In 1993, I had the joy of seeing my very first Broadway musical, Les Miserables. They say you never forget your first! I've read the book... all 8 billion pages. I've seen the musical on Broadway, performed by a local high school, and two variations of the story in film. I've seen the concert variation on PBS and even made a donation so I could own a copy of the concert. I have several variations of the soundtrack. I've heard ONE DAY MORE sung by Jean Valjeans from around the globe and it ALWAYS gives me goosebumps. I've sung the songs in choirs and "On my own." When my daughters were babies, I sang them to sleep with Castle on a Cloud.
Needless to say, this is by far my favorite musical of all time. I love Les Mis.
Don't get me wrong, I hold fond emotions for Rent, Phantom of the Opera, and Cats. An old friend from my high school drama club played Elphie in Wicked on Broadway and in Chicago. Another friend's husband was Frankie in the US Tour of Jersey Boys. Funny Girl starred my musical hero, Barbra Streisand, and is a story about a woman who was strong beyond her era. I performed in Fiddler on the Roof and Little Shop of Horrors -- small parts, but it was still a joy to do.
I love musicals and I have a fond affection for them in all their varieties, but there is just something about Les Mis that touches my heart. Perhaps it is because it was my first Broadway show. Perhaps because it was part of the best summer of my life. Perhaps it was because of the friends who shared the experience with me. Perhaps it was the powerful voices of the actors and actresses. Perhaps it was the music itself. Perhaps it was all of these things combined. Whatever it was, it was magical.
Today, for you, I share 2 of my favorite songs from Les Mis. As an added treat (or curse) I decided to record myself singing them! It's taken a lot of bravery for me to post this on youtube and subsequently, here. I hope you enjoy. Please be kind.
On My Own;
This song speaks to me because of the powerful sentiment of someone who has a deep love for another that she cannot act upon. You can feel the combination of love and pain in the voice of character as she sings about how amazing life is with her love in her life, but the sorrow and despair of knowing that he does not or cannot return her love... that it's all just in her mind. She can dream and fantasize about life with him loving her but that is all because it just wasn't meant to be for them. Both tragic and romantic, On My Own has been a favorite since the first time I heard it when I was 12 years old and facing the angst of crushing on a boy who didn't know I existed! Ah, the memories of childhood and the dream of loves yet to come. On My Own. Please enjoy.
I Dreamed a Dream:
If you regularly follow my blog, you already know about my early education in love, when I was a young teen in the 80's. I was a dreamer. I spent countless hours lying outside staring at the stars dreaming of the day when I would fall in love and be loved more than any other in the world. I would dream of who I was going to be and how I was going to make a difference in the world. I so wanted those dreams to all come true. We are so hopeful and fearless when we are young, before the world has had a chance to dash our dreams against the rocks of the real world. This song is about the dreams of an innocent who, swept up in the whimsy and passions of young love instead learned of the cruelty that the real world can dish out. Fantine's song was her final cry into a world that stole away her innocence and threw her into the cruelty of poverty and despair all for the love of her precious daughter, the result of her whirlwind romance. I'm not exactly like Fantine because I still have the hope she had early in life and I hold on to the dreams that drove me when I was young. I dreamed a dream... did you?
No comments:
Post a Comment