Les Misérables (theatre): Difference between revisions

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A [[Les Misérables (2012 film)|film adaptation]], produced by Cameron Mackintosh, directed by ''[[The King's Speech]]'' veteran Tom Hooper, and starring [[Hugh Jackman]] as Valjean and [[Russell Crowe]] as Javert, was released on 14 December 2012.

* [[Anyone Can Die]]: Proven true, namely with the case of {{spoiler|Gavroche}}.

* [[Death by Despair]]: {{spoiler|Jean Valjean, after being separated from Cosette.}}.

** There are sometimes moments, such as the line "They were schoolboys, never held a gun" in the song ''"Turning''". When you consider that nearly everyone who died had fought on the barricades only 2 years before in 1830, and some in other riots, the idea that none of them had fought before is a little ludicrous.

* [[Dissonant Laughter]]: It's common to have Thénardier let off some cackles during the "Dog Eats Dog" number. Considering that he's {{spoiler|gleefully looting the bodies of murdered men, and singing about how the world is [[Crapsack World|a sack of crap]], he ''definitely'' counts.}}.

* [[Driven to Suicide]]: {{spoiler|Javert,}}, because of the cognitive dissonance caused by having his life saved by Valjean.

* [[Dying Declaration of Love]]: Éponine, to Marius, in the song "A Little Fall Ofof Rain".

* [[Embarrassing Rescue]]: Valjean sees Javert is slated for execution and requests that he have the privilege of killing the spy. Being killed by Valjean squares with Javert's rigid view of the world and he accepts it, feeling like a martyr. When Valjean unties him, fires into the air and urges him to flee, Javert at first thinks it's a trick, and is so shocked that he later self-terminates due to the ensuing cognitive dissonance. His entire view of the world is crumbling, and furthermore, as long as he is alive he must pursue Valjean, but at the same time, he feels he should not pursue a man who saved his life.

* [[Flanderization]]: It's inevitable with such a [[Compressed Adaptation]]... but there is more to Javert than chasing Valjean (snuff, for instance) and there's more to Éponine than loving Marius (insanity, for instance.).

* [[If I Can't Have You]]: Éponine. In the song "One Day More,", Marius is trying to decide whether to follow Cosette to England or fight with the students. Éponine, standing there with him, practically makes the decision for him by grabbing his arm and then they both run off. A minute later, they are next seen joining Enjolras and the other students, and Marius tells Enjolras "My place is here, I fight with you." In the 2006 revival, Celia Keenan-Bolger (who played Éponine at the time) made this a ''lot'' more obvious. In the revival, Éponine extends her hand out to Marius, and he quickly grabs her hand and they both run.

* [[Ill Girl]]: Fantine is reduced to a "ghost of herself,", suffering from a never-exactly-named disease, and acts as a motivator for Valjean to go and retrieve her daughter, and then disappears from the story.

* [[Infant Immortality]]: Cosette. Also {{spoiler|heartbreakingly [[Averted Trope]] with}} Gavroche.

* [[Ironic Echo]] &and [[Soundtrack Dissonance]]: Done most certainly deliberately, as many of the songs are re-used throughout the musical for different people, situations and ''moods''. Good examples are "Do You Hear Thethe People Sing?", later re-used for the revolutionaries' chorus in the finale, with altered text. Another example is the prisoners' "Work Song", which is later re-used for the beggars' "Look Down", once again with altered lyrics (however, the situations are so painfully similar that these tropes are [[Justified Trope|perfectly justified]]).

** Mid-song, in the case of {{spoiler|Gavroche}}.

** {{spoiler|Éponine}} also dies mid-song.

** Depending on the production, Valjean can be implied to {{spoiler|die either at Fantine's "Come with me" or at "To love another person is to see the face of God".}} .

** Also, "BeggarBeggars at the Feast". Sure, the upbeat melody works for the wedding and the characters... then you realize they got here after robbing from the dead, and that their daughter and, it's implied, {{spoiler|Gavroche}} have both died. "Clear away the barricades and we're still there" sounds a lot worse afterwards.

* [[Memetic Outfit]]: Valjean's prison outfit, Cosette's black dress, Éponine's trenchcoat and hat, and the "[[Fan Nickname|Red Vest Of Doom]]" that Enjolras wears from the Act 1I finale onwards.

* [[Mood Whiplash]]: Mostly in a lot of cast recordings where the reprise of "A Heart Full of Love" is cut, but it goes from the long, dark, depressing line of songs starting from "Dog Eats Dog" to "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" to... a triumphant wedding chorale and "BeggarBeggars at the Feast". It's incredibly jarring.

* [[Paper-Thin Disguise]]: Javert when he tries to {{spoiler|spy on the Amis of the ABC.}}. That is, until he is {{spoiler|exposed by Gaveroche.}}.

* [[Red Light District]]: At least some interpretations of the show set ''"Lovely Ladies''" in this area of Montreuil-sur-Mer. Others call it the Docks but imply the same thing.

* [[Relationship Compression]]: Marius/Cosette.

** [[Counterpoint Duet]]: "A Heart Full Ofof Love" when Éponine's voice contrasts the utter sappiness that is this song.

** [[Death Song]]: "Come To Me,", "A Little Fall of Rain,", "Soliloquy (Javert's Suicide,)" and the "Epilogue".

** [[Epic Song]]: "Do You Hear the People Sing?", its reprise, and, ''of course,'', "One Day More.".

** [[Grief Song]]: "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" and "I Dreamed a Dream.".

*** After "A Little Fall of Rain,", Éponine gets a brief tribute from the Friends of the ABC.

** [["I Am Becoming" Song]]: [[Heel Face Turn|"WhoWhat AmHave I Done?"]] isand theCosette's very"In obviousMy example;Life". alsoAlso, "IFantine's Dreamedpart aof Dream"Lovely and Ladies"Master ofis theher House{{spoiler|becoming a prostitute}}."

** [["I Am Becoming" Song]]: [[Heel Face Turn|"WhatWho HaveAm I Done?"]], andis Cosette'sthe "Invery Myobvious Life."example; Alsoalso, Fantine's"I partDreamed ofa Dream"Lovely Ladiesand "Master isof herthe {{spoiler|becoming a prostituteHouse".}}

** [["I Want" Song]]: "On My Own", "In My Life", "Stars", and "Castle Onon a Cloud".

** [[Massive Multiplayer Ensemble Number]]: "One Day More".

** [[The Song Before the Storm]]: "One Day More" and "Bring Him Home.".

** [[Villain Song]]: "Master of the House,", which doubles as the single catchiest song in the show. The same character has a straight villain song in "Dog Eat Dog.". "Stars" is an [[Anti-Villain]] song.

* [[Spared by the Adaptation]]: {{spoiler|Mme. Thénardier.}}.

* [[Stay with Me Until I Die]]: Both Fantine and {{spoiler|Éponine.}}. "For God's sake, please stay 'till I am sleeping -- and tell Cosette I love her and I'll see her when I wake..."

* [[Stern Chase]]: Javert hounding Valjean for decades. (Whichwhich is really an artifact of adaptation distillation/compression; Javert is not such a monomaniac in the book.). Some do at least give the impression he actually did other things, but keeps hearing about that ONE guy...

* [[Still Wearing the Old Colors]]: Thénardier wears a Napoleonic uniform at the start of the play as a remnant from his supposed days as a soldier (if by "soldier", you mean "guy who looted corpses on the battlefield").

* [[Survivor Guilt]]: "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables.".

* [[Villainous Breakdown]]: "Soliloquy (Javert's Suicide)" is this in song form.

* [[Wham! Line|Wham Song]]/[[Wham! Episode|Wham Scene]]: The barricade battle scene. By the end of it, half the cast is dead, including {{spoiler|Enjolras, Gavroche, all the barricade boys, and Éponine}}.

** [[Your Mileage May Vary|YMMV]] '''to the extreme''' on that. If you're aware of your history/the actors do their research, it becomes pretty apparent that all of them went in eyes wide open. After all, they had all participated in a nearly-succesful revolution just two years prior ... They knew exactly what to expect.

[[Category:TheatreTheatrical Productions]]