Now beyond the halfway mark of our book packing journey, I have been so excited that I have been able to experience and see so many new things. Buildings, roads, food, and culture fill London and Paris which are new to me. One new experience in particular that I would like to highlight in this blog is that of seeing the performance of Les Misérables. I had never seen a musical before, so I was very excited for Les Misérables to be my first one!

Before heading to the Sondheim Theater we met at Soho Square. This park was beautiful, surrounded by trees and its center contains a hut which itself is surrounded by flowers and grass spaces. I feel as though what added to its beauty was how many people were there enjoying the space. Some talking, some eating, some simply taking in the scenery, and there were even a group of people playing ping pong. The surrounding area as we made our way to the theater was no different. There was such a lively energy with people filling restaurants and bars. This energy followed us to the theater as people buzzed around waiting to enter.

It was so amazing to look up at Sondheim Theater and see the iconic image of little Cosette holding her broom, the words “ Join us to celebrate our 40th Anniversary” on the screen below, and right next to Cosette were the titles “ World’s Longest Running Musical” and “ Winner of over 270 Global Awards” as they just emphasize the incredible success of this performance. The interior of this theater contained intricate designs along its walls and sitting at the top really allowed me to be able to take in the beauty.

Now for the performance, I was unsure of what to expect. I mean, my thoughts going in were, how are they going to compress this massive book into a three hour show? The answer simply put, is they did, and it was amazing. The first act covers a very large section of Victor Hugo’s novel, all the way up to the development of the barricades which I thought was interesting. The second act covers the rest of the novel such as the fight and fall of the barricades and Cosette’s and Marius' wedding, the final chapters to sum up the novel. I really enjoyed both acts, however seeing the barricades acted out was so emotional and powerful. The massive barricade holding the red flag is engraved into my mind, and really puts into perspective what was happening at that time, considering that this was a play and obviously nothing compared to the real event. Of course I can’t forget the songs. I thought the songs were able to capture the emotions, dialogue, and actions of each particular scene and characters. For instance, Fantine’s “I Dreamed a Dream” was able to express how Fantine went from a life of love and happiness in her youth to a life alone and suffering. Additionally, Eponine’s song “On My Own” captured her love for Marius, which in the novel was shown through so many small and larger scenes. I thought this song was beautiful in showing that no matter how much she loved Marius, it was impossible for her to be his. I believe this song is mainly expressing Eponine’s unrequited love, but from the perspective of the novel I think this song shows how alone she was in life, as even her family thought of her as nothing, leaving her to practically live alone. My favorite song from Les Misérables was without a question “Do You Hear The People Sing?” The lyrics are so strong in making you feel the anger, sacrifice, and togetherness of society in these times and highlighting the strength it takes to stand up for a change. In the play the spirits of all the fallen characters such as Enjorlas and Gavroche walk on stage with their voices starting low and building up with each word. The words sung in togetherness gave me chills, it was so beautiful. The song was the voice of the people, those who wish for a better future, those who fight for a better tomorrow for all of society.

Now having experienced both the novel and musical of Les Misérables there were interesting comparisons that I saw between the two. One of the biggest differences I noticed was how the Thénadier’s were portrayed, specifically Monsieur and Madame Thénadier. In the novel they are portrayed as selfish, greedy, and horrible people who not only treat Cosette badly but later in the novel also their own children. When reading the novel I was obviously not fond of their characters as I was cheering for the protagonist. However, in the musical they are shown in a different light. For example, in the scene “Master of the House” this showed the Thénadier’s in a very comedic light. Though the song still shows how they trick and steal from their customers and highlights their greed for money, it is done with a very different approach. The song was upbeat and the actors sang and danced in a comedic manner, which I thought made them much more likeable. Another difference that I noticed, which may have been just how I interpreted the novel, was the character of Eponine. As I mentioned in the musical, I feel as though she only plays the part of the girl who loves Marius. But in the novel I thought she had a much deeper and sadder story such that she went from being the shining star in her parents eyes, being pampered and treated well, to being treated poorly, living in starvation as I slightly mentioned above. However, interestingly her character stood out to me more in the musical than the novel, and I ended up liking her character much more after.

Continuing with comparisons, I want to touch on the effects of the major cuts that had to be done to compress Les Misérables into the musical. To start, I found that having read the novel before helped me to understand actions in the musical better. For instance, the scenes with the bishop were very short in the musical. The novel highlights and gives the bishop a long introduction which later in the novel I thought was crucial to understand Jean Valjean's character and the change he makes in his life. It adds an extra layer of beauty to the story. However, the musical did show the kindness of the bishop to Jean Valjean, there is just simply not enough time to deeply dive into the bishop's character. Additionally, one of my favorite scenes from the novel, when Jean Valjean reveals himself to the court to save Champmathieu from being wrongfully convicted, was very difficult to decipher and understand in the musical. Without having read the novel beforehand it is difficult to understand the intense mental battle Jean Valjean was going through which ultimately led to him accepting his past and moving forward. Lastly, in my perspective, I thought Marius' character was altered significantly. Though in the musical his actions were not completely out of character, a lot of what is discussed about him in the book is not shown. For example, his political evolution was not touched on much, thus leaving out the relationships between his grandfather, father, and family. Additionally, there was not much attention given to his complex relationship with Jean Valjean. However, his character in the musical was heart warming as his love for Cosette was highlighted, and his empathy for Eponine shown.

Les Misérables London Cast. Photography by Danny Kaan and Helen Maybank. From Sondheim Theater Les Misérables Gallery.

Being able to see the amazing story of Les Misérables in theater has been one of my favorite experiences on this trip and there is still much more to look forward to and experience!