Musical Review

Do you hear the people sing?

Les Miserable is the second Musical that I attended in Cheshire Academy. It was performed four times in Cheshire Academy black box on February 21 and February 23-February 25. Directed by Jennifer Guarino. The musical is based on Victor Hugo’s work, Les Miserable. I played Enjolras in this production. The story of Les Miserable took place in Paris, France. A man named Jean Valjean was a slave for 20 years because of stealing a piece of bread to save his sister’s son. He met a bishop who gave him a lot of silverware after he ended his service. He became the mayor of a little town. However, years later, Javert, the officer who had been searching to arrest Jean Valjean came to the town. Before he was arrested again, Valjean rescued the daughter of one of the ladies that worked in his factory. The girl is named Cosette. He ran away with the child. Another few years passed, the revolution begins. Valjean and Cosette were giving out food and money to the poor on the street. There, Cosette met Marius, a student who joined the revolution. They fell in love soon. Valjean found out that Cosette was in love with this young boy who’s fighting with the national guards. He didn’t want Cosette’s heart to break so he saved Marius from the barricade. After Marius was healed, Valjean tells Marius that he was once a slave and he didn’t want it to interfere with Cosette’s life. Then, he left them. However, after Marius knew that Valjean was his saver, he brought Cosette with him to ask for Valjean’s forgiveness. Valjean forgave them and gave them his blessings. In the end, Valjean went to heaven peacefully. Marius and Cosette married and live together.

Enjolras is the leader of the revolution. He is always encouraging people to have hope and be motivated to fight, to win! In the beginning, I didn’t know what kind of character Enjolras is. I just need to be inspirational and energetic all the time. However, as the rehearsals go on, I find out more and more about him. He says, “Our little lives don’t count at all.” But he also says, “I can’t let you go it’s too much of a chance” and “Let us not waste lives. Let all the women and fathers of children go from here.” He taught me what it means to be a leader. It’s not only about winning, but also about how to win and how to protect his followers. He wanted everyone to be prepared for the war. Therefore, he kept reminding them, “For the army we fight is a dangerous foe. With the men and the arms that we never can catch.”  He wants the people to know, war is no joke. The only thing that they had that was stronger than the national guard was the people’s faith and belief. He leads the people to fight to the last bite of their lives and sacrificed on the barricade. In my understanding, he was happy and willing to die in the battle of freedom.

The most meaningful thing to me in the play is not the play itself, but the process of preparing it. Everyone knows the story and see the final production. But the only the people who were involved in the show knows how much effort we had put into it. We practice hours and hours in for each song just to learn the melody and the rhythms. We stand on the same spot with the same background music over and over again to figure out the best movements and expressions. We were not told to stand where we stand, we design those things ourselves. Therefore, in some ways, I would say that this is an improvised play. Moreover, plays are almost all presented by groups of actors. They require lots team works. I feel the connection with other members of the play all the time. But this connection was stronger in this play because there wasn’t really any “main character”. We help each other by giving suggestions, helping with notes or even just a hug. We improve together and grow as a team.

Being a part of this fantastic musical is my honor and I don’t regret any second I used on it. Suddenly, the show is done. It doesn’t feel real to me at all. I’m excited for the musical next year already!