8 Reasons We Love Les Misérables

Anthony J. Piccione, Guest Editorial

Let me start by stating the obvious: Theatre people LOVE Les Misérables. There are plenty of reasons why it’s still one of the most popular musicals in the history of theatre and why it continues to be produced repeatedly even today. Personally, I can name quite a few highly popular Broadway musicals that I consider to be overrated, but this is not one of them.

However, some people out there might be wondering why those of us who love theatre LOVE Les Misérables. Maybe they think it is overrated, or maybe they’ve never actually seen a production of it (*gasp*) and – as a result – cannot possibly understand why we won’t stop talking about this show three decades after it first premiered.

For this reason, I’ve decided to make a short list to help clarify things for those people.

So, without further ado, here are just a few reasons – in no particular order – why many of us theatergoers love Les Misérables.

The music is phenomenal

From “I Dreamed a Dream” to “One Day More” to “Do You Hear The People Sing,” there are so many great songs that are favorites of musical theatre everywhere that it’s easy to see why they rank highly among musicals that local community theaters everywhere would love to produce one day, if they haven’t already. Indeed, it is hard for anyone—even those who aren’t typically musical theatre lovers—to listen to this music and not appreciate it.

It’s not too cheesy

Let’s be honest. Broadway musicals are always enjoyable for many people simply because of the pure spectacle of singing and dancing. But for some of us, the music in some of these musicals can get WAY too cheesy and is a guilty pleasure at best. But for me, this is a show that is just as heavy on great plot and character development as it is on great music. Speaking of which…

Unforgettable characters

You can’t tell a great story without some great characters. From the protagonist seeking redemption for past sins, Jean Valjean, and the young and beautiful Cosette to the villainous Inspector Javert and even the comic relief of Thenardier and Madam Thenardier, it is hard to argue that this is a show that is lacking in strong lead and supporting characters, and it is even harder to argue that they aren’t well remembered by theatergoers across the world.

Several powerful moments

Don’t tell me you’ve never once shed a tear when watching Fantine’s “I Dreamed a Dream” moment early on in the show. If you haven’t, then you must have when Eponine delivers the highly poignant number “On My Own” or at the end when (*spoiler alert*) Jean Valjean passes away and is reunited with a grateful Fantine. Personally, at least the first time I saw this show, I was deeply moved by each of these three scenes, and it is largely why I still love this show today. 

It’s a musical adaptation that actually works

Before it was a hit musical, Les Misérables was originally a novel by Victor Hugo. Adapting pre-existing material for the stage – whether from literature or film – is not exactly an easy task, yet this is one of the rare musicals that pulls it off and does so seamlessly. Having said that, while we’re still talking about adaptations:

No matter how hard they try, Hollywood can’t possibly replicate the original musical

I honestly can’t say that I dislike the film adaptation of Les Misérables as much as others in the theatre community do. On its own, I’d say it makes a good film with lots of good acting and singing. However, NOTHING beats the real thing. For those of us who prefer seeing great live theatre overseeing a great film on the silver screen, I think we can deeply appreciate the fact that this is a show that the film industry can never move from stage to screen.

It’s politically relevant

This might be a fairly controversial reason for some people. However, I believe that in America and across the world, where there is a growing dissatisfaction with government and politicians in general, the story of Les Misérables depicts events that—while perhaps not a perfect comparison—aren’t that far apart from today in terms of showing the way many people in the world feel about their leaders today.

Vive la France

Normally, my inner Italian would tell me not to write a reason such as this. However, in light of the recent tragic events in Paris, we could use some more ways to celebrate the things that make France a great country. If you ask me, there aren’t many other shows that do a better job of showing the idealism and resilience of the French people than Les Misérables.

So there you have it. Any reasons that you have for loving Les Misérables that you didn’t see on the list? Are you, by any chance, one of those people that have a reason for believing that Les Misérables is overrated?

Photo: The company of “Les Misérables” at the Pantages performs “One Day More.” (Photo by Matthew Murphy)