Music Monday. Les Mis.

/ beckmank

This week Hidden Staircase is going to Broadway! (Ok, not literally to Broadway.) I love Les Misérables. I try to see it whenever it comes to town, and for me, that is THIS WEEK. Yay! My boys are excited to see their first “official” Broadway touring show downtown.  We’ve been listening to Les Mis to prep for the big night.

I have tried (and failed) to read Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables several times. But I adore the musical; before Hamilton came along, Les Mis was always my #1. When people ask me what soundtrack to listen to, I always recommend Les Misérables: The Complete Symphonic Recording. This three-disc set blended an all-star cast from around the world, and has every single note from the show.

Here are a few of my favorites tunes. I went with the 10th Anniversary recordings for our post today.

Favorite Song: ABC Cafe/Red and Black

Hands down, Red and Black is my favorite song in the show.

Favorite Soliloquy: On My Own

I think many people would pick Fantine’s I Dreamed a Dream or Javert’s Stars over Éponine’s On My Own. They are all so beautiful, but On My Own has a slight edge for me as favorite soliloquy.

Favorite Medley: One Day More!

I love how all the characters come together to sing their hopes for what will come in One Day More!

Bonus: Les Mis, Carpool Karaoke Style.

Happy Monday!

Rules from Lauren:
Every Monday share one or two of songs you’ve been enjoying lately.  It doesn’t have to be a specific genre, new, or one of your favorites – just something you’d like to share with others.  If possible, share a music or lyric video of the song and your thoughts on the song(s), artist(s), and/or music video(s).

If you would like to participate in Music Monday, please join the link up by sharing your post’s url over at this week’s post on Always Me.

15 thoughts on “Music Monday. Les Mis.”

  1. Well, I am another Les Mis- I am this gigantic Les Mis fan. My blog has several posts related to Les Mis. My post today focused on my top ten Les Mis songs, but my top ten songs is always changing, but some always stay there. I am actually obsessed with the musical- it changed my perspective on musical in so many ways.

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  2. Ah, Les Mis has been one of my favorites for years! I just adore the music and can get triggered into breaking out into song (off-key) by just hearing certain words in conversation. Thanks for this post — definitely made me smile today!

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    • Prior to Les Mis, I told myself I will never love a tragedy. I thought tragedies were pure sad like there was nothing else to them. In Les Mis, I realized there is a beautiful spirituality found within it. I realized that I was 100% blind to heartbreak growing up. I even thought that a death scene could never be memorable especially towards a favorite character and thought a song wouldn’t happen during a death scene itself. As you can see Les Mis disproved many many things about the world of musicals. I once thought that all musicals were happy, but still capable of sad songs at times. That is a good overall view of why Les Mis impacted me in the way that it did.

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      • I felt that way about musicals until I watched the movie West Side Story with my Dad. It was one of his favorites. I left the theater bawling my eyes out telling him, “you didn’t say this would be SAD!” You are right about Les Mis. It is tragic and beautiful at the same time.

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      • I came into the movie theatre of Les Mis so unsure of it- I did not know it was going to be TRAGIC. So I had to be shocked and confused after Fantine died. I did not even know if I liked it or not.

        Well if you want to know my entire Les Mis journey, just visit my blog and go to March- I have an entire post explaining it.

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      • I first was exposed to Les Mis in college. (20+ years ago.) Everyone had the soundtrack. I sat down and listened to it one afternoon from start to finish while I read along with the lyrics. I fell in love with it right then. A year or two later the production came to town and I went with my parents. It’s been a love affair ever since.

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      • I am being asked more than once: how come you are not yet sick and tired of it: aren’t you tired of feeling hurt like that all the time? I then go on to explain why it is much more than being tragic and heartbreaking. I have such a beautiful connection to these characters- I cannot pick a favorite character or song

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