Day 1 of 25 Days of Les Misérables: An introduction to my obsession
I came home the other night and my
roommates had found my DVD copy of the 25th anniversary concert of
Les Misérables.
It was after 10PM and I was tired, but as soon as I heard the overture, I
grabbed my dinner and skipped into the living room. There was no freaking way I
was going to bed.
As the first act played on, I kept
telling myself, “I’ll go to sleep after the Jean Valjean and Javert sing-off.”
“Okay, I’ll go to bed after the Thénardier’s
crazy song.”
“Now I’m really going to bed, but
wait, I have to see Javert sing ‘Stars’.”
Until
finally an intermission screen popped up to break my reverie and I was able to
go to bed.
Rest assured, monsieur, I finished
it the next day.
I pride myself on not being an
obsessive person, but when it comes to Les Miz, all walls come tumbling down. I
told my sister that if a guy wants to date me, all he has to do is serenade me
with Les Miz.
She said, “I thought you didn’t
like to be serenaded.”
I said, “I don’t, that’s why he has
sing Les Miz.”
To prove my obsession, let me
reveal some stats:
I’ve seen the musical on stage four times, the first time in
London where the musical phenomenon began.
I’ve listened to the record of the 10th
anniversary concert at least forty times
I’ve watched the 25th anniversary concert six
times
I’ve read the book. The entire book. Not the abridged
version, but 1,260 page version (it took me a year).
I’ve watched all movie versions that have been created.
Teen-age girls cry when they see
Justin Bieber.
Katherine Spearing cries when she
sees Les Misérables.
Why the obsession? That is the
question. I am particularly obsessed with the musical version. In all honesty,
the book was long and boring and the characters weren’t as likeable. The movies
took some theatrical liberties that irritated me. It’s the musical that wins
the day. It’s the poetry and the music that compliments it that makes the story
so powerful. Every character carries some aspect of me, that is to say, some
aspect of humanity that touches your emotions and can’t be forgotten. The
sadness of Javert’s bondage to legalism. The misery of Jean Valjean seeking to
atone for his past but never fully feeling justified. Fantine’s downward spiral
as one tragedy after another befalls her and her hopelessness as she realizes
she will never recover. Unrequited love, love at first sight, young boys’
dreams, mothers’ fears, pain, hunger, sorrow.
Doesn’t it make you want to dive in
and find out what happens?
It’s a feast of themes, interwoven
stories, and connect-the-dots.
That, my friends, is why I am
obsessed with this story.
But mostly, it’s the underlying theme
of redemption that keeps me going back to it. Does Jean Valjean ever really
find it? In that last scene, does peace finally come to him?
These are the sorts of things that
will be explored in the next 24 days.
I don’t want it to just be a literary
research paper. I want it to be personal, something that can be applied to
people’s lives—to my life. I want to do justice to the characters. They are
real, because they are us. It’s humanity at its most vulnerable point. It’s
humanity at its strongest. The scum of the earth and true heroes.