IT’S HIM—Gavroche, played by Stanley Miller, 8, fingers Jean Valjean, hiding among the student revolutionaries in the High Street Arts Center’s performance of “Les Misérables.” “Les Misérables,” the Broadway musical stage adaptation of Victor Hugo’s celebrated novel, comes as an allstudent performance at the High Street Arts Center in Moorpark, but don’t let the youthful cast fool you. Director Ken Rayzor has assembled a stellar ensemble of youngsters to perform the musical tale of the student-led Parisian uprising of 1832 and the moral journey of Jean Valjean and his oppressor, the relentless Inspector Javert.

The so-called “school edition” of the musical was developed in the wake of the show’s phenomenal success on Broadway. Music Theatre International made the version available to actors 19 and younger, and it has become hugely popular in American high schools ever since.

There really isn’t much to differentiate the school edition from the parent version. No critical scenes were removed, yet the show was reduced by 20 to 25 minutes through judicious editing of some of the songs. Rayzor double-cast the show, guaranteeing that the featured characters’ understudies all got the chance to perform.

The performers come from seven area high schools, including Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Royal and Newbury Park, and four middle schools, including Medea Creek in Oak Park.

The thread of the entire story is Valjean, the common thief who is transformed into a monument to morality.

Valjean is beautifully portrayed by Ryan Driscoll, who, despite spending the entire week suffering from the flu, gave a bravura performance, his shining tenor evident on musical soliloquies like “Who Am I?” and “Bring Him Home.” Driscoll perfectly captures Valjean’s nobility as the tortured parolee spends the bulk of the show wrestling with his conscience and evading the steadfast inspector.

On this evening, Scott Hendrickson took on the meaty role of Javert (he alternates with Adam Rayzor). Hendrickson, who astounded audiences as Fagin in the Young Artists Ensemble’s production of “Oliver!” last year, once again disappears into his character as he plays the justice-seeking policeman. His superb acting instincts and powerful baritone belie the fact that this is only his second featured performance.

In their scenes together, Driscoll and Hendrickson are magnetic, especially in “The Confrontation,” in which they both sing the line “I will be there”—one menacing and the other comforting.

The performances of the supporting cast are also strong. Mallory Martin gives the illfated Fantine an impassioned presence and delivers the show’s most famous song, “I Dreamed a Dream,” with resonance and inspiration. As the unscrupulous Thénardiers, Ryan Brodsky and Francesca Gemma Barletta are the proprietors from hell, deliciously decadent as they chew scenery from port to starboard. The despicable duo’s rollicking “ Master of the House” (retitled “The Inkeeper’s Song” for this edition) is as delightfully wicked as any performance I have seen.

The sub- theme to the Valjean-Javert battle is the love story of Marius and Cosette, sweetly played by Levi Gotsman and Nicole Escandon. The third wheel in that relationship is the Thénardiers’ daughter Éponine, who carries a torch for Marius. The tragic heroine was played on this night by Brooke Bowers, whose radiant performance of “On My Own” was one of the highlights of the evening.

Tyler Matthew Burk also gave a stirring performance as Enjolras, the leader of the revolutionaries, singing the anthemic “Do You Hear the People Sing?” on the eve of the desperate uprising. Precocious 8-year-old Stanley Miller handled the role of the street urchin Gavroche with perfection and was a delight to watch.

It takes a virtual army to put on “Les Misérables,” and, like the students in Paris, there’s no telling what you can accomplish if you have loyalty, purpose and self-sacrifice on your side. A jubilant shout for this production. Come one and all and cheer for the red and black!

“ Les Misérables” plays through March 6 at the High Street Arts Center. For tickets, call (805) 529-8700.