#you must know that les mis basically changed my life

[purrvaire]

anyway great week to have a les mis themed username bc last saturday yours truly FINALLY went to see the arena tour in milan and well. i guess ill never stop being emotional about it??

[gloomth-and-wanderings]

silly little les mis playlists ii: jehan/combeferre boogaloo, featuring an exceedingly large amount of jazz standards about the moon

Queen of the South by the Divine Comedy

Please don't look at me that way / You'll only make me want to say / Something I will regret / You are April you are May / What a stupid thing to say

I am worried for your health / Put something warm around yourself / Don't let your feet get wet

Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie

For love’s such an old fashioned word / and love dares us to care for the people on the edge of the night / and love dares us to change our way of caring about ourselves

Hold the Line by Toto

It's not in the way you've been treating my friends / It's not in the way that you stayed 'til the end / It’s not in the way you look or the things that you say that you'll do / Hold the line / Love isn't always on time

Booklovers by The Divine Comedy(No specific lyrics but here because they are nerds)

Don’t Look Down by The Divine Comedy

I don't need to say 'I love you' / When we're floating so far up above / Everyone else's lives are intertwined / With yours and mine / I hope they find the joy that we have found

I’ve Never Been In Love Before from Guys and Dolls

I'm full of foolish song and out my song must pour / So please forgive this helpless haze I'm in / I’ve really never been in love before

The Music Stopped (jazz standard)

The band had left the stand / And we were in heaven / Dancing on a cloud / Way off in the blue

The Moon Was Yellow by Frank Sinatra

The moon was yellow and the night was young / A smile brought us together and I was wondering whether / We'd meet again someday / The moon was yellow and a song was sung / That vocal inspiration gave me the inclination / To give my heart away

Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy by Queen

I can dim the lights and sing you songs / Full of sad things / We can do the tango, just for two / I can serenade and gently play / On your heart strings / Be a Valentino, just for you

Seaside Rendezvous by Queen

I love you madly / Let my imagination run away with you gladly / A brand new angle, highly commendable / Seaside rendezvousI feel like dancing in the rain / Can I have a volunteer?

You and I by Queen

Laughter ringing in the darkness / People drinking for days gone by / Time don't mean a thing / When you're by my side / Please stay a while

Teo Torriatte by Queen

When I'm gone / They'll say we're all fools / And we don't understand / Oh, be strong / Don't turn your heart

That’s All (jazz standard)

I can only give you country walks in springtime . And a hand to hold when leaves begin to fall / And a love whose burning light / Will warm the winter's night / That's all / That's all

Love Goes Where My Rosemary Grows

Her clothes are kinda funny / Her hair is kinda wild and free / Oh, but love grows / Where my Rosemary goes / And nobody knows like me

I Only Have Eyes For You (jazz standard)

You are here, so am I / Maybe millions of people go by / But they all disappear from view / And I only have eyes for you

P. S. I Love You (jazz standard)

Nothing else to tell you dear / Except each day seems like a year / Every night I'm dreaming of you / P. S. I love you

This Twilight Garden by the Cure

(Basically the whole thing)

Dance with Me by Orleans

Let it lift you off the ground / Starry eyes and love is all around us

I Just Called to Say I Love You by Stevie Wonder

I just called to say I love you / I just called to say how much I care / I just called to say I love you / And I mean it from the bottom of my heart

Skärp mej by Per “Texas” Johansson

(instrumental)

Ask by the Smiths

Shyness is nice and shyness can stop you / From doing all the things in life you'd like to / So, if there's something you'd like to try / If there's something you'd like to try / Ask me, I won't say "no" / How could I?

Spending warm summer days indoors / Writing frightening verse

Cemetry Gates by the Smiths

So we go inside and we gravely read the stones / All those people, all those lives, where are they now? / With loves and hates and passions just like mine / They were born, and then they lived, and then they died / Seems so unfair, I want to cry

Annie’s Song by John Denver

(The whole of it really)

Poems, Prayers, and Promises by John Denver

all my friends and my old lady sit and pass a pipe around / and talk of poems and prayers and promises and things that we believe in / how sweet it is to love someone, how right it is to care / how long it's been since yesterday, what about tomorrow / and what about our dreams and all the memories we share?

April in Paris (jazz standard)

(Full lyrics)

Under a Blanket of Blue (jazz standard)

Under a blanket of blue / Just you and I beneath the stars / Wrapped in the arms of sweet romance / The night is ours

Year of the Cat by Al Stewart

(this one's more about vibes than lyrics)

Moon Mist (jazz standard)

(also mostly a vibes situation)

Funny Peculiar by the Divine Comedy

You're strangely attractive / You're madly magnificent / And the funny little fact is / Funny peculiar, you are the one

Moonlight Becomes You (jazz standard)

(full lyrics)

Everyday Clothes by Jonathan Richman

(the whole thing; and to be clear this is JP to C, because Prouvaire's clothes aren't exactly everyday)

Liliowy Wrzos by Regina Bielska

(all of it-- I don't actually speak Polish but from what I can find the lyrics fit them, and sound wise the vibes are there!)

Intact Nature by Walt Rockman

(Instrumental)

Just the Way You Look Tonight (jazz standard)

(the whole lyrics again; sorry this section of this massive typed out playlist is probably boring)

I Fly With You by Franz Gordon

(Instrumental)

Younger Than Springtime by Rogers & Hammerstein

younger than springtime, are you / softer than starlight, are you, / warmer than winds of June

A Chain of Flowers by the Cure (barricade era [beracade?])

Please wake up, it's so dark and cold […] And I feel so scared that you're going away

All I want is summer, stories from before / Just like the day you tried to hide behind the churchyard wall / Fell asleep before I came, I found you in a chain of flowers / Sleeping like a marble girl, sleeping in another world

I guess there's no better day to drop my silly little les mis playlists! e/R playlist under the cut for length, since I've added relevant lyrics.

Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Tears for Fears

There’s a room where the light won’t find you / holding hands while the walls come tumbling down / when they do I’ll be right behind you / so glad we almost made it

(planning an animatic for this one once I learn how to animate! This song is so them coded)

The Secret Garden by The Divine Comedy

So much time and so little to do / I furnish my mind with pictures of you / Fading portraits, peculiar names / Replaced by your face in a big golden frame

Golden fragments of moments in time / Tarnished with guilt for an innocent crime

The Rise and Fall by The Divine Comedy

(Basically all the lyrics but especially the chorus:) Hold me in your arms / Hold me till you kill me / Hold me till you break my will / And passion fills my heart

Ignorance is Bliss by The Divine Comedy

You rely upon my charity to survive / I deny myself to keep this world alive / You walk headlong off the edge of the abyss / I oppose the motion / Ignorance is bliss

Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie

This is our last dance / This is our last dance / This is ourselves / Under Pressure

Your Daddy’s Car by The Divine Comedy

Can you feel the sadness in our love? / It's the only kind we're worthy of / And can you feel the madness in our hearts?

Timewatching by The Divine Comedy

If I fall in love it could be forever / So I'll never fall in love / But the moment I can feel that you feel that way too / Is when I might fall in love with you

I Will Follow You Into The Dark (Obviously)

Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered jazz standard)

Lost my heart, but what of it / He is cold, I agree / He can laugh, but I love it / Although the laugh's on me

There Is A Light That Never Goes Out by the Smiths

To die by your side is such a heavenly way to die […] To die by your side, well, the pleasure, the privilege is mine

And in the darkened underpass / I thought "Oh God, my chance has come at last” / But then a strange fear gripped me and I just couldn't ask

Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now by the Smiths

I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour / But heaven knows I'm miserable nowTwo lovers entwined pass me by / And heaven knows I'm miserable now

How Soon Is Now by the Smiths

You shut your mouth, how can you say / I go about things the wrong way? / I am human and I need to be loved / Just like everybody else does

(I think of this one as the switch from outer words to inner feelings)

It’s the End of the World as We Know It by R.E.M.

World serves its own needs, listen to your heart bleedYou vitriolic, patriotic, slam fight, bright light / Feeling pretty psyched / It's the end of the world as we know it / It's the end of the world as we know it / It's the end of the world as we know it / And I feel fine

Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives / And I decline / It's the end of the world as we know it / It’s the end of the world as we know it / It's the end of the world as we know it / And I feel fine

You Take My Breath Away by Queen

Every time you make a move, you destroy my mind / And the way you touch / I lose control and shiver deep insideI could give up all my life for just one kiss / I would surely die

So please don't go / Don't leave me here all by myself / I get ever so lonely from time to time / I will find you anywhere you go / I’ll be right behind you / Right until the ends of the earth

Watch What Happens by Michel Legrand

Let someone start believing in you / Let him hold out his hand / Let him touch you and watch what happens

Falling in Love With Love by Carmen McRae

Falling in love with love is falling for make believe / Falling in love with love is playing the fool / Caring too much is such a juvenile fancy / Learning to trust is just for children in school / I fell in love with love one night when the moon was full / I was unwise with eyes unable to see / I fell in love with love, with love everlasting / But love fell out with me

Born With a Broken Heart by the Divine Comedy (I actually don’t like this song very much but it gives such Grantaire vibes especially with the loser recorder solo so I actually like it)

Basically all the lyrics buckaroo it’s a Grantaire song

Hallelujah (assorted versions but I didn't think about it till I saw the George Blagden version)

Well baby I've been here before / I know this room and I've walked this floor / I used to live alone before I knew ya / I've seen your flag on the marble arch / But love is not a victory march / It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Also I forget if he does this verse but:

Maybe there's a God above / But all I've ever learned from love / Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you / And it's not a cry that you hear at night / It's not somebody who's seen the light / It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

I Wanna Hold Your Hand by the Beatles (I’m so sorry)Oh, yeah, I'll tell you something / I think you'll understand / When I'll say that something / I wanna hold your hand [something = long live the revolution! I belong to it]

All That Jazz by Echo and the Bunnymen

Where the hell have you been / We've been waiting with our best suits on […] See you at the barricades babe / See you when the lights go low, Joe / Hear you when the wheels turn round / Someday when the sky turns black

You Give Love a Bad Name by Bon Jovi

Shot through the heart / And you're to blame / Darling, you give love a bad name / An angel's smile is what you sellYour very first kiss was your first kiss goodbye / Oh, oh, you're a loaded gun / Oh, oh, there's nowhere to run / No one can save me / The damage is done

When Did You Leave Heaven (jazz standard)

If I kissed you would it be a sin? / I am only human but you are so divine / When did you leave Heaven, angel mine?

Maid of Orleans (the Joan of Arc Waltz) by Orchestral Manuevers in the Dark

(Basically all the lyrics)

Thank you for bearing with me through this awfully disorganized list! Happy Barricade Day Part II!

[kralmajales]

i know it's not 2013 anymore but i am genuinely so curious about your les mis classpects

Ahh thank u for asking !! It’s okay we can pretend it’s 2013 for as long as it takes u to read this! Hopefully this makes sense it’s like 3AM and I’m writing this on mobile so sorry for weird formatting.

Alright so I haven’t figured everyone out yet but I AM pretty sure about Valjean, Javert, Enjolras, and Grantaire. I do have a lot to say abt all of them though so this will be long, sorry. Also I haven’t read Les Mis since 2012 so this is like. From memory .

Something I didn’t do on purpose but ended up happening and made me happy is that I believe Valjean & Javert as well as Enjolras & Grantaire are on the same aspect continuums- Heart & Mind and Rage & Hope respectively.

Let’s start with our main men- Valjean and Javert. Heart and Mind are all about meaning- personal and impersonal. Heart focuses on the self, the soul, passion, and personal subjective meaning. Mind on the other hand, focuses on logic, choice, and impersonal objective meaning. The Mind player says “My opinion doesn’t matter, what matters is making sure the correct decision is made to satisfy what the Objective Meaning of our story is” while the Heart Player says “But as individuals, our subjective interpretations is really all that matters. We only Know ourselves I know that THIS is what it means to ME.”

Javert’s story is about the Mind Themes. To him there is The Law and there is The Criminal. There is no room for interpretation- what’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong. (Speaking of the law and Mind however.... I wonder what Terezi would think of Javert with her whole Criminals Deserve to Die thing she had going for a bit there...)

Javert’s Class is the Witch. Witches are magical, but unlike the inherent magic of the maid or the sylph, witches and heirs have a magic more akin to alchemy than anything else. The Witch Changes their aspect to make it more useful. Javert takes Mind and changes it into something that works for him. But like every witch we encounter in Homestuck, he doesn’t benefit from it. None of the Homestuck witches really have a good time by the end of their journey, and neither does Javert. After spending the story actively changing the ideas of logic, choice, and objective meaning into a structure of its own, he ends up getting trapped by it and driven to suicide by his inability to get out of his self made cage of Mind.

Valjean’s story is ALLLL about Heart, babey! He has multiple identities over the course of the story, and really his story is about love (which while not necessarily a Heart theme ... it totally is.) His story is about figuring out what’s important to him and how his identity changes to reflect what brings meaning to his life.

As for Class? I believe he’s a Knight! A knight’s story starts low, where they’re having a hard time with their aspect and life in general, and they’re very insecure. Then as they grow and learn to use their aspect, they manage to achieve personal growth on the way (which sadly can’t be said for many classes.... knights have very satisfying arcs.) Valjean starts off with his Self, his Identity taken from him as punishment for doing what he believed was the right thing to do even if society at large would disagree... his name and autonomy were taken away as he was forced to work while imprisoned. Then after he left, he went through multiple identities, each reflecting where he was at the time and what was important to him then. By the end of his story, Marius and Cosette understand what kind of person he really is (a GOOD person who saved Marius’ life) and they have a final reunion with Valjean, who happily dies with his loved ones, knowing he is understood. He has mastered his aspect of self and subjective meaning, and he completes his arc.

NOW! Onto Enjolras and Grantaire. These two are particularly interesting because they have pretty warped perceptions of who the other one is. But let’s discuss!

Rage and Hope are kind of tricky to explain as a continuum but basically it’s about .. what is there. Rage is about Truth and Hope is about Belief. Rage is what demolishes unnecessary structures as Hope builds them up.

Enjolras is SUCH a Rage player, even though I’ve seen people argue he’s a Light or even Hope player. But that’s just not the case. Rage is The Tower card in tarot. It says “This is a societal falsehood and MUST be torn down.” It’s revolutionary, and Enjolras is nothing if not a revolutionary.

As for class? He’s a Maid! There’s a joke Aradia (one of my favorite characters! She’s a maid of time, for those reading and aren’t familiar with homestuck) makes where she says she’s MADE of Time. Which I think is a brilliant way of conceptializing the maid class. They are magic, as I said before, but they’re not alchemists or magicians... they (and the sylphs!) are magical creatures. Their aspects come so naturally to them it’s like they’re made of it. They are creators and they are used to help spread their aspect to other people. This is 100% what Enjolras is with Rage’s revolutionary spirit.

Now onto perhaps my most controversial take. Grantaire is a Hope player and you CANNOT convince me otherwise. Sure, he may come off as perhaps a Doom player, but at the end of the day his story is about Hope. It’s about Belief. Your aspect isn’t always something you have a good relationship with. Grantaire is a man who “doesn’t believe in anything” and is a known cynic. It all comes down to belief with him, and his lack of it, until suddenly he Does believe in something (Enjolras!)

His class? BARD! Bards are passive destroyers, and like their active counterpart the prince, may come off as more inclined to the other side of the continuum (in this case Rage, so for Grantaire it’s “Truth”) (side note- as I’m writing this I just realized that Grantaire and Enjolras are not only opposing aspects, but opposite in classes as well- the active creator and the passive destroyer! Love that!) but in the end they end up being taken over by their aspect in some way and embracing it (at their own expense.) Grantaire died because he decided to finally embrace his aspect and Hope. He let himself Believe and he died for it but it was a very real change right before that happened. Also! Bards are typically kind of fun in a weird uncomfortable way and I think Grantaire is DEFINITELY fun in a kind of weird uncomfortable way. He may be depressed, but he can also be hilarious.

Thank u for reading all of that! I have some more ideas for some aspects for some characters but I’m not entirely sure for most of them, and also I always figure out aspect before class so I’m even less sure on that front! If u have any ideas pls lmk !! Anyway it’s 3:45 AM I’m gonna go to bed now!! Thank u again for the ask!

tl;dr: Valjean is a Knight of Heart, Javert is a Witch of Mind, Enjolras is a Maid of Rage, and Grantaire is a Bard of Hope!

[italianjavert]

Alright I am asking xD Who... is that white-haired man that STRONGLY reminds me of Jan Werich? xD Who is the character and how the heck did they put him into the story in a way that implies he's Javjav and JvJ's bestie? O...o

Hello! Yes so that man is Robert. (now i have to say i had to google Jan Werich and he looks very nice and VERY much like Robert) although I think the actor was blond at the time of filming.

From what I understand Robert is quite literally a Les Mis OC that the director/screenwriter desperately wanted to put in his 1952 Les Miserables adaptation. I actually have a theory about this: the actor is called James Robertson Justice (amazing man. amazing life. i do suggest you check out his wikipedia page because it is quite the read) and I think the director found Justice so incredibly interesting and sexy that they literally made a character just so they could have him in the movie. and named him Robert after his middle name. That’s just a theory though >.<

Before you read on, I do want to say that watching Les Mis ‘52 is well worth it. There is some weirdness with Valjean and Marius about Cosette because Hollywood in the 50s was utterly incapable of writing women in a non-creepy way, but if you ignore/skip those parts, Les Mis ‘52 is absolutely golden ... if you’re ready to watch on-screen fanfic about Les Mis that is ...(and it has the infamous “YELLOW” passport too!) That said...

--- spoilers ahead ---

Valjean meets Robert at M-sur-M in the factory (which is actually a pottery workshop) and uh, breaks some of his bowls. Then they arm wrestle in the middle of the workshop as everyone is watching and, of course, Valjean wins because he is stronk (despite being a twink in this). Valjean then proceeds to critique Robert’s work, to which Robert’s response is “if you’re so fucking smart why don’t you buy my shop and do it yourself?” and Valjean does. Next thing you know, they’re basically married. Robert knows about Valjean’s past and is 100% fine with it and as you might imagine, this changes the whole story because Valjean is just incredibly chill about everything. He has a husband that checks on him and meets him in Paris when he’s on the run and helps him and Cosette out and even canonically invests Valjean’s money into some (very british colonial) commerce pursuits. 

Now, I want to point out that the relationship between these men can well be interpreted as canonical. There’s a scene in the Paris prefecture where two policemen are discussing Valjean’s living situation (he lives with his daughter and ‘another man’) to which one replies “two men? we must arrest them at once” which is a weird comment unless you’re in the 1950s in Britain and you’re implying that these two men are in some ‘indecent’ entanglement. The arrest doesn’t actually happen because Javert busts in and says “we have bigger things to worry about!” which, i will say, was very chivalrously gay of him.  To add on to this, the story just ends with Javert jumping in the seine, Valjean seeing this happen and doing absolutely nothing about it, and then returning happily home to his husband, his daughter and his daughter’s injured insurrectionist boyfriend.  Fin I hope this answered your question! I have a lot of random and potentially useless knowledge about this one adaptation and I love to share it :3

[16ruedelaverrerie]

It makes so much more sense to answer this privately, but this message is still one of the funniest things I’ve seen over the last six months, so I need to enshrine it in visible form. @king-kodi​​ I hope you figured out the answer in these SIX MONTHS SINCE YOU MESSAGED ME, I’m sorry! This account is still active, in the way that a lizard that does not move for 10 years is still alive.

The answer, belatedly, is that the little shit cat in question (when not hungry or ill) decides whether it wants to go for a stroll or not. Sometimes it just wants to chat instead of going for a stroll, but them’s the breaks, all control is an illusion and the tiny virtual piece of shit must be left to its own devices to do what it wishes. I love this game. All cats are perfect, even the ones that aren’t real.

 ANON!!! YES!!!!! Wow wait first of all can I express how touched I am that you remembered having been in previous disbelief over people liking Theon Greyjoy, then after you started reading the books you came back to this blog to let me know about your changing thoughts THAT IS THE KIND OF ENGAGEMENT THAT I AS AN EDUCATOR CAN ONLY DREAM ABOUT AND WOULD NOT EVEN DEMAND FROM MY STUDENTS

Truly it is a no-good life for Theon, when the only friends and family he has are a bunch of people who are technically licensed to execute him WITH THE SWORD THEY MAKE HIM CARRY AROUND FOR OTHER BEHEADINGS fkl;dhgk and the whole “the Starks are such lovely people” angle that the show takes most of the time... really fails to shed adequate light on how there are so many bigger issues here than individuals being decent individuals! ANON... THEON JUST WANTED TO GO HOME, ANON. HE JUST COULDN’T FIGURE OUT WHERE THAT WAS. ANON HOLD MY HAND.

 Oooo did you get around to it? How did it turn out?? I feel like Markus was also working on his own version of a Les Mis crossover! This is always the case when I think about crossovers or AUs of any kind, but what delights me the most tends to be moments that crack me up and don’t necessarily have any staying power as an extended parallel-- like, this is an AU and not a crossover, but just the thought of Javert infiltrating the barricades with a beanie and a wide stance because that’s what he thinks insurgents look like....................................... that is so fucking funny to me.............

 This is so kind, thank you! I hope you are taking care of yourself too! All these messages are from a thousand years ago so “taking care of yourself” had somewhat less urgency and gravity then, but it is important to take care of yourself regardless of circumstances. I’m doing okay, overall. Actually my work and life situation are a bit unorthodox at the moment, but in a way that is very conducive to leading a hermit-like existence, so at least in that way I am fortunately equipped to weather these times. Seriously though! I hope you are all taking care of yourselves!

 Thank you very much! I think it’s always easier to recognize and define other people’s styles than your own, but I have an especially hard time figuring out what my ~art~ ever is, so it’s very generous of you to say so. Because of my aforementioned unorthodox work and life situation, I find myself with no more leisure time right now than I did in the before, but I am trying to brush up on very basic art stuff a little bit! I feel really unsteady with art most of the time because I don’t have solid basics, so I’m hoping this will ameliorate some of my THIS LOOKS WRONG BUT I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY problems u__u

 ~*~THE CONTINUATION LIVES IN YOUR HEART~*~ wow what a cop-out answer. This is one of those things that HAUNTS ME anon! I remain a “never say never” person at heart so I am still refusing to say that there won’t be more comics in that universe, but... in all honesty, it’s been so long since the first one that all the ideas and jokes I had related to it have become... well, I’ve thought about them so much that I’ve become unable to tell whether they’re funny at all, is what has happened. I mean really! Chivalry Comics was posted more than SIX YEARS AGO! I SHOULD HAVE MADE SOMETHING LONG BEFORE THIS POINT, I’VE FUCKED IT UP

And yet, I remain a “never say never” person at heart. One day, anon! One of these godforsaken days.

 Ah thank you for this annual message! And for the NAKED REMINDER OF HOW LONG IT HAS BEEN SINCE I HAVE ANSWERED MESSAGES... I am deeply ashamed of this, but some amount of self-abasement builds character.

 H-HAPPY NEW YEAR, DEAR ANON! I know, once again, I am rubbing this timestamp into my face while demanding of myself, LOOK AT WHAT YOU’VE DONE, YOU HIDEOUS MISCREANT, but also that does mean that your message has been warming my inbox for the last three+ months! That’s why I take so long to answer these, so that whenever I feel a pang of guilt for not having gotten to them yet, I also at least get to feel a corresponding pang of gratefulness and joy at how nice the message is.

I so vividly remember reading so many instances of Nines noticing Gavin’s core temperature spike that I was like “this is a good trope and I am into it, but also I’ve never seen this much talk of core temperatures outside of, like, natural family planning discussion forums” ON THE OTHER HAND WHY HAVE I EVER SPENT ANY TIME ON NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING DISCUSSION FORUMS????

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL

AND ALSO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES!

[drunklander]

Drunj!Der Yells About Outlander

Thoughts on Ep. 505

ADSOOO!!! AND CLAIRE!!! AND ADSOOOOO!!!

My floofer was not amused when I woke her up to show her the cat on the teevee. Bqhatevwr, boo boo, you’re stuck with me. #TeamSocialDistancing

Oh, I guess the voice overs are back in a big way. Super...

And also like, this whole running bit about God and stuff would work so much better if they’d included Jamie and Claire’s faith a bit more throughout the show. *cough Jamie’s prayer cough*

Do we have to pour one out for science!jizz? This is the book bit where the science!jizz happened, but maybe they’ll do it later? Probs not. Le sigh.

Marsali being all excited with Claire and Claire being all fuck yeah I found it gives me the warm fuzzies. I LOVE THE TWO OF THEM A LOT OK.

This montage makes me dizzy. Not a fan, tbh.

Oh hey, the old Hancock building! With a park that looks nothing like Boston, haha. But I appreciate the effort lol, my main office is like a block from the old Hancock building. Not that I’ll be seeing it any time soon. Living that work from home life until the plague times are over.

But for real, social distance. No joke. Stay the fuck home.

I love 60s Claire if only because damn girl, look at dem legsss.

Hi, I’m Der and I’m very shallow sometimes.

But Claire has objectively great legs.

Omfg, Roger, stop being a butthurt whiner. You suck at being a soldier. You know you suck at being a soldier. And instead of being like yeah, let me learn and get better, you just bitch about it.

Sam is gonna kick his horse in the head at some point. Why the fuck does he dismount like that. It’s literally bugged me since season one.

So they’re pardoning everyone. Probs not Murtz though. Cool that instead of doing a continuous ramp up to the inevitable confrontation, they’re going the book route of lol, jk, all this was kind of a waste of time for now...

Really, Knox, you did something excessive? Cool way to say murdered a dude.

Ok well if Knox is getting the Ardsmuir roll, then he’s def gonna die, right?

Jamie’s 100% gonna intentionally miss Murtz’s face.

Boom, called it.

I do not like spiders. Please move this VO along, Claire.

I’m fucking glad we finally get Doctor!Claire. We should have gotten more Doctor!Claire in season three. Jamie got to have all aspects of his 20 years examined but fucking Claire’s side was literally just about Fred and how shitty he is.

Fuck you, season three. Fuck yeah, Doctor!Claire!

“It’s my married name.” Lulz. And not the married name she wants...

GRAHAM SAYS THE THING JAMIE SAID WHEN CLAIRE WAS STITCHING HIM UP IN SEASON ONE AND I HAVE FEELINGS ABOUT IT OK.

Graham makes me miss when the show was in Scotland like whoa. I miss the Squad. There are so many characters now that are like kind of always around but they’re not part of the Squad. And the main Squad is always separated. So like there’s barely any big group adventures anymore where we actually give a shit about everyone involved.

I JUST WANT THE FOLKS I CARE ABOUT TO HANG OUT MORE, OK!

Needle!jizz 2.0 is gonna be the closest we get to science!jizz, isn’t it. Whomps.

Can the show please just be a period procedural with Claire and Marsali being badass doctors? Thx.

Because for real though, Marsali being like “scalpel” is my favorite thing ever.

I feel you, Jemmy, I’d cry if I were stuck hanging out with Roger too.

I DO NOT LIKE SPIDERS, CLAIRE.

“My lass is more concerned wi’ words and deeds.” Which is why it baffles me that she’s still with you, bro, because your words and deeds fucking suck.

How Bonnet doesn’t accidentally swallow the diamond is beyond me.

Ok so if your wife was violently raped and you know she’s had some PTSD about it, because you’ve seen the drawings and stuff, you should maybe act completely the opposite way from how Roger is acting.

“And you kept it? A gift...from Bonnet.” Yes, you giant fuckwit, your traumatized wife went to hang with her rapist for shits and giggles and accepted a present because she really wants a memento to remember him by. They’re on such good terms and all. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! HOW IS HE SUCH A DOUCHECANOE?!

You do not get to judge or question how someone processes their trauma you raging asshat.

He is such a fucking Fred.

Do I think what Bree did was smart? Or a good decision? Hard no. But it’s what she thought she needed to do to move forward with her life. And so she can do whatever the fuck she wants. Yeah, words have consequences and it was a stupid move, but Roger needs to step all the fucking way off.

“You’ve never said as much to me.” “I didn’t think I needed to.” I HATE ROGER SO MUCH. I HATE HIM WITH THE PASSION OF A THOUSAND FIERY SUNS. HOW DO THE WRITERS NOT REALIZE THAT THEY’RE MAKING THE CHARACTER WHO’S SUPPOSED TO BE THE SECOND ROMANTIC MALE LEAD AN IRREDEEMABLE PIECE OF SHIT. OH WAIT BECAUSE THEY HAVE LOTS OF PRACTICE FROM FRED 1.0 THAT FRED 2.0 IS JUST A NATURAL PROGRESSION.

Lol at this “Boston” priest sounding vaguely southern. Is he one of the pedos the archdioceses just kept shuffling around?

(I’m not a fan of organized religion and being forced to grow up Catholic sucked a lot for me. I did some therapy about it.)

Ok so is Claire’s knife on her belt the hand job antler knife? I mean, Jamie doesn’t give it to her until Echo, but I’m gonna pretend like it’s the hand job antler knife. Also, some witches use a white handled knife called a boline to cut herbs and stuff so it’s fitting that Claire constantly-being-witchy-to-her-own-detriment Beauchamp has a white handled knife for collecting herbs.

“Yeah, Frank and I... no, we had a very complicated marriage.” Well that’s one way to put it. *keeps rage bottled up on the inside*

“Frank and I, we still managed to make it work, for Bree’s sake.” Except it didn’t fucking work. He was terrible to you. You basically put up with 20 years of emotional abuse for the sake of your kid and then he used her as a weapon against you. Because he is garbage. Much like Roger.

Claire is always the bigger person. She was with Fred and now with Roger. Like, I’m still pissed that she never got to let out her side of things. She just keeps framing it through rose colored glasses, never speaking ill of Fred when he didn’t do that for her.

WE DO NOT DESERVE CLAIRE BEAUCHAMP AND NEITHER DO MOST OF THE MEN ON THIS SHOW.

Fergus deserves milady.

They’re really going hard with the Roger, Bree and Jemmy have to go back stuff. Are they gonna bump them going back up to the season finale this year? They bring it up basically every fucking episode. I’d be down with moving that along tbh. Except then we’d have to have just the two of them as their own story line and I hate that part from the books.

“We are but humble servants to the law.” Really, Javert Knox. Would you say your duty’s to the law?

“Those who follow the path of the righteous shall have their reward.” Yes, bible and shit, but also a veRY FAMOUS LINE FROM A VERY FAMOUS SONG FROM A VERY FAMOUS MUSICAL.

“Scotland, eh? I never stopped missing it.” HARD SAME, GRAHAM. HARD SAME.

Pledged their oaths to the militia. Not the governor. Miiiinor detail, haha.

“It is a relief, to finally put down the sword and pistol and pick up the axe and shovel.” So, Jamie, you’re saying you’re gonna walk behind the plough-share, you will put away the sword?

Oh hey, it’s Joe! Another person we should have spent more time with in season three.

“Something about Graham Menzies...” Maybe the fact that he could easily have been part of the OG Squad?

I MISS THE OG SQUAD.

“Principally that men like Fitzgibbons never change.” Really, Knox, men like [him] can never change? A man, such as [him]?

“OUR DUTY IS TO THE LAW. WE WILL SEE JUSTICE DONE.” OK BUT THEY’RE LIKE LITERALLY TRYING TO SHOEHORN IN ALL THE LES MIS LYRICS THEY CAN LIKE THE TIME I DID THAT WITH I’M ON A BOAT IN THAT ONE RECAP...

“What kind of deceitful devil wears the guise of honor and talks of justice and mercy?” Valjean Fraser, at last we see each other plain...

“Believe of me what you will,” there’s a duty that he’s sworn to do. Protect his Murtz.

“As god is my witness, I will do what must be done.” You never shall yield? ‘Til you come face to face?

“Damned if I’ll be in league with a traitor.” Would you rather live in the debt of a thief?

“But I will not stand by and watch my kin hunted like a dog.” Like a dog on the run, Jamie?

Called it! Broski needed to die. You’re not gonna make sure the letters are burned all the way, Jamie? Like didn’t that dude who brought in the letters see you there? This seems like it’s gonna backfire *rull* quick.

Also, speaking of dead bodies, is Rando McWhatshisface still in the basement?

Is Adso Gavroche in this scenario?

Jamie Fraser, murder to kitten snuggles in 0.3 seconds.

IF YOU HURT ONE HAIR ON MY LITTLE BEBE’S HEAD, I WILL END YOU, JAMIE.

Slash finally, I thought this episode was turning into Waiting for Gadsot...

(I made myself chuckle a little too hard at that one, tbh.)

“I found him in an alley, couldn’t leave him behind.” AKA how Jamie Fraser adopts all of his children, haha.

“How would you feel about taking a trip to London with me? Your father wanted to bring you there before he died.” You mean, when he threatened to steal your kid from you? It fucking speaks so highly of Claire that she won’t ruin Bree’s impression of Fred. Even though Bree knows by now that he was a terrible person.

“Thank you for my gift.” YOUR GIFT LOVES YOU TOO, CLAIRE!

(And I’m still a sucker for the Claire calling Jamie “soldier” bit.)

[tfwlawyers]

Why do u ship valvert? Just out of curiosity (btw i love ur art)

this has been sitting in my drafts for months because it’s so hard to explain them without going into ridiculously long detail - especially when I tend to assume everyone’s base level of knowledge of them/les mis is the musical/2012 movie with hugh jackman when there’s so much more to them in the book - but GOD okay. tldr; I’m soft for redemption and forgiveness/healing dynamics, and also very much into enemies to friends to lovers and saving each other tropes

if your only knowledge of les mis is the musical/2012 movie I totally get being like… claire what….. but I promise they’re extremely good and it’s their lost potential that makes me so invested. javert and edgeworth are so so similar except edgeworth survived and got the character arc he deserved while javert………… didn’t, I shipped valvert before I shipped narumitsu and when I started playing aa I distinctly remember thinking to myself ‘wow it’s like valvert only happy’ 

okay so yes we have javert&edgeworth, both two extremely black and white-law abiding characters, completely or nearly commit suicide when their worldviews are shattered (‘prosecutor miles edgeworth chooses death’ was still intended to be taken literally at first I don’t CARE), and all that good good ‘person from my past came and fucked everything up for me’. tumblr sucks today and won’t let me post photos in here for some reason so I just have to type out the dialogue :/ 

good ol 1-3

edgeworth: Thanks to you, I am saddled with unnecessary… feelings. […] Yes. Unease… and uncertainty. phoenix: Aren’t those kind of necessary?edgeworth: They only serve to get in my way. 

and 1-5

edgeworth: I’m tired, Mr. Wright. I feel as if… something inside me has died. […] I know the path I’ve walked. You don’t need to tell me. And the path I’ve walked… hasn’t been a just one. I can’t forgive myself for what I’ve done…

to 

javert derailed (his final chapter): 

“However things might stand,—and it was to this point that he reverted constantly,—one fact dominated everything else for him, and that was, that he had just committed a terrible infraction of the law. He had just shut his eyes on an escaped convict who had broken his ban. He had just seta galley-slave at large. He had just robbed the laws of a manwho belonged to them. That was what he had done. He nolonger understood himself. The very reasons for his actionescaped him; only their vertigo was left with him. Up to thatmoment he had lived with that blind faith which gloomyprobity engenders. This faith had quitted him, this probityhad deserted him. All that he had believed in melted away.Truths which he did not wish to recognize were besieginghim, inexorably. Henceforth, he must be a different man.He was suffering from the strange pains of a conscienceabruptly operated on for the cataract. He saw that which itwas repugnant to him to behold. He felt himself emptied,useless, put out of joint with his past life, turned out, dissolved. Authority was dead within him. He had no longerany reason for existing.”

and then because a binch is emo

A terrible situation! to be touched.To be granite and to doubt! to be the statue of Chastisement cast in one piece in the mould of the law, and suddenlyto become aware of the fact that one cherishes beneath one’sbreast of bronze something absurd and disobedient whichalmost resembles a heart!”

but something I can’t tell if people who are only familiar with the musical/2012 movie are aware of because I can’t separate the original novel’s context from the production is that…… valjean’s death is entirely avoidable too. he literally starves himself to death and it’s so FRUSTRATING because if he just had someone to help him! he would have lived! he should have lived!! fuck!!! 

jean valjean is my original father and I love him so much, he breaks my heart everywhere and especially in the novel - he tries to do so much good but genuinely hates himself and believes he doesn’t deserve anything kind, I’m JUST. valjean you drag javert out of the river and help him learn what to do with that heart he just realized he has, javert you shove soup and bread on valjean and help him learn to respect himself a little bit 

they have a bunch of little nuances that I’m weak for like book!javert being described as having a heart of wood (rather than a heart of stone like in the musical) and valjean being a gardener, the fact that they keep running into each other entirely by coincidence (a lot of adaptations make it seem like javert was really out there devoting his life to tracking down valjean when no. 90% of the time it’s entirely by chance), valjean faking his death one time by pretending to drown like he’s canon an amazing swimmer, them being basically the only two people alive who know the steps the other has taken/valjean not having to wear a mask.. they are……. the definition of ‘poetic cinema’ for me except their ending SUCKS 

they very much would have tapped into valjean’s entire character of arc of redemptive love and how one act of mercy to someone who maybe doesn’t ‘deserve’ it can change their life for the better, and it just makes me melt. idk how to describe this either but I also love that they’re older characters too, there’s no time limit on becoming a better person or falling in love and they just…. hit that and it makes me soft, it kills me to know that instead they both die horrible lonely miserable (ha) pointless deaths, like YES I know what the book is called and no I don’t care!! 

I’m extremely particular about how I ship them where it’s only after the river and for me personally it’s very easy to ship them....... ‘wrong’ I guess? but their potential and parallels gut me and I just want them alive to see more of what life can offer. their personalities fit together so weirdly well and I just love contrasting relationships like them

TLDR again; valjean saves javert from the seine > javert saves valjean from his own martydom > awkward weird old man friends helping each other grow into bro we are holding hands. their potential is so good and I just want them alive to explore it!!!

[theelliottsmiths]

I loved your Knebel rambling so could I ask what you love about Frau und Mann please?

So first off, thank you for appreciating my terrible and uninformed opinions I love and treasure you Anon (and every other lovely anon aka all of them y'all are just superb). I'm pretty sure I've answered this before (when it came out) but y'all know I love sharing my opinion semi-anonymously so that is not an issue.

My favourite thing about Frau und Mann is kind of silly. It's the tubes of cosmonaut vodka and the way it's shown alongside Till's drinking.

I like that the casual queer subplot isn't played for laughs in the way they usually are. It was played as a joke, but not with the same tone we usually get where it's punching down, you know? It was just... Really well done and what I think we should be striving for: being able to make gay jokes/references like anything else but in a way that isn't punching down and harmful. I don't know the sexualities of whoever was involved but I feel like, like with Mann Gegen Mann, some gay/bi people must surely have been involved. The nuance.

It would have worked regardless of his sexuality but the mlm thing fits better with the lyrics and ties Other Peter in nicely. Other Peter drawing Peter T was just sweet.

Till's spittake is something only he could do like that because of the configuration of his teeth and his stage practice. Very fun.

The acting. They all did a fantastic job! I love Peter T and Other Peter at the beginning non-verbally interacting with each other: Peter T really caught me off guard with his acting skills in this video and I'm very sorry I made fun of him for Steh Auf. The dinner scene when he asked Till what happened was just very subtle and Nice. It's all believable. Good quality

Till, as always, did a fantastic job. He excels at playing terrible characters that you can't help but feel for. I genuinely think Tills art is an empathy booster. Yet more vulnerability, loneliness, isolation etc. That's basically his trademark. The fact you can watch him attempt rape and then feel bad as he drinks alone in that room? Man, is he good.

His pained shout of frustration fit so perfectly.

Bloodied Till is... yes. I'll take as many as you've got. On the other hand, I was very pleased to see he had finally bandaged one of his head wounds! The, I'm sure it has a name, wiggly camera thing as he washes his face is wonderful. I would like a pre-show get ready with me video for all the guys. I don't get why he washed his face with the bandage still in and then changed the bandages but whatever, it's Art not real life.

Someone else was talking about the symbolism behind the head would bleeding as his 'attacker' and would-be victim sat down. Big fan of that theory.

It reminds me of Les Mis. You know the factory scene? Nice touch.

My only real criticism is that Lobodas makeup/general look doesn't fit in with the rest of the styling. I don't know why she was styled like that, it was a weird choice and I assume it's because of who she is or something? Like maybe to make her more recognisable they used her usual look? Idk I don't know anything about her. Also I have a hard time with facial expressions, I have to actively sit and decode them, and her face was confusing. I'm sure she's lovely, she just confuses me.

I know nothing of film or cinematography or anything but the way it was shot is wonderful. Feels so Eastern European. The colouring was extremely fitting.

The punch is extremely well times and a great end to Till's horrible day.

I would watch a short film/extended cut of this absolutely. I also want to see Till as an actor in some silent Noir detectivey thing.

[live-and-in-living-colour]

And so the final episode is finally here, and I sit here wondering... why on earth did I watch this entire show? Originally I think it was because I was interested to see a more accurate adaptation, because as much as I love the musical, no way can they get everything into 2 1/2 - 3 hours. Then I think it was because I was hoping Les Amis would save me. Now... now I think it’s just because I am this close to finishing it and I am stubborn.

To be fair with how much is left, they do cover the same amount of story, in roughly the same amount of time in the musical. So this might not be a disaster

I would like to appreciate the fact that the nearest big theatre just emailed saying that the Les Mis UK and Ireland tour tickets are available Tuesday

This got very long because a lot happened and I am still annoyed about the characterisations. Though to be fair, if the previous episodes had been better, the pay offs this episode would have been so great, but because of butchered charters it just... wasn’t enough

Announcer lady I found the whole show upsetting

Ah yes, we left off with Valjean going to murder Marius because that is totally a thing Valjean would do

Is this going to open with Gavroche dying because I swear

I have to say, the cinematography on this show is amazing

Why did Cosette go to sleep like that? It doesn’t even make sense, she’s still in the big dress, she isn’t face down so wasn’t crying herself to sleep

My history might be wrong, I thought Comrade was Russian, and Citizen was French 

That is a very small amount of people on the barricade. Which I get is kinda the point, but I feel that they ran out of budget

Why is Marius saying that? Courfeyrac would have been better surely

I do actually like this scene, but I feel it would have been better if we knew Les Amis better

Javert’s spider senses are tingling

So they basically just changed the whole barricade scene to have Valjean not be there?

Cosette... I am so sorry you were written in this way

Oh ok... that happened

Can Valjean just save Courfeyrac instead

And Valjean is threatening Marius again

How are they missing? Also why is Gavroche dancing?

THE HELL IS THE SOLDIER SMILING FOR?

I am actually disappointed the dog from shoujo Cosette didn’t show up to save him

So Valjean changes his mind over Marius because he runs out to get Gavroche? 

They lay Eponine and Gavroche together... now I’m sad

But Enjolras had no reason to let Valjean kill Javert

The way Valjean has been written this show, just doesn’t fit with him saving Javert

Just editing the lines from the musical slightly, doesn’t stop them being from the musical

Marius has been shot and stabbed a lot, I feel he should die like right now

NNNNNNNNNOOOOOO COURFEYRAC

Oh he is alive?

Also he and Enjolras have a lot of chemistry

STOP KILLING COURFEYRAC

I miss Hadley, he actually made the guard human not happy by all this

Least they got that bit right, even if Enjolras has been so wrong the entire show. Which is absolutely nothing against the actor, because I think he could have been fantastic if he had a better script. But that scene was very well done

Ok I swear this was legit stolen from the musical, just they haven’t all been lined up yet

Why flashbacks? What is the point of this?

Why do other police care about Valjean? And why is Javert telling him this?

I can hear that they’re in the sewers but it’s so dark I can’t actually see what’s happening

You’re only now just realising that’s Marius? I am so confused, because he knew that was who Cosette loved right? Did he just save him because he went to get Gavroche, or did he just remember some dude he saw once in the park?

Literally, the scene is so dark I couldn’t tell you what was happening

Right, there is 30 minutes left and still a lot to get through here, I swear the pacing of this show makes no sense

Oh look, symbolism

Is Valjean just pretending to be a murderer now?

Why is Thenardier acting like Ben Gunn from Treasure Island? But, you know, evil

Ah yes, Valjean, the man to blame for everyone’s problems. Because that is how the show is presenting it by getting everyone’s personalities so wrong

The thing with this, the musical, and probably other versions, it must have been so awkward to film for the actor playing Marius. Be carried around in shit, playing dead

Aren’t they going to tell him that he’s alive? Or just let them figure it out

David Bradly is such a good actor and I feel bad for him despite what he’s done in this

The problem is, I just don’t believe this version of Javert would agree to that

It just feels like Javert is doing this because the plot demands it, not because of his character

I feel like I have been insulting Javert a lot, and just wanted to say that this has nothing to do with the acting, that has been incredible. It is the bad writing

You know, if only there was another way for Javert to let his emotions out rather then saying to some random police office. I don’t know... a song maybe

But you didn’t live your life by the law is good, and criminals are bad. You were just spending your life getting Valjean and nothing else

Maybe this is where Shoujo Cosette influences it and he doesn’t jump

Well, least there was no horrific body snap

I am as confused by Thenardier by that, he seemed to have changed his mind

There is 10 minutes left, and still so much left

By why did they let Cosette up to see him, they didn’t know who she was

Oh he was hallucinating, that makes more sense now

“All my friends” you didn’t have any others because they were cut

Ok, the reunion between Marius and his grandfather was sweet, I’ll give them that much

And it’s the ugly blue dress again

She isn’t a dove, she’s a lark

Valjean sure knows how to tell people things, just blurting them out like that

Just... what is this version of Valjean? I miss Hugh Jackman, and I never thought I’d say that

Like... there’s 3 minutes left, how are they going to do this?

Wait he’s going to the wedding now?

OH, ok apparently this goes on until quarter past

Why is Cosette a part of this conversation?

So Cosette is just... in a room with her abuser? Ok, great, glad they did that

I feel the scene with Marius and Cosette was one we needed

Are they actually going to ever address what happened to Madame Thenardier, or Azelma?

Wait, what?

Oh sure, now his hair is grey, YOU’RE 4 EPISODES LATE

Valjean being too blunt again

You know, I normally cry when Valjean dies, I’m just waiting for them to get on with it. And once again, nothing against the actor at all, just a bad script

I love that shot of the candlesticks 

Oh god, it’s the two little boys starving. That’s not ok. Although I do kind of get what the message there was, and it is clever, but it hurts

So Azelma just vanished? Ok great

[therealpolyglot-blog]

Why you should take days off language learning

Are you overdoing it? We hear over and over again how repetition is key, how we must be consistent, how if we stop learning we will forget it, etc.... and actually I agree, all of this is true! But we must know our limits. It is really important that you take days off and relax as well, and this applies to everything in your life. And I get that it can be hard, trust me, I know what being a workaholic feels like. I could need at least five more hours each day to complete my to-do list. But with the years and practice I’ve learned to chill and enjoy my free my time. I am going to tell you why and when you should take a break without feeling guilty about it. 1.To avoid a burnout. Take the time you need before you burn out and quit. One of the reasons why I learn multiple languages at the same time is because I need constant change in my life, I always need to learn something new. Studying the same language over and over again doesn’t have a great effect on me. So, I rather take breaks from an specific languages while I study others, and I realize that when I spend time apart a language, I start missing it. So, when I pick it up again I am more motivated and efficient. I tell myself all the time: I learn for fun and if it isn’t fun then I don’t do it, and what I mean by that is that I make my own rules, and if it stresses me, then I change the rules. 2. You don’t feel well emotionally. It is so incredibly normal to feel anxious or depressed, and there are times in your life where this feelings are too much to handle. If you don’t feel well, I wouldn’t recommend putting more pressure on yourself. When I feel sad or anxious I don’t like to be too hard on myself. My priority is to relax and feel comfortable in my emotions. I take deep breaths, I talk it out or I write down my feelings. But I will never force myself to study a language if I know it won’t make me happy at that specific moment.

Photo by Lacie Slezak on Unsplash

3. You are too tired. Life is busy. School, work, family, relationships, Netflix's new hit tv show… you name it. Being alive takes time and energy. Having a healthy balance isn’t easy but it is really important. For example, I’m really tired on Mondays, normally, because I work every Sunday on my YouTube channel. I know that on that day I have more difficulties than on others, so I plan a very light day; and instead of a deep study I do fun stuff in my target language like watching shows, listening to music or reading magazines. If i’m too tired I won’t be able to think straight, so I give myself a day off, and I don’t feel guilty because I know that I need to rest. Also If I don’t sleep enough I get moody and I will wrinkle over time, and I really don’t want that. 4. You aren’t spending quality time with family and friends. Very often I will find myself avoiding a social event because honestly I’d so much rather stay at home learning vocabulary and practicing pronunciation. Which is ok. But, my family and friends are also important and just by spending time with them I let them know how much I care about them. So I might say no once and stay at home, but not all of the time. It is important to be present with the people you love. The subjunctive can honestly wait, your sweet grandma telling you her stories is so much more relevant. Get out of your room, give everything a break and be with the people that you love the most. 5. You are working harder, not smarter. If you are studying everyday for one hour but you haven’t got pass the very basics in a month, I would recommend you to review your learning process. A little story… Once, I started going to the gym - it was so long ago - and I had an instructor that told me: “If you train everyday for a month and you don’t see results, you’re doing it wrong”. At the beginning I thought, well that is BS, must things take more than a month. But then I really analized it and put it in practice in other aspects of my life, and I realized that it was true. It doesn’t matter how much you do it but how good you are at it, and after a month you should definitely see some improvement. I see it always with language learning: people who went to school and had 5 years of English lessons and couldn’t say “Hello, how are you?”, people who’s lived for years in a foreign country and never learned the language, people who study every day and after a month aren’t comfortable nor moving forward with the language. If you find your yourself working harder and not smarter, then take a break and review your process. Analize what is working and what isn’t, otherwise, it might give you stress, frustration, anxiety and eventually you will give up because it will appear to be “too difficult”. I have to say, I’m very guilty of doing this, but I’m trying to have quality study in shorts periods of time. It really makes the difference. Taking breaks doesn’t makes you a bad learner, it is healthy to find balance. I know I always say this, but language learning has to be fun to be effective. So make it an enjoyable process, not one filled with guilt and frustration and remember to take off a day or two, every now and then. You are human being not a machine. You can’t be perfect at all times, and that is totally fine. Just chill and enjoy. Mari

¡Tómate un descanso de los idiomas!

¿Estás estudiando demasiado? Todo el mundo nos dice que la repetición es la clave, que hay que tener constancia, que si dejamos de estudiar lo vamos a olvidar todo, etc… Y bueno la verdad tienen razón, pero lo que no te dicen es que debes conocer tus límites. Tomar días libres es tan importante como todo lo que mencione anteriormente, descansar te ayuda a mantener un equilibrio saludable en tu vida. Entiendo que a veces pueda ser difícil, a muchos de nosotros nos encanta estar ocupados todo el tiempo, yo soy una de las que cree que los días no les alcanza. Pero con el pasar de los años y mucha práctica, aprendí a relajarme y a disfrutar de mi tiempo libre. Así que este post es para decirte porqué y cuándo deberías tomarte un descanso y no sentirte culpable al respecto. 1. Antes de que pierdas la cabeza. Toma el tiempo que necesites antes que te sobresatures de información y te rindas. Una de las razones por las cuales estudio varios idiomas al mismo tiempo es porque necesito cambios constantes en mi vida, necesito estar siempre aprendiendo algo nuevo. Cuando paso mucho tiempo estudiando el mismo idioma, me aburro. Así que prefiero tomarme descansos de ciertos idiomas mientras estudio otros. He descubierto que cuando paso tiempo alejada de un idioma específico, lo empiezo a extrañar y cuando lo retomo estoy más motivada y soy mucho más eficiente. Siempre me digo a mi misma: Yo aprendo por diversión y si no es divertido no tiene sentido. Lo que quiero decir con esto es que yo pongo mis propias reglas y si dichas reglas me estresan, simplemente las cambio. 2. Si no te sientes bien emocionalmente. Es mucho más normal de lo que crees, el sentirte ansioso o deprimido, y es probable que en algunos momentos en tu vida estos sentimientos sean difíciles de manejar. Si no te sientes bien, yo no te recomendaría ponerte más presión de la que ya tienes. Cuando me siento triste o ansiosa, en lo personal, no me gusta forzarme demasiado. Mi prioridad es relajarme y sentirme cómoda con mis emociones. Respiro profundamente, hablo con alguien o escribo mis sentimientos. Pero nunca me presiono para estudiar un idioma si se que en ese momento no me hará feliz.

Photo by Lacie Slezak on Unsplash

3. Si estás muy cansado. La vida está llena de cosas; los estudios, el trabajo, la familia, la nueva serie de Netflix… Todo aquello que consume nuestro tiempo y energía. Tener un balance de todas estas cosas no es fácil pero es sumamente importante. Por ejemplo; los lunes normalmente estoy agotada, porque los domingos en vez de descansar le dedico tiempo a mi canal de youtube. Por lo tanto, sé que los lunes tengo más dificultades para concentrarme que cualquier otro día y por eso intento planear un día más ligero y en lugar de estudiar algo pesado, escucho música, veo una serie o leo revistas. Si estoy muy cansada no voy a poder concentrarme, prefiero tomarme un tiempo libre. No me siento culpable de hacerlo porque sé que tengo que descansar. Además si no duermo lo suficiente me pongo de mal humor y con el tiempo me saldrán arrugas y realmente no quiero que eso suceda. 4. Si no estás pasando tiempo de calidad con tu familia y amigos. En muchas ocasiones he evitado ir a eventos sociales porque honestamente he preferido quedarme en casa aprendiendo vocabulario y practicando pronunciación. Lo cual está bien. Pero mis familiares y amigos también son importantes y sé que con tan solo pasar tiempo con ellos, los hago felices. Así que, de vez en cuando me quedaré en casa estudiando idiomas porque me gusta, pero no lo haré siempre. Es importante pasar tiempo de calidad con las personas que amas. Honestamente, el subjuntivo y el resto de tiempos gramaticales pueden esperar, las historias de tu abuelita son seguramente mucho más interesantes. Sal de tu cuarto, descansa de todo y pasa tiempo con tus seres queridos. 5. Si estudias mucho pero no avanzas. Si estudias todos los días por una hora y no has pasado de lo más básico en un mes, te recomiendo que revises tu proceso de aprendizaje... Te contaré una pequeña historia… Alguna vez en mi vida fuí al gimnasio -hace mucho tiempo- y tenía un instructor que me dijo: “Si entrenas todos los dias y despues de un mes no has visto resultados, es porque estás haciendo algo mal.” Al principio pensé que no era cierto porque muchas cosas te llevan más tiempo. Pero luego lo analice y lo puse en práctica en otros aspectos de mi vida. Me dí cuenta que es verdad, no importa qué tan seguido lo hagas sino que tan bueno seas, y definitivamente después de un mes de hacer algo tienes que ver algún tipo de resultado. En el aprendizaje de idiomas lo vemos todo el tiempo: gente que estudió inglés por cinco años en el colegio y no pueden decir “Hello, how are you?” , personas que han vivido años en un país y no han aprendido el idioma, personas que han estudiado un idioma todos los días por un mes y no se sienten cómodos con el idioma, ni están avanzando. Si te das cuenta que estás trabajando mucho pero no ves resultados, te recomiendo que te tomes un descanso y hagas un análisis. ¿Qué está funcionando? ¿Qué no está funcionado? Si continúas estudiando de la misma manera y sin avanzar, solo te vas a sentir más estresado, más ansioso, más frustrado y eventualmente te vas a rendir porque lo verás como algo “muy difícil” de lograr. Debo admitir que este es el área que más debo trabajar, siempre estudio mucho sin aprender. Pero ya lo reconocí y ahora estoy intentando tener mejor calidad de estudio en periodos cortos de tiempo. Realmente hace la diferencia. Tomar un descanso no es signo de que estés fallando, es signo de que estás buscando un equilibrio saludable en tu vida. Sé que siempre lo digo, pero recuerda que aprender un idioma tiene que ser un proceso divertido para que sea efectivo. Así que disfrútalo y no lo conviertas en una actividad llena de culpa y frustración. Recuerda tomarte uno o dos días cada vez que sea necesario. Eres humano/a, no una máquina y no vas a lograr hacer todo a la perfección y eso está bien. Relájate y disfruta. Mari

Warum man sich ein paar Tage vom Sprachenlernen frei nehmen sollte

Machst du zu viel? Wir hören immer wieder, dass Wiederholung das A und O ist. Dass wir konsequent sein müssen, dass wir es vergessen werden, wenn wir aufhören, etc … und ich stimme dem tatsächlich zu, all dies ist wahr! Aber wir sollten unsere Grenzen kennen. Es ist sehr wichtig, dass du dir ein paar Tage frei nimmst und dich auch entspannst, und dies gilt auch für alles andere in deinem Leben. Und ich verstehe, dass es hart sein kann, glaube mir, ich weiß wie es ist ein Workaholic zu sein. Ich bräuchte mindestens 5 Stunden mehr jeden Tag, um meine To-Do Liste zu beenden. Aber mit den Jahren und mit Übung habe ich gelernt zu entspannen und meine Freizeit zu genießen. Ich werde dir nun erzählen, warum und wann du eine Pause machen solltest ohne dich dabei schuldig zu fühlen. 1. Um ein Burnout zu verhindern. Nimm dir die Zeit, die du brauchst bevor du dich kaputt machst und aufgibst. Einer der Gründe wieso ich mehrere Sprachen gleichzeitig lernen, ist der, dass ich dauernd Veränderung in meinem Leben brauche, denn ich muss immer was neues lernen. Immer wieder die gleiche Sprache zu lernen, hat keine große Auswirkung auf mich. Also mache ich lieber Pausen von bestimmten Sprachen während ich andere lernen, und dann realisiere ich, dass, wenn ich eine Auszeit von einer Sprache nehme, ich sie vermisse. Wenn ich sie dann wieder aufgreife, bin ich motivierter und effizienter. Ich sage mir die ganze Zeit: Ich lerne für den Spaß und wenn es keinen Spaß mehr macht, dann sollte ich es nicht tun. Was ich damit meine ist, dass ich meine eigenen Regel mache und wenn es mich stresst, dann ändere ich die Regeln. 2. Du fühlst dich emotional nicht gut. Es ist so unglaublich normal sich ängstlich oder depressiv zu fühlen und es gibt Zeiten in deinem Leben, wenn diese Gefühle einfach zu viel für dich sind. Wenn es dir nicht gut geht, würde ich dir nicht raten, noch mehr Druck auf dich selbst auszuüben. Wenn ich mich traurig oder ängstlich fühle, bin ich nicht gerne hart gegenüber mir selber. Meine Priorität ist es zu entspannen und mich mit meinen Gefühlen wohlzufühlen. Ich nehme tiefe Atemzüge, ich rede darüber oder ich schreibe meine Gefühle auf. Aber ich werde mich nie dazu zwingen, eine Sprache zu lernen, wenn ich weiß, dass es mich nicht glücklich macht in diesem bestimmten Moment.

Photo by Lacie Slezak on Unsplash

3. Du bist zu müde. Das Leben ist ausgelastet. Schule, Arbeit, Familie, Beziehungen, die neue Netflix Hit Show … du benennst es. Um zu leben braucht es Zeit und Energie. Eine gesunde Balance zu haben, ist nicht einfach, aber sehr wichtig. Zum Beispiel, ich bin sehr müde an Montagen, normalerweise, weil ich sonntags an meinem YouTube Kanal arbeite. Ich weiß, dass ich an diesem Tag mehr Schwierigkeiten habe als an anderen, also plane ich einen “leichten” Tag; und statt viel zu lernen, mache ich spaßige Sachen in meiner Zielsprache, wie zB. Serien anschauen, Musik hören oder Zeitschriften lesen. Wenn ich zu müde bin, kann ich nicht klar denken, also gebe ich mir einen Tag frei und fühle mich deswegen auch nicht schuldig, denn ich weiß, dass ich mich ausruhen muss. Zudem, wenn ich nicht genügend schlafe, werde ich launisch und dadurch werde ich schneller Falten bekommen, und das möchte ich wirklich nicht. 4. Du verbringst keine wertvolle Zeit mit deiner Familie und deinen Freunden. Sehr oft erwische ich mich dabei ein soziales Event zu vermeiden, weil ich, um ehrlich zu sein, viel lieber zuhause bleiben würde, um Vokabeln zu lernen und meine Aussprache zu verbessern. Was OK ist. Aber, meine Familie und meine Freunde sind auch wichtig und wenn ich mit ihnen Zeit verbringe, kann ich ihnen zeigen, wie viel sie mir bedeuten. Also sage ich ab und zu nein und bleibe zuhause, doch nicht jedes Mal. Es ist wichtig bei den Menschen zu sein, die man liebt. Der Subjunktiv kann wirklich warten, denn deine süße Großmutter, die dir ihre Geschichten erzählt, ist viel wichtiger. Geh aus deinem Zimmer, pausiere alles und verbringe Zeit mit den Menschen, die du am meisten liebst. 5. Du arbeitest härter, nicht schlauer. Wenn du jeden Tage eine Stunde lernst , aber noch nicht über die Grundlagen hinaus gekommen bist in einem Monat, würde ich dir raten deinen Lernprozess zu überdenken. Eine kleine Geschichte … Einst, habe ich begonnen ins Fitnessstudio zu gehen - es ist noch gar nicht so lange her - und ich hatte einen Trainer, der mir gesagt hat: “Wenn du einen Monat lang jeden Tag trainierst und keine Resultate siehst, dann machst du es falsch”. Am Anfang dachte ich, nun ja das ist Schwachsinn, solche Sachen müssen länger als ein Monat dauern. Aber dann analysierte ich es wirklich und wand es auf andere Aspekte meines Lebens an, und realisierte, dass es wahr ist. Es hat nichts damit zu tun, wie oft du es machst, aber wie gut du bei etwas bist, und nach einem Monat solltest du definitiv etwas Verbesserung sehen. Ich sehe dies immer beim Sprachenlernen: Leute, die zur Schule gingen und 5 Jahre Englisch gelernt haben und nicht einmal “Hello, how are you?” sagen konnten; Leute, die für 5 Jahre in einem fremden Land gelebt haben und nie die Sprache gelernt haben; Leute, die jeden Tag lernen und sich nach einem Monat weder wohlfühlen noch vorwärts kommen in der Sprache. Wenn du dich dabei erwischst, härter zu arbeiten, aber nicht schlauer, dann mache eine Pause und überdenke deinen Prozess. Analysiere was gut funktioniert und was nicht, ansonsten könnte es dir Stress, Frustration oder Angst bereiten und letztendlich gibst du auf, weil es dir “zu schwer” vorkommt. Ich muss sagen, ich mache das selbst, aber ich versuche in kurzen Zeitspannen qualitativ zu lernen. Es macht wirklich einen Unterschied. Sich Pausen zu gönnen, macht dich zu keinem schlechten Lerner, denn es ist gesund eine Balance zu finden. Ich weiß, ich sage das immer, aber Sprachen lernen muss Spaß machen, um effektiv zu sein. Also schaffe dir einen angenehmen Prozess, nicht einen, der voller Schuld und Frustration ist, und vergiss nicht ab und zu einen oder auch zwei Tage frei zu nehmen. Du bist ein Mensch und keine Maschine. Du kannst nicht immer perfekt sein und das ist gut so. Entspann dich einfach und genieße es. Mari

[sapienveneficus]

Elsie Fest 2017: My Ramblings

I want to begin by stating that I had a great time at Elsie Fest this year. I wanted to say that upfront because there are a few aspects of last night's show I plan to criticize, and I don't want anyone to come away from reading my reflection thinking I didn't enjoy myself. Just because something wasn't perfect, doesn't mean it wasn't fun.

I went to the very first Elsie Fest back in 2015. The performances that day, one after the other, were epic in the truest sense of the word. I don't think I'll ever recover from watching Lea Salonga sing I'll Give My Life for You, or Leslie Odom Jr. and Aaron Tveit duet on What You Own, or Laure Osnes debut Love Will Come and Find Me Again from Bandstand, or Team Starkid coming together with Darren to sing Going Back to Hogwarts. What a night! However, in spite of all of that awesome, the venue was terrible. It was basically a slab of concrete floating in the Hudson River. And general admission ticket holders were just penned in behind a metal fence facing the barely raised stage. I was lucky enough to get a spot along that fence which meant I had a great view of the stage. But that also meant that I had to spend the next 9 and a half hours pressed against that fence in order to keep my great view. That experience was, in a word, unpleasant. Now, I'm not saying it wasn't worth it, but I am saying I wasn't in a hurry to go through it again.

So when 2016 rolled around, I was excited about Elsie Fest but crossing fingers and toes that the organizers would choose a better venue. When it was announced that they'd chosen Coney Island, my reaction was mixed. On the one hand, I was glad to hear that there'd be some shade and potentially places to sit down. But on the other hand, I knew it'd be next to impossible to get all the way out to Coney Island right smack in the middle of Labor Day weekend. And then when I saw the lackluster list of performers they'd gotten (when compared with that first year's bill) I decided to give Elsie Fest 2016 a pass.

That brings me to this year. When I heard that Elsie Fest would be in Central Park over Columbus Day weekend, I was thrilled. Both the location and the timing sounded perfect to me. When the list of performers was first announced, I was less than thrilled. To go from living Broadway legends like Aaron Tveit, Lea Salonga, Laura Osnes, and Leslie Odom Jr. to Lea Michele (whose voice I do like, don't get me wrong) and Alan Cumming (again, not an untalented fellow, but he doesn't exactly have a powerhouse voice), to me seemed like a major step down. I also wasn't too thrilled with a few of the other changes that had been made. The price of general admission tickets had risen substantially (from $40 to $60) and the length of the show had been more than cut in half (from 8.5 hours to 3.5 hours). Despite my reservations, I decided to give Elsie Fest 2017 a chance.

I ended up arriving in Central Park just after 4PM Sunday afternoon. I joined the already growing line of concertgoers (the venue was set to open at 5PM) and spent the next hour chatting with other excited fans. My line experience was definitely a positive one. I saw t-shirts and buttons from just about every fandom under the sun being worn proudly by fans of all ages. Though I was baffled by the sight of one man's shirt. It contained 3 large ears of corn with cats splayed out on top of each one, all set against an outer-space backdrop. As that man walked by my spot in line, I remember thinking, “Is Corn Cats in Space a thing? I've heard of Supernatural, Riverdale, Doctor Who, and Rick and Morty, but not whatever that guy was sporting. Am I that out of touch?” Anyhow, while the line was fun, things only got better once we were let inside the venue. I'd just found the perfect spot to set up my blanket (center back of the first section) when I got swept up into a Broadway singalong led by two Marie's Crisis employees. That first hour passed quickly as a growing audience of theater fanatics sang along to hits from Hairspray, Grease, Rent, Wicked, Hamilton, and Les Mis. The singalong was so fun, in fact, that I almost didn't want the show to start. The guys chose to end it with One Day More from Les Mis (a wise choice). They got things started and were then joined on stage by Keala Settle and Norm Lewis who helped lead a few parts. What a way to wrap up a showtunes singalong!

So, still riding high from amazing moment, the crowd was more than ready for Jeremy Jordan's set to kick things off. And he did not disappoint. He began with Broadway, Here I Come from Smash. Now, I never got into Smash (don't come for me, Smash fans) but this first song was catchy, and he sang it incredibly well so I was on board. That led into a performance of Shiksa Goddess from The Last Five Years that had the crowd going nuts. Talk about charisma; Jeremy Jordan is one charismatic guy! He followed that up with his go-to shower song, At Last by Etta James, and his high school band's go-to cover song, Semi Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind. To close out his set, he did a Disney medley to end all Disney medleys. I recognized songs from Aladdin, Little Mermaid, Hunchback, Hercules, and Newsies, and I'm sure there were more in there. In short, Jeremy performed the perfect set for a show like Elsie Fest. I'd bet anything he'd watched Aaron Tveit's set from 2015 and had taken notes. He made sure to pick songs that the audience both knew and loved, catering heavily to millennials as they were the clear majority in that crowd, and he introduced each number with a delightful story. He had that audience eating out of the palm of his hand, and he left us all wanting more. I wish the other performers that night had followed his example.

Lea Michele's set was good, but it lacked the energy Jeremy's. She performed a few of her Glee hits (Don't Rain on My Parade, Maybe This Time, My Man, and Make You Feel My Love), did one of her original songs, Run to You, and did Falling Slowly with Darren. I can't fault any of the numbers themselves because she sang them all well enough. I think, though, her set really needed two things to take it from good to great. First, her stage presence needed work. She really struggled to connect with the audience. I think a funny story or two between numbers would have helped. Second, I think she needed to do an upbeat or modern Broadway song that hadn’t been on Glee. I'd have loved to see her do a Hamilton number or something from Spring Awakening. Heck, I'd have settled for Sonya Alone from Great Comet (since Ingrid didn't do it). I think telling a story about a show she's seen recently and loved and then singing a song from that show would have been a great addition to her set. A throwback story to her days in Spring Awakening and one of those songs would also have been great. I saw a video on YouTube of her doing Blue Wind a few years back, and she killed it. So, yeah, I enjoyed Lea's set, but it could have been better. Oh, and one more thing. This was completely out of Lea's control so I don't blame her in the slightest, but I was really hoping that Jonathan Groff would show up to do a surprise duet with her. He'd done it before, at one of her concerts, and I was really hoping he'd do it again. This event couldn't have been more perfect for a stunt like that, but I guess he must have been away doing press for his new Netflix show. Sigh, maybe next year.

Alan Cumming's set is where things went from good to bad real fast. Let me say first, that I like Alan Cumming. I think he's a talented performer. That said, his set was a poor fit for Elsie Fest. It started off okay. He sang Keane's Somewhere Only We Know, a nice throwback for all the Glee fans in attendance, and then did Mein Herr from Cabaret. He even started to tell a funny story about going back to Cabaret 16 years later which quickly transitioned into an ad for his newly opened club in the East Village (very subtle). Then he decided to introduce What More Can I Say from Falsettos with just what the night needed, a lecture on politics. To say that the crowd's energy was brought down by that lecture/number would be an understatement. Then he went into a mashup of Adele's Someone Like You and Gaga's Edge of Glory, and I remember thinking, “Okay, course correction, maybe he can still salvage this.” After that number he then went on to tell a rather mean-spirited anecdote about how all those songs sound the same. And while, yes, pop songs are similar, the way he said it was derisive and again brought the audience out of the good mood they'd just started to get back into. Someone really needed to take him aside for a moment and remind him that he was at a concert to celebrate Broadway and its fans. But, of course, no one did so he then went into a very short Sondheim mashup designed to prove that all his songs are the same too. This one didn't bother me as much as I am not one to worship at the altar of Sondheim, but this was where he lost the rest of the crowd. Some of the older people near me walked away. Then, after another political lecture, he chose to end his set with Ladies Who Lunch (not exactly a crowd pleaser). I'm not sure who he was meant to be performing for at this point, he'd already lost the millenials and pissed off the older, die-hard Sondheim fans. Most of the audience had either gone to the restrooms or had taken out their phones. But despite all that, he pressed on with his odd choice, then told the audience yet again to #resist, and left.

Suffice it to say, Darren had his work cut out for him going into this last set. I'd say he succeeded in getting the crowd back and ending things well, but there were a few things I'd have done differently. Ingrid Michaelson and Auli'i Cravalho were both great additions. Auli'i sounded great on her signature song from Moana, and wow is that young lady poised! She seemed so comfortable on that stage. She even called Darren out for calling her character a princess, their lighthearted back and forth was both delightful and needed! Ingrid Michaelson gave a soulful performance of Somewhere That's Green in honor of her late father. That was honestly one of the highlights of the night for me. Her other two numbers were also lovely, but that one stood out. Keala Settle did a new song from the upcoming movie The Greatest Showman which was okay. I mean, she was great, but the song was just okay. Norm Lewis, on the other hand, only performed one song, and it was a disappointment. Now, I understand his reluctance to do a song from his current show, Sweeney Todd, and that's certainly fair enough. I could also see how he might be a bit tired of Les Mis. Also fair, but he didn't do a Broadway number at all. He sang What's Going On by Marvin Gaye and peppered his performance with more political interjections. Putting aside the politics, why any performer come to Elsie Fest, perform a single song, and not have it be a Broadway song? If he was having trouble choosing a song to perform, I'm sure the audience would have been all too happy to offer suggestions. Personally, I was hoping he'd do Dust and Ashes from Great Comet. He's got the perfect voice for it. But literally any Broadway song would have been better than none at all.

As for Darren's songs, he performed them well. He's also got an infectious charisma. Every time I see him, it’s just such a joy to watch him perform. That said, I wish he'd worked a few new numbers into his set. I'm not saying cut out Teenage Dream. I'd happily listen to him perform his version of that song well into his 80s. But One Fine Day and I Dreamed a Dream should have been replaced with two new Broadway numbers. Darren's a guy who sees everything on Broadway. Much like with Lea, I'd have loved to hear a story or two about some new show he's seen and then watch him perform a song from it. That aside, one welcome addition to his set was Granger Danger. I was thrilled that he'd convinced Jenna Ushkowitz to join him for that song. Those two singing together was another highlight of the night for me. And while his set may not have been perfect, I think he found the perfect ending. He closed out the night with Tom Petty's Free Fallin'. Given that the performer had just passed away, it was a fitting tribute, and Darren sang it beautifully.

This last bit isn’t related to any one particular performer, but I had to include it for posterity’s sake. Before Lea Michele came out to do her set, she was introduced by Satan himself, Ryan Murphy. The crowd applauded for him, as any polite crowd still coming off a Jeremy Jordan high would, but as that applause began to die down, I booed, loudly. So loudly that people turned to stare at me. My response to their questioning looks, “I’m a Glee fan.” So to all those glee fans who weren’t able to be there in person. I wanted you all to know that someone booed the man in the yellow hat on your behalf. 

And that's all there is. Thank you for reading my Elsie Fest ramblings. Who knows? Maybe one of the organizers will find this and take my suggestions to heart. Regardless, if Elsie Fest stays in Central Park, I will definitely be back for 2018!

[prettylittleliarsxxxx]

GREASE says "You're the One That I Want" to Pretty Little Liars star, Janel Parrish. With previews beginning November 1st at Toronto's Winter Garden Theatre, Parrish will be taking on the iconic role of Sandy - but did you know that she auditioned for a different role?

Janel Parrish is no stranger to the stage. The Honolulu-born actress rose to fame in the ABC teen-drama, Pretty Little Liars - but began her career in musical theatre. Previous stage roles include Young Cosette in Les Misérables (National Tour and Broadway 1996), Anna & Wendla U/S in Spring Awakening (Los Angeles 2012), a staged-reading of A Walk to Remember: the Musical and the LA and New York productions of Cruel Intentions: the Musical. Parrish has got the dance chops too. In 2014, she made it to the finals of the 19th season of Dancing with the Stars.

Parrish sits down with BroadwayWorld's Taylor Long to discuss her Broadway roots and how she has been preparing for Sandy her entire life.

PROFILE: Janel Parrish Horoscope Sign | Scorpio Favourite Musical | Miss Saigon Favourite Subject in School | English In High School, you would have been voted "Most Likely To"? | Most Likely to Know All the Words to Any Broadway Musical What are you listening to right now? | Hamilton OBC - "I never get sick of it."

When did you start singing?

My dad loves to tell this story. I must have been five? They loved musical theatre, so really, I thank them (and I blame them). They were listening to Phantom of the Opera while taking me to pre-school and my dad heard singing in the background (on the high note in "Think of Me"). And he was like, "What was that?" Meanwhile, I was just in the back, living my best life - singing. I don't remember that obviously, but I do remember always loving musical theatre and wanting to sing-along in the car.

Because of that experience, they took me to see Phantom of the Opera. It was the first musical I had ever saw on stage and I was just transfixed. Apparently I just turned to my parents and said, "I want to do that." So they let me audition for Les Misérables, and that was it. I was bit by the Broadway bug.

What was it like being a kid on Broadway?

It's crazy to think of now, as an adult, but to me, when I was six - that was normal. That was life. It was amazing, and I wish I could remember more. When I look back at pictures, it almost seems like it didn't happen, because I was so young. But it was thrilling for my parents. My mom went on tour with me and my dad would come whenever he could. Collectively, I think they've seen Les Misérables 250 times.

I just remember being a little girl, touring and then going to Broadway - and then being like, "You know what? I want to see my friends and go back to school." My parents being like, "Are you sure?" And me being like, "Yeah, I want to go be... eight." We came back to Hawaii, and I did some musical theatre and regional theatre there. I remember saying to my parents, "Oh, I miss Les Mis, can I go back now?" And they were like, "No, that's not how it works."

How did you end up getting cast as Sandy in GREASE? What was the audition process like?

Actually, it goes back to Cruel Intentions: the Musical. I was in New York, and I was playing Cecile at Le Poisson Rouge in Greenwich Village. I was contacted by the GREASE producers, who said that they were doing more of a relevant version of Grease and they were interested in coming to see me (in Cruel Intentions) for the role of Rizzo. So, I sort of knew that that was going to be my audition.

So they came, they saw the show and I was in talks to possibly play Rizzo. A couple of months later, I was at a call with our wonderful director, Josh Prince. He was like, "You know, I was looking at videos of you performing and your general spirit and all that and I thought to myself - why can't she be Sandy?"

I was so surprised! As someone who does not look anything like Olivia Newton-John, a very iconic look for that role, I couldn't believe that he was thinking about me for Sandy - but it just made me so happy, that I could be considered for the role. I was so happy that someone could, based on what they know of me, my voice, my spirit, that they could say, "yeah, you're more of a Sandy to me."

So I'm happy to be Sandy. It's a role that I've always wanted to play and just never thought I would ever be offered.

Even Pretty Little Liars, the show that gave me my career in a lot of ways - I didn't audition for Mona. I auditioned for a different role, didn't get it and was very sad. And then a month later, I was called in for the role that I ended up getting.

It always works out the way it should. I would have been stoked to play Rizzo - but I'm even more stoked that I have the opportunity to play Sandy, because, like I said, it was a role that I never ever thought I would be considered for.

What kind of preparation goes into portraying such an iconic role?

Well, I feel like I've been preparing my whole life, because I've seen Grease probably 500 times. I used to watch it over and over again on tv. I'm one of those people who knows every line too.

But you know, I went back and watched the movie, with new eyes, knowing I would be portraying Sandy. Singing the songs, listening to it and getting amped up for it. Going into my vocal coach and getting vocally ready for it and then eventually starting rehearsals is all part of the process.

I'm excited to portray her in a different way, while also bringing the spirit of Sandy to the stage.

Describe your Sandy in one word.

Real.

I want her to be somebody that people can relate to. I want to kind of ground her a little bit more and give her layers and give her - her innocence and vulnerability, but a little bit of a struggle to discover who she really is. I don't want it to be like - she just changes for her man at the end - I want to give her some human layers. Where people can understand that she's just trying to figure out who she is too. She changes at the end, but a lot of that is about her finding her inner pink lady.

For herself, not just for Danny.

That kind of sounds like, from what you were saying, the general vision for this production as well -

Yeah. When I spoke with Josh, he said he wanted to keep it Grease. He wants to give it that same spirit, that same vibe that everybody wants. It's going to be fun. It's going to be high-energy, and romantic, obviously. But he also wants it to be relevant. He wants it to be grounded in reality - for people to be like, "Grease actually has a great story." For people to re-live what it was like to be in High School. To be finding yourself, falling in love for the first time, being cool for your friends - GREASE is all of that.

What are you most excited about in putting this show on, going through this adventure?

I'm excited for so many things. Always with a show, I'm usually most excited for the rehearsal period. Obviously, it will be so exciting to put it on every night and perform - I love performing, it makes me feel fulfilled. But I'm always excited to get there and meet the cast. I feel like that's when you really get to start discovering your character and the director's vision, and you start to bond with your cast members. There is nothing more exciting, for me, than rehearsing for a new show. You get yourself amped up, in character, and you start to really find the groove with the show.

But also - eight shows a week. I've never done eight shows a week. I think that will be really fun, and different for me. Just having my job - to be Sandy - every single day, is so awesome. I'm also excited to see Toronto. I've never spent any time there.

What would be your advice to a young performer?

I would say that if you have the passion for it - train. Get into dance classes, you'll need them even if you think you don't. If you like being on stage, a lot of these productions will have movement in them, so it helps to know the basics. Take vocal lessons, acting lessons. Familiarize yourself with productions that you love. Make it your art and your craft - dedicate yourself to it. I did that and it became my life.

There is nothing better than being obsessed with what you do.

GREASE begins previews November 1st at Toronto's Historic Winter Garden Theatre, 189 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON.

Directed by Josh Prince (Beautiful: the Carole King Musical, Shrek: the Musical), the cast features Janel Parrish as Sandy, Katie Findlay (How to Get Away with Murder) as Rizzo and Dylan S. Wallach as Danny.

GREASE is produced by Irregular Entertainment's David Galpern and Charles Roy.

Tickets for previews and opening night are available on pre-sale starting TODAY, September 5th, 2017. Visit https://tinyurl.com/greasetoronto

ALL tickets go on sale September 12th, 2017.

Visit https://greaseonstage.com/ for more information about the new production.

[ibeautifulbeard]

Ok so I just finished the book and I need to point out some very important details. I’m going to apologise in advance for my verbal diarrhea and for people who read this book and like it, this is just my honest opinion on it. Ofc there will be spoilers for the plot, but basically is a les mis based plot, so no problem in truth. Firstly yes, it’s les mis related, the main character is Javert ffs, it has to be. The first chapter, the pup, in my opinion is the only one really interesting and “new”, like we can see Javert’s childhood and how he comes to be a police spy.  The resto of the book I didn’t like. Javert is always depicted as this irreproachable tool of the law and I think that the aouthor with this book just wanted to enlight the rare scenes where we can see that Javert is indeed a man. The idea is briliant, but the application is lacking.  Which is the faster way to see humanity in a character? Obviously is to put a romantic interest, yay. It seems to me just farfetched for a man such as him to be interested in these “shallow” things. I can’t express my thoughts properly due to the language barrier so bear with me, sorry for any errors.  By all means all men can love and have feelings but how the author wrote his inclinations both to the prostitutes and Michelle (the love interest), very occ for me. A little thing about Michelle is that she is this character that we see through the book as a woman in love for Javert and then when he asks her mother whether he could seriously court her and she says nope, Michelle just leaves everything and marries Combeferre.  Yes, that one, so she is also at the barricade and she tries to save Javert (obv she fails and we all know how he comes to be rescured).  Javert’s character is one of my most treasured just because his way of thinking is so sure and captivating, he know what he is saying and doing with his life. That is why it’s such an important moment for him when he finds himself on the pont au change and jumps in the river. It’s so striking and fashinating to see into his mind and it’s one of the most memorable scenes.  So of course you must understand my surprise to see that the whole process last not even one page and Javert says almost nothing, it’s not analysed at all or talked this decision. Ah and luckly a boat hits him in the back so that Michelle (who was there to see his husband’s corpse (?)) can catch him and save him. It’s not important that he changes several plot points of les mis because this book is not les mis, it’s just a fan book about a character, althought some of the changes are useless and really change nothing. And do not get me started on the dates and how the character’s ages are costantly and randomically changing. Like ok, javert is 20, Valjean at 27 in Toulon, then it’s said that they have 11 years of difference, for example. Valjean dies of... something? At the end, after carrying Marius and the barricade, just 2 weeks later. I have to point out that cosette and marius are well and still not married, Valjean and Javert carried Marius body to cosette straight after the sewers. Moreover Valjean at this point explained everything to Cosette and who was the inspector and where he was going now. So we do not know how actually Jean dies, maybe cholera? Boh.  There are many other things but I pointed out the most pressing, for me at least. In the end I didn’t really like the story or the way it’s written, maybe because I had so many expectations but in the end the most sad thing is that the whole psicology and way of thinking of Javert was not pointed out and analysed, and so are most of the topics which are just mentioned through the book.  Holy god, sorry for the long post and I’m too lazy to actually reread everything that I wrote, I hope that you can still understand what I’m trying to say. As I said it’s just my opinion and you can easly like the book or think whatever you want. If you want to talk about it or something you can always write to me here.  Sorry again.

Internal screaming.

I'm already way behind schedule for Thursday'exam, but I don't really care at this point honestly.

Just look at this. I'm so freaking happy.

Funny bit, I ordered the book so that I could read it after the exam but it came in 3 days before the scheduled date of arrival. I'm not complaining tho.

[readingraebow]

Les Misérables Section Eleven

Part 5: Books 4-9

1. Why does Javert feel so conflicted? Because he let Jean Valjean go. And because Jean Valjean let him go. He saved Jean Valjean's life because Jean Valjean first saved his life. But as a law enforcement man, he knows he should go back and arrest Jean Valjean. But he can't. And he feels that he is worse than a criminal. Especially since he realizes the life Jean Valjean has been living and that he's good and deserves to keep his life. And Javert can't handle this conflict and throws himself into the river.

2. How does M. Gillenormand respond to Marius’s announcement that he wants to marry Cosette? Marius was all ready for it to be a fight when he announced that he wanted to get married and his grandfather was just like "I know." Like it was the most natural thing in the world. And easily accepted Marius's marriage. He said that Cosette had been coming every day, disguised as an old man and bringing bandages. So M. Gillenormand had checked into her background, discovered who she was and found no fault with her. So he readily agreed that Cosette and Marius would be married. And Marius was stunned, to say the least, haha.

3. How does Jean Valjean have 600,000 francs to give to Cosette? It was all the money that he had made as M. Madeline. He withdrew it and kept it hidden in a box, buried in the ground. When he needed money, he would go dig up the box. He had originally had more than 600,000 francs but he withdrew the money over ten years ago and had to live on it since then. The stay in the convent had cost around 5,000 francs. And he's spent money since they left it. But he knew the rest of the money was to be Cosette's inheritance so when he knew she was going to marry Marius, he dug up the box and kept 500 francs for himself, leaving Cosette with just under 600,000 to take into her new marriage. So now Cosette is effectively rich when, before, it had seemed she was to be a pauper. But now Marius and Cosette will be comfortable for the rest of their lives.

4. What does Jean Valjean keep in 'Inseparable'? He kept Cosette's old clothes from ten years ago when he took her in. He kept the full outfit. He bought her these things when he took her from Montfermeil. She had been shivering in rags, her feet red from the clogs that didn't keep them warm. But he bought her new clothes, black, to mourn her mother. Cosette was alone then but Jean Valjean took her in and became all the world to her.

5. What assumptions does Marius make after Jean Valjean’s confession? Basically Marius overthinks the whole thing and believes Jean Valjean to be a deadly criminal. He assumes that Jean Valjean showed up at the barricade because he knew Javert was there and that there was some vendetta between them and he came just to kill Javert. And he also believes that the fortune Jean Valjean passed on to Cosette was stolen and he intends to find whoever it was stolen from and return the money.

6. How does Jean Valjean’s visit with Cosette after his discussion with Marius go? Not well?? He tells her she can no longer call him father but must address him as Monsieur Jean or just Jean. She asks why he's changed his name and he says that she changed her name. He also addresses her by the informal 'tu' and corrects himself to vous. And he calls her Madame. So basically he starts breaking all ties and separating them so Cosette can have her own life. And at first Cosette is hurt by this, but gradually she comes to think of him as a completely different person from the man who raised her. And even though their meetings are no longer familiar, he still comes. Until they drive him out, that is. Jean Valjean starts staying longer and longer until the room begins to change. First, there is no fire and Jean Valjean doesn't stay very long. Then there's a fire but the chairs have been moved away from it. He moves them back and stays longer then usual. Then, finally, the chairs are just gone. And after that night, Jean Valjean gets the message and he doesn't go back. And Cosette barely even notices?? She's so happy that she doesn't realize he hasn't been coming until two nights have passed. And even then, she isn't greatly affected. So Jean Valjean did, indeed, succeed in distancing them.

7. What secrets does Thénardier reveal to Marius? Well his first secrets are that Jean Valjean is an ex-convict and Marius is like "I already knew that" and then Thénardier doesn't know what to think. But Marius tells him that he knows the secrets Thénardier was about to reveal: that Jean Valjean stole his fortune from Monsieur Madeline and that he killed Javert. And here is where Thénardier does know something that Marius doesn't. He produces two articles proving that what Marius said isn't true. Jean Valjean WAS Monsieur Madeline and, therefore, made the fortune which he withdrew and gave to Cosette. And Jean Valjean spared Javert's life only for Javert to commit suicide. But then Thénardier goes one step further and says that although he has cleared Jean Valjean of those two charges, that doesn't mean that he isn't a thief and a murderer. He then tells his version of what happened in the sewers and says that he kept a piece of the cloth from the corpse and he believes the corpse was a wealthy foreigner. But then Marius produces the rest of the coat, which the scrap of cloth definitely came from, and says that he was the corpse. And by trying to prove Jean Valjean a criminal, he cleared his name. And then Marius gives Thénardier the money to go to America so that he will never have to see him again.

8. What did you think of the ending and of the book in general? OKAY. SO. I CAN'T STOP CRYING. I AM SO UPSET. Ugh. I just. I wish they would've visited Jean Valjean earlier before he literally STARVED HIMSELF TO DEATH. Or that Marius hadn't been so much of a pompous ass that he drove Jean Valjean away. Honestly, Marius annoyed me a lot in this last section??? And, honestly, Cosette kind of did too. I hated how she just threw Jean Valjean by the wayside because she's so in love with Marius. Jean Valjean SAVED her and then raised her. And then gave her his entire fortune. And, yet, Marius drives them apart. So. I was honestly upset for, like, this entire section. It's fine. Overall, though, I LOVED this book. Except for the, you know, unnecessary bits, haha. But, honestly, even those weren't terrible. Because those are what make Hugo Hugo?? Even with all of his rambling, I love Hugo's books. It gives them character. So. I loved this book a lot and I'm so glad to have finally read it!!! What a ride!

  Section Eleven Reading Journal

Wow. So. Here we are. I can finally say that I’ve read Les Mis. What a journey. And, honestly, my copy is literally falling apart so it’s good that we’re finally done. (I literally glued the cover back on four times, haha.)

Anyway, this was not my favorite section of the book. I mean, it wasn’t terrible. But all of my favorites are dead and everyone who is left annoys me (except Jean Valjean bUT HE DIED TOO. IT’S FINE. I’M FINE.) so I had a slight struggle getting through this section. And I literally wanted to smack Marius through most of it. Could he be anymore obtuse????

AND THE ENDING WAS SUPER NOT OKAY. A lot of crying has been happening and there’s probably still more to come. Ugh. I love Jean Valjean and, honestly, I thought he deserved better. I ranted about Cosette basically just throwing him by the wayside up there ^^ so I won’t repeat it here. But, basically, Jean Valjean tried so hard to be good and noble and then he gets Marius for a son-in-law and I just WHY. *mumbles incoherently*

Well, anyway, I think that’s about all I have. Hugo did wrap the whole thing up quite nicely. And, as a whole, I really did enjoy this book. There are so many awesome characters. I just wish Les Amis had been in this book more.

And now that I’ve finished the book, I can finally watch the movie! I bought it when it first came out and, uh, was waiting to read the book. And so here we are. I can’t wait to watch it! I’ll definitely post my thoughts here when I do.

So. Wow. It’s really over. What was that, three years? Au revoir, Les Mis! What a wonderful ride it’s been. I will miss you. But I will definitely be back sometime in the future! Just, uh, after I buy a new copy, ahaha.

>> End of 2015 Reading Challenge <<

[auralchapstick]

7.30.17

mid-to-late august; it takes me forever to get myself back up here again.

since my last posts, i’ve listened to: christina aguilera (a little),  miss saigon, les miserables, and charlie xcx. more after the break

christina aguilera: I gave her eponymous 1st album a try, Mi Reflejo, and the first CD of Back to Basics. From that first album of hers I really enjoyed the first half since those pretty mch were all the songs I ever knew from her. I mean, come on, I grew up singing to What a Girl Wants and Genie in a Bottle on some weird DVD of her Hawaii performance that we own. The rest of the songs failed to leave any impression with their melodies so that’s kind of sad but I don’t feel bad about it since I did appreciate the strength and range of her voice.

As for Mi Reflejo... Anything in Spanish just ends up as an exercise for me to see how embarrassingly little I can understand after my 8 years of classes. When I put it in I didn’t look at the song list so I half expected it to be entirely full of covers of her English album. It was pleasant that it wasn’t but I didn’t listen that closely until I got to the very last song, the title song. So odd. I didn’t feel very impressed by anything in this album otherwise, and I don’t know if that just means I don’t have any appreciation for this type of music.... Though I certainly didn’t hate it.

I tried to enjoy Back to Basics but I really struggled. I only kind of got into Ain’t No Other Man only because I’d heard it before. I think the lack of soaring melodies got to me.... and Thank You was just so cringe cheesy for me to hear. To be honest I didn’t even make it to disc 2 because I didn’t notice it was there until it came time to return it to the library, so I guess I missed out on the other two big hits from this album. I did appreciate the brass here and there and I felt like I had to try really ahrd to give it some respect since from the Intro track since I know it was a tribute to the songs from another decade. Maybe I’ll give this album another chance someday but it felt more like a chore to go through at this point since Aguilera’s music wasn’t particularly clicking with me. We’ll see since I do want to get to her present day music to hear how her voice has changed.

les miserables: I listened to both the London original cast recording and the Broadway original cast recording. Nice to hear some differences. I really enjoy the love triangle songs (A Heart Full of Love), the declarations of Red and Black, the moving feeling of rebirth/self-declaration of Who Am I?, the ache of A Little Fall of Rain, the sadness of Bring Him Home, and the power of Do You Hear the People Sing. The the creepiness of Castle on a Cloud  also sticks in my head. I guess super iconic are “I Dreamed a Dream” and “On My Own” which I did like as well but everything definitely sticks in my head more.... Even having played an arrangement for orchestra more than enough times. Master of the House was funnier finally being able to have words to it, thanks to the character of the wife. In short I really enjoyed the music from this even though I’m still lost on the story... Teehee. Don’t know if I really want to watch the 2012 movie with the same reservations I had about the Beauty and the Beast movie.

miss saigon: I continued checking out Schonberg’s work, just by chance since my sister’s friend claims this as their favorite musical. So far I’ve listened to the 2nd act much more than the 1st. I really love the romantic duets again between Kim and Chris lol (Sun and Moon and Last Night of the World, “played on a solo saxophone” ahhhh). Bui-Doi was surprising and moving to me with its a capella/choral opening. Room 317 and The Confrontation (“Christ, I’m an American! How could I fail to do good?”) just wrench my heart apart with such intensity it is incredible and saddening. The tension!!! The pain!!! The ache!!! Kim trying to give away her son! The disbelief! The high notes just hurt me so much... Now That I’ve Seen Her has such amazing power as well. “I know what pain today her life must be / But if it all comes down to her or me / I don’t care! I will fight!” (Lol I have an difficult time telling apart their voices in the recording). I feel very emotional just having written this but it’s really because the music was so powerful. Going to give the first act another listen before I return this.

charlie xcx: Listened to Sucker first and enjoyed how gritty and cheeky it was with the synthesized songs. Breaking Up is pretty hilarious. I can see how Boom Clap ended up popular but I think the whole album definitely does great in the balance between vocals and background and the beats changed it up a little bit here and there so they were surprisingly not as boring as... American music lol. I only actually recently saw Rita Ora on Boy Band. Listened then to True Romance and wasn’t as entertained by the more spacey sound of it. I kind of just enjoyed how badass she came across in Sucker (and teen-ish “f*ck all of you attitude” I guess) that I was disappointed by the lack of riffs/hooks in True Romance. I guess I should give it one more chance also before I return it since I see that there are a few tracks on this that people are really digging (but maybe I just want less of airy vocals in my life =/)

[accretion--disk]

Les Mis Brasil - my review (LONG POST - MIGHT AS WELL BE THE BRICK)

So, about a month ago I went to São Paulo to watch the brazilian Les Mis. It’s the second time in sixteen years that the show is performed here and I was more than excited to watch it, since Les Mis was my first musical, and my favourite one as well. I wanted to make this post a while ago, but I got lazy, so why the hell not do it now.

As soon as I walked into the theatre I felt my knees getting weak and my heart beating faster. I swear I was about to cry even before it started. This was the third Broadway musical I ever watched live, and my expectations were really high. I wasn’t dissapointed  - though I must admit that it was not perfect.

First of all, the song’s adaptation to portuguese was incredible. I was afraid they were going to screw up with the translations (like they did with Rocky Horror) but I was pleasently surprised to discover that the translations were actually pretty damn good. Some of them were more literal, and sticked to the original english lyrics (Look Down, for example, was very literal), and while others did change a bit from the original, their emotion and meaning was still the same (On My Own was one of those that had some parts distant from the original, but with the same intense feeling and meaning). Two songs I did not enjoy were Stars and Bring Him Home. Both of them were quite astray from the original, and in those cases, it did bother me a bit, because they became vague and not as impressive (those are probably two of the most meaningful songs of the musical, and loosing that did cause some damage - I’ll get to that in a minute). Specifically for Bring Him Home, I simply couldn’t understand what the actor was singing - and he was the brazilian actor, Leo Wagner and not Daniel Diges, the spanish actor who also plays Valjean here.

One of the things that this version brought to us and I don’t think was very clear on other editions of Les Mis was the parallels between Fantine (Kacau Gomes, who I believe was the best choice for the role. Her voice is soothing, pleasent, very maternal sounding) and Éponine (Laura Lobos, who played little Cosette at the first edition of the musical here). Both of them suffer from a frustrated love, in very different manners, didn’t live wealthy lives and also had a great attatchment to Cosette - willingly or not, both their deaths had to do with granting Cosette a happier life. And in the translations of their songs, there were some phrases or sentences that were repeated, and for me, as a fan of both the book and the musica, that was deeply satisfying and an interesting viewpoint. Also, both their ghosts greet Valjean when he dies, and I thought that was really nice - specially since Valjean and Éponine interact a bit. She is the one who delivers him Marius’s note from the barricade, and Valjean tells her to take care of herself.

Many things reminded me of the book. Marius (played by Filipe Bragança, who is only SIXTEEN years old) and Cosette (Clara Verdier) acted like very awkward teenagers when they first meet at the garden, and it was the cutest thing. Their chemistry was amazing, I almost forgot the actors weren’t actually a couple. Clara’s singing performance was a bit disappointing though. Her voice didn’t reach the high notes, that are very characteristic of her character, and that cause her to be off-key some times, which was noticed by many people I talked to. 

The Thénardiers were the comic relief, as usual, but they were also the most constant villains - their evil side was very clear to us and it was quite scary how much we could actually sympathize with Mr. Thérnardier, due to the actor’s witty and amusing performance. He kinda reminded me of the hyenas from The Lion King, who were always afraid of Mufasa - whenever Valjean would speak his mind, Mr. Thénardier hided behind his wife. All their scenes were funny but also had a more serious, deep tone beneath it, and that’s the whole point of their characters in the book. 

Now, focus on our favourite so called villain: Javert. Javert is the character we love to hate, and for me, he just didn’t do it in this version. He could sing very well, but his perfomance seemed kinda rushed at some moments. It happened very quick and we didn’t have time to appreciate his character’s purpose. “Stars”, which is the song in which we start to care and understand him a bit better, wasn’t very good as I already mentioned, and because of that his character just became sort of one-dimentioned and flat. The Confrontation scene was interesting, as were his other physical confronts with Valjean, because the actors would get very physically agressive and we could feel the tension. At times, they were yelling at each other and the whole theatre went silent. Those were certainly powerful moments I enjoyed. Javert’s suicide was a good scene/song too, because the actor expressed his emotions very passionately and it almost fixed the lack of empathy and interest during the previous scenes.

Let me please, highlight one of my favourite parts of the whole thing: The revolution. That has always been my favourite part of any Les Mis adaptation. And of course, my favourite character is Enjolras, and I was extremely excited to watch what they were going to do with my sweetheart. 

Enjolras. Was. Fucking. Awesome.

The actor who plays him, Pedro Caetano, is basically what book-Enjolras should be: passionate, intense, idealistic, charismatic. As soon as he walked on stage, he caught everyone’s attention and he stole my poor heart. His voice fits the character perfectly and, should Hamilton for some miracle reason ever be translated and acted in Brazil, I want Pedro Caetano as Laurens. Not only does he look like Anthony Ramos, but his voice also resembles his. It’s like Aaron Tveit, Anthony Ramos and Daveed Diggs had a beautiful son. That was our Enjolras. He was not only the cold asshole that leads the revolution, he was also a friend to his fellows barricade boys. He seemed to care about every single one of them, and was basically restless during the whole thing. During Bring Him Home, while Valjean is singing, Enjolras could be seen sleeping standing up. He picked Gavroche up during Red and Black, and in his death, his body was put next to Gavroche’s in a wagon.

Also, GRANTAIRE. He is also one of my favourite character, and brazillian Grantaire was simply sad. There’s no other way of describing this portrayal of our drunk revolutionary: Grantaire was sad, depressed even. His skepticism was clear throughout all the songs, he just sat in a corner, drank and made annoyed/sarcastic faces while Enjolras talked (also- Grantaire standed very close to Enjolras during the entire Red and Black, quietly hoping for his attention). Drink With Me is one hell of a song, and Bruno Girst (the actor who was performing Grantaire the day I saw it) did a great job making me cry like a baby. He sang his lines not as someone who was in love and realised he was going to loose his muse in a few hours. No, he was angry at Enjolras, but yet hated himself for not being able to disobey him. I could have sworn they were going to start a fist fight during that song, because as Grantaire is singing “Will the world remember you as you fall/Could it be your death means nothing at all?”, Enjolras approaches him looking pissed and three guys have to hold them so that they don’t punch each other. Right after that, Enjolras goes to talk to Grantaire, calmer and worried, but Grantaire just runs to the corner of the stage and fucking weaps. And you know what’s best? Gavroche is the one holding Grantaire and comforting him.

Also, kudos for Gavroche! That kid was AMAZING! He showed his middle finger to Javert, Grantaire and Enjolras basically act like his dads during the entire play. When Éponine dies, he stands beside her with Grantaire. He takes her little hat and gives it to Marius. The revolutionaries sing “We’ll fight for Éponine”, and that’s when I started crying and I didn’t stop until I was inside the taxi going back to my hotel. Gavroche’s death was pretty impactful, as usual, specially beacause it was Grantaire who cared for him, and Taire just holds Gavroche’s body during half of the battle scene, before laying him down, still weeping, and going back to fight.

As I mentioned, the actor who plays Marius is sixteen. He does look older, and his voice is very deep for a 16 year old, but he was great in the role. It somehow made the whole thing sadder - during Empty Chairs at Empty Tables, we can see how hurt he is, yet he is very young. It’s the very impact we get from his character in the book and it was heartbreaking. Also, in the translation, he sings “My friends, don’t fade away”, as the ghosts of the revolutionaries blow out their candles (I couldn’t stop thinking about Rent during that scene, but that’s off topic).

Well, that’s basically what I have to say in the more technical/deep analysis of the play. Now, some random notes:

- Master of the House was downright dirty. Lots of cursing and bad words that made me laugh like an idiot. Madame Thénardier makes lots of dick jokes and says that Mr Thénardier has a “butthole brain”. Classic Thénardier.

- Éponine kicks Montparnasse in the balls. Twice. Great hommage to book Éponine.

- Cosette and Éponine quickly interact at the garden.

- One Day More gave me the chills. I thought I was going to faint, it was SOOO GOOD.

- A weird/questionable translation during Drink With Me was right at the first verses. The boys sang “Here’s a toast to the lips I’ve kissed/ Here’s a toast to the breasts I’ve touched” and I was almost laughing because that’s SO RANDOM AND YET WEIRDLY ACCURATE. Though I can’t imagine Prouvaire grabbing a girl’s boobs.

- Do You Hear The People Sing was split between all of the ABC’s friends, not focused only on Enjolras, and it was quite awesome.

- “Grantaire, put the bottle down” changed to “Grantaire, STOP DRINKING!”

- Honestly, Pedro Caetano is one of my favourite Enjolras. I reccomend you follow his instagram because he is a beautiful guy and very talanted too.

- Actually, the whole cast is adorable. They hang out together and are basically the Modern AU I dreamed of.