Review Of Musical

                                 Les Misérables

                                                    By Victor Hugo, Directed by Jenifer Guarino
Lexi Williamson - Jean Valjean
Jenna Denomme - Javert
Julia Rafferty - Fantine
Maddie Silano - young Cosette
Sam Weed - Thénardier
Gianna Dimarino - Mme. Thénardier
Mariel Docabo - Éponine
Ruth Berganross - Gavroche

The scene starts with the releasing of Jean Valjean's 19 years living in the prison. Bishop Myriel offered to him a place to live, but he stole the silver in the church and then he got caught. However, Bishop Myriel didn't accuse him as a thief. Several years later, Valjean used an alternate name to be the boss of factory and mayor. The workers in the factory were all in poverty, one of the workers, Fantine was accused by others as the guilty of promiscuity. In order to earn money for his child who was fed by the holder of an inn, she became a whore, but the nightmare was not ending, she had still been accused by a client. Mayor Valjean decided to help her after learning her current situation. A Truck rolled on a worker, then Valjean pushed the truck away. The police affair supervision Javert realized the mayor in front of him had a strong body and he was looked like the prisoner he had pursued for a long time. Valjean requested Javert for three days limit to take a child away from the guardian. Valjean found the harsh experience of that young girl Cosette in the inn. Nine years later, the unrest city Paris, Cosette had fallen in love with the student who joined the group of politically minded students, Marius. Eponine, who was the daughter of Thenardier, also loved Marius. Once Thenardier's robbers' group wanted to rob Valjean's house, Eponine ceased and destroyed their plan in progress. The signal from Eponine revealed that Valjean should be fled from this place. The revolting students were building a barricade in the street, Marius rejoined the group for fighting which Eponine also came along with him. Valjean came to there trying to save Marius, at this time, he gets a chance to kill Javert. Nevertheless, he let him go. Lately, rebels were all killed in the barricade. Valjean escaped to the sewers with Marius, then he met Thenardier and Javert once again. In the urgent moment, he asked Javert to rescue Marius once again. Javert had a paradox in his mind about the right of the law and justice of the human being, under the pressure, then he suicided. In the wedding of Marius and Cosette, Thenardiers wanted the blackmail from Marius by telling the background of Valjean, but Marius realized the person who saved him was Valjean, Marius and Cosset went to find Valjean.

Les Miserables presents the world that is full of inequalities of high-level and low-level classes. The guilty is not born originally, it has appeared from the miserable treatment of the society to poor men. In my perspective, the theme of the story is struggling. The protagonist, Valjean who has been stayed in prison for nineteen years long, but his experience has not changed him at all until the Bishop helps him. Even though the story is surrounding the chase and escape of him and Javert, but any behaviors of them don't make too many changes to the miserable world. The miserable world still keeps going, and the same person keeps suffering. The people who try to find the new way of a better life always living to the end such as Thenardier. He tries multiple ways to earn money, however, the people who give up to live in the original life, choosing the revolution staying along with the death. On the contrary, Valjean is playing hide and seek with Javert. Overall, the story reveals that the world is always cruelty, if you want to change the environment, you should be improved by struggling and then you have the ability to help the people around you.

The skills of singing and performing of actors were fascinated. The character that impressed me was Javert. Javert in the play was a police affair supervision, actually, the story was consisted by confronts of the Javert and Valjean. The singing and acting of Javert were always strong and giant, to be the police, she created the impression as a person who kept the rules and laws that suffered the poor people really successful. In several times he met with Valjean, I felt like any explanations were useless in front of her. He worked really well in his ending. She had a heroic monologue since the giant character in the beginning and the final scene made a big contrast, Javert was impressive to me.

All in all, I liked the play at this time because I felt the efforts of a great number of people joined in this play and the singing while they were playing. The stage is not big, and one thing that I wanted to mention is everyone filling the stage which provides me a feeling of satisfaction. For making the play, in reality, they provided two movable and switchable blocks on both sides that actors were able to move the blocks for many scenes. In addition, the costume attracted me that actors were changing their costumes by the changing of the scene. In the scene of the barrier, everyone wore the uniform and took a rifle gun. I don't really like the performance of Valjean. In the first half of the play which she got the most lines didn't impress me because of his body languages didn't look like a man. Since Jean Valjean was a mature man, his movements and talks should be slow and deep. It was probably the only shame in this play.