I liked to daydream when I was growing up. A lot. I had a very good childhood/adolescence, but I think it is sort of natural for kids in their teens to strive for something different once in a while. I was probably overly odd in my daydreams, I'm sure. I played the trumpet when I was younger all the way through college. I wasn't really great at it -- maybe above average barely, but not extraordinary or super talented. But I did enjoy it a lot. I also LOVED musicals, especially the more modern and complicated musicals by composers like Andrew Lloyd Webber and the like. So in my greatest dreams I really, really thought that it would be total heaven if I could one day get to be in the pit orchestra for the musical, Les Miserables.
Oh, how I love that musical! I remember when I was first introduced to Les Mis. I was in high school, and while I got ready for school the TV would be on in the living room, and it was usually tuned to the Today Show on NBC. One day I heard an interview that they were doing with cast members from the newest Broadway hit, Les Miserables. I had never heard of this musical before, so I was only half listening to the interview, but they were talking to the original London cast member who played Jean Valjean, Colm Wilkinson. He was talking about how he found the inspiration for his amazing part in the musical, and in particular he was talking about Valjean's signature song, Bring Him Home. He talked about how he thought of that prayer as an intimate communication with God and how that inspired his singing.
And then he began to sing . . .
It was probably the most beautiful song that I had ever heard to that point in my life. I was completely enthralled. I couldn't stop thinking about it all that day. That year I asked Santa to bring me a tape (for my kids -- those things that we had to use before CDs were invented if we wanted to hear music) of the music of Les Miserables. I must have been a good girl that year because Santa brought me just what I wanted, and I got the extended version of the music sung by the London cast. I think it may have been one of the best Christmas gifts I ever got. I listened and listened and listened to that tape all day long, every day.
Here is Bring Him Home, sung by the amazing Alfie Boe for the 25th anniversary concert celebration of Les Mis:
But my dream didn't just end with my being a member of the pit orchestra. Oh no. When I was young, I dreamed big. My absolute favorite character in the musical is Enjolras, the leader of the student rebellion. Other than Valjean and Inspector Javert, Enjolras was the male character in the musical with the biggest voice, and the guy that played him in my London recording had one of those voices that just reached into my soul. I loved that voice without a face! That guy was definitely going to be my boyfriend. Like I say, I dreamed big. How could he not fall in love with the sweet little trumpet player accompanying him from the pit orchestra? I mean, how could he resist me? Really.
Les Mis has an incredible set that is gigantic, and at the time it was so large that it couldn't appear in many cities of the US because there were not stages big enough to accommodate the barricades. Luckily, Kansas City had one of the places that could hold the stage, so as soon as I found out that there would be tickets available I rushed out and bought some. I can't remember who came with me to that first performance -- maybe my brother, Bryan. I don't know. I just know that I came away from that performance in absolute awe of the musical. My emotions were soaring. I was in love -- with the musical!
There is a character in the musical, Eponine, who I related to so much. Looking back in retrospect I can see that I was vastly overstating the issues in my life if I thought that anything in my life even remotely resembled Eponine's. I mean Eponine was basically abandoned by her horrible parents to roam the dangerous streets of Paris. She fell in love with Marius, who in turn fell in love with Cosette, never recognizing Eponine's love until it was too late. She sacrificed herself and her happiness to save Marius and Cosette. Very tragic. Nothing like my piddley high school drama issues. And yet, I thought she was just like me. It helped that her voice range fit mine wonderfully, so I could really belt out her songs, and at least in my head I sounded just as awesome as she did. At least I could nail the emotion of the piece if nothing else.
Here in Eponine's signature piece, On My Own, she sings about her love for Marius that is not returned. So heartbreaking! This is the amazing (I know I'm using that word too much in this post, but it's true) Samantha Barks:
Okay, so I had to eventually realize that I was not ever going to be a professional trumpet player. I was not going to marry whatever random actor happened to be playing the part of Enjolras. I did not live any life even half as tragic as Eponine's. I was just Melissa -- a mega fan. Life moved on.
I did end up doing my honors thesis paper over Victor Hugo's Les Miserables novel during my senior year of college. I was a French major, and in order to graduate with honors from Drury I had to spend an entire year researching and writing a significant thesis paper about some subject in my majors area. I chose to write about the way that Hugo wrote his women characters in Les Mis. I had to research and read scholarly research as well as the 1200 page novel itself in English and French, form my conclusion, write a thesis paper, and then present it in front of the Drury faculty. It was probably my favorite and most gratifying thing that I did as an undergraduate. Herman bound the paper for me to keep forever because it represented such a huge sacrifice for me as a student. I learned in that paper to love Eponine even more and to dislike Cosette a lot more. And I still love the musical.
Here is one of my favorite songs in the musical as it was sung for the 25th anniversary performance. I like adding it here because it shows all of the major characters of the musical as they sing about the things they are expecting during the next day. Valjean is awesome. The character singing the part of Inspector Javert is probably the best one I have ever seen -- amazing! This isn't my favorite Enjolras ever, but he gets the job done well. The weak link in this piece is definitely Nick Jonas who is completely out of his element in this musical. He just doesn't have the power of a Broadway singer. I am sure this is how I would have ended up if I was living another dream of playing the part of Eponine in some cast somewhere -- all of the passion, none of the talent -- but I wouldn't have the advantage of tons of screaming teenagers dying for the chance to see me sing anything. Anyway, here is the amazing -- okay, I'll make it awesome -- cast of the 25th anniversary production singing One Day More:
In 2010 Amanda Housel and I headed to Pittsburgh to attend Time Out for Women, and on Friday night we got to listen to a singer I had never heard of before, Dallin Vail Bayles. Oh my word! What a voice! He was amazing. At the time he was touring with a traveling production of Les Mis, so he sang Bring Him Home for us. Amanda was crying. I couldn't stop smiling. His voice. Wow. Just wow. I don't know what else to say. As soon as he finished Amanda and I stood up, clapped, and screamed like total fan girls, and then we pushed our way through the crowd to get our chance to get a picture and say hello to this talented singer. It was a choice experience for this Les Mis fan.
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| Amanda and I with Dallin Vail Bayles being total fan girls! |
This isn't the performance we saw, but it captures his wonderful voice pretty well. It still doesn't match the experience of seeing it live, but it's good enough.
- Later this year Les Mis, the musical will be released as a movie with Hugh Jackman as Valjean
- Les Mis will be appearing in KC at the Music Hall from December 4-9
Yea! Guess who will be coming to opening day both times? I'm such a musical nerd. Hurray!
Well, I didn't end up joining any Les Mis cast, but I did manage to marry a man who has a powerful voice and the ability to inspire people to do almost anything, so I got my happily ever after with my Enjolras. So life has turned out pretty . . . wait for it . . . AMAZING for me. I'm glad my high school dreams didn't exactly come true. I couldn't ask for a better life!
So anyway, I should be doing any number of things, but I was just feeling some Les Mis love this past week as I watched the 25th anniversary video while I was washing/folding my mountain of clothes, and I wanted to record my thoughts of one of those things in my life that has touched me in some way.
Now I'd better return to real life and back to cleaning. Drat!
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