Les Misérables

I saw Les Misérables for the one and only time in the mid 90’s in London’s west end. My luvvie-other-half has seen it a handful of times, and yesterday we took our daughter to the show that has been seen by 130 million people worldwide since it’s first showing in Paris in 1980.

The show is a long as two football matches, plus half-time and with no injuries it goes for over 3 hours.

Our daughter can’t watch five minutes of a football match and gets from me her housefly attention span, so this was going to be a challenge sat in Sarasota’s historic, but waning Van Wezel Theatre.

However, we made it through and it was a pleasant reminder that creative artistry comes from a live stage and not a TikTok video.

The dramatic stage design transported us into the heart of 19th-century France, and the everlasting story of love, redemption, sacrifice, and the fight against injustice was beautfully presented by the North American touring cast.

The synergy among the actors and the singing and harmonies were top notch, and we’re still humming “I Dreamed a Dream” at home this evening.

The performances of Jean Valjean, Inspector Javert and Fantine were all brilliant, but the remarkable talent of 9-year old Jack Jewkes in the role of Gavroche was proof that not all kids stare at their phones all day.

My bum hurt after three and half hours but we had a wholesome family night and were thrilled that our daughter thoroughly enjoyed it.