Props to Sara. I liked the turn of phrase. {= )

So, thoughts. First of all, Eponine is way more sympathetic than I thought just from hearing the soundtrack. Whoever does her voice in the original cast recording is really, really annoying, which makes it hard to like her. The actress I saw was very good, though. She's probably the most interesting female character in the play.

I'm still not entirely sure what the play is "about," but I am sure it isn't about the Revolution. This is very strange to me. The Revolution feels like the climax of the story because it has the biggest action, but for everyone but the students, it's merely incidental. It forces Valjean, Javert, Eponine, and Marius into some choices they wouldn't have had to make otherwise, but other than that, it accomplishes nothing. As the chorus observes, the world goes on more or less unchanged. It's completely tragic in that sense, and it confuses my sense of plot. I don't think there is a plot in the regular sense--it's just the chronicles of the lives of a few people trying to get by the best they can in a hard world.

When I say I don't know what it's about, I think I mean I'm not sure what the take-home message is. Maybe there isn't one of those, either. Maybe we're just supposed to think about it thoroughly.

In all the drama, it was good to have the Thenardiers to break the tension once in a while. They're so delightfully horrible, and they add comedy without trivializing the drama. In fact, the way those rats seem to have the last laugh just highlights the terrible state of things.

All of the cast was very good with the possible exception of Fantine, which is too bad. Even though I cried at her death scene, I was glad I wouldn't have to listen to her anymore. Javert was probably the best. He had some kind of accent; I'm not sure what, but it made him stand out, and his voice was great. Valjean sounded like Valjean--very impressive, what with the demanding range in the part.

Men have an unfair advantage when it comes to range. Anyone can train their voice to go higher (whether it sounds good is another matter), but the bottom of your range is the bottom of your range. You can't train your vocal cords to be longer than they are. Also, there's only so high a soprano can go before nobody wants to hear those notes, even if she's exceptionally gifted. {= P

All those long-haired bass/baritones reminded me of my long-haired bass/baritone. ^_^

~Neshomeh

A friend of mine recently returned from London, and has described several times how she was able to see Les Mis there. We are extremely envious of her (and you as well). Glad the experience was all you hoped for!

Where did you see it?

I cried, too...once when I saw it the first time, one when I listened to the soundtrack, and once when I saw it again. (The first two were during "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables," and the third was during Javert's death scene.) When did you start crying?

I love Les Mis...just the songs themselves have made me cry before, but I've never gotten to see it.

You had better post the all kinds of things that you have to say! *prods*