Les Miserables

As I mentioned, we went to go see Les Miserables at the Fox Theater yesterday. I initially noticed I had problems understanding the words. About 5 minutes later, Alex leaned over to say "Can you understand what's going on?"

I should have read the synopsis. I know it's supposed to be sad, and the music was great, but I was underwhelmed. 

First, this is not a musical, it's an opera. Everything is sung, which made it a wee bit harder to understand. Second, I felt like there were so many characters going on, I couldn't develop an attachment...and thus when people started dying, I wasn't as invested. I have an issue with the costumes...for those of us in the cheap seats...I needed strong differences in costumes to be able to tell everyone apart.


Fantine - So I guess she portrayed herself as a virgin, but had a kid she was taking care of? Why should the other women care that she was sending her paycheck to her kid? Yes, the kid was illegitimate, but so what? Valjean sees her on the street after she sold a locket, became a prostitute & fought an abusive customer. Valjean recognizes her from the factory and takes her to a hospital. She dies asking Valjean to care for her daughter Cosette. 


Javet - You spent your whole life chasing a guy who was in prison for stealing bread to feed his family? Did he really not have anything better to do? 


Cossette - Fantine's daughter. The little girl who played her was super cute! She could sing and had a little bit of the Annie voice, but without being obnoxious. The people who run the inn were my favorite part of the show. They were bad people, but entertaining. She instantly bonds with Valjean, because he's not cruel to her. He raises her as his own. She falls in love with Marius (by fall in love, I mean they bumped into each other, Marius thought she was beautiful and thus he was "in love." They found a way to meet via Eponine and well the end up together). 


Marius - Marius is a bit of a jerk. Your good friend, Eponine is willing to set you up with the girl your parents treated like crap (oh yeah Eponine is the inn keeper's little girl all grown up, poor and on the street). Marius is one of the student revolutionaries (I'm not sure what they were fighting for, other than better working conditions, but if they are students...they wouldn't be factory workers...I don't know...)


Eponine - I had to read on Wikipedia to figure out who she was. Again...not being able to understand the words/music is a problem in a musical...She helps Marius & Cossette get together. 


At the end of Act 1, Valjean is going to go into exile, Cosette & Marius part in despair, as he's going to the rebellion, Eponine is sad that her friend can't see he loves her, instead he's infatuated with the beautiful girl that used to live with Eponine. 


Act II:


Act II went much quicker, because we pulled up a summary and read what was going on...so we figured out who the characters were and what their intentions were.  GO Figure!


Javert goes undercover to spy on the students (really you needed to spy? You're the French Army at the height of power...you can't just take down their tiny barricade?). Marius sees that Eponine has dressed like a man and so Marius gives Eponine a letter to give to Cossette. She does, Valjean intercepts and reads the letter. Valjean goes to the front line to get Marius. Eponine sings one of my favorite songs, On My Own. She gets shot...duh...and dies. Marius is devistated. Valjean has, at this time, found the barracks and made it in safely. He saves someone & gets to kill a prisoner (again...this is what I found out after reading the plot). 


The prisoner to kill is Javert, they found out he was a spy at some point. Valjean spares Javert. The french army is, surprise surprise, overpowering them. All are killed except...again a surprise...Valjean & Marius! Valjean escapes in the sewers and at one point, the old inn keeper is down there (didn't recognize him as him...oops) and steals Marius's ring. They make it out alive & run into Javert. Javert allows Vajlean to take Marius to the hospital. Javert suddenly realizes mercy and commits suicide. Really? You spent your whole life chasing this man who stole bread 30 years ago...when you realize oh he isn't evil, you decide you're conflicted and jump off a bridge (however the production of this was really well done...even if I didn't get the character development). 


Cossette & Marius are back together and they go to get married. Valjean tells Marius about the prison & Cossette's mother. They get married. The inn keepers crash the party and tell Marius that Valjean stole this ring from him. Marius, being a student & thus a bright guy, realizes Valjean carried him to safety. Marius punches the inn keeper (not because Cossette recognized him for treating them so poorly, but because he tried to swindle him). They go off to say goodbye to Valjean who is old and dying. 


Fantine comes to help usher him to heaven, Cossette & Marius are able to say goodbye. Eponine comes out to also usher him to heaven (because you know she & Valjean had such a connection in the 5 minutes they met). 


I just feel like there was too much going on, and not understanding what was going on was difficult. The stage was dark, so I couldn't follow along in the program. 


The sets were really good, the choreography great, the singing was really good (although a couple times Valjean's falsetto was a little weird). I just couldn't understand the words. It was like it was in another language. Because of that, and I felt there was so much story, they development of the characters was rushed. 


I didn't even get teary eyed at the end...and I cry at Publix commercials. I'm looking forward to watching the Liam Neeson version...with subtitles...I think the story will end up being much more compelling.