My heart plummeted and my eyes began to water as the entire crowd shakily sat soundless, taken aback by the sullen scene on stage. The booming blare of the bullet directly bashed into a child who fought with the resistance; he directly fell into the arms of his friend, dead. All music students were invited to watch the musical traveling Broadway cast of “Les Misérables” at the Orpheum on Thursday, Nov. 21. 

This world’s most popular and eight-time Tony Award-winning musical takes place in France after the French Revolution. The plot emphasizes stories of love, sacrifice, and justice. Protagonist Jean Valjean (Nick Cartell) finally is released from prison, due to stealing a loaf of bread for a sick relative, and attempts to begin a new, wealthy life away from his intense past by becoming mayor. Throughout the entire show, he is pursued by inspector Javert (Nick Rehberger), the antagonist police officer who assumes the worst in everyone. After revealing his secret identity to the public, Valjean follows a promise to adopt and protect a child, Cosette (Delaney Guyer), who lives similar to a slave in a house of greedy criminals. After taking Cosette into his care, Valjean hides and stays on the run from the inspector for countless years. As the plot thickens, love stories are discovered and more and more significant cast members pass away. The title of the musical translates to The Miserables, emphasizing those who had to fight for what they believed suffered immensely during the revolution. 

As “Les Mis” was one of the first musicals I was introduced to as a child and one of the main reasons why I loved musical theater, watching this performance live served as nostalgic and heartwarming. Even though I already knew what would occur next, the emotional performance was immensely moving, leaving me sitting in awe of the amazing singers and performances.

While the storyline may be hard to follow as someone who watches the musical for the first time, each individual had a unique and powerful singing voice that left me astonished. Specifically Valjean, Fantine (Lindsey Heather Pearce), and Éponine (Mya Rena Hunter) stood out because of their abilities to connect to their role and also how touching their roles were for an audience member. Although each of these characters suffer immensely and go through hardships, they all have a singular hope and goal that pushes them through to the end of their lives. Their vocal ranges were also incredible, strongly hitting each high note that was sung with the perfect tone. 

“Les Mis” teaches the audience of the hardships of economic disparity in France in the early 1800s but also demonstrates how people can change through taking second chances and having mercy. All of the characters develop significantly throughout the plot, allowing them to learn from their mistakes and try to be better people. The more they suffer, the more the characters learn what to be grateful for and when they should fight for their rights.