On Thursday April 24, the spring musical Les Miserables hit the stage with a bang. This classic tale of bravery, understanding, and love shocked the audience to tears.
A story of the young former theif, Jean Valjean (Filup Rossin), who tries in vain to change his past and discover who he truly is, Les Miserables is a story for everyone. While following Valjean, the audience meets characters like the evil but confused officer of the law Javert (Hunter Otis), who is trying to catch the elusive Valjean. Cosette (Jenny Olson), the young and beautiful child whose mother, Fantine(Jessica Johnson), left her in Valjean’s care when she died a trajic death. Marius (Brandon Aldrich), a young spirited man who falls deeply in love with the fair Cosette. The Thernardiers (Bobby Person and Mallory Nelson), a crazy couple who own a pub and theive to make a living, followed by their daughter Eponine (Amanda Burgdorf), who secretly loves Marius despite his obvious affection for Cosette. Enjolras (Tom Polzine), the young French Revolutionist Leader who strives to bring freedom to his dear France. Last but not least is the child, Gavroche (Jonathan Miller), who strives to prove his worth in a world of men.
Act One of this musical begins with Valjean condemned to a chain gang as punishment for stealing a loaf of bread. When he is released on parol, only the Bishop of Digne treats him fairly. Valjean steals a plate of precious silver, desperate to start a life anew, but is caught by the police. The bishop lies for Valjean, gives him candlesticks of silver to further his dream of a better life, and saves Valjean from the clutches of slavery.
Eight years later Valjean changed his name and risen up to become mayor and owner of a successful factory. One of his workers, Fantine, has a secret child, and once her past is exposed she is shuned from her fellow workers and cast to the street when Valjean refuses to deal with her fate. Cast out, sick, and afraid for her penniless child’s fate, Fantine is forced to work as a prostitute to pay for her child’s care. When Valjean saves her from the clutches of Javert, who wishes to send her off to slavery, he takes her to a hospital to be treated. Later, Valjean saves a man trapped underneight a runnaway cart, and Javert is reminded of a convict who escaped paroll and who he had been searching for years. Meanwhile, Fantine is dying and beggs Valjean to find her daughter, Cosette and care for her. Unable to refuse the woman whom he has grown to love, Valjean vowes that she will be safe with him. Javert arrives with oficers to arrest him, but Valjean escapes to find Cosette.
Young Cosette has been lodging with the horrible Thenardiers who run an inn since birth. Forcing her to act as a scivvy and a maid, Cosette has lived in the dark, desperate for propper attention and care. Valjean, rescues her from the Thenardiers, and takes her to Paris.
Nine Years later, the city of Paris is in disorder. The poor, in overwhelming numbers are sick, dying, begging for a morsel of food to eat. When the last political officer that still cares and works towards justice for the poor is pronounced dead, Gavroche runs to tell Enjolras who gathers men and women to revolt. Marius, eager to join in the fight, suddenly happens upon the now grown and beautiful Cosette and falls in love at first sight. When Marius asks his friend, Eponine to find Cosette and bring him to his love. In spite of her own feelings, Eponine sadly brings Marius to Cosette’s home. The reunion is short lived between the two lovers when robbers come to loot Valjean’s home. Eponine screams to send them away and runing, but Valjean, scared for his daughters safety and afraid of Javert’s hunt for himself, anounces that they will leave again taking Cosette from Marius’s love.
On the eve of the revolution, the students and Javert see the situation of the revolution from different viewpoints; Cosette and Marius part in despair of ever seeing each other again; Eponine mourns the loss of Marius; and Valjean looks forward to the security of exile. The Thenardiers, meanwhile, dream of the riches to pick up from the dead bodies when this chaos is to come.
The curtains raise for Act Two, and a hastily built baricade creates a striking picture of the war. The students scramble to hold up their baracade and prepare while Marius asks Eponine to deliver a last letter to his dear Cosette. When Valjean recieves Marius’s letter, he is overome with emotion for his dauighter and the boy that loves her. Wanting her to be forever happy, he decides to go and find Marius and keep him safe for her. In trying to return to the baricade, Eponine is shot and killed. Javert, betrays the students giving them false plans and conspiring with the enemy. When Valjean arrives, he is offered the chance to slay his enemy and be free of Javert, but instead, Valjean lets him go. Throughout short boughts of fighting and gunshots, ammunition runs low, and Gavroche, desperate to do his part, sneaks out into enemy territory behind the baricade to gather up stray bullets. In his failed attempt, he is shot and killed. Now the rebels are desperate and in one final battle they are defeated in death.
Valjean, only wounded, runs to Marius, barely alive, and brings him to the safety of the sewers of Paris. There, Javert finds Valjean and chooses to let him go to save Marius’s life rather than kill him. The decission takes its toll, however, as Javert is so confused by the revalation that Valjean is a good soul that he takes his own life.
Unaware of the identity of his rescure, Marius recovers in Cosette’s care. Valjean confesses the truth of his past to Marius and insists after the young couple are married, that he must go away back to exile for the safety of his beloved daughter and his newfound son-in-law. At his wedding, Marius realizes that it was infact Valjean who saved him when the barricade fell and with Cosette, goes in search of him. Close to his death bed, Valjean tells Cosette and Marius the truth of his past and dies in peace.
Les Miserables is a musical that will be remembered by Buffalo Highschool throughout the ages.
