Okay...name that tune. I'll give you a hint. Those are the opening notes to the most popular musical of all time. Those are also the opening notes to my favorite musical. A musical I've seen several times already, and will be seeing tonight.
Give up? Okay, I'll tell you. Les Miserables. Right now, they are doing their final tour, which means if you don't catch it when it passes through your city, you might not be able to catch it at all. Instead, I suspect the next place you'll be able to see it is at the movie theatre. There have been rumors that they would make this into a movie eventually, much as they just did for The Phantom of the Opera. But obviously while it is still on stage, that wouldn't go over so well.
I'm also one of those few people who has already read the book. Well, a bit of caveat with that. I read almost all of the book. I think I had to give the book back at about the three-quarters point. Still, the story is incredibly influential in many regards, both in the book form and musical form. I find it hard to believe that anyone couldn't find some aspect of the musical that they couldn't connect to. The story is almost 150 years old now, but it is as timeless as ever.
So, in honor of Les Miserables, I invite you to share your favorite scenes or characters here. Who resonates with you, and why?
And I'm going to do something else. For my April Story of the Month, I'm going to post a chapter...or what could potentially become a chapter...from a project I would like to eventually work on. A "reimagining" of Les Miserables, set in a science fiction setting. The goal would be to capture the same sense of hope, despair, love, justice, and forgiveness that the original exudes, but in a whole new world.
I have the scene partially written already, so hopefully within the week I'll have it posted. You may call it heresy, I suppose. I call it a tribute. The trick is to make it sufficiently different, yet true to the form. You be the judge as to whether I can pull it off in any regard.
