Full of heartbreak, drama, and romance, the musical, Les Misérables, was first performed in 1980 in French directed by Robert Hossein. The musical was such a success that it was translated to English by Cameron Mackintosh and premiered in 1985 by the Royal Shakespeare Company in London. Everyone adored the heart-wrenching musical, and it was soon performed in fifty-two countries and won over 100 academic awards. It was even translated into twenty-one languages so that many different cultures could appreciate and understand the musical.
Les Misérables tells the story of a courageous character named Jean Valjean who lives during the 1832 June Rebellion. Valjean is a motivating character who spends nineteen years in prison because he stole a loaf of bread for his sister’s starving child. This one small selfless action is unforgivable by law and haunts Valjean for the rest of the musical in the form of a police officer named Javert, who relentlessly pursues him and refuses to let him escape the law. Valjean decides to escape the prison and seek a new life in France. As an ex-convict, Valjean can’t find work and is shunned everywhere he goes, but a Bishop shows him kindness and completely changes his life forever, placing Valjean on the path for redemption.
Another main character of Les Misérables is Fantine: her story is heartbreaking and cruel. She is a single mother working in a factory in order to support her child, Cosette, living with abusive innkeepers. The factory owner, whom we later find out to be Valjean himself, finds out that she has a child and harshly fires her, leaving her in a desperate state. Because she is so desperate, Fantine is left with no choice but to sell her hair and teeth in order to provide for Cosette. With no jobs available, Fantine joins the wrong group of people in order to make money for Cosette, sacrificing her reputation and health. After Fantine stands up to abusive costumers, she gets arrested and soon gets hospitalized. Valjean, filled with guilt for shunning Fantine from his factory, promises and makes it his life mission to find, care for, and protect Colette. Following her death, he keeps his word, saves Cosette from her cruel foster parents, and raises her as his own beloved child.
Meanwhile the French Revolution was slowly brewing. Students from all around the country form a group and build a barricade in the one of the streets in order to hold off the French army. Throughout the fighting, the rebels sing the famous song “Do You Hear the People Sing” which motivates each character to fight on and receive their freedom.
Les Misérables, which means “the miserable ones” in French, covers each character’s miserable life; however, the musical goes beyond their misery to share the ways they each changed their lives. For instance, though Cosette grows up under abusive inn keepers who let her starve and use Fantine’s hard-earned money to their advantage, she is then saved by the Jean Valjean who pampers her as his own child. Although her life afterwards is never easy because they are always on the run from the law, through the workings of Valjean once again she is able to meet a happy ending. All the characters in the musical have hard and painful lives and relate to each other in different, yet meaningful ways. This musical is a must-watch not only because of its outstanding soundtrack, but because of the hidden messages and overarching themes of redemption and love that relate to today.
Works Cited:
Arts, Wharton Center for Performing. “Les Misérables.” Wharton Center for Performing Arts, https://www.whartoncenter.com/events/detail/les-miserables.