Les Miserables Review

On February 12th, I was grabbed by Ms.Guarino’s request. She asked me if I could be on the show. Then, I suddenly turn in the musical Les Miserables. This review would be little different than other reviews because I participate in this one and this show was especially touching and profounding. This show was based on the novel of Les Miserables, written by Hugo during the French Revolution. Due to the plights life of the poor and the upper level, they started to uprising to have equal rights in the society. This book highlights the difficulties of the people in France. But at first, I will introduce the story.

Jean Valjean is charged in the prison for 19 years because he stole some bread for his sister. Then 19 years later, he is freed by Javert, yet Javert gives him a parole for his crime. Because of the parole, people usually treat him differently. As a result, when he is in a church, he steals silver from a bishop. However, the bishop forgives him. He is frustrated about his crime, so he tears the parole and became the mayor of the town. Moreover, he starts to have a factory. Javert, on the other hand, vows to bring Valjean back to prison. Another main character in the first scene would be Fatine, she is a worker of the factory. Then, she was fired by the factory because of her illegal child is being discovered. Then, she has no choice but to sell her body. Valjean tries to help Fantine, by protecting her child, Cosette, from innkeepers who are holding her like a slave. Furthermore, Javert finds out that Valjean is Jean Valjean, the person who escaped from parole. Yet, Valjean is able to flee from Javert. Marius, a war veteran, meets Cosette in the street, falls to her. Then, it eventually leads to a love triangle between Cosette, Marius, and Eponine, a girl of the streets. Afterward, Marius is hesitated about where should he go, saving the life of the poor, or go with Cosette. In the end, he decides to go with the leader of the revolution Enjolras. Valjean acknowledges how the two people fall in love with each other. He goes to the revolution for helping Enjolras and protecting Marius for his daughter. On the first night of the barricade, nobody is being killed. However, nearly everybody is being killed on the second night. Valjean saves Marius from the barricade. Thénardier, scavenging the dead body. He then steals Marius’s ring away. Later, Marius mourns for his friends but Cosette comforts him. Revealing his past to Marius, Valjean tells him he must leave because his presence endangers Cosette, and makes Marius promise never to tell her.  Marius and Cosette marry; the Thénardiers crash the reception and testify that they saw Valjean carrying a murdered corpse. Thénardier shows Marius the ring that he stole from him as "proof." Recognizing the ring, Marius realizes that it was Valjean who saved his life. As Valjean sits dying in a local convent from his long-term heart condition, he perceives the spirit of Fantine appearing to take him to Heaven. Cosette and Marius rush in to bid farewell. Valjean gives Cosette his confession of his past life. Then, he goes to the paradise with the guide of Fantine and Eponine.

The director highlights the inequality of different level in the society. We can see it from when Jean Valjean got his parole from Javert, everyone treats him badly. He couldn’t get the same amount of money as the poor get just because of his parole. Moreover, he couldn’t even get a place to sleep in and rest. The yellow parole represented the inequality between the criminal and the normal people. As he tears it off, it represents the inequality ends for Valjean. Also, when the two workers are fighting in the scene, the manager is being polite to Valjean just because he is the head of the factory, but being mean to Fantine. Moreover, even Javert first saw Valjean, he is also being nice to him just because the clothes he wears and the high level of Valjean. Javert calls Valjean as Monsieur and lowers his head just to be respectful to the Valjean. Furthermore, when Fantine slap the officer with the identity of a prostitute, Javert didn’t even care about her situation( having a child), but the higher rank of the officer, saying if he makes a full report, Fantine can be sent to the prison. Javert then pushes Fantine on the ground, saying she is done with her life. That evidence further indicate the inequality in the society. Not only inequality in the society, but the decision of right or wrong in the society was also a huge theme in the Les Miserables. At first, because of the stealing of some bread, Jean Valjean was being put into the prison. And also he breaks the parole so that Javert tries to find him and put him into the prison again. This leads me to think deeply about his crime that steals some bread isn’t a big deal and why he must be put in the prison for 19 years. Valjean is just being suppressed by the society and the starvation of the family members, he then had to steal bread that might be not in his will but constrained by the living sustain. Valjean then saves Fantine’s daughter from the torture of Thénardiers and promises to protect Cosette. Moreover, he also saves Marius life from the barricade, protecting him from the bombs of the troops. What’s more, he releases Javert from the capture of the revolution. Everything is revealed in Javert’s eyes, he couldn’t understand why he is helping people; he believes Valjean is a thief forever. The different perspectives and belief actually cause him to suicide. When he can see Valjean is actually a good person, he collapses because he wants to catch him for decades, but when he realizes the personality of Valjean, he doesn’t know what to do next. What’s more, the director wants to point out the sentence: “ Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.” In this play, it comprises a lot of death, fighting, frustration, crying that the revolution had brought to the people, yet it also brings the power of hope and persistence, nobody ever gives up on the revolution, they fight to death, to the last breathe. That’s what the hopes people have in the French Revolution. Even when Marius hesitates about should he go with the leader or stay with Cosette, eventually, he follows his leader and fight for its country and the people.

I was in the ensemble and the parts where the poor come out. The costume and the makeup I wear actually emphasize the life of the poor. The poor had a sad life that they don’t have money at all, and they had to live in the street. To demonstrate the poor’s life, I constantly cuddle myself because of the cold weather. Also, I look around to see if someone could give me some food to eat. The eyes sights of a poor would be filled with sadness that they haven’t eaten for several days, the clothes that they are wearing couldn’t keep out the chill. Also, the poor couldn’t ever go to school because they don’t have any money to go there and be educated, so it indicated they rather lacked confidence or more sadness in their eyes. As a result, I would look down and frown on the stage so that to illustrate the life of the poor.

One of my favorite characters is Thénardiers in this play. Because of the play is so sad that everyone has an unequal life. However, the appearance of Thénardier make this play not that sad, it actually makes this play fun and enjoyable. The exaggerated acting of the Thénardiers makes people laugh about the situation. When they appeared on the stage, the music brings people back to the happiness of the lives, enjoying the beers, friends along with the Thénardiers inn. Also, the greediness of the Thenardiers represents some people in the society. The characters make us think that are we like the Thenardiers? Another fun part is when Javert suddenly appears on the street in the scene of the poor and the revolutionists, the Thénardier try to act normal, blaming Valjean is one with the crime. After Valjean escape from the street, The Thénardiers attempt to act innocent by having small details of hand movement (explaining the situation), and smiling to the Javert so that the  Thénardiers would not be caught. And then, they try to run away from his eyes by having small steps away without sounds from Javert. When Javert saw them running away from him, they used big movement to let the audiences laugh. I really like the character of Thénardier. However, I only love those two scenes because they haven’t done any terrible things yet.

I am appreciated that I was involved in the musical. Although I didn’t participate at first, I still enjoy every part of the songs, the singers, and the stage. I will definitely attend next year’s musical.