Emmanuel
FROM THE EDITOR
I have never had the pleasure of seeing Les Misérables performed
professionally. The closest I came to that was watching a high school
fine arts department in a suburban school district north of New York
City put it on as their annual production seven or eight years ago.
It was an exceptionally good show, however. This particular school
district is known for investing as much money and resources in the
arts as in athletics.
The musical, of course, is adapted from the historical novel by
Victor Hugo published in 1862. The story focuses on the lives and
interactions of several characters caught up in the June Rebellion of
1832 in Paris. It is a tale of struggle and redemption amid the chaos
of the times, especially for the ex-convict Jean Valjean who shows his
true character by caring for the innocent Cosette who has fallen in
love with a fiery youth, Marius.
The show is filled with extraordinary music. In one song, “Bring Him
Home,” Valjean begs God to protect Marius from danger and bring
him back safe and unharmed to Cosette:
“God on high, hear my prayer,
In my need you have always been there.
He is young, he’s afraid. Let him rest, heaven blessed.
Bring him home, bring him home, bring him home.
“He’s like the son I might have known
If God had granted me a son.
The summers die one by one, how soon they fly on and on,
And I am old and will be gone.
“Bring him peace, bring him joy. He is young, he is only a boy.
You can take, you can give. Let him be, let him live.
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