Now a Les Mis LOL

[lemondrop]

So, I want to actually read the book before seeing the new version. It comes out Dec 26th, and I will not finish the book before then. Oh, well. I'll watch it on DVD.

Anyway, I went to Goodreads to see the page count, which I knew was high. I then read this "review":

The following is completely one hundred percent true.

In 2005 I was in the chorus of a school production of the musical based on this book. It was an abridged production and we had at least 50 children aged 12-18 (except they changed it to 19 to allow some older principal actors, for example the guy playing Javert, who funnily enough turned 20 on the final night).

I had one line as one of the factory bitches who bullied Fantine. "If Fantine doesn't look out watch how she goes - she'll be out on the street!" - Yep, that was me. Lines were few and far between, but our musical director made sure everyone in the chorus sang at least one line.

In 2008 I auditioned for an adult production and impressed the musical director and director with my classically trained voice that they clearly had been oblivious to up until that point, considering I'd been trained since 2002. I made it into a much smaller and much more experienced cast. The theatre community is somewhat limited where I grew up; everyone knows everyone, and it is rare that a person can make it into an experienced and established cast off their own talent. I remember that I beat some other auditioners who had been in many productions before. Ha ha.

At one early rehearsal, the director asked who had read the book before. I watched in amusement as only about two or three - and these were the over-achieving type (and I believe the gorgeous classical baritone playing Javert, and the powerful tenor who played Grantaire and Bamatabois [who, interestingly enough, was the same guy who played Javert in the schools edition I was in], but I don't remember who the other person was) - raised their hand. Then the director asked who'd never seen the musical before. Only two people - and one of them was playing Enjolras - raised their hand.

I endeavoured to identify myself with the over-achieving types and borrowed my dad's copy of Les Miserables. He'd bought it after watching the Gérard Depardieu/John Malkovich 2000 mini TV series on SBS (before they brought in ads during TV shows). I made it about a hundred pages in before I gave up - I'm simply not interested in reading chapter after chapter of obscure backstory unrelated to the plot. I should try the abridged copy, but honestly, I've been in two productions and been in the audience for a third, so I'm pretty sure I know the musical backwards. And in this day and age, the musicals of books tend to be more popular than books themselves: The Phantom of the Opera, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, and Wicked : The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West are a testament to this fact.

(view spoiler)

I was cast again as one of the factory bitches ("Take a look at his trousers, you'll see where he stands!") and as the crazy old beggar woman in Act II ("What d'you think you're at, hanging round me pitch?"). I was also cast as Whore #1 ("Come on dearie, why all the fuss?"), much to my father's delight, and he proudly announced it to his lifelong priest as he received a blessing for some dangerous back surgery he had shortly before the production went onstage.

During the production run, my mother went to hospital for emergency brain surgery. She had two golf-ball sized benign tumours removed from the back of her skull. The hospital was literally across the street from the theatre, so I was there before the show and in make-up afterwards. Luckily, my mother had seen the show two days before she was taken to the emergency room.

I'm not making this shit up. Wanna see a picture of the barricade?(less)

WTF! and LOL! Nice review; it really helped me decide whether to read the book or not. The paragraph about people being surprised by her voice ("hello, I was classically trained) reads like something to be found on P&CE.

[Jalapeñomel]

Say what?

[underwaterrhymes]

Wow. That's a very... interesting... review.

FWIW, the book is very different from the musical.

[nahoku]

lol, at this book review. I'm glad she offered to show us a picture so we would know that it was 100% true. I love the musical, but I have absolutely no desire to read the book.