution and turmoil, it’s ultimately a story of love, courage and that light shines brightest in the dark.
Based on the 1862 novel by French author Victor Hugo, it was turned into a musical in 1980, and since then has seen multiple adaptations, critical acclaim and awards.
Recently I had the opportunity to speak to cast member Alexa Lopez of the national tour as it makes a stop in San Jose at San Jose’s Center for the Performing Arts from Wednesday, April 29 through Sunday, May 3, 2026.
Lopez is playing Cosette, an orphan who grows up a mistreated servant waiting for help to someday find her. Her role is very critical to the story, being the force that the main character Jean Valjean is pulled by to save and protect her. She also has her own storyline about finding love amongst the circumstances she was put into.
In the following interview Lopez touches on her path to the performing arts, why the show is still so important decades after its opening night, and how she prepared and put her own spin on Cosette.
To start off, I wanted to know a little bit about your background and how you became interested in the performing arts. What were your inspirations to get into it?
Yeah, I come from a very musical family, so my sister’s a singer songwriter, my little brother sings. My grandma did opera. So I think I always had the ability to sing. But I kind of lived in, I think, my sister’s shadow for a while because she was so incredibly talented and I didn’t even know that I could sing until, like, middle school, I would kind of, like, fake sing in the car. My parents would be like, “Shut up!” Because I was just too nervous to actually show my real voice.
But I joined choir in middle school, and that was an incredible outlet for me. And then I auditioned for a performing arts high school, having never done a musical before, and they somehow accepted me on a scholarship.
And then I started performing in musicals in high school, and then I auditioned for colleges, and I went to school for musical theater at Baldwin Wallace University in Ohio. And then after school I got an agent and I started auditioning and I’ve been so blessed to have worked incredible jobs since then. Les Mis being one of them.
Thank you. And is there, is there, like, a specific moment, given that you have this history and family of talented artists? Was there a specific moment where you said, like, aha, this. This is why I want to do specifically, like, musical theater.
I think it was when I saw a production of Carousel with my mom at a local theater, and also I saw the tour of Phantom of the Opera at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami. Both of those shows impacted me so deeply. West Side Story as well. Like, I saw all those shows in, like, the span of a year in middle school, and they touched me so deeply, and I felt my soul was ignited, and I was like, “I need to do this.”
This being your national tour debut, congratulations by the way, what were the feelings going into this and especially knowing that it was for such an iconic and beloved show like Les Mis?
Thank you. I was definitely nervous, but I was so excited. I remember even when I was auditioning, I loved performing the material, and I’m so lucky that I get to do it with my two friends, Jaedynn Latter, who plays Éponine, I went to college with her, and then Peter Neureuther, who plays Marius.
We made our Broadway debuts together, and now our national tour debuts together. And so I felt like I had a really good infrastructure coming in here. So I was really just excited to bring this story to life and to be able to put my own touch on this character.
And speaking of the character Cosette, can you talk about what she means to the overall story of the show?
She’s a source of light and love in a really dark and harsh setting. You know, she is a light in Jean Valjean’s life, in Marius’ life, even in Fantine’s life. As you know, she gives up everything and ultimately dies for Cosette. So it’s really lovely, as dark as our show can get, to be able to bring a source of levity and light and love to it in Cosette.
How did you prepare to step into the role and kind of give it some personal characteristics and depth of your own?
I trust my natural instincts a lot. Of course I did my research, and I have to make sure everything’s sorted out from a technical standpoint. So, you know, I went to voice lessons every week before I joined the tour, and I sang the material every day because a large part of what we do is muscle memory.
When you do the show eight times a week, your voice is a muscle, so, you know the material. It feels easier at a certain point to sing. But like I said about my natural instincts, I just felt the places where I wanted to add bits and pieces of myself and where I really thought about what Cosette might be feeling and how that could influence the way that she says something. So it was work like that.
What do you find most interesting about doing a national tour and spending time going to different cities in North America and being in different theaters every couple of weeks?
I mean, it’s incredible because I’ve gotten to see parts of the country and North America that I probably never would have seen otherwise. I’m sure there are some towns that I’ve visited that I’ll probably never be back to in my lifetime, which is kind of crazy.
But, yeah, it’s a hard job, and there’s so many blessings within it because you get to see so much, so many different places and how different the people are in each town. And they’re all so excited to just see live theater and to experience Les Mis, which is probably the most incredible parts. Like, no matter where we go, people love this show. So that’s been awesome.
And why do you think that there’s this legacy of popularity with Les Misérables? What are those themes that kind of just stick and regardless of time period, they will always be relevant to audience?
Well I think everyone has heard these songs so many times growing up or in different scenarios. They’re brilliant, iconic songs, and the story is universal. It’s about, you know, strength and redemption of the human spirit and survival and how love prevails and there’s light even in the darkest times.
And that’s, you know, the human experience that’s never going to go away. People always need hope, to enlighten their lives. And I think that’s, you know, what our show brings along with its incredible score and its incredible characters. It’s really like a full package deal.
What is your favorite aspect of Cosette and then a favorite song or part of the show beyond that?
I think my favorite part about Cosette is the strength that she has and the different colors that I get to kind of instill in her on a superficial level. My costumes are gorgeous, I love them, but I also just I love performing with this brilliant company and doing this incredible show every night.
And then my favorite, my favorite song is probably “Empty Chairs At Empty Tables.” I just have always loved that song. So there are so many that I love, but I think that’s probably at the top.
What do you hope for in terms of the future of your career? What are your dream roles or dream productions that you would like to work on?
My dream role has always been Christine in Phantom of the Opera. So hopefully one day I get to play her. But other than that, I just want to keep doing work that inspires me and that keeps my passion ignited and that can inspire others as well.
And going off of that what advice would you give to people watching you perform at these shows if they wanted to pursue a similar career path?
I feel like everybody says this, but don’t give up. There’s been so many times, and you know, I’m only 23, but I’ve gotten so many “no’s” even in my short amount of time doing this career. But the “yeses” that I’ve gotten have been incredible and life changing and I wouldn’t have gotten there if I had stopped at, every “no” that I’d gotten. So just keep working towards your dream and finding different ways to express your creativity, and don’t care what other people think.
