Concret Review

A REVIEW : LES MISYRABLES

It has been three years since I saw Les Misyrables . It was an experience that I won 't likely forget too soon for , not only was it an incredible musical performance , it was also the first Broadway production I had ever seen . And a big production it was , too . Les Miserables has a mosaic of characters - police , prostitutes and pragmatic students - woven onto an automatically dramatic backdrop of tragic revolution in France where there is glory in death for a cause

It is unfortunate , however , that I do

not remember all the main cast members . I do , however , have three of them , whose performances I really loved , still in mind - Jean Valjean , Javert , and my favorite , Ma-Anne Dionisio as Eponine . Her real name stuck to my memory just as her performance did . Though I was a little surprised at the casting of an Asian for Eponine 's role , I realized that her ethnicity wasn 't important - her voice was . She was a truly amazing singer . This was the first time that Les Miz came to the Fisher Theater , and though regrettably seated at the 50 seats (way up in the balcony even for that price , it was worth it . Les Miz is one of those shows that doesn 't need to be reinvented to be successful . It has been running so long that people knew what to expect , even me . I had heard of this musical many times before I actually got to see it , but just seeing the1800s costuming , the spinning sets , the shadowy lighting , were confirmation that all the accolades this show had gathered through the years were well-deserved It was a production that spared no expense , and took no prisoners

To give a short summary of the play from Online-Literature , Les Misyrables is set in the Parisian underworld . The protagonist , Jean Valjean , was sentenced to prison for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread . After his release , Valjean planned to rob monseigneur Myriel , a saint-like bishop , but cancelled his plan . However , he forfeited his parole by committing a minor crime , and for this crime Valjean was haunted by the police inspector Javert . Valjean eventually reformed and went under the name of M . Madeleine - a successful businessman benefactor and mayor of a northern town . But to save an innocent man Valjean gave himself up and was imprisoned in Toulon . In the end Valjean had to reveal his past . It was definitely a sad story made sadder by the songs sung in lament through most of the musical . The performances were , to my untrained ears , absolutely amazing . I 'm sure there were critics who noticed so and so 's voice not being up to par but to me , they all played their roles to perfection . The actor /singer who played Jean Valjean carried a huge part of the play 's success . He was the main character . His first appearance on stage sent chills through me because here was the famous Valjean , finally . His...