Parents complain about cursing in 'Les Miserables'

WILLIAMSPORT, Md. -- Even in this age of raunchy rap and tasteless television, high school drama coach Ruth Ridenour warned students trying out for "Les Miserables" that it contained swear words.

Three, precisely: "hell," "bitch" and "bastard."

The students were all right with that, but some parents were not.

Several complained, and administrators are now preparing to consider whether the musical -- four weeks into rehearsals and set for an April 11-13 run -- is too raw for this Potomac River town of 1,900.

Williamsport High School will form a committee to review the lyrics if it receives a written request to do so, said Principal John Davidson. At least one person has picked up a complaint form, and three parents have called to complain.

The fuss surprises some students.

"It's just acting and I'm not in this production just to say the language," said Bryant Sigler, 15, who stars as the musical's protagonist, Jean Valjean.

"I'm in it because of the story that the words tell."

The play, a sanitized version of the hit Broadway musical, tells of Valjean's persecution after he steals a loaf of bread to feed his starving family. Other characters include a prostitute and a dishonest innkeeper.

Sigler has started a campaign to rescue the production by passing out 500 handbills printed with "Save Les Miz."

Aspiring actress Emily Conrad, 15, said the community should support the production.

"I feel that if we're mature enough to handle this, then the audience should be mature enough to handle it," she said.

Missing armored car driver shows up in Mexico

SAN DIEGO -- An armored car driver who vanished last week along with more than $100,000 was detained in Mexico, authorities said.

On Thursday, the FBI and Mexican authorities detained Philip Carlos Salcedo Jr., 23, in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California, FBI spokesman John Iannarelli said.

Authorities said Salcedo would be arrested on theft charges and turned over to the FBI. Iannarelli said he expected Salcedo to be back in San Diego in time to appear in federal court Friday.

"We are happy my son is alive and well," said Salcedo's father, Philip Salcedo Sr. "We all support him and love him very much."

The Loomis Fargo armored car Salcedo was driving was found abandoned in downtown San Diego on Jan. 23 with its engine running and door open. Moments earlier Salcedo had dropped off a fellow security guard, at a city administration building for the car's final pickup of the day, police said.

The next day, FBI agents found money and deposit bags in Rosarito, Mexico. Police initially treated the case as a possible kidnapping and robbery, but later said they considered Salcedo the "prime suspect."

Salcedo's family hired a private investigator to help find the married father of two, saying they believed he had been threatened and were concerned for his safety.

--From wire reports