It's not Lei Mise-raw-ble. Actually pronounced Le Mize-rah-ble, this 25 year running musical truly lives up to every spat of expectations I had. And believe me they were yey high.
For you who haven't read Victor Hugo's 900 page novel (if it was 700 page less I would), here's a recap; it's the early 19th century and the French people are mad at the state (seriously when are they not?). It goes so far that a group of youngsters prepare revolution. The story centers Jean Valjean, a troubled man struggling to put his past as a convict behind him, but it's not easy when your arrester is still hunting you like hounddog after all these years. However as the story evolves there are more substories with various characters, such as an orphan girl who Valjean raises as a promise to her mother, a young revolutionarian torn between battle and love and a greedy innkeeper.
The story seriously pushes the boundaries of being illegally sad (Mr Hugo must have been thorugh some serious shit in his life). The characters' misery is so emminent and overwhelming, your overly-stressed-demanding life appears as a charmed. Folks with hearts of stone might even shed a tear to Fantine's "Come To Me".
How depressing the story may be, the fantastic music (despite the depressing lyrics) keeps us from falling into deep depression. My Last.fm is an great example how the music captivates and makes you sing out loud whenever and wherever. In the interval my sister remarked that they never speak, not a word, they sing all their lines. For me the singing and conveying the lines at the same time felt so natural I didn't even noticed.
Not your typical happy-go-laughing musical, Les Misérables has a wonderful moral and mindblowing music. I strongly recommend.
Cheers,
Tiffany
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