Les Mis in Pictures: Epilogue

By now, we’re roughly 2 and three quarter hours into the serial drama that is Valjean’s life and we’ve almost come to expect it: he’s at death’s door. He’s all alone in some dark place, with a chair, a desk, and a blankie as his sole companions.Yes, he’s made good on his promise to extricate himself from Cosette’s life, just so she’ll never be disgraced in case his real identity is revealed. Mmm. Is anyone non-fictional ever that self-effacing? We have the feeling that in real life our pal Valjean would fill his last days nibbling on some kind of provençale-sauced amphibian and/or showing off his fine marksmanship to a growing number of grandchildren, but this is a major sung-through dramatic musical. So we’re going with it.

 

Ah, we know her! Last we saw her, she hugged nuns. Her hair grew back nicely, though. They must have good stylists in heaven.

We get the idea: he’s not lonely anymore.

He’s ready, Fantine, but has to finish the song first…

…and who comes running in but his baffled daughter and son-in-law, so it takes really, really long for him to finish the song now, because tears and questions and confessions…

Wait! Confessions? Oh, so that was what he must have been scribbling earlier on with that massive feather. A long, long list of all the stuff he’s ever done wrong. Eeeeeew.  Where is that bishop when you need him? Because it’s just NOT what every girl on her wedding day wants to read: a deathbed confession. Of her own father.

“You got married? Congrats. Sorry I didn’t get you a gift. But I have this confession here for you to read. Oh, and by the way, I hope you won’t be too shocked when you get to the part where you find out your mother was a whore.” And that’s not the kind of wedding speech any bride will ever anticipate.

Then, after a lot more singing and sobbing and sobsinging, Valjean finally gets up (to all you dense people: he dies) to leave with Fantine and Eponine. (Why her? Sure, she’s also dead, but he just met her briefly when she delivered a letter. This confuses us. Does that mean we’ll be greeted by our dead mail carrier too, when we die? Ours was a 300 pound whale with badly fitting dentures and halitosis. Now we’re very, very worried about dying. Way to go, creators of Les Mis!)

Anyhow, Cosette is left behind and very sad. As is Marius. But they’re still forced to march with the rest of the peasants, and again, this doesn’t seem to be the kind of climax every young couple is dreaming of when planning a wedding. But they’re tough cookies…. When there’s marching required, it’s marching they do.

That’s the adoring couple we all know and love: marching like a two-man army

Oh look,  for our convenience, they put the five dead people together in the back. So those complimentary tissues will really be put to good use. Waaaah.

The end.

 

Les Mis in Pictures: Every Day/A Heart Full of Love (Reprise)/the Wedding

Marius is still bogged down by remorse because he’s the only one of the students who survived. Who else can he march with? Who will make fun of him now? Who will understand his innermost secrets? Luckily, Cosette helps to remind him that they are in love and forever will be. Yes, but how does she know? And how long is forever? Is it very long? Marius continues to worry.

“Remember what we promised each other?”

“No, not that song again!” Marius thinks.

Cosette knows there’s nothing that a deep tissue massage can’t fix.

Just as papa Valjean comes shuffling near, Marius proposes. Valjean’s now left under the Ficus, like Eponine was before, to ponder his ownership of his daughter. Rats! He doesn’t even have that anymore. He ends the self-flagellation session with this perplexing gem: “Love is only for young people.” Whoa! Thank you for sharing, Mr. Mayor. Thus, nothing but damp hatred to look forward to for the rest of us over um…25?

While Marius and Cosette bask in the joy of their engagement, Valjean’s demeanor reflects worry. Does he already anticipates to hear the pitter patter of little Pontmercy feet ruining his costly parquet?

Unaware of her father’s forlorn thoughts, Cosette is ecstatic…

…and well on her way to star in the next episode of “Say Yes to the dress,” 1833 edition.

While Cosette dashes off, Valjean doesn’t waste a minute dumping his misery on Marius.

Way to ruin your future son-in-law’s fragile happiness!

Valjean wants to move far away, so no one will ever find him. Marius believes that’s a bit radical. Who would be looking for him now that Javert has bought the farm? “Why not get a nice condo in Florida, wear plaid pants pulled up all the way under your arm pits and play golf? Like the rest of all you disposable old people?”

 

Valjean thinks that’s absurd. “Are you mad, man? Plaid? On me? Do you have any idea what that does for my hips?”

“A nice black and white print, then?” pleads Marius.

Something with an elongated crotch to better accommodate a Depends? Trendy, yet comfortable.

Valjean gets so irate he looks ready to dislocate a recently relaxed shoulder. One man’s love for drop-crotch pants isn’t another’s, apparently. Let there be no confusion about Valjean’s intent. If the man has decided to disappear, disappear he will.

While pragmatic feminists may wonder who will pay for the wedding now, radical feminists will immediately point out the terrible offense committed against Cosette in this scene. Her fate is simply decided by two men. She doesn’t get to decide for herself whether she wants her father to stay, or whether she’d courageously accept the risk of disgrace if he’s exposed as the forever-on-the-run con.

True theater buffs would point out that it advances the plot and leads to a cathartic finale. With tons of tears. Also, it’s 19th century France. Shut up, bitches.

As for the wedding? You may admire the lovely couple here.

 

 

Les Mis in pictures: Javert’s suicide/Turning/Empty Chairs

 

 

Valjean manages to drag Marius down to the sewers where he passes out. My sewer pics all came out shaky, so I’ll sum it up like this:

Metaphor for Marius (pizza) and Valjean (mouse with superhuman power)

Marius, to be clear, was already unconscious, so he doesn’t notice when Thenardier robs him of his ring. Which is all a bit far-fetched, because c’mon, Thenardier? At that same spot? He’s hanging out in the sewers as well? What business do people have moseying in the Parisian sewage system? They do know what flows there, don’t they? That’s right, the product of many thoroughly enjoyed coq-au-vins and fresh baguettes. Anyway, Thenardier is scared off after he recognizes Valjean and sees him waking up, clearing the stage for Javert. Who is clearly not happy with him trying to escape. Again. But Valjean cannot be bothered with Javert’s threats, throws Marius over his shoulder, and walks away. And Javert watches but does not stop him.  It’s quid pro quo time, apparently, though we’ve seen Javert be kindhearted before, when he ordered a ceasefire after Gavroche’s death. But he cannot live with the thought that his main mortal enemy now knows he’s a wuss. With feelings. Gasp! The horror! So on to the suicide scene.

In the 2012 movie, Javert jumps off a bridge into the Seine. Remember the spine cracking sound when he hit the water? That was disgusting, no? Sam and his director have a more nuanced yet definitely more gut-wrenching approach. In deep distress (magnificently projected by Sam) he reaches for the rope that used to pull the cart in his first opening scene (nice bookending here!) and jumps into the blackout. A scene we won’t easily forget. Nor Sam’s stunning portrayal of Javert.

So the Revolution has failed, and pretty much everyone is dead. Everyone except Marius, Cosette, Valjean and some girls who are mopping up blood in the street.

Time for something uplifting, right? Wrong. Next, Marius comes limping in, plagued by survivor guilt.

He sees his dead friends and is overcome by remorse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Les Mis in pictures: Gavroche’s Death/The Final Battle

It’s daybreak. Time for some long-overdue battle etiquette: “Let the women and fathers and children go from here,” orders Enjolras, when he concludes that the people who were rallying behind him the day before decided they weren’t quite up to singing that rousing marching song in front of a French firing squad.

“Off with the women,” commands Enjolras. “And fathers and children. Eeeh… Not so fast, Gavroche!”

These are the men without an excuse to go forth from here…

…who are pretty determined to defend the cause until the end. Wait! What was the cause again? Never mind. They’re determined to fight on.

 

But we know there’s trouble brewing when they have to use that spade again…

 

One dead, (and, fair warning!) a lot more to come…

 

Enjolras is cleaning his gun again…. Old Faithful keeps giving him more grief than happiness… 

Another reason to panic: ammunition is running low!

So this is that time when dauntless men love to play this little game called “Let the Real Hero Stand up”

“I’m the hero,”claims Marius. He volunteers to retrieve the bullets off the dead soldiers, risking his own life, because: hero.

“No, me me me!” says Valjean. Though he looks remarkably spry for his age, he is old, remember? With a daughter who canoodles behind his back. Ugh. What’s he got to live for? “Who cares if I die? Let me get the ammunition.”

“But I’m quicker,” says Gavroche.

He’s a doer, not a reasoner.

Admittedly, those first couple of bullets sting.

Ouch. They sting a lot.

Crawl back, now, please.

“Ah, perfect! .69 caliber for muzzle-loading, smoothbore muskets.”

He manages to toss a couple of bullets to his buddies. And expires. Much to the chagrin of Grantaire…

….and the rest of the Revolutionaries. They gather in a sadness huddle. Except for Marius and Courfeyrac, who are in shock. 

Even Javert feels a touch of melancholy he cannot explain and orders a ceasefire, so that Grantaire can retrieve Gavroche’s body and weep. Whoa! The man has a beating heart after all.

He also warns that the students don’t stand a chance and instructs them to consider their options. But everyone knows that students don’t respond well to warnings. Or instructions.

The result is some fierce fighting, during which Marius is hit. That’s him on the right dangling upside down over a cannonball crate, with Valjean in the background thinking,”Sh*t! Now I will be forever stuck at home with a bawling female!”

Though it’s reassuring to see that the French National Guard encouraged women to engage in hand-to-hand combat as far back as 1833 (rah-rah girl power!) please, please, please don’t hurt his poofy shirt, sweetheart!

With a dazed Enjolras surveying the battlefield’s carnage, only one question remains:”DID THE SHIRT SURVIVE?”

Yesssssss!

Also good to see that Valjean still seems able-bodied, and as for Marius…

….we have to believe he’s breathing…

However, we fear this may be the last time we’ve seen Enjolras standing. That’s some ferocious power coming his way.

Les Mis in Pictures: Bring Him Home

To put it in a nutshell: while reading the letter, Valjean discovers that Cosette’s fallen in love behind his back and that the object of her devotion is at the barricades about to get his pretty rich-kid head blown off. What is a father to do? He goes to retrieve said object. But first, he recognizes Javert and shows him mercy (the kind of mercy that Javert has always been too rigid to ever show him) and sets him free. Stuff gets real now: there’s blood everywhere, people are dying and Valjean sings this beautiful song begging God to spare Marius’s life. The guns are fake. So is the blood. My goose bumps are real.

I still manage to take these:

 

And not to overload myself with praise, but these are rather decent, right? (Except the last one, where his face is little overexposed, but I can cover that up by calling it “divine light” or use another inventive excuse from my bad photographer’s past.)  I shoot these during the private performance. Since most of the audience is confined to the first couple of rows, I am relatively free to wander around the auditorium. I only have this nagging little problem: every closeup becomes a splendid shot of Charlie’s throat. The more I shoot, the more throat I get. And it isn’t until then that I realize: he’s looking up,  in prayer, towards God, and I’m a good couple of feet below. Impossible to get a good closeup of his face.

I try again during the last performance on July 31. Kudos to Judy for tipping me off on the perfect spot. It’s all the way up on the second floor, in the director’s booth. Being chained to my sewing machine in the girl’s dressing room for weeks, I’m not even aware of its existence. But she is right: it is a most excellent position for a photographer to hide with a camera. The music begins, he steps from the shadows into the light, makes perfect eye contact….and for a little under 60 seconds, I am God on high. As you are now, looking at these pictures.

Then he walks towards Marius and crouches down.

No longer God, I still am able to shoot some other nice pictures.

Bring Him Home is a haunting song, and a masterclass in dramatic musical performance at the same time. Charlie is totally in character at every moment, and when he emerges from the shadows, or disappears into them, his presence either precedes or lingers. He fully earns the extended ovation and cheers the responsive audience gives.

 

 

Les Mis in pictures: The Letter/On my Own

Here’s Eponine opening the gate to the Valjean mansion to deliver a love letter from Marius to Cosette. If only someone had invented Snapchat two centuries earlier….

“I’ll take that, little boy,” says Valjean

Eponine is not amused. First of all, it’s obvious the man needs some kind of corrective eye wear. Boy? Oh, c’mon! From two feet away?

And second, she promised Marius to only give it to Cosette. Wait! Really? Why is she even the go-between? Can’t he deliver his own damn letters? Is it because she thinks if she makes Marius feel indebted to her, he may fall in love with her? Jeez! We thought she was street-smart.

Valjean promises her he’ll give the letter to Cosette. She believes him. Oow, ‘Ponine, you’re getting soft there, baby.

Because what’s the first thing he does when she walks away? That’s right! He opens the letter…

…and READS it, the snake

Not cool, J.V., not cool at all. Though we understand that it’s a way to advance the plot of the story (the knowledge that your daughter is infatuated with a boy who’s about to put himself into grave danger makes you dash off to “save” him) but still, Snakey, honesty would’ve suited you better.

Eponine runs back to the barricades, and on the way reminisces about her love for Marius.

…how she can make-belief when it’s night and she’s alone…

But it’s a whole different story during day time. And then…she smiles a little. Does she realizes that it’s a hopeless case? We believe she does. And that she’s fine with it. Rah rah girl power! Now there’s the girl we all know and love. And who’s also the reason why every single girl in the dramaclub auditions for her role.

Also, I’m so sorry I cut off your lovely feet, Lauren. But you move a lot. I was just trying to keep up.

Les Mis in pictures: Attack on Rue Plumet/One Day More

The Thenardier gang’s back!

William, Quinton, Joshua, Josh and Michael really seem to enjoy playing the scheming villains.

Even without audio, we just know that Thenardier’s saying, “Here’s the plan!”

Michael’s portrayal of the dumb brute with the man-bun is hilarious. The spade accentuates his fierce determination.

The hierarchy within the gang is apparent: they’re all making fun of dumb Brujon with the man-bun. ‘Cause that rhymes.

The social order is highlighted by their clothing as well: all wear overcoats except Brujon. He’s the only one in a raggedy shirt and pants that fit him well when he was 12.

When they hear a noise, the lowest man on the totem pole is sent on a reconnaissance mission.

He produces Eponine. She tries to dissuade the gang from attacking Valjean’s home. Since they are convinced of substantial booty at the Rue Plumet residence, they won’t give up.

So Eponine screams, warding off the attack. The gang flees underground to the sewers, and Marius, who is also alarmed, congratulates Eponine on saving the day. Then he takes his leave, too. Cosette will have to face her alarmed father all alone.

Her whole stance (head bowed, shoulders hunched forward) betrays a girl who’s been caught in something dangerously clandestine.

But Cosette is a quick-on-her-feet-thinker (a.k.a. any woman in love) and offers a believable excuse

Poor girl. She’s still so distraught.

She saw three scary men, running away. Hmmm… define scary. Valjean is processing the info but doesn’t look totally convinced.

Cosette demonstrates once more how they took off on their space ship and were really, really, really scary. Luckily for her, daddy is an ex-con who violated his parole, so that makes him a little paranoid.

And he concludes that Javert must be on his tail again. His polished appearance starts to crack, letting a feral anger seep. (Translation: ‘Nuff with the nicies, he’s getting mad, yo.)

He orders his daughter to pack because he wants to take the boat to escape to England.

He tells her to hurry. And that so sweet, since he doesn’t seem to know that NO woman ever has made a drastic time improvement because some man told her to hurry.

His anger mixes with concern…

…and finally with resignation, as Valjean ponders the fate of being a fugitive once again. One day more.

Cosette is helpless and lonely cradling her flowers,  Marius grapples with the dilemma of following his beloved versus joining his revolution buddies, while Eponine can only dryly observe, “What else is new?”

Enjolras and his posse join in, using One Day More as their war cry

The Thenardiers join in, and share their excitement about making a fortune robbing the unaware students once the revolution starts

…more people marching…

Marius finally makes the decision to join his fellow students, while Javert, now undercover to infiltrate the student body, has dressed as a French Bruce Springsteen

Here come the French Freedom Flags…

…while Enjolras is busy cleaning his gun….

…everyone’s secretly hopes he’s not going to shoot himself in the face…

…and the gun keeps putting up a fight…

…random pic of supercute girl waving a Freedom Flag.

 

 

Les Mis in pictures: In my Life/A Heart Full of Love

In earlier Les Mis versions, the grown-up Cosette is almost consistently portrayed as a black tablecloth with cheer curls, one leg already safely planted in the convent. She’s bland, bromidic, and as dull as the water in her chamber pot.

See? Here, Cosette’s just a face with floating hands (and a bad dye job to boot.)

But NOT this Cosette!

Right from the moment when we see her meeting Marius and immediately bond over books, we know Olivia’s approach to portray Cosette is entirely different.

Giddy in anticipation

Look at that smile: she’s the antithesis of dullness

She’s determined to take her life into her own hands. She wants excitement and she wants it now!

More of Cosette in various stages of anticipation and excitement.

In walks trouble: a father is always the notorious killjoy of any kind of fun.

What’s with all this excited giggling I hear?

“So what?” her defiantly pointed chin says.

Valjean’s relationship with his daughter strongly contrasts the abusive one she had with the Thenardiers. His smile is warm, and his hand on her should says, “You’re daddy’s hunnee.”

Yes, but Hunnee’s lonely….

On top of that, she has questions….

“Do you remember when I was young and barefoot and you came with a doll and a wallet…what was that all about?”

What? Tender topic?

“I’ll tell you, soon. But not now. Be patient.” Three common phrases that have as much of a soothing effect on a woman as a square yard of red cloth on a bull.

Ah, the fatherly kiss we all recognize. “Babe, you’re nagging as hell with your questions, and I must’ve been really drunk thinking of ever adopting. But… you’re still my girl.”

Then Marius enters, with shredded nerves.

Coat and tie in coordinating colors, flowers, breath mint. Check, check, check.

Eponine wonders if it’s really a smart decision to lead him to Cosette.

“Damn! Must I always fly the flag of the brokenhearted?”

“What-if’s?” behind the Ficus. It happens to the best of us.

 

“Damn that little sprig of cowlick!”

Truth be told, the lyrics here don’t really give Marius much to work with.

What kind of a doofus introduces himself with “a heart full of love?”

The flowers can only make up a little for a freaky introduction.

 

Eponine realizes that in her case, a potted plant is a girl’s best friend.

Cosette’s lyrics aren’t any less stereotypical. To his anguished outcry of “Cosette, I don’t know what to say!” her pragmatic answer is “Then don’t make a sound.” But her radiance and lovely voice make any spectator forget about bad lyrics instantly. 

Hunnee’s no longer lonely.

“Are these okay? I mean I bought them fresh. But compliance with environmental standards hasn’t been invented yet. These flowers may have been ripped from the sewers, you just don’t know.” He looks that worried.

She looks thrilled. No worries, Marius.

There’s that half girl/half giggle machine look again. So cute.

Against all of Eponine’s hopes, the couple in blue (they match!) really get along well.

Even the roman soldier in the back discreetly averts his gaze.

Les Mis in pictures: ABC Café/The People’s Song

As we’re watching the Revolution of 1832 being carefully orchestrated by Enjolras and the other students in the ABC Café scene, we cannot help but feel an impending sense of doom. We know that these driven, idealistic young men are planning, in essence, their own death. Grantaire, then, becomes the embodiment of the saying, “A little humor goes a long way.”  When depicted as the sarcastic drunkard who just hangs about, Grantaire’s character is a little difficult to justify. As the observant quasi-drunk with the hilarious facial expressions, however, Ricky readily became the audience’s darling.

At the ABC Cafe, students are busy planning their Revolutionary strategies

Enjolras barks some last minute instructions..

 

Grantaire won’t have any of it. He mocks Enjolras behind his back, finding a superb side-kick in Lesgles

“That guy,” his body language is saying, “is so focused…”

“…he can only see the very narrow path he’s walking on…”

…and he doesn’t put his beloved flask down for one second…

…and in walks his next victim, Marius. He’s late because he’s met “the love of his life.”

Grantaire doesn’t miss a beat, and starts to mock Marius relentlessly.

He makes fun of Marius feeling amorous right at this particular moment….

…while Enjolras is planning a governamental overthrow.

The contrast is so big and so unbelievable between the two, that it’s better than an opera.

He retires into his corner to observe who else he can easily joke about.

So when Enjolras jumps up on the table to inspire his fellow revolutionaries about “Red” (duty and suffering for a cause,) and Marius recounts with the Black (of his despair because he’s not with the girl), he sees an opportunity…

As the rest of the students watches in anticipation…

 

“I’m gonna cry now…”

“No, really!”

“Wait, I got it!”

“There it is….”

…and continues to make fun of him….

…and raises his arm up when the “Black” is song to highlight his adolescent angst.

Enjolras sets everyone straight

…and unites them all in a continuing Red & Black song

they’re ready to fight now…

Even Grantaire joins in…

The sudden arrival of Gavroche announcing the death of General Lamarque…

…kills the mood a little…

But a true leader inspires in any situation…

…and joined by the people, they give a rousing rendition of “Do you hear the people sing”

Les Mis in pictures: The Beggars/Stars

Also known as the Look Down song, this scene can be very confusing. People in rags inundate the stage as well as a whirlwind of new characters. If this is your first time watching Les Mis, you might not immediately realize that the story has jumped in time by 10 years. You may feel lost. Wait! Who’s the guy handing out the pamphlets? What is the girl with the books doing among the beggars? Who’s the fellow with the blue coat? Why are there guys beating the beggars? Who is the girl with the grimy face? Who’s the kid dangling from the wooden scaffolding?

The last question’s easy. That’s Gavroche. He leads a posse of street urchins, and is kind of the neighborhood watch. He knows everything that’s happening in the slums of St. Michel and is notoriously portrayed with a Cockney accent. Why? He lives in Paris. Supposedly.

Yup. That’s Gavroche

The girl gazing at him is his girlfriend. That’s what she told me.

In the “Look Down” song, he introduces us to several characters. Because of his Cockney accent, he’s generally hard to understand. Which leaves you even more confused. But Will wasn’t difficult to comprehend. He clearly informed us about the “who’s who” in 1832 Parisian Slum Society.

He introduces us to the “old Thenardier.” The lyrics never mention that this is his father. But he is.

Mr. and Mrs. Thenardier operate from the tough-love principle when it comes to their daughter Eponine.

Thenardier has his own gang who beg and rob and do anything else that violates the common decency.

Thenardier and his gang: Josh, Quinton, Joshua, Michael, and William.

Eponine, Gavroche’s sister, is infatuated with Marius, a student (in the blue coat.)

The guy with the tricolor sash is Enjolras. He’s the macho leader of the Friends of the ABC (literally translated as “friends of the suppressed.”) Women love him, but he only loves France. And Revolution.

Fellow with the suede vest is Grantaire. (Hint: pretty much anyone who wears a vest is part of the student body.) He’s the thinker and drinker of the group and only supports the Revolution only because Enjolras wants a Revolution.

Back to Marius. He’s usually typified as a one-sided pretty boy with the emotional depth of frozen yogurt. Thom portrays Marius as a compassionate intellectual, a reader, who falls in love with Cosette because she loves books, too. This makes a lot of nerdy bookish girls fall in love with Marius instantly.

Like Eponine. She pretends to be a great bibliophile as well.

She cannot read, however. But she’s street smart. This doesn’t impress Marius much.

Sorry, Eponine. Now move aside, because…smart girl alert: Cosette’s looming in the back.

While Michael in the back demonstrates knockdown power with the baton, Marius picks up the books Cosette dropped when he bumped into her.

He’s so sorry and she’s all giggles. Michael (with man bun hiding behind her cape) senses trouble.

The adorable couple bonding over books. Really. They’re so cute.

No bonding for her poor adoptive father (in the brown tail coat.) Thenardier harasses him for money…

….then suddenly recognizes Valjean and not even by his superhuman strength…

…but because he’s a con just like him (and has a number on his chest.)

Before Thenardier and his gang can do some real baton damage to Cosette’s dad, Eponine warns everyone that Javert’s about to enter. All the beggars run off, and Valjean whisks Cosette away stealthily.

Javert isn’t hard to recognize. He’s still a police officer, but now sports a fancy cape. (Looks like he’s moving up in the Justice Department!) He voices his disgust about bums on the street. (That includes you, Thenardier!)

“What’s going on here?”

“I immediately know you’re guilty. I don’t like your face.”

Hey, where did the guy with the brown tail coat go? The one you tormented?

Oh, now Javert’s peeved. Because he might have let Valjean escape. Again.

And that makes us wonder: are there REALLY no other criminals for Javert to obsess over?

No.

 

Javerts scares everyone off the street. Alone in the dark night, he details his longing for order and justice in Stars.