Musical blog post #1

'Les Misérables'- The world renowned musical. With tremendous plot, music, and emotion. Arguably one of the best musicals of all time- You could imagine my excitement when I found out my school was going to be performing it as the next school musical. I might not have known the musical that well back then, but I'd heard wonderful things- And after some research, and listening, I became ecstatic- I was going to be a part of that! 

The more songs I listened to, the more research I did, the more information I wanted, and finally I realized- Watching it on a stage might not be an option- But there are two movie adaptations!

And so, as soon as I had the chance, I watched the 2012 movie, 'Les Misérables'

And boy, was I impressed.

I learned so much from watching it- It's funny how much of a difference a visual representation of something makes you realize. It taught me about the hardships of the poor, especially during times of war. I learned about how fluid the musical was- as it's completely sung, with no break in the music. I was wondering how on earth they'd be able to transition from songs like 'Look down' to 'A heart full of love'- But it's so well done, you barely notice that it's transitioning until you’re into a completely new song! I also learned even more about the emotions within the musical- I knew it was emotional, but seeing the actors, in costume, singing their hearts out- Wow. It's an experience. Some scenes that stuck out to me were the death of Valjean, Anne Hathaway's performance of 'I dreamed a Dream', and Eddie Redmayne’s performance of 'Empty Chairs and Empty Tables'. I learned so much about the themes and motifs of the musical watching both these scenes and all the others- Themes of love in hard times, poverty and slavery, Don't believe me? Maybe I should explain further, then.

Any version of a musical you may watch will change your view of it- That's a given. The more actors you see, the different ways it's done- It all helps you get a better understanding of the musical. But the very first time you watch it fully is, in my opinion, the one that shaped your view of the musical the most. And for me, the first version of 'Les Misérables' that I watched fully was the 2012 movie adaptation, so of course I learned many things from it. For starters, the hardships of poverty, in scenes such as 'End of the day.’ It's one thing to hear the lyrics- It's another to see them in action. All the sad faces- of adults, elderly, children- singing about how all one day means to them is that they're 'one day nearer to dying'- It's terrifying, and incredibly sad. And with main characters being in poverty- Such as Gavroche and Fantine- It really helps you develop a deeper understanding of what people in poverty go through. Some have gone from having a house, a job, and a bed, to being on the streets, in as quickly as a week, or even less. Fantine is a prime example of this. She went from working a job, to suddenly getting fired for no good reason, being forced to sell her hair and even teeth just to keep her daughter alive. And after that? She became a prostitute. It was the only way she could make money, which she needed for her daughter. Not to mention all this happened in one day.

Meanwhile, others were born into poverty. Such as Gavroche. He's just a kid. He can't make a living for himself. But he's poor simply because he was born poor. But he still managed to be brave, as you could see in his death scene. Sacrificing his life at the Barricade, and getting shot dead. The poor boy grew up in times of war, and never got to see peace. He died, only having experienced life in war and in poverty. It's completely and utterly tragic.

Seeing both actors of these character in the 2012 adaptation- Anne Hathaway and Daniel Huttlestone- in costume, on set, and in action, really adds a certain depth to their characters and their situations that you simply can't get while listening to the music.

Secondly, watching this adaptation helped me better understand the musicality of it- hearing all the transitions between songs, from the very first note of 'Look Down' to the last note of 'Finale.'

It helped me to better understand how transitions would be done, using both props and music, once we do perform the musical, and it helped me to picture what the final product may resemble, which is important while looking over the script on my own time before rehearsals start so I have an idea on how the staging may be done.

Thirdly, while watching this adaptation of the musical, I really began to develop a better understanding of the emotions within it- the hopelessness, the sadness, the utter desperation- all of it. Of course, listening to the music also helped me understand the emotion. But sometimes realizing what was truly happening in the scene, seeing the characters cry as they sing their hearts away, it takes you away from the music. It takes you from the ears straight down to the heart. Emotion is such a huge thing in a musical like ‘Les Misérables’- You really have to understand exactly what is going on during a song, and what’s happening to your character, in order to give it your best performance. 

Some scenes that really popped out to me in this musical were some that showed the greatest emotion, for example, the death of Jean Valjean, the protagonist of the musical. I believe part of the reason this part of the adaptation really popped out to me was that I somehow managed to miss the fact that Valjean dies at the end of the musical- So unlike the deaths of other characters, I wasn’t expecting it at all. Another reason I really believe this scene stood out to me was the fact that after he dies, you see Fantine walk him to the afterlife- Where he is greeted by Eponine, Gavroche, Enjolras, and all the other characters we saw die in the musical, singing. It truly is an emotional moment, and a great way to end the musical. Not to mention the acting of Amanda Seyfried, who played Cosette, during this scene. When Valjean gives her the letter explaining who he really is, and she just cries, because you realize this man was the first real person who cared for her (that she remembers, at least, as she does not remember Fantine.) She has Marius now, but she’ll always remember the times she had no one, and that night when Jean Valjean came to rescue her from the Thénardiers. 

Another scene that really popped to me was ‘I dreamed a dream’, performed by Anne Hathaway. Having seen Fantine go from in a job, making it by (even if just barely so) on the streets, forced to sell her teeth and hair and become a prostitute in order to keep her daughter alive, looking back on the days when ‘Hope was high, and life worth living’- It’s heart-breaking. Seeing this woman who’s life has just fallen apart, crying and singing about how she dreamed her life would be so different from what it became- it gets me every time. Not to mention shortly after this scene, she almost gets arrested, and then- dies. Everything fell apart around her and then just like that, she fell too. At least she was able to trust that Valjean would take care of her child, if not- I don’t know how I’d feel. 

And finally the scene that stood out to me the most was the performance of ‘Empty Chairs and Empty Tables’, sung by Eddie Redmayne, who plays Marius. The first time I heard this song, I heard it out of context, and it was sad, of course. But seeing it performed? Wow. It adds a whole new level of depth to the number and never fails to impress me. Knowing that not one, not two, not even three, but all of Marius’s friends died, fighting for what they believed in. And he almost did do. The guilt of being the one who survived must be horrible…

Of course, with all this sadness, there are many themes and motifs I could talk about that are represented in this musical, but I have chosen three to discuss- The first being love and hardship. One of the only happy endings in ‘Les Misérables’ is that of Cosette and Marius, who fell in love, and both managed to survive long enough to get married, and start a life together. It really proves that people can go through anything- war, poverty, loss of loved ones- and still make it through, and be there for each other. Not only romantic love- all kinds of love. Valjean’s love for Cosette was so strong that even though he was on the run for years, and knew he was constantly in danger, he stayed for Cosette. He even states, right before he dies that he was ‘A man who only learned to love when you [Cosette] were in his keeping’. After nineteen years of slavery and multiple years in poverty and on the run, he still managed to love- He loved Cosette like the daughter he never had, even after all the hardships he had been through. If that doesn’t prove love can survive anything, I don’t know what does.

Another huge theme of the musical was poverty- As I said earlier, hearing songs such as ‘At the end of the day’ and seeing main characters like Fantine and Gavroche who were poor, really gives you insight on what it’s like to live on the streets, struggling to find money for food, clothing, and shelter, never mind luxuries like beds, and clean water, things that many take for granted. ‘Les Misérables’ really helps you understand how hard it can be to live when you don’t have much money, something that many people struggle with all around the world.

Lastly, a theme of the musical that really gets to me is that of slavery. As you probably know, Jean Valjean was a slave for nineteen years- five for stealing a loaf of bread for his sister’s dying child, the other fourteen for trying to escape. Nineteen years of his life, spent doing nothing but hard labour, for stealing a loaf of bread? It’s ridiculous, not to mention cruel. Even after he’s released, he’s not truly free. He can’t get work because nobody wants to hire a thief, so he’d just have to go straight back to the poverty he lived in before he was a slave. There was no way out of it- Except, of course, ripping up his ticket of leave and assuming a different identity. But I fear if Valjean hadn’t done that, his life would’ve been even more depressing then it turned out to be running from Javert for all those years. It’s sad to think we, humanity, would actually force people into slavery for small crimes like this, and even occasionally just because they were born a slave. It’s completely and utterly inhuman and disgusting.

To conclude, I ask you to truthfully say that ‘Les Misérables is a musical with no emotion, depth, or good music’ or anything along those lines- I can’t see that being possible. If you don’t believe me- Maybe go see a local performance of it, or rewatch the movie adaptation- Maybe that’ll change your mind.