Les Misérables Review
The production Les Misérables was a story about love, loss, and suffering. In the beginning Jean ValJean, the main character is released from prison by inspector Javert. After being treated poorly for being a convict he decides to forget his identity as Jean Valjean and became a new person. By doing this he decides to break his parole. After reinventing himself he meets a poor woman named Fantine, whose daughter Cosette is living with an innkeeper and his wife. Fantine eventually dies leaving Jean Valjean to care for Cosette. He raises Cosette as if she was his own child and she sees him as her father. While walking in town one day Cosette bumps into a young man named Marius. Marius and Cosette fall in love. All the while, Javert has not given up on catching Jean Valjean for breaking his parole and continues to try and bring him back to prison. Another character named Eponine is a friend of Marius who is also in love with him but she only sees him as a friend. Meanwhile, the people of France are unhappy with the current government and are attempting to overthrow it. Enjolras is a student who is a leader of the revolution. He along with Marius get the students and beggars of Paris to rise up against the government and build barricades to destabilize the current regime. During the fight Javert attempts to spy on the revolutionaries by pretending to be on the side of the people. He is caught but Jean Valjean who spares his life. Javert can’t stand to be in debt of a criminal so he kills himself. The plan to overthrow the regime does not succeed and most people including Eponine and a young revolutionary named Gavroche die due to the fighting. Marius survives and him and Cosette get married. In the end Jean Valjean dies due to old age and the ghosts come back to heaven.
In this production the theme of loss was shown frequently. This is shown when Jean Valjean dies and it left Cosette sad because loved him. In addition when Eponine died Marius was disappointed because she was his close friend. Also, Fantine dies and leaves Cosette behind who needs her. Gavroche also dies and leaves the people at the barricade saddened. Lastly, Enjolras dies at the barricade and leaves Marius behind.
In Les Misérables the color scheme was very dark. Most of the set was grey and blue, which echoed the sad nature of this production. During songs such as master of the house the set changed to an orange color which made the tones of these songs much more happy. In addition during this scene there were colorful lights which showed that there were still happy things that occurred in a sad time. The costumes in this production were appropriate for this time period. For example the beggar costumes reflected both how poor they were while also being appropriate for the time period. In addition the sound influenced the production in a major way. This is shown during the scenes at the barricade where guns were being fired. Jean Valjean and Javert were highlighted as an important characters. This was done because they were in most scenes and the plot mostly revolved around them. In addition they both had solo songs and were featured in ensemble numbers. These two characters were positioned as opposites because Jean Valjean looks to move on from the past and Javert only wants to dwell on past events. Some examples of similar characters are Enjolras and Gavroche because they both are looking to do things for the people even though they are different ages.
My favorite character was Madame Thenardier. This is because she was the comic relief in a show dominated by sadness. The actor made this character successful by using her facial expressions and blocking to be comedic. An example of this is during the bargain when she is pretending to be sad about Cosette being taken away by Jean Valjean. Touching Young Cosette's hair and her use of facial expressions during this part was one of my favorite parts in the show.
All in all, I liked the play Les Misérables. I liked it because it was more serious than any show I have ever been a part of. I also liked it because all of the words were sung which was fun to perform. From being in this production I learned a lot about using my face to convey emotion
In this production the theme of loss was shown frequently. This is shown when Jean Valjean dies and it left Cosette sad because loved him. In addition when Eponine died Marius was disappointed because she was his close friend. Also, Fantine dies and leaves Cosette behind who needs her. Gavroche also dies and leaves the people at the barricade saddened. Lastly, Enjolras dies at the barricade and leaves Marius behind.
In Les Misérables the color scheme was very dark. Most of the set was grey and blue, which echoed the sad nature of this production. During songs such as master of the house the set changed to an orange color which made the tones of these songs much more happy. In addition during this scene there were colorful lights which showed that there were still happy things that occurred in a sad time. The costumes in this production were appropriate for this time period. For example the beggar costumes reflected both how poor they were while also being appropriate for the time period. In addition the sound influenced the production in a major way. This is shown during the scenes at the barricade where guns were being fired. Jean Valjean and Javert were highlighted as an important characters. This was done because they were in most scenes and the plot mostly revolved around them. In addition they both had solo songs and were featured in ensemble numbers. These two characters were positioned as opposites because Jean Valjean looks to move on from the past and Javert only wants to dwell on past events. Some examples of similar characters are Enjolras and Gavroche because they both are looking to do things for the people even though they are different ages.
My favorite character was Madame Thenardier. This is because she was the comic relief in a show dominated by sadness. The actor made this character successful by using her facial expressions and blocking to be comedic. An example of this is during the bargain when she is pretending to be sad about Cosette being taken away by Jean Valjean. Touching Young Cosette's hair and her use of facial expressions during this part was one of my favorite parts in the show.
All in all, I liked the play Les Misérables. I liked it because it was more serious than any show I have ever been a part of. I also liked it because all of the words were sung which was fun to perform. From being in this production I learned a lot about using my face to convey emotion
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