In the Saturday cast of WJ STAGE’s production of Les Miserables, the highly coveted role of Jean Valjean was filled by no ordinary student. Senior Julian Bradford, a WJ student with autism filled the role. He is part of Walter Johnson’s Learning for Independence (LFI) program, where he has highly progressed. Julian will continue his education at a program held between Montgomery College and MCPS, called Transition Training for Independence (TTI), after being awarded the A.R. Tilghman Memorial Scholarship.
Julian’s performance as Jean Valjean has received an immense amount of praise from the cast, crew and people who came to watch the show.
Sophomore Ace Shigaki-Andrews is one of the many people who contribute to the inclusive community that welcomed Julian into the show with open arms.
“He can act and sing- there’s nothing different about him other than being in the special program and that really shouldn’t matter. He’s a hard worker who always pushes his boundaries to improve his already existing talents,” Shigaki-Andrews said.
Being a part of the musical and the WJ STAGE community has been an enormous help for Julian. His mother, Angela Bradford has watched Julian grow socially, thanks to the community.
“The autism [LFI] program has been a godsend, but it can be somewhat isolating for someone like Julian. Participating in the music program and musicals has given him the opportunity to connect more deeply with both neurodiverse and neurotypical peers who have similar interests,” Angela Bradford said.
Julian sees his autism as the special superpower that helped him learn all his lines and songs for the show, as well as how to feel what Jean Valjean feels on stage.
“With my brand of autism, it gives me the drive to repeat things over and over until I learn them. I have very delayed processing so it’s hard to memorize information. But with autism, I have the determination I need to figure things out and to tolerate the repetitive tasks of learning lyrics and music,” Julian Bradford said.
Luckily, Julian pulled through with the help of his mom, and mastered everything, from the lyrics of “Bring Him Home,” to learning how to act when Jean Valjean meets Marius for the first time.
“During the last three months, I’ve spent about three hours every weeknight and even longer on the weekends with my mom, practicing,” Julian Bradford said.
Everyone in the show has admired the lengths that Julian has taken to practice for the role. One of the people who has watched the progression of Julian’s skill in mastering the songs and blocking is junior Mylei Leal, who played Gavroche Thenardier in the Saturday cast.
“He’s a really talented cast member that I have the honor to work with,” Leal said.
Not only are musicals a cornerstone of Julian’s life but singing and music also serve as his “special interest,” which is a topic or thing that an individual with autism persistently douses themself with, desiring to learn everything about the topic they care so much about. His mother Angela has seen firsthand how music has positively affected Julian. In his early years of life, he had significant issues with speaking, which greatly frustrated Julian as a child.
“He was unusually attentive and peaceful whenever I sang to him. To our surprise, he would mimic the song patterns using approximated sounds as words. Our family began singing everything to him instead of speaking. He seemed to understand our communications better in musical form. We eventually realized that he was able to learn more words through singing than through speech,” Angela Bradford said.
His mother is greatly overjoyed by the fact that something that the two of them had been working up to together for several years finally happened.
“I wish there were words that could describe what I’m feeling. Joy, gratitude, pride…I’ve never been happier for him,” Angela Bradford said.
Unlike other musicals, Les Miserables is a very important musical to Julian that he holds dearly.
“I love Les Mis. It’s one of the most iconic musicals ever made. I was excited to hear that WJ STAGE was producing Les Mis, and I knew I had to take a risk and put my skills to the test,” Julian Bradford said.
The whole STAGE community has supported Julian throughout the process leading up to the show. Peers such as freshman Naama Goldberg are glad that he joined the production.
“Julian is exceptionally talented and deserved the role. Julian was meant to share his beautiful angel voice,” Goldberg said.
After coaching Julian for years, his mother is ecstatic that he ended up participating in the school musical.
“It’s almost surreal. We have been working toward this for so many years never knowing if he would ever be given the chance to express his gift,” Angela Bradford said.
