One of the funnest things we did on our trip to London was going out to dinner with our four older kids (we traded nights babysitting the little ones with our friends) and going to see "Les Miserables" at West End. It was an experience I couldn't believe I was sharing with my children. Since the age of thirteen, I had desperately wanted a chance to see "Les Mis" live, ever since I became familiar with the play and the music. Since then I have listened to the songs many, many times, and eventually took my older girls to see the movie in the theater when it came out. I know many people loved the movie version, and while it was a great experience to watch the movie version and hear all the songs, I had such a hard time hearing Hugh Jackman singing Val Jean instead of Colm Wilkinson. Colm Wilkinson sings like an angel. A male angel. The female angel vocal award goes to Julie Andrews. Second place goes to Lea Salonga, who was made famous in part to her performance of Eponine, a performance that I really believe is second to none. So yes, she sings like an angel, too. I just love her.
But where was I? Yes, the movie was okay, but to me the play is more about the music than huge scenes and putting more into emoting rather than singing. And, you know, I do believe Russell Crowe really tried with Javert, and I've gotta tell him, good effort, and I'll stop now before I say something cruel.
Finally, a couple of years ago, when my husband took a business trip to London and was kind enough to take me along, and I must also add, our friends were kind enough to take turns watching the six children while we were both gone, we went together to see the stage production of Les Mis. It was a dream come true. I had desperately wanted to see it for about 20 years at that point. And true to my suspicions, it did make a much better play than a movie. What they did with the sets and the stage, the lighting, and best of all, the singing, just could not be topped.
When I got back from that trip to London, I just couldn't stop raving about it to the kids, even though they felt quite envious. So we just continued to listen to the songs, arguing with each other about which was our favorite, debating about who sang the best Fantine, having the (non) debate about whether "Les Mis" is better than "Phantom of the Opera" (of course it is!), searching for a Val Jean who came close to Colm Wilkinson, and occasionally listening once again to Russell Crowe attempt to sing the part of Javert, all thanks to youtube..
When I discovered we would be able to take the kids to London, I realized they would get a chance to see our very favorite musical. It was just the best night ever. There's just nothing better than sharing your very favorite life experiences with your kids. It just feels too good to be true.
The cast, like when Ben and I had seen the play in London two years ago, was just amazing. I have to give extra props to the man who played the role of Javert. Usually I don't feel like that role is done justice, not even when sung by Mr. Crowe (snort). When we saw it in London, though all the actors were amazing, I really felt Javert was the standout in the cast. In my opinion, one of the best songs in Les Mis is "The Stars," due to it's complexity both musically and lyrically, and at the play we saw, I felt it was the best song of the night. Though that's a hard call. The scene at the end, where Val Jean dies and Fantine and Eponine come into the room singing in beautiful harmony is still kind of haunting me. So it's hard to say for sure. Anyway, it was just an amazing night spent together as a family, one we will remember for the rest of our lives. I love live music, and there's certainly been some great music heard on this trip.
